Dig Dug

Dig Dug is a maze-based video game where the player controls the protagonist, Dig Dug (Taizo Hori), as he works to eliminate enemies from each level. The enemies are Pookas, red creatures with oversized goggles, and Fygars, fire-breathing green dragons. Dig Dug can defeat these enemies in two ways: by using an air pump to inflate them to the point of bursting or by crushing them with large falling rocks. When using the air pump, Dig Dug stops moving and extends the nozzle in front of him. If it makes contact with an enemy, the enemy is frozen in place, allowing the player to repeatedly inflate them by pressing the air pump button. If the player moves or doesn''t act for a moment, the air pump disconnects and the enemy begins to deflate, becoming stunned until fully deflated. Rocks, which can’t be dug through, will fall after Dig Dug removes the tile directly beneath them and moves away. Falling rocks can crush enemies, earning the player bonus points for squashing multiple enemies at once. Additionally, dropping two rocks on the stage results in a bonus item, which can be eaten for points. After all enemies are defeated, Dig Dug progresses to the next stage. Enemies can move through tiles in a ghostly form, becoming invulnerable and slowed. They may do this to reach Dig Dug or to escape the stage once the last enemy is defeated. Once enemies become faster and more aggressive, the last remaining enemy will try to escape by moving upward through tiles and heading toward the top of the screen. If it escapes, the stage ends. The game consists of 256 stages. As players progress, the dirt color changes and the number and speed of enemies increases. Players lose lives when touching an enemy, getting hit by Fygar’s fire, or being crushed by a falling rock. Extra lives are awarded throughout the game, and at 900,000 points, the player enters a "survival of the fittest" mode. This mode challenges the player to continue until their last Dig Dug is defeated, ending the game.