Drill Dozer

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Known in Japan as Screw Breaker, Drill Dozer is an action-Platform Game for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, developed by Game Freak (yes, the same Game Freak who created Pokémon).

The main character, Jill, is the daughter of the boss of a group of Loveable Rogues called the Red Dozers. The Red Diamond given to her by her now-deceased mother is stolen, and her father is injured, so Jill must go get her gem back on her own, with only her trusty Mecha-Suit-With-Drills-For-Arms Drill Dozer, The Obi-Wan, the Mechanic and their Base on Wheels to help her.

Tropes used in Drill Dozer include:

Grutch: "We chased Croog all this way and NOW the Drill Dozer falls apart?!"

  • It Makes Sense in Context
  • Jiggle Physics: It's quite easy to miss, but Carrie's walking sprite has these. Surprising for this sort of game.
  • Let's Play:
  • Mineral MacGuffin/Green Rocks: Is there anything those Diamonds can't do?
    • It can't rebuild the Red Dozer's base.
      • It can. The heroes just choose to do it without the Red Diamond.
  • Nintendo Hard: The secret areas, ESPECIALLY the fifth one. Prepare to defenestrate a GBA or two because of this game.
  • No-Gear Level/Stealth-Based Mission: The opening of Area 5-1. Jill is imprisoned and separated from the Dozer, which is powered by a diamond until it finds her.
  • The Power of Love: When Jill is captured by a police trap, and separated from her Drill Dozer, it pilots itself back to her, through the power of her deceased mother's spirit.
  • Punched Across the Room: Certain Skullker robots, most notably the ones in the fifth secret area.
    • Also the final boss.
  • Recurring Boss: Detective Carrie's Policebot and Croog.
  • Rose-Haired Girl: Jill.
  • Silent Protagonist: Guess who.
  • Spin to Deflect Stuff: Many attacks can be deflected with your drill running.
  • Tennis Boss: The upgraded Policebot in Area 4-1. Combat revolves around catching the explosive projectile with your drill and sending it back... but this is complicated by having to identify whether to catch it clockwise or counterclockwise (otherwise it explodes and damages you), and the ten-second countdown attached to it as you deflect the projectile back and forth between player and boss.
  • Theme Music Power-Up: Just about any time Jill finds the 3rd Gear in an area.
  • This Is a Drill: Right up there with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Speaking of Gurren Lagann, a lot of people think that Drill Dozer was inspired by that show because they are so similar (mainly because of the characters and the use of robots and drills). The truth is... the game came out first (2005), Gurren came out after (2007).
  • Timed Mission: Occurs during Area 6-1, when you have to stop the gigantic Drill Missile from destroying your home base (where Dad is recovering).
    • Also the fifth boss.
  • Tube Travel: The many threaded tunnels that require drilling one way or the other to enter and navigate. Defeating the boss of Area 5 involved being able to navigate tunnels within a time limit to destroy the boss's weak points.
  • Turns Red: Most of the Humongous Mecha bosses get more aggressive after part of them is destroyed.
    • Also, the robot dog enemies turn white after you do some damage to them.
  • When All You Have Is a Hammer: Your drill can do everything from work combination locks, to act as a screwdriver, to deflect bullets, to reverse the direction of a giant drilling missile.