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Dig Dug II

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It is Dig Dug's job to protect 72 different tropical islands from his arch rivals, Pooka and the fire breathing Fygar. Played from an overhead point of view, Dig Dug now has two weapons at his disposal; the first is an air pump and the second is a drill. The pump can be used to inflate and destro...

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Developer
Namco

Released on
1985

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Action

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

It is Dig Dug’s job to protect 72 different tropical islands from his arch rivals, Pooka and the fire breathing Fygar. Played from an overhead point of view, Dig Dug now has two weapons at his disposal; the first is an air pump and the second is a drill. The pump can be used to inflate and destroy the enemies the same as in the original Dig Dug. At various locations on the islands are stakes, and when the drill is used near a stake a crack will form. If enough cracks become connected that section of the island will fall into the ocean, hopefully taking an enemy (and not Dig Dug!) with it. When all of the Pookas and Fygars have been destroyed, the game moves on to the next, more difficult level.

Dig Dug II

Overview & History

Released by Namco in 1985 as a follow-up to their massive underground hit, Dig Dug II (subtitled Trouble in Paradise) traded the subterranean cross-sections of the original for an isometric, island-shattering coastal battleground. Rather than tunneling through dirt, players control the returning hero, Taizo Hori, as he stands atop fragile, rocky fault lines. The storyline abandons the underworld to strand our pump-wielding protagonist on picturesque tropical atolls infested with returning subterranean menaces: the balloon-like Pookas and the fire-breathing, goggle-wearing Fygars. Rather than a direct iterative sequel, Namco fundamentally redesigned the core puzzle-action loop, emphasizing environmental destruction and crowd control over vertical maze navigation, creating a cult classic that remains distinct within the Golden Age of arcade gaming.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core mechanic of Dig Dug II revolves around strategic island destruction. Armed with an air pump and a pneumatic jackhammer, Taizo Hori no longer digs for earth; instead, he drills along dotted fault lines mapped across each stage. By driving the jackhammer into both ends of a fault line, players can physically snap off chunks of the island, plunging trapped monsters directly into the surrounding ocean. This environmental hazard is often the most efficient way to clear screens, as dropping a massive section into the sea instantly dispatches any enemies standing on that landmass. Monsters can still be inflated and popped the traditional way using the hand-held air pump, but enemies left isolated on shrinking fragments will sprout propellers and fly across the water to hunt the player down, adding a tense, frantic layer of urgency to every cracked polygon.

Keyboard Controls

Arrow Keys / D-Pad: Move Taizo Hori across the island paths and align with fault lines
Action Keys: Pump air into enemies or drive the pneumatic jackhammer into fault lines
Enter: Start / Pause