Drill Dozer

Drill Dozer is a 2D side-scrolling action-platformer where the player controls the protagonist Jill, who pilots a mech called a Drill Dozer. The player uses the Game Boy Advance (GBA) shoulder buttons to control the direction of the drill, with one button drilling clockwise and the other counter-clockwise. When the drill is used, a user interface appears and the built-in rumble pack activates. This is used for different functions, including tightening or untightening screws, destroying blocks, and fighting enemies.

These blocks have different functions; while some vary only by thickness, others have their own mechanics, such as jelly blocks, which can be used to jump backwards off of them to reach a platform. The drill can also be used to drill through tunnels, using the two buttons to go forward or backwards. Certain objects will be color coded, communicating whether they require the drill to work forward or in reverse.

Drill Dozer follows a young girl named Jill, the daughter of the leader of a bandit gang known as the Red Dozers. Her father was ambushed by a rival gang known as the Skullkers, stealing a Red Diamond that belonged to Jill's mother, leading Jill to mount a mech called a Drill Dozer to retrieve it and defeat the Skullkers. Along the way, she finds four other diamonds, which affected the behavior of people and objects, such as the Dark Diamond, which gave Crooge, the alien-like leader of the Skullkers his power. Once Jill destroys the Dark Diamond, Croog's alien face falls off and he runs away crying. Jill recovers the Red Diamond and is appointed as the new boss of the Red Dozers by her father.

Drill Dozer was developed by Game Freak and directed by Ken Sugimori, the first game he directed since Pulseman in 1994, approximately 11 years prior. Development began after Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, while Pokémon Emerald, an upgraded version of Ruby and Sapphire, and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, remakes of Pokémon Red and Green, were in development. Sugimori stated that because they were upgrade versions, they required less staff to work on them, and thus had the opportunity to work on something else. He was also inspired to begin production due to staff's interest in creating a non-Pokémon game, particularly an action-based one.

Sugimori stated that he was concerned about the professional development of Game Freak staff who have only worked on Pokémon games prior to this; in turn, he focused on doing art for the game, while most of the gameplay and programming was handled by younger staff members. Development started with around 4-5 staff members.

Drill Dozer received generally favorable reviews according to video game review aggregator website Metacritic. Upon its release, Electronic Gaming Monthly staff awarded it Game of the Month, alongside the Nintendo DS game Age of Empires: The Age of Kings. The game was awarded GBA Game of the Year by Nintendo Power in 2006, and it was runner-up for GameSpot's GBA Game of the Year award. Nintendo World Report staff named it the best GBA game of 2006, stating that while 2006 was a weak year for GBA games, it would have been a contender even in strong years.

It has been listed as one of the best Game Boy Advance games by Nintendo Life, GamesRadar+, Time Extension, Retro Gamer, and Nintendo World Report. IGN also ranked it among the best Nintendo games. It was considered a hidden gem by Nintendojo and Nintendo Power, while Den of Geek regarded it as one of the most underrated GBA games.

In the 2008 video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Jill and her Drill Dozer appear as a summonable character that can aid a player against other players. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, a game created to explain the mechanics of the Nintendo Switch 2, features an in-game exhibit of Nintendo games with vibration functions, which displayed Drill Dozer's box and cartridge. The video game Giga Wrecker, also developed by Game Freak, was described by director Masayuki Onoue as having the essence of Drill Dozer. It has been compared to Drill Dozer by critics at multiple websites, including Automaton and IGN Japan.