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Dig Dug II (New Ver.)
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About Dig Dug II (New Ver.)
Arcade Video game published 41 years ago:
Dig Dug II (c) 1985 Namco.
For this sequel to the 1982 classic, "Dig Dug", Namco changed the game's perspective from a cutaway side-on viewpoint to an overhead one. The action now takes place on a series of small islands, the gameplay itself retains much from its predecessor, with Dig Dug still being chased by the 'Pookas' (round, goggle-wearing red enemies) and the 'Fygers' (green, fire-breathing dragons).
As with the first game, Dig Dug is still armed with a pump that allows him to inflate and burst the enemies. For the sequel, however, he is also armed with a jackhammer. This can be used at the round ground-pegs scattered around each island to create and connect up fault lines in the ground. If both ends of a system of faults reaches the water, the ground surrounded by them will sink into the ocean killing all creatures on it, including Dig Dug himself if he is standing on the destroyed section of land.
The Pookas and Fygers cannot cross any fault lines while in solid monster form but as with the first game, they can take on a ghost form and move wherever they wish.
Once three pieces of land have been cut off an island, a bonus vegetable will appear somewhere on the remaining land, this can be eaten for extra points. When only one, two or (on later rounds) three enemies remain on the island, they will eventually head for the edge of the island and jump into the water, killing themselves and costing the player points.
- TECHNICAL -
Game ID: D2
Main CPU: Motorola M6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz) Sound CPU: Motorola M6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz) Sound Chips: Namco 8-channel WSG
Player layout in our catalog: 2P alt.
If you are exploring by feel rather than by title, jump from the tags above into the matching genre rooms, or return to the Arcade hall for the full wall.
Open Play on this page to start Dig Dug II (New Ver.). Keyboard, USB/Bluetooth pads, and the on-screen touch gamepad all work inside the emulator bar. Save states and fullscreen live on that same bar so you can pause mid-session and resume later.
Dig Dug II (New Ver.) — play guide
What Dig Dug II wants from you
Dig Dug II (Namco) moves the pump fantasy onto island platforms: dig to crack landmasses into the water, inflate Pookas and Fygars, and manage geometry that punishes dig tourism into faces. Your job is fracture timing—cut islands so monsters fall, pump when safe, and stop digging random cracks that strand you without an exit. Treat each board as a geology puzzle with a pump, not as a dig-everywhere score farm. Sequel art; same Namco cruelty when the ground disappears under your feet.
First minutes in Dig Dug II
On board one, practice a short crack that drops one monster before inventing cross-island highways. Pump a single Pooka with space to retreat; cornering yourself mid-inflate gifts a touch death. Watch Fygar fire while you dig—tunnel vision on a crack line still dies to flame. Early boards are fracture labs. One clean clear beats three dig-into-monster deaths that looked industrious until the island split the wrong way.
Core systems in Dig Dug II
Island digging, land fractures into water, pump inflate, Pookas, Fygars, and board layouts define Dig Dug II. Lives punish haste. Continues fund pattern memory as islands tighten. Fruit and score toys wait until survival geometry is honest. Fire-breathing Fygars punish crack tourism while you ignore the lane. Two threat types keep geology expensive even when the sequel fantasy looks softer than dirt tunnels.
Score, continues, and resources in Dig Dug II
Boards cleared with lives left beat dig tourism that cracks you into a dead-end. Continues while fracture timing becomes honest; cut them once random digging stops ending credits. Score for chains waits until survival geometry is boring. Extends follow score when present—clean boards beat farming board one forever for vanity cracks that strand Dig Dug mid-map.
Mistakes that burn credits in Dig Dug II
Digging into monsters, cracks that strand you, pumping in dead-ends, ignoring Fygar fire, and fruit greed through crowded islands are classic Dig Dug II mistakes. Dig with an exit, fracture with intent, and pump with space. Island art will not soften a face you dug into. Panic highways across every landmass are free deaths with extra geology animation.
Next steps after Dig Dug II
Dig Dug is the dirt-tunnel original if you want pump gospel without island fractures after Dig Dug II. Mr. Do! is another dig-and-clear cousin with apples instead of pumps under similar geometry tax. Pac-Man is maze clear order without digging when you want loop literacy once fracture discipline on the islands finally sticks. Keep playing until panic-pump empties stop ending sessions mid-board on later rounds. Clear one full island carefully before you chase vanity fractures again on denser dig cabinets, and keep pump peeks honest instead of cracking every bridge for looks.
Sources cited below under Further reading.
Cabinet dossier
Dig Dug II (New Ver.) is filed in our catalog as a 1985 release.
Player layout on this cabinet: 2P alt.
Genre tags on Classic Arcade Games: Maze.
Credit line lists Namco as developer.
Screenshots
Next cabinets
Nearby cabinets you may also open from this hall (each on its own play page):Dig Dug (rev 2), Dig Dug (Gakken), Grobda (New Ver.), Pac-Mania, Pac & Pal, The Return of Ishtar, The Tower of Druaga (New Ver.), Toypop, Boxy Boy (World, SB2), Exvania (World), Marchen Maze (Japan), New Rally X
Explore more on this site
Same series
How to play Dig Dug II (New Ver.) online
- Arcade stick feel: Arrow keys for the joystick, X/Z (and nearby keys) for buttons, Enter=Start.
- USB / Bluetooth pads map cleanly; six-button fighters use the face-button cluster.
- On phones, open the on-screen pad from the emulator bar; rotate sits next to fullscreen.
- Save states, load, volume, and fullscreen stay on the emulator bar between credits.
Studio notes — Namco
Namco appears on this cabinet’s credit line. Browse more titles from the same studio on the developer shelf, or stay on this page and try the next cabinets in the same hall.
Dig Dug (rev 2) · Dig Dug (Gakken) · Grobda (New Ver.) · Pac-Mania · Pac & Pal · The Return of Ishtar · The Tower of Druaga (New Ver.) · Toypop
Questions about Dig Dug II (New Ver.)
Can I play Dig Dug II (New Ver.) free in a browser?
Yes. Classic Arcade Games hosts Dig Dug II (New Ver.) as a Arcade cabinet you can start on this page. The emulator loads in the browser; you do not need to install a separate app.
What controls does Dig Dug II (New Ver.) support?
Arcade stick feel: Arrow keys for the joystick, X/Z (and nearby keys) for buttons, Enter=Start. USB / Bluetooth pads map cleanly; six-button fighters use the face-button cluster.
Are there other games in the same series as Dig Dug II (New Ver.)?
Yes — related series cabinets on this site include Dig Dug (rev 2), Dig Dug (Gakken). Each has its own play page with the same browser emulator path.
Further reading
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