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Taizo Hori (ホリ・タイゾウ Hori Taizou?), originally known as Dig Dug (ディグダグ Digu Dagu?), is the main protagonist of the Dig Dug series and one of the major characters in the Mr. Driller series, being the founder of the Star Trigon Team as well as a member of the United Galaxy Space Force.

History[]

Dig Dug and Mr. Driller series[]

In 1982, Taizo solved the "Dig Dug incident" caused by Pookas and Fygars in Dig Dug, and some time later the problem in the tropical islands that happened in Dig Dug II. Afterwards, he was treated as a hero. At one point of his life, Taizo was married with Masuyo Tobi, but they separated for unknown reasons. They had three sons: Susumu Hori, Ataru Hori, and Taiyo Tobi. Taizo became the chairman of the Driller Council.

In Taizo's appearances in the Mr. Driller games as a playable character, he can drill at high speed, but his air gauge decreases fast.

In Dig Dug: Digging Strike, Taizo is jealous of Susumu receiving all the attention as he was the first Driller. When he received a call from Horinesia to ask for help from Susumu, Taizo said he could help with it, but as the person never heard of him and insisted to talk with Susumu, he got angry and decided to do the job himself.

Appearances in other games[]

Star Trigon[]

Taizo appears as a playable character in the Windows release of Star Trigon, where he is simply known as "Dig Dug".

Namco Super Wars[]

Dig Dug is a playable character in Namco Super Wars that joins the group alongside Mappy in the end of stage 16.

Namco × Capcom[]

Taizo Hori is a playable unit in Namco × Capcom. He is from the distant future. During this world's events of Baraduke, Taizo was involved in a battle known as "the worst operation in history" backing up special engineering corps who gave an opening to the aerial troops into the Baraduke fortress. He was the only survivor of the special corps. Since then Hori had retired from being a soldier to become a Digger (Digouter in Japan, a term from the Mega Man Legends series).

In Chapter 21, Taizo, MegaMan Volnutt, and Roll Caskett ended up in the Third Moon due to a dimensional transfer and are attacked by the villains inside, including artificially created Pookas. The party rescues them and Taizo joins the group. In the end, he says the way he likes to dig isn't like a Digger and wonders if a job called "Driller" would be more fitting. Masuyo jokingly calls him "Mr. Driller".

Dig Dug BIG NCT[]

Taizo appeared in the slot machine Dig Dug BIG NCT. In the screen of the casino slot machine, he can be seen running from a Pooka; goal scene with Pooka and Fygar, and the gameplay of the arcade.

Namco High[]

Taizo became the principal of the Namco High, with King as his assistant.

Cameos[]

  • The Famista series features a member named after Taizo as part of the Namco Stars team. Taizo himself also appeared in a few games from the series.
  • Taizo makes a cameo in the 2012 Disney film Wreck-It Ralph, where he drills underground while approaching Ralph. In the 2018 sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Taizo appears in a crowd of people discussing the WiFi.
  • In the ShiftyLook Bravoman webseries episode Couch of Doom, a statue of Taizo and a Pooka appear in Bravoman's front yard.

Gallery[]

See also[]

Trivia[]

  • His name is a pun on the Japanese phrase 掘りたいぞ (horitai zo), meaning "I want to dig!"

References[]

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