Xenosaga Episode I Minigame

Driller

Playing on an emulator? Emulator Notes explains how to retry a missed shot without consuming the attempt.

Get access

The is permanently missable. On the Woglinde, talk to Holgar before the Gnosis attack and clear all five pieces of debris. Holgar is not present in the E.V.S. version of the ship, so there is no later recovery if you skip him.

Once Shion finishes the curry errand on the Elsa and E.V.S. becomes available, stand at an E.V.S.-enabled save point and use the from Key Items. Talk to Holgar at the counter, then ask Hollyanna for the explanation.

Free Mode costs 200G per round. The hunched-over man in purple buys spare items if you arrive without enough G, although selling useful consumables to fund random drilling prizes is not exactly the financial breakthrough it sounds like.

Controls

One press-and-release cycle controls the entire shot. You cannot reverse either axis after starting it.

Control	What it does
Square, first hold	Moves the strut along the first axis. Release Square to lock that position.
Square, second hold	Moves the drill along the strut. Release Square to lock the second position and lower the drill.
Left stick	Rotates the camera.
R2	Cycles among the side, front, and overhead views.
Select	Pauses or resumes the game.
X	Ends the current game. In Free Mode, you keep prizes already collected.

Aim without wasting 200G

Switch to the overhead view before the first shot. It turns the floor into a readable grid and makes both axes easier to judge. Practice lining the strut up with a target, then lining the bit up along the strut. After each miss, compare where the drill landed with the target before changing the next release point.

Free Mode prizes

Free Mode has no timer and gives you five shots per round. Ordinary containers award their item as soon as you break them. The balls are the important target when you want items for the five prize doors at the back.

Target	Possible prize
Large round or square box	or
Card-suit box	or
Ball	, , or
Thin box	50G or 100G
Blue cylinder	or
Purple cylinder	100G or 300G
Red cylinder	or
Yellow cylinder	or

The five doors spell DRILL from left to right. Each door consumes one and contains one fixed reward:

Door	Reward
D
R
I
L
L

The and are unique to these doors. If you care about a complete equipment collection, open those two before deciding that farming is a lifestyle.

Missions

Missions 1 and 2 are available immediately. Missions 3 and 4 appear after you speak to Bunnie in the Encephalon forest.

Mission	What to do and what you get
1	Destroy every box and return the drill to its starting position within 80 seconds. Hit two touching boxes with one shot at least four times; there is not enough time to drill each box separately. First clear: Later clear: 5x Failure:
2	Destroy nine small containers within 120 seconds. Use the overhead grid and prioritize accurate releases over frantic ones. First clear: Later clear: 5x Failure:
3	Destroy five bunnies moving on fixed paths within 90 seconds. Put the drill down slightly ahead of a target; a bunny that walks into the lowered bit still counts. First clear: Later clear: 5x Failure:
4	Hit one fast bunny that jumps to random positions within 50 seconds. Repeated center drops give it a chance to run into the bit; an emulator state removes the luck if you prefer. First clear: Later clear: 5x Failure:

The Mission 4 increases earned by 25%, which makes it the route-useful reason to finish all four missions. Completing the set also unlocks an alternate drill bit. It usually gives you a larger hit area, but can randomly produce a smaller bit instead.