Avenging Spirit [Arcade]

Overview

Avenging Spirit, released in Japan as Phantasm (ファンタズム), is a cool side-scrolling platform game where you are a ghost who has the ability to possess the bodies of enemies—including ninjas, mobsters, grenadiers, dragons, and even a fakir—and use their different skills and abilities. It was developed by C.P. Brain, published by Jaleco and initially released in 1991, to the arcades. There is also a bootleg version named Monkey Elf.

In Avenging Spirit, you end up dying at the hands of the kidnappers who abducted your girlfriend, but you are summoned by your father-in-law (who researches ghost energy) and given a mission to save her from the mysterious crime syndicate holding her hostage. The possessing mechanic the ghost can use brings an interesting dynamism to the gameplay and adds replay value. The levels have several floors, some with branching paths. There are boss battles and various types of pick-ups, some reasonably well hidden. There are also two possible endings, one bad and one good.

Avenging Spirit‘s graphics are colorful and pleasing, its controls are responsive, and its difficulty (at least on the standard level) isn’t unforgiving, like some other games from that era. However, despite its innovative idea and good quality, it remained an obscure title for some reason. It also didn’t spawn any sequels, although it was ported to some other platforms (some quite late): Game Boy, 3DS, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

Plot

While out on a walk with his girlfriend, our hero is gunned down by an evil syndicate that wants to harness ghost energy. This syndicate plans to ransom the poor girl, who is the daughter of a prestigious scientist, to force her father to cooperate. But our hero’s adventure isn’t over. In fact, it’s just beginning. He’s come back as a ghost so that he can rescue his girlfriend from her kidnappers and finally rest in peace.

Controls

• Directional – Arrow Keys (Move left and right)
• Button A – S (Attack)
• Button B – Z (Jump)
• Insert Coin – Shift
• Start – Enter
• Attention – These controls are default. Hover your mouse into the lower part of the screen and a control bar will show up. Click on the gamepad icon and set the controls any way you want.

More info and platformers

• Avenging Spirit @ Gaming Room – Source, with more info and media. In Portuguese.
• Avenging Spirit [Game Boy]
• Arcade Thief Runner
• Auto Ninja
• Frog Ninja Adventure
• Mortal Brothers Survival
• Ninja Frog
• Stickman vs. Zombies WorldCraft
• Digi Ninja
• Chibi Hero Adventure

Avenging Spirit [Arcade] gameplays, tips or walkthroughs

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Don't troll, don't use profanity, don't spam your crappy url. Only comments in english. Your comments must follow our Terms And Conditions.