Valis IV - The Fantasm Soldier [Model TJCD1017]

???? IV © 1991 Telenet.
(Valis IV)

Valis IV is a side scrolling action/platform game by Telenet and is the last episode (so far) of the popular Japanese series featuring the young Japanese schoolgirl Y?ko Asao. At the end of the third opus, Yuuko left the human world to live in the heavens as a goddess and she consequently awarded the almighty Valis sword to the young maiden Rena. The game starts when Lord Garugia, previously imprisoned deep under the ocean, manages to escape his crystal prison. The king of the evil spirit forces is back and Dream Land is at stake again. Rena is about to become the new Valis Warrior and she seems to be the only one capable of neutralizing the deadly threat. In this episode, the player gets to play as Rena and her twin sister Amu (and later as their demon friend Asfaa). The player can switch from one character to the other at anytime during the game and each one comes with individual strengths and weaknesses - Rena is similar to Y?ko and can slash enemies with her Valis sword or fire waves of energy, Amu has a handy double jump ability and uses a boomerang-like weapon whereas Asf? is relatively strong and insensitive to force-fields and spikes but struggles in fast-paced action. They can also charge up magic spells in desperate situations, Rena can unleash fiery thunderbolts and Amu can fire a barrage of deadly fireballs. The world of Valis IV is vast and the game features nine increasingly difficult stages.