Youkai Dochuuki/Gameplay

Players
Throughout the majority of the game, you control Tarosuke, shown to the left. He is a small boy who must journey through the land of the youkai (demons) in an effort to reach Buddha and make it to the afterlife. In order to do this, he must survive a gauntlet of challenges across five stages. He has one health meter with 16 bars, and only one life to accomplish this feat (although it's possible to continue from the beginning of the last stage you visited.)

Tarosuke attacks his opponents by shooting out blasts of ki, or energy, at them. If he stops to concentrate, he can channel a large amount of energy for a larger blast. However, if he channels for too long, he will tire out and lose the energy. At it's strongest level, a powerful blast of ki can slice through several enemies. If Tarosuke stops channeling ki, it will eventually disappear. However, it is possible to hold on to the stored ki and walk around without losing it by pressing down and to the left or to the right.

When Tarosuke reaches the bosses of the first two stages, he summons a spirit friend known as Monmotaro (shown to the right) to fight for him. While Monmotaro fights, Tarosuke prays at a statue of Buddha for Monmotaro's success and the boss's defeat. Monmotaro starts out with whatever energy Tarosuke has left, and the game will end if Monmotaro runs out of energy. Monmotaro attacks by shooting spirit fire which homes in on the nearest enemy. As a result, he may not necessarily hit the boss if another enemy is closer and luring his fire away. After Monmotaro successfully defeats a boss, he can collect the money that is left behind, and control returns to Tarosuke.

''Note: In the Famicom version, Monmotaro does not appear automatically. Instead, he can be summoned at any time by pressing, but only if Tarosuke has at least one talisman in his inventory and is standing on land. At that time, Tarosuke will sit down and remain stationary while Monmotaro flies around and attacks enemies. Monmotaro shares Tarosuke's life meter, and Tarosuke is still vulnerable to attack while Monmotaro is present. To end Monmotaro's attack, press once more. Tarosuke starts the game with one talisman, and he can buy more for 5000 at shops. Each time Monmotaro is summoned, Tarosuke will lose one talisman.''

Shopping
After the completing the first stage, Tarosuke will have several opportunities to visit Yorozu-Baba and her shop, where he can spend the money he has collected on useful items. The format of the shop varies from version to version, but the items are basically the same. Here are the items that Tarosuke can purchase.