Exvania/Gameplay

Controls

 * Joystick: Use the 4-way joystick to direct Ward, Emilio, Charles or Karl around each of the rooms; you cannot force them into pools of lava or water.
 * Whip Button: Use this button to make Ward, Emilio, Charles or Karl swing his whip; it can be used to break Treasure Boxes, and stun other players.
 * Bomb Button: Use this button to make Ward, Emilio, Charles, or Karl drop a green bomb; if you whip it after dropping it, it will turn yellow, and if you whip it again, it will turn red. Their explosive power can be used to break several Treasure Boxes, and kill the other players - but it could also kill you.
 * 1, 2, 3 or 4 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin the game as player 1, 2, 3 or 4; if less than four people are playing, the remaining lords are controlled by the CPU. If all the player-controlled lords should get killed before that timer runs out, the text of "COMP WIN" will appear on the screen.

Ward, Emilio, Charles and Karl (ウォード, エミリオ, チャールズ & カール)
The protagonists of the game; Ward (1P) starts out in the top-left corner of each room, Emilio (2P) starts in the bottom-left corner, Charles (3P) starts in the bottom-right corner, and Karl (4P) starts in the top-right corner. They can use their whips to break open all Treasure Boxes that populate the rooms and collect the powerups they leave behind to upgrade their abilities, along with the explosive power of their bombs to kill each other - and once one of the lords has killed the other three, the text of "1/2/3/4P WIN" will appear on the screen, and he will receive a gold medal. Once one of the lords has received three gold medals, he will gain control of the current castle (as the text "YOU GET A CASTLE" appears over it), and the game will proceed to the next castle; however, if two or more of the lords are under players' control, and still alive when the timer runs out, the text "DRAW GAME" will appear on the screen. Once the eighth castle has been conquered, the lord who has won the most rooms and conquered the most castles must face off against the witch Erinyes - and once he has killed her, the mirror at the back of the room will shatter to reveal the Princess Electra and end the game.

Treasure Boxes (宝箱)
These chests populate the rooms of the castles, and can be broken open with three strikes from the lords' whips; once they have done so, they will leave a powerup behind. The two Kanji characters in their Japanese naming also read as takarabako - and here is a complete list of the powerups:

Bomb Power Up (ボムパワーアップ): This orb, which has the text +1 on it, will increase the number of bombs your lord can have on screen by one.

Magic Book (魔法書): This tome will increase the blast radius of your lord's bomb by one; the three Kanji characters in its name read as mahō-sho.

Jet Boots (ジェットブーツ): These boots will increase your lord's walking speed, for the remainder of his time in the current room, unless he is killed.

Potion of Barrier (ポーション・オブ・バリア): This beaker will make your lord invulnerable to the bombs' explosive radiuses for a short period of time.

Potion of Death (ポーション・オブ・デス): Conversely, this beaker will decrease your lord's walking speed, for the remainder of his time in any room.

Earthquake (アースクエイク): This orb will cause every remaining Treasure Box in your current room to crack (or break if they have been hit twice).

Morning Star (モーニングスター): This chain will cause your lord's whip to gain the ability to pass through the walls, and over lava and water pools.

Boomerang (ブーメラング): This throwing stick will, when you press your Whip Button, bounce around the room (until it hits one of the outer walls).

Rally-X Special Flag (ラリーXスペシャルフラッグ): This Namco icon, (which makes its fourth appearance in 16-bit form), will give your lord an extra life; if one of the player-controlled lords runs out of lives, and the player controlling him does not wish to continue, he'll fall under the CPU's control.

Slimes (スライムズ)
Based on an enemy from The Tower of Druaga, these blobs come in five different colours (blue, yellow, green, purple and red), and they cannot kill the lords; however, they can stun them for longer than they are when they are hit by each other's whips (and can cause problems as a result).

Dragons (ドラゴンズ)
Every three rooms, the text of "DRAGON ROOM" will appear, at the bottom of the screen; once the screen has faded in, one of these mythical fire-breathing beasts will be walking around it. They come in three different colours (red, green and black), and will only receive the ability to breathe fire at the four lords to stun them after the third castle has been conquered - but when they get killed, they will leave several powerups behind.

Magicians (マジシャンズ)
Based on another enemy from "The Tower of Druaga", these wizards come in four different colours (blue, green, red, and yellow), and can cast spells on the lords to stun them; again, they cannot kill the lords, but they can stun one of them long enough for another one to blow him to bits.

Skeletons (スケレトンズ)
These members of the undead come in three different colours (white, red, and green), and will collapse to the ground once they have been whipped enough times; however, much like the Dry Bones from Super Mario Bros. 3, they will resurrect themselves and resume their pursuit of the lords.

Death (死神)
When the timer is down to 40 seconds, the text "DANGER!" will appear on the screen as the Grim Reaper himself (who had previously appeared in Sega's Quartet in 1986) materializes in the centre of the room, and starts flying around it, killing any player- or CPU-controlled lord he touches; if you cannot blow up any of the other lords the best you can do is avoid him. Those two Kanji characters in his Japanese name also read as shinigami.

Erinyes (エリニュス)
Once the eighth castle has been conquered, the lord who has won the most rooms (and conquered the most castles) must "face off" against this witch; she attacks by rising into the air while firing laser beams down at the single lord to stun him, and you will have to whip her when she lands in order to injure her. Once you have whipped her enough times to defeat her, she will disintegrate - and the mirror at the back of the room will shatter to reveal the Princess Electra and end the game. You can now sit back and enjoy the ending sequence (some scenes in which will be specific to your lord).