Phantom Fighter/Gameplay

Controls

• : Use the direction pad to control Mr. Kau around the towns and during fights. Press left or right to move Mr. Kau in either direction. When outside, press up to enter a building. During a fight, press up to leap into the air, or press down to crouch.
• : When outside, press A to determine the kind of building you are in front of. When inside, press the A button to execute a kick. You may also kick while jumping.
• : When outside, you may also press B to find out about a building. When inside, press the A button to punch. You may also punch while jumping.
• : Press the Start button to begin a new game, or to pause the action mid-game.
• : When walking around outside, press Select to change the speed of the text in the game between slow, medium, and fast.

Mr. Kau

You control Mr. Kau throughout the game. He is a mystic well versed in the lore of the Chinese undead known as Kyonshi. He is also a master martial artist. He uses these martial arts skill to defeat the Kyonshi in hand-to-hand combat. In the beginning of the game, he only knows the most basic moves, but he can learn more advanced moves from the masters of the training halls found in many (but not all) of the towns. In order to learn these more advanced moves, he must collect and exchange scrolls with the training hall masters.

Mr. Kau has a health meter which is shown on the left side of the screen. Every time a Kyonshi hits Mr. Kau, he loses some of his health. If his health meter is ever depleted, Mr. Kau is defeated. The game will end and Mr. Kau's assistant Chou will speak before giving you an opportunity to continue your game. You may continue an unlimited number of times, but when you do, you lose your items, and half of the scrolls you were holding. There are three ways for Mr. Kau to restore his health: visit a temple for healing, collect a Jade orb, or defeat the boss Kyonshi in a town.

Items

There are a few items in the game that will help Mr. Kau in his quest to rid towns of the Kyonshi. Four of them are selectable, but only one may be activated at a time. In order to activate the talisman, mirror, crystal sword, or bell, Mr. Kau must attempt to leave a building. At that time, his assistant Chou will ask what he wants, and you can choose to activate an item. Note that he will offer you the choice of each item even if you are not carrying it at the time, but choosing an item you don't possess results in nothing being chosen.

Ancient Scroll	Jade orb
Exchange scrolls with the masters of training halls to learn new moves. Scrolls are obtained when you clear certain areas of Kyonshi and rescue a citizen of the town. You may return to a building where you obtained scrolls to collect more, but the Kyonshi that guard them will return every time.	You need to locate three orbs in every town in order to gain access to the boss Kyonshi that haunts the town. To obtain an orb, you must defeat a particular Kyonshi. Whenever you collect an orb, your health is automatically restored.
Talisman	Tonten Mirror
A talisman is the first selectable item. If you successfully strike a Kyonshi with the talisman, it will freeze in place momentarily, allowing you to attack it without fear. If you are struck while holding the talisman, it may break.	The mirror is the second selectable item. In place of punching, you will shine the mirror at the Kyonshi. It's brilliance will stun the Kyonshi, knocking them back off of their feet. While they are not vulnerable to attack in this state, it can prevent them from striking you. Note that it may break if you are struck.
Sacred Sword	Bell
The sword is the third selectable item. Instead of a punch, you will swing this sword down and strike the Kyonshi. It doesn't particularly do a lot of damage, but it has a slightly better reach than your punch. However, if you get hit while holding it, it may shatter.	The bell is the fourth selectable item. Unlike the other items, it's not useful in a fight. Rather, you may chance upon a small motionless Kyonshi in certain towns. If you use the bell in this Kyonshi's presence, you will gain control over them and be able to send them into battle. Unfortunately, these small Kyonshi aren't particularly good at fighting their own kind, so it may be more effort to obtain one than it's worth.