In this video — originally published on December 17, 2025 at our Gaming Room channel —, I recorded the introduction, demos (attract mode), and a playthrough (albeit with a bad ending) of the original arcade version of Avenging Spirit, a cool 1991 platformer by C.P. Brain. It was published by Jaleco, released in Japan as Phantasm (ファンタズム) and is also known as Monkey Elf because of a bootleg. The game was played casually, using a lot of credits, and, since I had never gone that far before, I didn’t know I had to get all three keys to get the good ending (at least that’s what I could figure out).
In Avenging Spirit, you end up dying at the hands of the kidnappers who abducted your girlfriend. However, 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. Now, as a tormented soul, you have the ability to possess the bodies of enemies—including ninjas, mobsters, grenadiers, dragons, and even a fakir—which also means using their different skills and abilities. This brings an interesting dynamism to the gameplay and adds replay value. The levels are side-scrolling and have several floors, some with branching paths. There are boss battles and several types of pick-ups, some reasonably well hidden.
Avenging Spirit‘s graphics are colorful and pleasant, its controls are responsive, and its difficulty (at least on the default tlevel) isn’t unforgiving, like some other games from its 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 several other platforms (some quite late): Game Boy, 3DS, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Okay then
After watching this longplay/gameplay, tell us what you thought of Avenging Spirit or how much you like it, if you were already familiar with it, etc. Don’t forget to like the video, share it with new generations (the ones that have good taste) and other retro gaming fans. Subscribing to the channel also a damn great idea, especially if you’re looking for more old-school games—which includes a good dose of Doom, of course!
Cheers!
More info and gameplay
Details
- Length: 32:33
- Channel: Gaming Room
- Categories: Gameplays