Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin

Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin is a 1-on-1 fighting game based on the dark fantasy comic series by Kazushi Hagiwara. The story mode follows Dark Schneider as he fights against the Four Divine Kings, and is loosely based on the first major arc of the comic. There are six playable characters — Dark Schneider, Ninja Master Gara, Arshes Nei, Kall-Su, Dark Priest Abigail, and Di-Amon — and in addition to the story mode there is a two-player versus mode as well as a so-called "Team Battle" mode where both players are given all six characters in reserve, and must fight through the game's entire roster. The game differs somewhat from contemporary fighting games, as it features characters who are always in flight, has a focus on dashes and projectiles, and uses a faux-3D visual style making heavy use of Mode 7 effects. During battle, one character is always in the foreground, while the other is in the background, though it is possible to swap at any time. The game uses a so-called "Spell Sign" system for special attacks, where the player holds the R button and inputs a sequence of button presses to launch different attacks.