Shadow Blasters

Shadow Blasters is a side-scrolling platform game. The player(s) can control one character at a time and can choose from a pool of four characters. Each character is able to walk, jump, crouch, and fire a projectile weapon unique to that character. For the most part, the player is free to move forward and backward through a given level as desired.

As the player progresses, characters become stronger by obtaining power-ups for the attributes of speed, jump, and power. Power-ups do not "roll over" into the character pool if the current character is at the maximum for the respective attribute, meaning a character can only gain attribute points from a power-up if that character is in play when it is collected.

The evil god Ashura has unleashed hordes of monsters and demons onto Earth, hoping to take control of the planet as well as the hearts of men. The good god Hyperion has recruited four of Earth's most powerful warriors and assembled them into a team to fight the encroaching darkness and defeat Ashura: the ninja warriors named Kotarou and Ayame, a Buddhist fighting monk named Kidenbou, and a fencer named Senshirou. (In the game's English localization, their names were changed to Horatio, Tiffany, Marco, and Leo, respectively.)