Gameplay consists of the normal jumping and slashing, with two major additions: Your character now sports a pair of wings on his back, allowing him to glide short distances (funny how game characters with wings can never seem to actually fly), and there's an entirely new magic system. This time around, you have several spells that you can use in battle (as opposed to having to choose only one at the beginning of the level in Actraiser), and they are cast by holding down the action button, which "charges" you. Once charged, pressing one of the direction buttons and letting go of the action button results in a different spell; for instance, holding up and releasing the action button throws three energy balls at the enemy, while holding down creates a force field around you.