Syd of Valis, known as SD Valis (ＳＤヴァリス) in Japan, is a Sega Mega Drive action game released in 1992. It is a remake of Telenet Japan's 1989 game Valis II, originally released for several Japanese home computers and CD-ROM², with new "super deformed" graphics.
A European release was planned by Ubisoft but it did not materialise.
The game is an action platformer similar to the other Valis titles. Yuko is moved with Left and Right and ducks with Down. She jumps with C; if not swinging the sword, she double-jumps with C again while in the air. The physics are much floatier than in the other games. Yuko attacks by shooting projectiles with the Valis sword with B, which can be aimed with the D-Pad while swinging the sword (including swinging straight up while standing or straight down while in the air). The button can be held for continuous fire. Yuko also has screen-clearing bombs that can be used with A, which are limited but can be replenished by finding items.
The game has multiple selectable weapons and armor suits that can be switched by pausing the game with START . Additional weapons and armor are acquired from certain boss fights. Each weapon has a base attack power (A. Power) which is modified by the armor being used; each armor has a defense level (D. Power) and a speed statistic. Yuko's normal speed is 10; it can be raised to 15 (Yellow Armor or Super Armor) or 20 (Speed Suit) at the expense of control, especially when jumping, which can be a detriment in platforming-intensive areas. Each weapon can be powered up to Level 3 over the course of the game, which increases the size and damage of each shot.
Yuko's health is indicated by a health bar at the bottom of the screen. She loses a life if she runs out of health. Falling down a bottomless pit typically costs health rather than losing a life. Yuko's health can be replenished by finding items; defeating bosses also fully restores her health bar. Yuko gains additional health points after defeating certain bosses. The player is awarded an extra life every 5,000 points earned. The game ends if the player runs out of lives; there are no continues.
