The player takes the role of the rōnin Shiren, who travels through thirty areas on his way to the Land of the Golden Condor. The game is turn-based, with all enemies and characters in an area moving whenever the player performs an action, such as attacking or moving. If the player falls in battle, they lose all their progress and are forced to restart from the beginning of the game: to counter-act this, they can choose to store powerful items in warehouses, and pick them up again on further playthroughs.