The game is a normal fighting game using a joystick with 8 directions and 6 buttons. The Genesis version supports both the standard 3-button gamepad and the later released 6-button gamepad.
The characters have special attacks, as well as finishing moves, which are called "Overkill" in the game.
The game has four modes: tournament, battle against, quest and battle. In "quest" mode, the player fights through a series of story-driven battles.
The game has 12 characters, of which 10 are available to the player immediately.
The Genesis and SNES versions received high marks from GamePro and Video Games & Computer Entertainment reviewers, despite lacking drastic improvements over other games in the same genre. Regarding the Jaguar version, a reviewer for Video Games & Computer Entertainment noted that the only thing that saves the game from a complete failure is the even lower quality of its direct competitor, Kasumi Ninja. Reviewers for The Atari Times and Digital Press called this version of the game one of the worst fighting games ever.