The game is set on the man-made island Dejima, which the Japanese government is using to house Western foreigners and where a Christian group is trying to separate from the rest of the country.

[3] Hayashi meant for 7 Blades to cover a wide range of genres, and that even with the player killing a large number of enemies, hoped that it could be enjoyed as a sophisticated sword-fighting game as well.

[1] Project director and writer Shinsuke Mukai described the game as similar to both Tomb Raider and Tenchu while leaning towards more action and less stealth-focused gameplay.

[9][10] The game was released in Japan on December 21, 2000 alongside the 7 Blades Original Soundtrack produced by the Meyna Company and the single for the opening theme "Love Will See Us Though" by Sayaka Kubo.

[11][12][13] A novelization of the game titled 7 Blades Jigoku Gokurakumaru to Teppou Oyuri (7BLADES—地獄極楽丸と鉄砲お百合) by Ryosuke Sakaki was published by Dengeki Media Works in February 2002.