The player controls the ninja Sho on his quest to prevent his brother Kazuma from finding and using an ultimate ninjitsu technique that could end the world.

Power-ups can be found scattered throughout levels or defeated enemies which, when obtained, gives the player a temporary boost to either health or offense, such as how yellow and red orbs can regain lost hit points.

A ninjutsu master selects three children to carry on the ninja traditions for the next generation: two brothers, Kazuma and Sho, and his own daughter Aya.

[5] The North American release retained the same soundtrack as the Japanese version, however the game was published by Vic Tokai instead of Sega.

[7] GamePro gave it a rave review, stating that "If you've been sitting on the fence regarding a Sega Saturn purchase, here's a swift shuriken in the butt to get you moving."

They particularly praised the new defensive moves and greater variety of enemies compared to previous Shinobi games.

[6] A critic for Next Generation, while remarking that the game made no real advance in gameplay over its last generation predecessors, argued that it also maintains the standard of excellent gameplay set by those predecessors, and that the greater sophistication in the graphics would likely be enough to appease fans of the Shinobi series.

They suggested that the "tacky" FMV scenes were added simply as an excuse to release the game on the Saturn instead of the Sega Genesis.