It is an action role-playing game where the player takes the role of The Master's servant, to destroy monsters and release the captured souls of a world's inhabitants.

The Master sends one of his heavenly divine companions in the form of a human warrior to the Freil Empire, where the evil spirit Deathtoll has destroyed all villages and incarcerated the souls of all living creatures in his monster lairs, leaving the world empty.

The Hero (Blazer) is the protagonist, a divine angel, deity or lesser-deity, or avatar, sent by The Master to restore the world's creatures to life.

Skilled with a sword and possessing the ability to speak with any living thing and be understood, he battles the hordes of Deathtoll with the assistance of his Soul helpers.

The warrior travels throughout the kingdom, defeating monsters in each of six regions to gather six magic stones, each a different color, in order to open the path to Deathtoll, who now resides in the World of Evil.

The warrior learns that the world's devastation came about after King Magridd imprisoned Dr. Leo and forced him to make a machine to contact Deathtoll.

After being summoned, Deathtoll offered the king a gold piece for each soul from his kingdom, and under the counsel of his wife, Magridd agreed, but was eventually imprisoned himself.

They compared it favorably with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, with one of the reviewers stating that Soul Blazer is equally challenging and fun to play.

The Granstream Saga is an intended spiritual successor of the series, as it was developed by Shade (a studio composed of former Quintet personnel), has similar themes, and makes references to the previous titles.