When a player landed a successful hit, the referee would lift the corresponding flag, letting everyone watching know who dealt the blow. Also during a match, a referee held flags representing each player (player 1 was white player 2 red). As to emphasize the distinction of this gameplay system, slow motion was added to intensify damage dealt from hard hits. The game quickly became renowned for its fast pace, focused more on quick, powerful strikes than the combos. True to its use of bladed weapons, the game also included copious amounts of blood. The game uses comparatively authentic music from the time period, rife with sounds of traditional Japanese instruments, such as the shakuhachi and shamisen, and a refined version of the camera zoom first found in Art of Fighting. The game is set in the late 18th century, in the Edo period, and all the characters wield white weapons.
These warriors spurred by different motives and beliefs converge as if drawn together, battle, and make their way to the source of the chaos." This 'man,' Shiro Tokisada Amakusa, unleashes his unworldly forces and spreads his false creed in an attempt to lead the world to ruin.But in the midst of such calamities, there were still warriors who put their beliefs to the test. For this 'man,' once slain by the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate, hate for the Shogunate is all he possesses along with newly acquired dark powers to bring it down. But one smiled as he surveyed the unfolding chaos rending the world asunder. "Plagues of unknown origin, strange phenomena, repeated outbreaks of war: these were enough to cause panic and plunge people into despair.
The official story, as given by SNK, is as follows: