Set in the Sengoku Era of Medieval Japan, this installment in KOEI's Samurai Warriors franchise allows the player to take part in history. As a mercenary following the orders of various warlords such as Nobunaga Oda, the player hacks and slashes through hordes of enemy soldiers and commanders. The various characters of the Samurai Warriors game make appearances through various missions, either as allies or enemies.

The game relies on the Wii Remote and Nunchuk movements for attack commands as the player is automatically moved through the stages through Arcade-like camera movement. The game allows for eight different weapons to use and customize. The weapon list includes a Katana, a Bow, a Musket, a Spear, as well as four other weapons. To upgrade the weapons, the player can either win new ones by completing missions, or buy stats to add to the weapons in the shop.

The game also offers mini-games that can be played in two-player mode. In these mini-games, money that can be used to boost the character or the weapon's stats is rewarded by successfully completing short missions.

In story mode, the battles are separated in various parts in which certain goals must be achieved in order to clear it. Upon ending these missions, a grade (from E to S) based on completion time, rewards obtained and damage taken, is awarded to the player. Each battle can be redone multiple times, be it to obtain more money, better weapons, new skills or simply to get a better grade. Unlike Dynasty or Samurai Warriors games, the missions are rather short, so it is possible to play for only a small amount of time.