In Samurai Shodown II, players take on the role of one of fifteen warriors, fighting their way through the land to defeat Rashojin Mizuki, who was thrown into the sea when she was a little girl and has since become a servant of the dark god Ambrosia. NhatNM destroys all of the opponents using Haohmaru, the main hero in each game of the Samurai Shodown series.

The Samurai Shodown series differs from other well-known fighting games of its time in a couple of ways. First, all characters can use a weapon, usually a sword (or occasional animal friends, like a dog or a falcon). Second, the games focus more on hard hits instead of combos, showing a slowdown effect when powerful strikes are landed.