Yaksa is an action game with RPG elements where you play as one out of two characters - Saikuu or Iori in case Saikuu is killed. The game takes place in Japan in the Sengoku period. The old master, mortally wounded by Nobunaga's assassin calls Saikuu close to him to say his last words. A dark cloud is about to overshadow this Japan. Saikuu must stop the eight demons brought back from the dead by Nobunaga and defeat the god of destruction. Players have a world map where they can move the character to travel to locations and play levels in any order. Once they pick their destination, the game switches to a side-scrolling mode with demons lunging to attack from all sides, giving players experience points, as well as characters they can talk to who will aid them in their quest. There are various weapons and spells for players to use in combat.