As a ninja with a mission to "redeem Naipusan, the once peaceful land that was destroyed by the northern armies", you have to defeat the evil Shogun of Death. Shadow Knights is a platform game where you try to complete several levels, such as a village, a cemetery or a castle, before confronting the final boss. On each level, you'll encounter a lot of enemies - initially dogs and ninjas with clubs and bows, but more types of enemies appear later. To defeat them, you can slash at them with your sword. However, your ninja also has magic powers. He can spend this magical energy to toss magical projectiles at the enemies, or to restore his health. Depleted magical energy can be refilled by collecting golden spheres scattered throughout the levels.