Set in Qing dynasty of 19th Century China, this adaptation of the film of the same name follows the path of the characters Jen, Yu Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai. When warrior Li decides to retire from fighting, he gives his famous jade sword, The Green Destiny, to a nobleman. The weapon is stolen shortly afterwards, and he has to hunt down the thief with his friend Yu Shu Lien, while the sassy nobleman's daughter Jen keeps crossing their path.
The epic story has been split up in three parts, one for each character. The game mimics the film's famous martial arts, based on the Wudan fighting style, with a set of basic attacks, attack combos and special moves, combined with defensive actions such as basic blocking, combo blocking and evasion. While fighting, the characters learn new moves, collect items and earn rewards. Skills are improved according to your fighting style. Using specific attacks (e.g. unarmed) boosts the related skills, which can be leveled up.
There are different flavours of weapons to be collected, from axes to swords, spears and sabers, and even exotic variants such as falchion, firangi or gloive. New ones can be acquired during battle, but enemies can pick them up as well.