The plot begins when a young ninja name Kanzo Hattori is searching for his master in order to complete his training. While searching for his master, he encounters a young 10-year-old boy named Ken'ichi Mitsuba and makes him his temporary replacement master. In order to develop Ken'ichi's confidence, they went on many adventures together. The game was aimed at a young audience the same way that the manga and anime did.

In the game, player controls Kanzo Hattori in a side-scrolling action game. Hattori must run to the right over various terrains, but primarily through the woods. In addition to using throwing stars, Hattori can access one of the other ninja techniques (ninpou), like Kagebashin, Happou no Shuriken, etc. In fact, he learns a total of 11 ninpou; however, he must first collect scrolls that provide those abilities before he can use them. Due to sluggish controls, it can be difficult to clear some of the obstacles that he will face without the ninja abilities to enhance his mobility.