The world of Kypros is populated by many races: humans, intelligent reptiles, dog-like wosshus, and others. There are also many gods in Kypros. Not all the gods could accept the peaceful co-existence of creatures in Kypros, and Daar, the god of darkness, plotted evil schemes until he was defeated and sealed by the god of light, Risk. Years have past, and the evil demon lord Bido is trying to resurrect Daar. According to an ancient prophecy, only eight heroes, the bearers of magic pearls, can stop Bido's evil plans: eight heroes who come from different parts of Kypros, unaware of their great mission. Among those heroes are the young pirate Zan Hayate, the fighter of the wosshu tribe Gonza and his little sister Maimai, the beautiful sorceress Lilian Lancelot, and others.

Before the eight heroes unite for their ultimate journey, you play their introductory stories. You travel on the world map, visiting towns and dungeons on your way. The combat is turn-based, viewed from first person perspective. Enemies appear randomly. Each hero has his/her own unique techniques to use in battles.

The story and general gameplay of Burai: Hachigyoku no Yūshi Densetsu is similar to those of the original Burai: Jōkan for computers; however, the console versions were developed from scratch and therefore differ greatly from the computer ones, having new cutscenes, dialogues, battle interface, etc. Perhaps the most important difference gameplay-wise is the linear nature of chapters. In the computer versions, the player can choose to start as any of the eight selectable heroes; in the console versions, the player has to start with Gonza and Maimai.