Sangoku Musou is a 3D fighting game steeped in traditional Chinese history and mythology, its characters being warriors from the Three Kingdoms era, a setting that was used by Koei before in their Romance of the Three Kingdoms series.

Over 2000 years ago, Guang-Wu revived the Han Dynasty in China. Wars and chaos follow for centuries after, because of regional conflicts, rival dynasties, and bureaucratic problems. An insurgent group, the Yellow Turban Rebels, roams China killing government officials. The current Emperor Shao is protected by troops raised by the nobles of the land - but each noble has their own plan to gain power.

The fighting is based on martial arts and weapons (and the tactics thereof) rather than focusing on combos, special moves, or other modern fighting-game embellishments. The characters can be chosen from four groups, each representing one of the main kingdoms - Shu, Wei, and Wu, as well as a miscellaneous-character 4th group.