Two worlds have existed since the beginning of time, the world of the living and the world of the dead. Between these two realms the Gate of Hell exists. A group of four guardian spirits have always stood watch over the gate, preventing its seal from being broken. But it was broken, and the world of the dead threatened to overwhelm the world of the living. A group of strong fighters set about to seal the gate again, and fought their way through all adversity.
But this story has not ended yet. The gate was not fully sealed, and once more strong fighters have gathered together. It's 1864 Bakumatsu. Last Blade 2 is about to take place.
Players have 16 playable fighters to choose from in this game, including the original Last Blade's twelve characters as well as the two bosses. Two new characters round out the cast. Each fighter has a health bar that's composed of one bar superimposed on another; both bars must be depleted for the fighter to be defeated. Fighters also have a super meter, which charges up when the fighter attacks.
The Power and Speed modes from Last Blade are both present in this game, and are joined by a secret EX mode. Players must choose one of those three modes for their fighters before the matches, with each mode having its own benefits and costs. Fighters in power mode do more damage per attack and inflict some damage with blocked attacks. They can also perform their super desperation moves when they're low on health and have a full life bar. Speed mode characters can chain moves together and cancel them into special attacks. While they cannot execute super desperations, Speed mode fighters can use Combo Specials, a technique that allows them to chain multiple regular and special techniques together for massive damage. EX mode characters have the advantages of both Power and Speed modes, but at the cost of taking much more damage per hit.