The Magic of Scheherazade combines gameplay elements from action-adventure games and RPGs. In the game, the player must travel through a series of worlds and defeat the evil wizard Sabaron, rescue Scheherazade, and bring peace back to Arabia. The game consists of five chapters; the first four chapters involve the player's journey through four worlds in which they must find the palace and defeat the demon that resides there. The fifth chapter involves the final battle with Sabaron.[6] Players may start a new game or resume the game with a password. If a new game is started, the player must choose between three classes – Fighter, Magician, or Saint. Each class differs in weapon usage and certain abilities. For instance, a Fighter can use strong swords but is limited with the rod, a Magician is adept at using powerful rods but is restricted to a weak dagger instead of swords, and a Saint can exclusively utilize items like boots that prevent damage on hazardous floors.[7][8] Weapons, spells, items, and actions like speaking or jumping can be mapped to the gamepad's "A" or "B" buttons on a select subscreen. A status bar displays the player character's selected actions, character class, attributes, coins, and some expendable supplies.[9]
The majority of play takes place on an overhead map where the player can freely move between separate screens; the overworld comprises numerous landscapes and locales including forests, deserts, towns, underwater areas, dimly-lit dungeons, and palace labyrinths. The player will also find "Time Gates" that allow for time travel between the past, present, and future; they transport the player to the same location but in a different time and environment.[8][10] In the towns, the player can interact with NPCs to gather information and initiate quests, gather new party members, purchase supplies as shops, replenish party members' hit points (HP) and magic points (MP) at hotels, gamble money at casinos, and change character class or save their progress via passwords at mosques.[8][11][12]
In the overworld, enemies will often randomly appear and are fought in real time. The player can use a sword for close-range attacks, a rod for shooting long-range projectiles, and magic spells. Slaying enemies earns the player experience points that go towards increasing overall experience levels. Reaching higher levels improves the player's maximum attributes (HP and MP) and can sometimes enhance weapon strength or yield new magic spells.[9] When transitioning between screens on the overhead map, the player will sometimes encounter random, turn-based battles with groups of enemies.[8][13] The start of each battle gives the player the option to fight, escape, or attempt to bribe enemies into leaving. Fighting alone or with up to two allies, the player takes turns trading blows with enemy units by picking commands such as striking with equipped weapons or casting magic. Formations (learned for a fee at "Magic Universities" in certain towns) can also be created, which can grant the party added defense or enable them to cast powerful group magic spells; certain formations work particularly well against certain "squads" or "regiments". Finally, mercenary troopers, which can be hired in towns, can be used to aid the party in attacks.[8][13]