u Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament is based on the successful manga and anime series YuYu Hakusho created by Yoshihiro Togashi. The plot follows protagonist Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who is struck by a car and killed while trying to save a young child.[3] After completing a number of afterlife tasks presented to him, Yusuke is revived and appointed as a "Spirit Detective", a protector of the human world from various apparitions and demons.[3] Dark Tournament retells the story arc of the same name. After accepting an invitation by a seemingly invincible demon named Toguro, Yusuke and his companions travel to a deadly, demon martial arts tournament where the winners may claim any prize desired.

A match between Kuwabara and Risho. The game's head-up display shows the remaining match time and each character's health and spirit meter.
Dark Tournament is a fighting game that relies on a proprietary combat system. The player is able to move within a straight line on a 3D arena. The purpose of each battle is to deplete an opponent's health while maintaining one's own, although a participant may win by forcing an opponent out of the ring. Each of the game's 25 player characters has a specific set of basic punches, kicks, blocks, throws, and combo moves. In addition, a meter located below each fighter's health will fill as they exchange hits with each other; characters have access to powerful "spirit" attacks once this meter fills to capacity.[3][4] Dark Tournament features a story mode which is divided into 31 chapters, progressing linearly through the plot of the manga and anime.[5] The mode features different objectives relating to the narrative. For instance, one chapter requires the player to trade blows with the drunken master Chu in a match that restricts either character from moving or dodging.[3][4] Other chapters allow the player to use multiple characters in battle with a tag team system.[6]
Other, optional gameplay modes include a training mode for learning each character's moves; an arcade mode, where the player fights through a series of chosen opponents; a multiplayer Skirmish mode; and a token minigame, which plays like a modified version of the card game War.[3][4][6][7] Initially, only five characters (Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, and The Masked Fighter) are playable in these modes.[8] However, as the player advances through the story mode, other characters are added to playable roster, alternate costumes are made available, more tokens can be used in the token game, and two extra modes (Survival and Dark Tournament Plus) are unlocked.[9]