The second of four Namco Super Famicom adaptations of the YuYu Hakusho manga and anime, featuring the delinquent student Yusuke who becomes a spirit world investigator after he passes away. While its predecessor, YuYu Hakusho, featured a combat system that was turn-based and tactical, Kakutou no Sho is instead a standard example of the four-button fighter game model that became popular after the success of Capcom's Street Fighter II.

The game is set during the Dark Tournament arc of the TV anime adaptation, considered the second season of the show, during which Yusuke and his companions take part in a competitive fighting tournament for demons. It features ten playable characters and an additional four secret unlockable characters, which are actually just variations of other characters that appear during the storyline.