Yu Yu Hakusho Tournament Tactics follows the Dark Tournament storyline of the Yu Yu Hakusho anime series. The core gameplay is that of a tactical role-playing game, somewhat similar to Tactics Ogre or Final Fantasy Tactics, though with less characters to manage during the battles.

There player chooses five characters out of ten to form a party of combatants. The characters include important figures from the manga and anime series, such as Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, and others. There are five modes in the game:

• Destroy All Enemies: the player must destroy a set number of enemies in one of the two types of battle: Floodgate (with statues that spawn new enemies until destroyed) or Timed battle (all enemies must be destroyed in a set number of moves).
• Pursuit: the player must chase down and destroy a demon before it reaches a certain spot on the map.
• Timed Destination: the player must guide at least one member of the team to a designated square on the map, with demons trying to stop him.
• Timed Floodgate: the player must wait a set amount of time on a square on the map until the floodgates are destroyed; afterwards, the player must destroy the remaining demons.