Players take the role of Kantarou, whose occupation is to make fireworks. He is currently traveling on the Tokaido highway starting in Kyoto trying to make his way home to Edo, where his girlfriend Momoko resides. However, this is a long walk home as the highway is made up of 53 stations. On top of the travel being lengthy, Kantarou has to deal with a merchant and his hired help who are out to kidnap him and learn his fireworks techniques. The game features 21 side-scrolling stages each representing a stretch of the highway. Kantarou’s main method of attack is to throw bombs. He can also jump on platforms in order to dodge enemies. Stages also contain items that are hidden until a thrown bomb explodes and exposes them. Items offer special abilities such as invincibility. Kantarou starts with only three lives and getting touched or hit by enemy projectiles once will cause him to lose a life.
