You play as Riki, who must rescue his kidnapped girlfriend Kyoko from a seemingly endless army of enemies. Armed with his martial arts skills, Riki faces off against foes equipped with whips, knives, swords, and even flamethrowers.
Black Belt is a side-scrolling fighting game divided into seven chapters. Each chapter introduces new and varied enemies, from Chinese Kung Fu men to ninjas and black women, requiring Riki to adapt his strategy to overcome them. After defeating each boss at the end of the chapter, Riki advances to the next round.
As Riki navigates through the game, he can lose energy by colliding with enemies or bosses. Losing all energy results in losing a life; however, Riki's chances of survival increase when he collects cake that appears on screen mid-air or defeats an enemy that approaches him, earning a bonus.