He attempts to rescue her from his clutches who has awoken the power of the underworld. Worst of yet was that his once trusted advisor Achille has forced Queen Sophia to marry him. Maximo, a brave king, returns to his castle from the far off war to find his kingdom is falling with the sorceresses being imprisoned throughout. After defeating each boss, the player can choose to either receive a health bonus, save the game, or receive a kiss from a rescued sorceress, with a special reward granted for getting kisses from all four sorceresses. Some enemies also appear in portal stages. These portal stages offer options to save, travel to other worlds and buy health and food. In a given world, it is mandatory for the player to enter the first stage, and then they can travel to a portal stage with entrances to other stages in that world.
Each world has four stages to complete and a boss battle. The game features five major worlds: The Boneyard, The Great Dank, Graveyard of Ships, Realm of Spirit and Castle Maximo. The game features other elements that reference the Ghosts series, such as the ability to crush graves and Maximo turning into an animal after being hit by a spell. However, every time he loses all his lives, the required cost for a continue increases.
If Maximo loses all his lives, he can continue by giving Death Coins to the Grim Reaper. If he is hit, he will lose corresponding pieces of armor and eventually be reduced to wearing his boxer shorts, with another hit resulting in him losing a life. Like in the Ghosts series, Maximo fights wearing armor. Gameplay revolves around defeating large numbers of enemies, which can be accomplished by attacking with a sword and shield, and combos and special moves. The titular character is controlled by the player and can move freely within areas by running, jumping, crouching, and performing other various motions. Maximo takes place in a dynamic, fully 3D world.