Despite its name (a misspelling of Azteca), the story of Taiyo no Shinden: Asteka II is dedicated to the Maya people, indigenous inhabitants of Southern Mexico and Central America, rather than the Aztecs. The player controls a nameless adventurer who searches for the Sun Key, a mysterious ancient artifact which can unlock the secrets of the Mayan civilization.

Taiyo no Shinden: Asteka II is an adventure game which takes place in the ruins of the ancient city Chichen Itza on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. There is a top-down overworld on which the player can physically navigate the protagonist, entering temples and other locations. In such locations, the view switches to first-person perspective. The player interacts with the environment by selecting various verb commands ("Look", "Take", "Use", etc.), represented by icons, from a menu, and combining them with objects on the screen. In spite of its Japanese origins, the game features inventory item usage and puzzle-solving, which are more typical of Western-style adventures.