The player controls a mech from one of nine different anime robot franchises to destroy opposing forces before they steal a prized energy source for devious purposes.

[1][2][3] Represented series include Aura Battler Dunbine, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Brain Powered, and Blue Comet SPT Layzner.

[1][3] Its gameplay has been compared to the Zone of the Enders series; players fly their mecha around a large cubic environment and must complete a variety of mission objectives, each increasing in difficulty as they progress through the game.

[3] Objectives range from destroying formations of enemy mechas, to protecting a specific building from opposing forces, to clearing out a path of mines for a space shuttle.

However, using the refugee ship incident, hardliner Duke Dermail seizes power within the UCE government, replacing the pacifist Relena Peacecraft and foreshadowing the coming of a new war.

[4] A subsidiary of Bandai and the holder for the exclusive video game rights to several Japanese mecha franchises, Banpresto conceptualized a large crossover between them following the success of Konami's Zone of the Enders series.

[2][4] In addition to video games, Zone of the Enders expanded into other forms of media such as anime tie-ins, which is believed to have been what persuaded Banpresto to begin production of Another Century's Episode.

[8] Ollie Barder, a writer for GameSetWatch, likened its gameplay to Sega's Virtual On arcade fighter and its overall concept to Konami's Zone of the Enders series.

[2] Retrospectively in 2012, Hardcore Gaming 101 writer Arshad Abdul-Aal favorably compared the gameplay and style of Another Century's Episode to Zone of the Enders, expressing his appreciation towards the variety of missions and solid selection of mechas.

[3] Many of the mecha series represented in Another Century's Episode gained popularity as a result of its commercial success; for instance, Metal Armor Dragonar received a DVD box set and a line of art books after one of its mechas was featured in A.C.E..[2] This effect has been compared to Banpresto's Super Robot Wars series, which similarly increased the popularity of franchises that were represented in the games.

[14] The fourth entry, Another Century's Episode: R (2010), was noticeably more plot-centric than previous installments, focusing primarily on an encompassing storyline and borrowing elements from role-playing games.

[15] Another Century's Episode Portable (2011), the last entry, omits the story entirely and instead focuses on completing a series of missions and destroying boss units.