It was one of the first games released for the TurboGrafx-16 and has received critical praise for its graphical capabilities, lack of slowdown, intense gameplay, and sound.

The Blazing Lazers version of the game has been released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in North America, Europe and Australia in 2007, and in Japan the following year.

[6] Players lose a life if they are hit by an enemy or projectile, with the game continuing at a previously–crossed checkpoint, unless they grab a flashing orb which destroys all on-screen enemies and allows them to continue at the point where their previous ship was destroyed (represented by the icon illustrating the remaining number of ships turning gold).

[7] The player controls a rapid-fire main cannon, which can either be upgraded or changed to other types of weapons by collecting various numbered power-ups and purple orbs called "gel capsules".

[13] The game was released as Gunhed on July 7, 1989 for the Japanese PC Engine console as a tie-in to the live action film of the same name.

Steve Harris rated it 7, saying that the game takes advantage of the TurboGrafx-16's processors with its graphics and animation, while "the play mechanics steal from the best the category has to offer".

Ed Semrad rated it 6, praising the detailed backgrounds and intense action, but found the game eventually becomes repetitive and is ultimately only "slightly better than average".

[30] Frank Provo from GameSpot said that the game compensates for its plain graphics and aesthetics with intense gameplay and a "ridiculous orgy of firepower".

[31] Justin Leeper from GameSpy especially praised the game also for its lack of slowdown, stating that prior to 1989 players could only experience the same in arcades.

[32] Paul Glancey from the UK-based magazine Computer and Video Games gave it a score 96%, praising the gameplay, difficulty, graphics and sound, calling it "utterly incredible" and stating that "anyone on the quest for the ultimate shoot 'em up—this is it!