In Burning Force, the player controls a space cadet named Hiromi Tengenji (天現寺ひろみ, Tengenji Hiromi), who as part of her final training, must battle high-tech enemies through six worlds of four areas on a futuristic airbike named "Sign Duck".

The gameplay is similar to that of Sega's Space Harrier, but the worlds are divided into four areas and there is no vertical mobility making the game different in its own right; in the first two sections the player controls Hiromi on the airbike, which can move to the left and right, as well as braking and accelerating - and the airbike can also fire bullets and missiles at the enemies.

[4] The Sega Genesis / Mega Drive received mixed and mostly mediocre reviews in the West upon the release, including 4/10 from ASM,[5] 5/10 from Génération 4,[6] 71% from Joystick,[7] 51% from Power Play,[8] and 77% from RAZE, which opined "Space Harrier is too old a formula to be successful nowadays.

[11] Retrospectively, Hardcore Gaming 101's Kurt Kalata opined it "is among the better of [Space Harrier] clones, not only because it's based on more powerful arcade hardware (the Namco System 2, which ran Phelios and Valkyrie no Densetsu, amongst others), but also because it puts its own unique spin on the formula.

"[11] Hiromi Tengenji went on to reappear in an advertisement on an airship in Mach Breakers (along with Pac-Man, Prince Gil and Priestess Ki from The Tower of Druaga, Wonder Momo, Valkyrie from Valkyrie no Densetsu, and Pitto and Patti from Tinkle Pit) and also appeared in the Namco System 12-era World Stadium games as the Nikotama Gals' defensive half.