The game experienced a troubled development cycle due to a lack of organization and the number of employees involved.

The GameCube version was also released in North America, and included a mode that adds small waves of enemies between the bosses.

The player can choose to play as one of three characters, each with their own ship that has a unique primary weapon:[6] a spread shot, a lock-on laser, or bolts of lightning.

[7] Each player ship also has two special abilities, one being a type of homing weapon that locks onto enemies and the other being a deployable shield that absorbs bullets.

[9][11] According to sound and art designer Daisuke Nagata, the game experienced a troubled development cycle due to a lack of organization and the number of employees involved.

This version of the game had the player controlling a giant robot flying through stages set in real Japanese cities.

IGN wrote that "the entire effort screams cookie-cutter design" but that it "manages to deliver an entertaining dose of gameplay within a completely average looking shooter.

[25][3] Several critics compared the game unfavorably to other shoot 'em ups since it is overly traditional and lacking in distinguishing qualities.

[7][6][25] Some critics like IGN only recommended Chaos Field to hardcore fans of the genre who desired to attain the highest scores, and pointed casual players to Ikaruga.