The missions go across the New York City streets, the Statue of Liberty, the Atlantic Ocean, Italy, the Grand Canyon and the enemy's headquarters on Easter Island.

[5] The original arcade version is an interactive movie and shooter game, where the player watches scenes as the helicopter flies by the conflict zone.

If the pilot makes a mistake, the anime sequence shows the Cobra helicopter blown up and the player loses a life.

Kunio-kun and Double Dragon series creator Yoshihisa Kishimoto designed an entirely new game, Cobra Command, using Data East's Bega's Battle hardware.

[11][12] In North America, Cobra Command was released as an arcade conversion kit for the previously unsuccessful Bega's Battle.

"[15] Reviewing the Sega CD version in Wizard magazine, Glenn Rubenstein praised the high number of levels and unique interface.

The original Cobra Command was re-released in Japan for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1995 in a two-in-one compilation with Road Blaster, another FMV game produced by the same team.