It runs on Namco Super Pac-Man hardware but with a video system like that used in Mappy and The Tower of Druaga, and it also uses a DAC for the "Get Ready" speech sample at the start of each round.

[4][5] The plot involves humans using powerful, laser-emitting vehicles in a dangerous competitive sport known as "battling", thousands of years in the future.

In the game, the player assumes control of the Grobda, a screw-propelled tank capable of firing laser beams at enemies.

Endo is best known as the creator of Xevious (1983) and The Tower of Druaga (1984), two widely-successful arcade games from the 1980s; most of the developers behind Grobda had worked on both titles.

[18][19] In 1998, AllGame labeled Grobda as "a refreshing departure from slower, more methodical tank shooters such as Combat and Armor Ambush", praising its fast-paced gameplay but criticizing its high difficulty.

[6] According to former Wolf Team designer Kazuyoshi Inoue, Grobda was an influence for Granada alongside Assault, as co-designer Toshio Toyota was a fan of arcade games.