[4][6][7][8] In contrast to on-rail light gun shooters at the time, this was one of the first arcade games to feature free-roaming FPS gameplay, the same year Wolfenstein 3D was released on personal computers.

[8] The player can also carry multiple weapons, each with different recharge rates and movement speeds, and the game's maps include walls, glasses and columns that can be used for dodging and shootouts.

[9] The game's control scheme consists of both a joystick and a light gun: the joystick moves the player character forwards, backwards and sidewards in a strafing maneuver, while the light gun moves the aiming reticule and turns the character around in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions, similar to later Wii Remote first-person shooters for the Wii home console.

[6] The graphics were also more detailed and dynamic than other first-person shooters at the time, such as Wolfenstein 3D and Blake Stone;[6][7] in Gun Buster's first level, for example, players can shoot out the windows in a glass elevator.

He believed "Gunbuster was a revolutionary first-person shooter game" and "before its time" and that if "an upgraded version was out today, many FPS enthusiasts would flock to it and tournaments would be held" or "at least that's what I wish would happen".