Combat is individually turn-based, utilizing a staggered initiative system (e.g., characters on foot are faster than those in tanks).

Tanks can also be equipped with teleportation devices, which allow the entire party to instantly exit an indoor area or travel to a previously visited town.

A miscellaneous vehicle includes the Cargo Ship which lets players roam across the huge lake in middle of the map.

The environment of Metal Saga seems to be relatively unscathed, with a generally healthy ecosystem and no apparent areas of radioactive contamination, perhaps since the apocalypse (referred to as the Great Destruction) happened in the first place in an attempt to destroy humanity to actually save the planet.

During the game, players frequently have the option to purchase home furnishings and gifts which can be sent to both playable and non-playable (female) characters.

The playable characters are: Furthermore, there are four different breeds of dogs, each with their unique combat and non-combat abilities, such as beam weaponry and medical kits.

While the game is mostly non-linear with multiple endings, the primary plot arc is revealed by travelling from the east side of the map to the west, culminating near the final fortress-city of Hell's Keep located in the western desert.

He also meets Rosa Beldaire, a wealthy heiress who collects tanks and becomes Syu's rival, and a mysterious man named Alex who, along with his cohorts Bonnie and Clyde, appear to be searching for something among several ruins in the world.

Syu travels to Ziggurat, revealing it to be a massive missile silo containing an intact ICBM from before the Great Destruction.

Eddy, who arrived prior, reveals that Alex is attempting to re-activate the facility and launch the missile, but he has been injured fighting the tower's defenses, and tasks Syu with finishing the job.

Fighting past Bonnie, Clyde, and the defenses, Syu encounters Alex, who reveals he is actually an android built by "Noah", the supercomputer which caused the original Great Destruction in an attempt to destroy humanity to prevent an ecological disaster.

The series' producer, Hiroshi Miyaoka was not involved in the development from the beginning and said: "I can't make anymore with Metal Max, I thought it was really dying".

Although the game's sense of humor, music and solid hours of gameplay won it some positive marks, the overall impression of the title was decidedly mediocre.

As a result, a considerable amount of time was often spent by reviewers and gamers alike simply wandering around, trying to figure out what to do next.

While the game had all the classic trappings for the genre, complete with its own quirky style, it seemed to lack the polish required to stand-out.