Player progress is rewarded with stamps, which could be redeemed for virtual items in the now-defunct PlayStation Home service.

New to this game is a shield system that the Solvalou can use to protect themselves from enemy projectiles for a short period of time.

[5] The game is composed of several stages, referred in-game as "areas", consisting of outer space, forests, deserts featuring the Nazca lines from Peru,[6] and mechanical bases, similar to Solvalou and Xevious 3D/G.

[7] Some areas feature bosses that the player must defeat in order to progress, one being a rematch with the Andor Genesis mothership from the first Xevious game.

[6] Players can earn stamps by completing certain in-game objectives, unlocking special items for their PlayStation Home digital apartment.

Development was outsourced to Cattle Call,[8] and titled Namco Museum.comm for its Japanese release - the ".comm" believed to mean "community", in reference to the game's online services.

[9] To help promote the game, Namco Bandai created a custom PlayStation Home hub area,[10] which was also used to promote their other digital-only games - players could unlock additional items for their PlayStation Home upon visiting the space and could also play a demo of Essentials,[11][12] which was titled Namco Museum BETA[c] in Japan.

[1] Push Square stated that the unlockable extras and leaderboards "brings the classics into the 21st-century", as well as praising the emulation quality.