Gold features Super VGA graphics including hand-painted screens, and a more-detailed playing environment than the original.

[2] The update also includes 3-D modeled ship and flag animations, and graphic depictions of items that were menu choices in the original game.

[4] It features sword fighting, ocean-faring battles, and land battles as its three main arenas of action, connected by role-playing which allows the player to court the favor of local politicos, romance women, and recruit pirates in the local pub.

[3] The PC versions contain a copy protection scheme requiring the player to identify the flag of a pirate ship sighted on the horizon (similar to the 1987 Commodore 64 port).

Sea and sea-to-land combat are played in real-time while land battles are done in turn-based strategy.

Gold in White Wolf #39 (1994), giving it a final evaluation of "Excellent" and stated that "Pirates!