[1] In the game, the player assumes the role of a fighter pilot controlling the ES3 Donner Kyle space craft deployed into the homeworld of the Zoul Empire, in retaliation for the destruction of a mother ship from Earth.

[3] Gameplay is overhauled but follows the same structure as its predecessors, with the player controlling the ship through six increasingly difficult stages over a constantly scrolling background, populated with an assortment of alien enemy forces and obstacles, and the scenery never stops moving until a boss is reached, which must be fought to progress further.

[3][4] Getting hit by enemy fire or colliding against solid stage obstacles will result in losing a life, as well as a penalty of decreasing the ship's firepower and loss of the weapon that was currently in use, and the game is over once all lives are lost, though the player has unlimited continues to keep playing.

[12][13][14][15] In a 2020 interview with Japanese gaming website DenFaminicoGamer, a Data West representative commented that there were no current plans for a digital re-release of the Rayxanber series through their official online store, but would consider it if there is demand.

[7] Video Games' Julian Eggebrecht labeled it as a mediocre and superfluous title for shoot 'em up fans, citing the lack of frills with new ideas as its main shortcoming, while stating that it heavily stole from R-Type "without achieving its brilliance.

[17] Joypad's Alain Huyghues-Lacour and Jean-François Morisse compared it with Gate of Thunder, criticizing its stages for their short length and lack of variety, but gave positive remarks to the game's fast pacing and controls.

[19] DuoWorld's Victor Ireland regarded it as a letdown compared to Rayxanber II, noting the "look alike" stages, colors, limited parallax scrolling and lack of imagination.

[24] David Borrachero and Antxiko of Spanish magazine RetroManiac regarded both Rayxanber III and its predecessor as two of the best games on the PC Engine platform, noting the need of memorizing stage patterns in a similar fashion to R-Type.