Up to two players control two starships — the Vic Viper and the Super Cobra — as they must destroy the alien race Doom before they wipe out all of the planet Gradius.

Players control a starship through six scrolling stages in an attempt to destroy the hostile alien race "Doom" before they wipe out the planet Gradius and the remains of mankind.

[5] She claims to have had difficulty designing these, particularly the first stage boss and moving asteroid obstacles, due to the enormity of the color palette, the complex sprite animation tools, and varying size limits.

[8] Konami demonstrated Salamander 2 at the 1995 Japan Amusement Machinery Manufacturers Association (JAMMA) tradeshow in Tokyo as a way to receive feedback from players, having been 30% completed by that point.

[13] Electronic Gaming Monthly staff commented on the detailed visuals and fast-paced gameplay, though they expressed disappointment at the lack of any major changes to the standard Salamander and Gradius mechanics.

[15] GameFan writers agreed; one wrote that it "hearkens back to the glory days" of Konami, and nicely contrasted from the developer's TwinBee and Parodius releases.

[16] Edge staff were enamored with the game's detailed visuals and parallax-scrolling backdrops, but believed it suffered from an overly-high difficulty and short length.

They wrote that its problems made it a title that "fails to offer the finely tuned balance between success and failure on which the gaming experience depends.

"[11] Retrospectively in 2010, Hardcore Gaming 101's Kurt Kalata felt that Salamander 2 lacked the same level of innovation that Konami's other shooters possessed, but said the combination of hand-drawn and pre-rendered sprites gave it a unique look.

[2] Retro Gamer writer Mike Bevan enjoyed its tweaks to the core gameplay of Salamander, as it made the game feel fresh and new.