A rail shooter featuring a number of planes including the default F-14D Super Tomcat, it is best remembered for its semi-official connection to Sega's earlier hit After Burner.
[8] The port retains the gameplay of the original but has completely redone cutscenes, a difficulty select option, and a new Ranking Mode.
Also unlike After Burner, Sky Target has large, sci-fi-inspired bosses that need to be destroyed in a set amount of time in order to receive a score bonus.
"[20] GamePro concluded, "Sky Target might have made a decent arcade game a decade ago, but it certainly won't do anything to calm all those Saturn owners worrying about the system's future.
[15][20][22] GamePro described them as "only marginally better" than After Burner (which was by then a decade old),[22] and Ken "Sushi-X" Williams of Electronic Gaming Monthly said they "are fast and furious, but look rough and blocky in spots.
[12][15] The music was derided; Nutter described it as "standard soft-rock tunes occasionally interrupted by a deranged keyboard player on speed"[12] and EGM's Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer called it "corny" and "ridiculous".