[citation needed] The Land Before Time is a 2D platformer where players alternate between a range of selectable characters: Ducky, Littlefoot, Cera, and Spike, from the original film, as they find themselves separated from a rock fall and need to reunite with their friends.

[4] Each character performs specific functions, such as squeezing into small spaces, crushing rocks, or defeating enemies, requiring the player to alternate between them as they navigate the levels of the game.

Writing for Game Boy Xtreme, John Hagerty stated the game was "above average" with "decent gameplay", but found frustration with the lack of a restart position and the "complicated attack movements", noting "there's nothing to collect or bad guys to beat in the areas you've already explored".

[4] TJ Deci for Allgame wrote that whilst the concept of switching playable characters was "(executed) fairly well", the "gameplay alone isn't enough to overcome the numerous frustrations with the title", including "not being able to save during levels", "the unwieldy password system".

[5] Total Game Boy found the game to be "tricky" with "poor collision", making it inappropriate for its target audience of younger players, stating the gameplay was "dull and uninteresting, with no background story".