[5] Twin Cobra is a military-themed vertically scrolling shoot 'em up game, in which players take control of the titular attack helicopter through ten increasingly difficult levels, each with a boss at the end that must be fought before progressing any further, in order to defeat an assortment of military enemy forces like tanks, battleships, and artillery as the main objective.

[6][7][8][9][10] The title initially appears to be very standard, as players control their craft over a constantly scrolling background and the scenery never stops moving until a helipad is reached.

[9] Twin Cobra's creation process and history was recounted through various Japanese publications by composers Masahiro Yuge and Tatsuya Uemura, both of which collaborated with the soundtrack using guitar and marked the second time Toaplan made use of FM synthesis.

[14][16][17] Twin Cobra was also, alongside Slap Fight, one of the earliest projects Toaplan made use of game design documents, with both Uemura and Yuge stating that ideas by the team were first written in text using A4 paper before reading it during meetings.

[15] Several features were integrated into the project by diverse factors such as items swirling around the screen, which was inspired by a donburi bowl, while the slow speed of the helicopter was due to make the title akin to puzzle games and require a level of strategy.

[14][16][17][18] Yuge stated that cooperative gameplay was originally not developed but were requested in doing so after completing the single-player version due to simultaneous two-player titles being "a big trend" in overseas regions and being conscious of the American market, as the game had a realistic war setting.

[11] Twin Cobra was converted to multiple platforms by various third-party developers including the PC Engine (1989), Nintendo Entertainment System (1989), Sega Genesis (1991), X68000 (1993) and the FM Towns (1994).

[21][22][23] On 30 August 1996, Banpresto released a compilation for the PlayStation exclusively in Japan titled Toaplan Shooting Battle 1, which included both arcade versions of Twin Cobra and its prequel, an arranged soundtrack by Uemura and other additions.

[17][24] In November 2019, Twin Cobra was re-released for iOS and Android mobile devices only in Japan by MOBIRIX Corporation under the name Kyukyoku Tiger Classic.

[13][18][16] In Japan, Game Machine listed it on their 1 January 1988 issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles such as Thundercade and Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2.