Eco Fighters is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up with an ecological theme, in which the player must battle a ruthless mega corporation that is slowly destroying the Earth's eco systems with its industrial machines.

As well as superbly rendered graphics, Eco Fighters features an interesting play mechanic with the addition of an extended metal arm mounted on the side of the player's ship. On the end of the arm is a weapon that can be rotated through 360 degrees. This weapon comes in four different forms; Energy Ball, Long-range Hammer, Laser Sword or Scatter-Bomb foil. The rotatable weapon can be powered up before being fired, in a similar fashion to the 'Force' weapon that featured in Irem's "R-Type". The rotatable weapon is also impervious to all enemy contact and can be used as a shield.

In addition to the rotating weapon, the player's ship is also equipped with forward-firing laser guns. Both the guns and rotatable weapon can be powered-up with greater shot power when the relevant icon is picked up.