The game is a simple 2D platformer with the player making their way through 10 levels while under constant attack from various enemies. Killing enemies earns the player points, occasionally various power-ups such as extra defense or temporary flight, and at every 20,000 points the player is awarded with an extra life. Many of the levels are simple horizontal fields, while two are vertical and one is a frustrating labyrinth where escape depends on a very specific route through the level or else it will loop back in upon itself. At the end of each level is a boss which in almost all cases simply floats up and down on the right side of the screen while randomly firing projectiles at the player.

Ultra Magnus fights with a very short-range gun and can transform. While transforming lets him fire upwards and makes him harder to hit, it makes his forward shots arc downwards and takes away his ability to jump. Unless he's using the "B" power-up, Magnus will die from a single hit of any kind, whereas the majority of enemies require multiple hits to be destroyed.

There are also a few secrets in the game, such as special red jet enemies that appear in certain stages. If Ultra Magnus manages to kill these, Bumblebee appears and lets him skip a few levels. Another secret is the seven hidden letters that spell out "RODIMUS" which are obtained by killing certain enemies. If the player collects all seven letters by the end of the game, they are given the option of playing through the game again, this time as Rodimus Prime. Rodimus Prime has a new vehicle mode sprite but his in-play robot mode is simply a recolored Ultra Magnus and the gameplay remains exactly the same as during the Magnus run.

This game is also notorious for being extremely difficult to the point of frustration thanks to dodgy hit mechanics and sluggish control in addition to the small size of the projectiles requiring very accurate aiming, the copious amount of enemies, and the lack of color making the player unable to discern important objects from each other like an enemy shot from a mountain in the background.