Acrobat Mission is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Players control one of two pilots, Jet or Nova, navigating the Icarus spacecraft. The ship wields a standard laser and can acquire additional weapons, including the wide shot and Hurricane shot. Players can charge special attacks and utilize smart-bombs strategically while avoiding enemy fire. The Icarus features unique mechanics, such as bouncing off obstacles and temporary loss of control upon depleting shields.
The players takes controls on one of two surviving fighters pilots, 'Jet' a male pilot and 'Nova' a female pilot and both flying the Icarus, a fast and powerful space-fighter, which comes equipped with a Standard laser. Two more weapons are available throughout the game - the wide shot (W) which spreads out in front of the ship and the Hurricane shot (H) which fires clusters of rotating balls of energy. Holding the fire button charges up a special attack and each weapon features a different energy blast and damage factor. The ships can also hold a maximum of two smart-bombs, one under each wing - although they can be activated by the players, they also do fall off easily and can be detonated by enemy shots. Interestingly, the Icarus can't collide with other ships or any part of the scenery - instead, it bounces off and only suffers damage from enemy shots. However, once the shield is depleted, the ship will fly out of control for a few seconds and grant the players a last chance to inflict damage to any remaining enemies before it explodes.