Arrow Flash

The player initially has a basic shot, which can be upgraded and/or exchanged for different weapons, as well as gain smaller ships that follow the player's ship around and copy its attacks. As is usual, these power-ups are distributed throughout the levels. They are retained when advancing to the next stage but lost entirely when the player loses a life.

Two additional mechanics differentiate Arrow Flash from similar scrolling shooters, one of which is the ability to transform the player's ship. The two forms available are a humanoid mech and a fighter jet, with the player's weapons changing depending on the form. The jet form only shoots forward but intensely, it can fly faster horizontally, and the helper ships follow the jet in a snakelike pattern. The mech form has a wider shooting angle (sometimes even firing backwards upon getting enough upgrades), has a faster vertical speed, and the helper ships remain in a fixed formation whilst in this form.

Arrow Flash follows the protagonist Zana Keene (named Anna Schwinn in the European release, and Starna Oval in the Japanese release) as she fights against hostile aliens. The game contains references to Gundam and Macross.

The Japanese publication Micom BASIC Magazine ranked Arrow Flash eighth in popularity in its January 1991 issue, and it received a 5.7193/10 score in a 1995 readers' poll conducted by the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine, ranking among Sega Mega Drive titles at number 421. The game received mixed reviews from critics.