Ancient Glory is a side scrolling action game based on Greek mythology. It is based on the adventures of Hercules who the player controls as he travels the Greek countryside (as well as some other locations in the Mediterranean) in his quest to defeat the gorgon Medusa. To do so five magical items have to be collected which is done by completing tasks for Hermes and Athena. At the same time Hercules has to be aware of the wrath of Hera, who will try to stop him. Time is limited as the player only has seventeen days of in-game time to complete the quest.

The game starts out in Thebes with an unarmed Hercules who has to use his feet to kick at the scorpions that attack him. Weapons can be collected such as a club, a sword and a bow (which is given to Hercules by Athena when visiting Athens) which are needed to defeat animals such as lions, bulls and snakes as well as mythological creatures such as molionids and minotaurs. Levels are linear and involve moving from left to right but can be played in any order although locations that are farther away take a longer time to travel to.