Xevious: Fardraut Saga is a vertically-scrolling shooter that contains two modes: Recon and Scramble. The Recon mode is a port of the arcade game Xevious, the Scramble mode can be considered its sequel, adding sixteen new stages, enemies, and boss battles, as the brave fighter pilots continue to defend the Earth against its former inhabitants, who migrated to the planet Xevious thousands of years ago and are now determined to re-capture their ancestral homeland.

The game's Scramble mode allows the player to control three other aircrafts in addition to the seris' trademark Solvalou, each possessing unique weapons. These aircrafts include Solgrado (armed with spread shot), Zeodalley (twin back fire), and Gampmission, a large ship that is also a combination of the previous three, with massive firepower and enhanced lock-on abilities. A specific aircraft can be assigned to each of the player's "lives". The amount of points needed to gather an extra life increases if the player selects more powerful ships. Also, enemies become progressively harder as the controlled aircraft collects power-ups.