Syvalion is a shoot 'em up game in which you take control of a spaceship shaped as a dragon and divided in several segments. The spaceships/dragon can move freely across the screen in all directions and has to fight off robots, spaceships and bosses with his fire attack. When using the fire attack the fuel meter at the bottom off the screen depletes but moving around recharges the meter. Along the way are also indestructible obstacles that have to be evaded. The segments serve as hit points and when taking damage a segment changes color. The game features the following modes:

- Basic Series: A mode in witch you receive instruction and tips on how to play the game;
- Real Combat Series: A story mode;
- Time Attack: A mode where you need to gather as many points as possible before the time reaches zero.

The game was later also released as part of a compilation called Taito Legends 2 for the PlayStation 2.