Psycho-Nics Oscar is a 2D platform-shooting game. The player controls a powerful mecha (giant Japanese robot), named Oscar. He fights against machines in Ordio City, advancing to the right of the scrolling screen and shooting the enemies in relatively conventional fashion. The extra weapon system is however based on Gradius - the player collects special capsules, the more that are picked up, the more choices are available from the power bar at the bottom of the screen (five in total). The robot can also take multiple hits, and it's possible to get extra lives by picking up certain icons.