The player takes control of a team of three G.I. Joe characters, each with his own specialty. The goal of the game is to navigate through six stages on a mission to finally bring down Cobra. The initial character roster consists of Duke, Snake Eyes, Blizzard, Captain Grid-Iron, and Rock 'n Roll. A sixth character, Hawk, gives orders to the team between missions, and becomes available as a playable character for the final stage. The player's first character is automatically assigned depending on the stage, while the second and third characters are freely chosen.