In this game you take control of Darkwing Duck, the protector of St. Canard, in his mission to protect the city from the criminal organization F.O.W.L.. You will have to go through seven levels and defeat as many members of F.O.W.L. to complete the game. In each level, you will have to advance by defeating the enemies you encounter and collecting useful items to proceed.
Darkwing is able to run, jump and cling to certain elements: jumping against them, he will automatically cling. He can also use his cloak to defend himself from some enemy attacks (unfortunately it doesn't always work). Darkwing is equipped with a gas gun with which he can kill enemies he encounters along the way. The bullets move in a straight line and the supply is unlimited. However, in the course of the game it is also possible to obtain three different special weapons, which will allow you to kill enemies more easily and which consume a special gas that you will have to stock up on.
- For more details on alternate weapons, see Darkwing Duck/Power-ups.
Whenever Darkwing is hit by an enemy or falls on spikes, he loses a quarter of his life energy. After being hit, Darkwing will flash for a moment, during which he is invulnerable: take the opportunity to get away. Your life energy is shown at the top left of the screen. If Darkwing runs out of life energy or falls into the void, he will lose a life. If you lose a life you will have to restart the level from the beginning, but you will keep the special weapons collected. Losing all available lives is game over. However, it is possible to restore vital energy and obtain extra lives by collecting special items within the levels.
By killing enemies and collecting certain items, you will earn points. To view your score, you need to access the Status Screen by pressing 
. Each time you earn 10,000 points, you will be rewarded with an extra life.
The game screen is shown below:
In the levels there are also some areas that you can access only if you are in possession of a certain special weapon, and secret areas, where you can get many upgrades.