Twinkle Tale is an overhead scrolling fantasy shoot 'em up where the player takes on the role of young witch Saria. Her mission is to rid her magical floating island of evil creatures that have invaded it.
The gameplay involves scrolling through 9 stages, with the objective being to clear out all enemies and defeat each stage's boss. The game features complete freedom of movement in all directions for the player character.
Saria can use three pre-defined spells as her offensive weapons, which can be switched freely at any time. These spells can also be leveled-up by collecting power stars and screen-clearing bombs.