Cannon Spike is a fast-paced action game that follows the story of Shiba, a young girl who must stop an evil organization from taking over her town. The story takes place in ten levels, each containing two to four areas, and features a variety of characters with unique abilities.
The gameplay involves shooting enemies and bosses while avoiding obstacles and collecting power-ups. Players can choose from six characters, including Mega Man, Knight Arthur, Charlie, Cammy, B. B. Hood, Shiba, and Simone. Each character has slightly different attacks, but they all share the same basic setup of regular and powerful ranged and melee attacks.