Marine Battle is an arcade shooter which pits your destroyer against a multitude of aerial and naval forces. Your ship can move back and forth across the top of the water, and can fire directly upwards at planes or downwards at submarines or the elusive ghost ship whose shadowy presence occasionally manifests itself at the bottom of the screen. Both planes and submarines may fire back at you, and the goal for a given level is to destroy a certain number of submarines before a timer runs out and while avoiding incoming fire.

Destroying a plane will cause its pilot to bail out into the water, and he may be collected for extra points. Your war ship also has a finite amount of ammunition, and a limit on the number of bombs/shots in the air at any one time. When ammo supply runs low, a resupply ship appears at the side of the screen allowing you to restock. Later levels increase the rate of fire of all of the enemies, and the game continues with increasing difficulty until you eventually lose all your lives.