Angel Eyes is a 2D versus fighting game featuring an all-female cast, which plays much like contemporaries such as King of Fighters. A curious aspect of the game is that four of the eight regular characters are hand-animated sprites, while the other four are pre-rendered graphics as in Donkey Kong Country or Rise of the Robots.

In addition to the standard Arcade and Versus modes, the PlayStation release adds a dedicated Story mode for each character, plus a training mode. There also numerous secret characters to unlock, including 2D-sprite versions of some of the 3D characters, and the story mode bosses.

Up in the heavens, eight angel sisters lived much like any sisters do: they argued a lot. One day, a decree came down from on high. One... and only one... of the sisters would be chosen to become an archangel, but it was up to them to decide who it would be. It was decided that each of them would make a pact with a warrior on Earth, through whom they would fight, and the winner of a grand tournament would be chosen to become the new archangel.