Players choose from one of six playable characters, each with their own unique speed and power ratings and special throws. The player maneuvers around his/her side of the court in any of the 8 cardinal directions. They must act as the defense and offense of their side, blocking the disc from entering the goal zone, and throwing the disc back to the opponent's side attempting to score. Players throw the disc back and forth until one of them scores a point, which causes the disc to be reset by the referee, who throws it to the player that was scored on so that they can serve. There are yellow and pink zones with the former being worth 3 points and the latter being 5, with the zones positioning varying for each court. Also not catching the disc while it is in the air is considered a "Miss" and gives 2 points to the opponent.
Defensive play
While the opponent holds the disc the player acts defensively by trying to grab the disc and therefore stopping it from entering their goal zone. In order to stop the disc the player simply needs to make contact with it. They can walk into the disc or dive for it with a button press. Sometimes the disc may be launched into the air, due to the opponent, the net, barriers, or sometimes bouncing off the player's back, in which a target will appear on the court showing the landing spot of the disc, which can be caught by standing on said target.
Offensive play
While the player holds the disc they act offensively by trying to throw it into the goal zone of the opponent. The player can not move while holding the disc, and can not hold it for more than a few seconds. The player points with the joystick in the direction he/she wishes to throw the disc, and presses the primary button. The player can throw it either directly at the opponents goal zone or attempt to bounce the disc off the walls, or barriers.
When playing against the computer the player plays one match against each character until all are defeated, thus winning the game, and when playing 2 player versus one match is played between the two players. A match consists of 3 sets that last 30 seconds by default and up to 99 seconds on the arcade version.. A set is won by the player who has the most points at the end of 30 seconds, or if a player reaches 12 points. A tie gives a win to both players. A match is won when the player wins two sets, if players tie in both of the first two sets the game enters a sudden death round where the first player to score wins.
Ports
On June 22, 2010, the game was released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan. Following the bankruptcy of Data East, the intellectual rights for this game were acquired by Paon DP, a mobile company formed by some ex-Data East employees. It was delisted from the Virtual Console on December 24, 2013, making it the only delisted Neo-Geo game for the Virtual Console. A port of the game with online multiplayer support was released by DotEmu for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita on August 29, 2017, with a Nintendo Switch version on October 23, 2018.
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Windjammers on their May 1, 1994 issue as being the twenty-second most-successful table arcade unit of the year, outperforming titles such as Samurai Shodown. Famitsu gave the Neo Geo version a score of 28 out of 40. Edge gave it 5 out of 10 and stated that "there’s nothing particularly outstanding about it".
Retrospective reviews
Video game websiteGiant Bomb began regularly playing the game on camera in 2013, eventually giving it their "Old Game of the Year" award. The same website later classified the game as a runner-up for "2017's Old Game of the Year" at the Game of the Year 2017 Awards. The game has also enjoyed a resurgence in popularity thanks to a growing competitive scene. In 2018, it appeared at the Evolution Championship Series annual fighting game championships in Las Vegas as a side tournament.
