The Arena 2 is a platforming/fighting game where players must fight through a five stage gauntlet to become champion of the arena. Players can strategically choose two out of five moves with varying strengths and weaknesses between stages to best combat the fighters they will encounter while playing.

Stages 1, 3, and 5 contain a single tough boss that players must defeat to progress while stages 2 and 4 are platforming stages where players must defeat a certain number of smaller enemies before reaching the end of the stage to win.

The game contains three difficulty settings that alter gameplay as to be accessible to more casual players, but also prove to be a real challenge on harder difficulties.