File:Captain Tomaday SNK Neo-Geo

In Captain Tomaday players control the titular character, a cartoonish tomato created in a freak lab accident, who must fight again against an invading army of eggplant aliens. When playing with two players the second player controls a female version of Tomaday with a ribbon.

Unlike most shoot 'em ups the player doesn't shoot bullets. Instead, the A and B buttons control each of Tomaday's floating fists, which are launched at enemies and quickly return after hitting a target or reaching a certain range. By holding one of the buttons the corresponding fist is continuously launched, whole the opposite fist builds power, growing in size until turning into a 16-ton weight which causes heavy damage when launched.

During levels the player finds tomato cans floating around which drop items when hit, including score bonus items and power ups. One of the power ups will create a clone which follows the player, effectively doubling its firepower; when having multiple clones the player can set their formation with the C button. Another power up will transform the player into another form, with 16 different forms available, each with their own unique attack methods.