Hideki Matsutake, a former member of electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, is credited as playing the synthesizer for the score.

Also, the former princess Serena survives the ordeal, and joins the band of knights to try to bring about Kanon's end from the inside.

The four flee their home as it bursts up in flames during the invasion, then escape the town via separate ways, rendezvousing at the graveyard nearby.

Some involve ultimately fighting against the Sky Spirits, Earth Spirits, and/or the supreme being that made the universe, while others wind up with the warriors ultimately defeating Kanon, only to have to defeat Super Zur, or various rogue robotic warriors that he had left behind, led by the nefarious Golden Silver.

[14] According to former Treasure designer Tetsuhiko "Han" Kikuchi, Fill-in-Cafe's Mad Stalker: Full Metal Force and Capcom's Alien VS.

When preparing for the project, Treasure discovered all the source code for the Saturn version was stored on DAT cassettes.

The game features both original and "remix" graphics modes and runs in high definition with a remade user interface in both.

[citation needed] The script for Story Mode has been rewritten and contains updated dialogue as well as changes in name to the Earth and Sky Spirits, who are now known as the Earthblood and the Skyborn, respectively.

[23] Rad Automatic of Sega Saturn Magazine also praised the multiple paths through the game, but expressed the most enthusiasm about the high difficulty and the three layers on which the action takes place.

Despite this, the reviewer gave the game a strong recommendation, describing it as the true successor to the Streets of Rage and Golden Axe series.

He elaborated that Guardian Heroes retains all the fun of Streets of Rage's beat 'em up action and enhances it with new additions like multihit combos, linking moves, and a branching storyline with multiple endings.

[28] Tom Guise of Computer and Video Games magazine argued that the rough, blocky graphics which GamePro criticized are in fact an asset, since they allow a greater amount of action to take place on screen at once.

He called the game "a monumental achievement", additionally praising the multiple routes and the flamboyant excess of the Vs. mode.

[21] Yasuhiro Hunter of Maximum said that "Treasure's first attempt at a next gen game combines everything they do best - frantic action and an in-depth storyline with great character design."

[26] A reviewer for Next Generation had a more mixed reaction than other critics, commenting that "Guardian Heroes may be the pinnacle of the [side-scrolling beat-'em-up] genre, but even the best is still a bit on the mindless side."

IGN staff writer Levi Buchanan ranked Guardian Heroes third in his list of the top Sega Saturn games.

[31] GamesRadar ranked it as the 5th best Saturn game, stating that "Treasure's original 1996 release remains a wonderful co-op beat-'em-up experience with impressive presentation and exciting combat"[32] It was ranked as the 4th top beat 'em up video game of all time by Heavy.com in 2013,[33] while ScrewAttack voted it as the 5th best beat 'em up of all time.