Its graphics have been well received by James Mielke of GameSpot, who qualified it as 'fast and fluid animation'. Harry Slater of Pocket Gamer and Eurogamer's Wesley Yin-Poole affirmed it has been regarded 'by many to be the greatest 2D, one on one fighter of the era' and 'the greatest fighting game off all time', respectively. Writing for Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), a reviewer dubbed 'Sushi' said it is the second best 2D fighter on PlayStation behind Street Fighter Alpha 2. IGN staff said it would be well received by fans of traditional 2D fighting video games and considered it one of the bests of the genre on PlayStation. PlayStation Power reported that both Japanese and American reviewers commended the combination of humor and 'futuristic manga-style' action, and the variety of moves and combos. Reviews for it were generally positive, with an aggregate score of 78.44% from GameRankings. In Europe, it was licensed and published by Studio 3 in May 2000. When the contest ended, Atlus released the game on October 31, 1998. The company let players choose the game's box art by voting for their favorites from three available box arts. In August of the same year, Arc System Works licensed a North American release to Atlus. Guilty Gear was first released in Japan on for the PlayStation by Arc System Works.

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