Guilty Gear was originally meant to use 3D models instead of the hand-drawn sprites the final version used.

The prototype version of Guilty Gear featured many differences in the characters' appearances and weapons. Most notably, May and Potemkin are shown to be wielding large axes.

In the final version, May uses a ship's anchor, and Potemkin fights hand-to-hand.

Sol Badguy's Instant Kill move, "All Guns Blazing", would later be used by the EX version of the "Order-Sol" character in Guilty Gear XX Slash. Order-Sol also has an identical move-set to this game's version of Sol, and borrows this game's mechanic of charging up energy for special moves.