Advance Guardian Heroes is a side-scrolling beat 'em up[2] in which the playable characters can perform various attacks.[3] Physical moves include countering and mid-air dashes. Magic attacks, which drain the MP meter, include element spells and protective barriers. It is also possible to go into "Hyper Mode", a faster, more powerful version of the playable character.
The game is separated in various stages and sub-stages with their own boss-fights, enemies, and puzzles. Gameplay modes include "Story" for up to two players, "Versus" and "Training".
Unlike its predecessor, Advance Guardian Heroes allows players to move smoothly towards and away from the screen, as opposed to switching between 3 planes. Some platforming elements have been added to break up the combat, and two new jumping manoeuvres, the air-dash and the homing jump, have been implemented. Some sequences in which these moves are used seem to be references to various 8-bit and arcade games, and some wire-fu films.