Sailor Moon

[Daedalus]

Other than the few threads I've read, I'm new to the forum. So here's a little intro. I'm from Singapore, bi-racial and 17 years of age.
(Yes, English is Singapore's national language. At least that's 65% of the questions I'm asked in online forums with regards to introductions).

And Singapore, being a somewhat tiny island doesn't have that big a videogame market so we'd get all sorts of titles from the States, Japan and even Europe.

My first console was a Dreamcast. I was 11, it was 1998 and my mom pre-ordered me a Dreamcast from Japan. Boy was I enthusiastic about it but I bought had only 1 title then so I didn't play the Dc much till I got more titles a year and a half later. Back in 1998 too I begun to get real interested in anime (the Jap craze is endemic in Singapore!). Neon Genesis Evangelion and Sailor Moon became instant favorites.

I always pitied Sailor Moon though. I think so much could have been made out of the storyline. If only it was aimed at a slightly older age group. The combination of action, Greek mythology, "moonlit-romance" coupled with the classic "pure goodness/light/heart" will triump over evil could have been put to MUCH and I mean MUCH! bettter use.

Anyhow, I chanced upon Sailor Moon for the 3DO at a videogame store. I had heard of the 3DO only a few times and after some research I realised it was a dead 32-bit console. Somehow the screenshots were just too pretty, I had to get that game!

and so I bought a Panasonic fz-10 for the Sailor Moon game
(Oh who gives a shit.. I know I hold a record there for the only one who bought a 3DO for that game)

[Daedalus]

Firstly, this game looks so alluring. It is a 2D fighter but the screenshots I saw of the super moves being executed were simply enthralling!

Soon I realised just how rare this game was. Right now someone's selling it in his Ebay store for 70bucks! And yep, Bandai never ported this game to any other console. Angel made Sailor Moon fighters for the SNES, Saturn and PSOne but hell they stink!

looking through the net, I realised this game was released in 1995, after the release of the Sailor Moon beat 'em up for the Mega Drive and around the same time as Angel's S fighter for the SNES. This game was by far the most heavily promoted though!(thanks, Hitoshi Doi, online Sailor Moon guruhttp://www.tcp.com/doi/events/3do0326.html)
A 3-day event was held to promote this game and I sold real well back then. Sailor Moon was in it's commerical peak, running in it's 3rd season with TV viewer ratings of an amazing 11% sometimes.

Yep, this game wasn't brought over to the States. A Panasonic executive said there were plans to bring it over but Dic (who dubbed, HORRIBLY, the series) said they would stop airing the series in the US after the second season.
This gave Panasonic qualms about its profitablity and they shelved plans to bring it over (after a year, Dic eventually decided to air the rest of the series >_< )

[Daedalus]

I'm not a hardcore gamer but I'm somewhat into the X-Box, I hated the entire Playstation series and I have several 3DO and Dc titles (Not ashamed of that, 3DO isn't as bad as the reviews people give it :P ).

This game was made in the mid-90s so I will rate it based on the standards of that time from what I remember of the arcade to all the consoles of that time, to make this a fair test. Given this game's rarity I'm not surprised I can't find a full review for it anywhere

The game starts off with a decent polygons-in-FMV intro though it makes the characters look like Barbie dolls controlled by strings (think string puppets or whatever you call those). The music is, you guessed it, Moonlight Densetsu. The graphics are slightly pixellated but the music is enough to keep you glued to watching it.

That's probably one great part of the game. Bandai knew 3DO isn't that technically advanced in terms of graphics (this is 1995 and Saturn and PSOne were coming out) so they kept the music and SFX crisp and good so it not only makes up but enhances the game too.

Now on to the main menu. I don't read Jap (always wanted to ) but it's self explanatory. The first option is a Story Mode, the second is a VS mode (3 sub options there, 1P vs. Com, 1P vs. 2P and Com vs. Com), next is a group battle mode (think Mortal Combat), followed by Options and the last is a Database

1. Story mode
Here you can choose any 10 characters, the planetary Sailor Senshi and you battle every other character (character changes not allowed). At the end, you battle Super Sailor Moon. After that your character will say a few lines (aint much of a spoiler!) and it's on to the credits. Even the credits and every single menu is done up well, some of those even look like something you'd get off the Dc or Xbox! Shows how much Bandai put into this game. After the credits, Super Sailor Moon tells you how you can select her in vs. mode

2. Versus mode
This is obvious. Play against the computer (and the AI aint too good.. it should be made harder!!), a friend or watch the computer fight itself. 5 handicap levels are given

3. Group Battle
Here you select a maximum of 4 characters for each player (vs. Computer and vs. 2P modes are availlable). It's like Mortal Combat group battles, you fight one on one and the group that loses all it's players first lose the game

4.options
The usual- 3 different difficulty levels, a letterbox mode (O_o if you have a fetish for 2 horizontal bars on your screen), timed or untimed battles, something I still don't understand (has something to do with the sound), button configuration and lastly, Kiddy or Normal mode.
This is interesting. In Normal mode, you have to press out all the usual buttons to do special attacks like Chibimoon's' projectile, Luna P Attack-Down, Diagonal Down Right, Right + punch (when facing right). But on Kiddy mode, you only need 2 buttons!! Like Left Shift + A to do it! A hell lot easier if you're the sort who can never get em right. Just don't tell anyone about this feature when they watch you play

5. Database
The voice acting is solid, so is the special effects and the music. Bandai probably decided to capitalise on this with this feature. Here you can here all these, as well as listen to some character-specific sound clips and view attack commands. The voice actors here are the actual ones from the series and hell they rock here!

Alrighty, I'll do part 2 another day. I'll review the gameplay, the screenplay and everything else. This was just info on the features of the game. So, till then...

[Daedalus]

Now that I've detailed the game and its not just a title you might have heard of (even if you are a Sailor Moon fan) unsure if the game ever got released, I'll review the game itself

Plot/Storyline
Not a very strong and defined storyline but I suppose it is just a battle between the sailor senshi for the champion title.

The gameplay
3 difficulty modes are available and in addition to that, a simplified mode "Kiddy mode" can be selected to make special moves easy to execute.

Each soldier has 2 punches and 2 kicks, 3 special moves and one super move. Below your health bar is a gauge that increases slowly, automatically, but increases very rapidly when you execute special attacks. When this gauge is full, you can perform your special move. That way there you might get to do a super move 2 (V rarely 3 or more, think about it) times in a round.

I think the AI could have be improved on. The game, even in difficult mode is a tad to easy. But thank goodness for the EXCELLENT voice acting and music, it keeps the game lively and gives you a sensation of an action-packed fighter throughout.
But despite it being a little too easy, you wont get bored with this game, it's just so fun, even if you are a hardcore gamer! It's addictive.

One set back is the loading times. After selecting a character, you'd have to wait about 12 seconds if I remembered right, before the stage loads. This is worst in group battle mode when you'd have many rounds.
Another is the size of the characters. They should have been slightly smaller. The backgrounds look proportionately bigger.

On the whole. the gameplay is fine. Too easy but Bandai cleverly blended crisp music, vocals and SFX with some addictive Sailor Moon fighting and lots of pretty graphics (even if it is 2D) to get a pretty okay gameplay.

It makes a difference if you're a fan (or at least acquainted with the series). The characters here resemble very closely and accurately, the anime but of course some attacks were borrowed from the manga as usual.

The Graphics
Pretty, bright, colourful and fun! It isn't a Barbie-ish as it sounds, it's just very uplifting. The characters are in 2D but the backgrounds are in 3D. You might not notice that since there is very little activity in the backgrounds and they aren't polygons (haha.. this aint Xbox).

Attacks are executed like they are in the anime, pretty and that makes the game a lot brighter. The attacks simply take too long to load though!! I mean, Sailor Moon's super move- Moon Spiral Heart Attack, takes about 3.5seconds. By that time, you know it's heading your way But then again, your attacks take awhile to load too so you still have less time to react so it doesn't slow down the game much.

Bandai did a great job here. Every menu, stage and any other screens are done up well. It's crisp, bright and eyecatching, making the game very pleasant even if you aren't happy with the gameplay itself.

The music and sound

I must complement Bandai here. They knew how to make this game good given 3DO's processor isn't that fast.

The music is fine. Catchy though not that innovative, and utilizing 3DO's Dolby Digital feature, it makes the game feel a lot more alive (no pun intended for those familiar with Jap Goldstar 3DO consoles).

The sound effects are just as good and the vocals are fantastic. I think this game rakes as by far the best in the vocal category for it's time and I've seen just about every fighter of that era.

Replay value
Even if you aren't a Sailor Moon fan, this game is pretty addictive. You'd probably be playing it a lot!

On a whole
A pretty and addictive fighter. It's a pity Bandai didn't port it to the Saturn and PSX (and Angel's Sailor MOon fighters stink, I must reiterate!). A few more characters, slghtly bigger characters, faster loading time for attacks and a slightly tougher difficulty level would have made this game a lot better

For a Sailor Moon fan- 9.5 out of 10
For a non-Sailor Moon fan- 7 out of 10

[fishsandwich]

Have you ever played the Sailor Moon S Various Emotion game for the Saturn? It's a fighting game like the one you describe, but I understand it's not at all the same thing as the 3DO game that you have except for the 2-D fighting layout. I have the Saturn game, and I think it stinks. I understand the 3DO game is better for many of the reasons you listed above.

Thanks for the review. I enjoyed!

3DO



SATURN

[Daedalus]

Cool! You managed to get screenshots for the 3DO game. I couldn't find any around.

Anyone has any idea if there's a device I could get to record screenshots and clips off my video game consoles? I'd love that

Ah yes, I have Various Emotions. I paid 75bucks for it The screenshots looked great but I was pretty disgusted when I played it and saw how they moved. If they could have just improved on the character movements and stuff it would have been so much better.
Various Emotions used 3D polygons for the characters eh? Sailor Neptune moves like she's got severe mental degradation in her cerebellum and Uranus like her knees broke haha
I like Pluto best. The attack where she dashes across the screen rocks.
I guess they should have sticked to 2D (Saturn is so much better for 2D fighters in my opinion), made the characters bigger and make the attacks and moves smoother, perhaps with some scaling and special effects.

[jonjandran]

Anyone has any idea if there's a device I could get to record screenshots and clips off my video game consoles? I'd love that

It's called a VCR, it was invented about the same time as a Beta Max.

[Daedalus]

Anyone has any idea if there's a device I could get to record screenshots and clips off my video game consoles? I'd love that

It's called a VCR, it was invented about the same time as a Beta Max.

Problem is I've not had a VCR since freaking 1998
I've only got an LD-Player and a DVD player.
And I'd want something that'll allow me to transfer it to my PC. A DVD player with recording capabilities? :/

[fishsandwich]

Anyone has any idea if there's a device I could get to record screenshots and clips off my video game consoles? I'd love that

It's called a VCR, it was invented about the same time as a Beta Max.

Problem is I've not had a VCR since freaking 1998
I've only got an LD-Player and a DVD player.
And I'd want something that'll allow me to transfer it to my PC. A DVD player with recording capabilities? :/

Good point. VCR players are going the way of the cassette tape... they'll be here a while longer, but they are on their way out. A lot of poeple don't have VCR's anymore... I haven't played mine in many months.

Looks like a DVD recorder is the way to go!

[mezrabad]

I think the best route for capturing from a video game is to get a video capture card for your PC and capture frames from that, though I've never done it so I can't completely vouch for it. The only other thing I've done is to take a digital photograph at the right time of day (the time of day when I don't need a flash).

If you enjoyed the Sailor Moon anime you should check out the live action series, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. Every episode has been fansubbed by:

http://www.tvnihon.com/

It's even more shojo than the Anime but if you enjoyed one you may enjoy the other.

[Daedalus]

I think the best route for capturing from a video game is to get a video capture card for your PC and capture frames from that, though I've never done it so I can't completely vouch for it. The only other thing I've done is to take a digital photograph at the right time of day (the time of day when I don't need a flash).

If you enjoyed the Sailor Moon anime you should check out the live action series, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. Every episode has been fansubbed by:

http://www.tvnihon.com/

It's even more shojo than the Anime but if you enjoyed one you may enjoy the other.

Guess fishsandwitch is right- DVD recorders but for the time being I'll stick to my digi cam. I'll try to capture some footage (but of course it won't look that good, recorded off a tv screen) of the game, upload it and distribute it here

I'm not fond of Pretty Guardian SM. This is exactly what I mean. Rather than make Sailor Moon into something aimed at kids, the elements of the story, the story itself and it's allure could be made into something a lot more cutting-edge. It's sad!

That said, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is not bad a life action series by the benchmarks the anime and live-action anime watchers set. I'm not quite used to it though. I found in funny and inapt more than anything else

[mezrabad]

I'm not fond of Pretty Guardian SM. This is exactly what I mean. Rather than make Sailor Moon into something aimed at kids, the elements of the story, the story itself and it's allure could be made into something a lot more cutting-edge. It's sad!

That said, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is not bad a life action series by the benchmarks the anime and live-action anime watchers set. I'm not quite used to it though. I found in funny and inapt more than anything else

Heheh, I see your point. It would be cool to see the Sailor Moon story reimagined and told a little more cutting edge. Of course, my three year old would be heart broken if it suddenly became something that was inappropriate for her to watch. PGSM was the only show that my family could sit down and enjoy together, so I'm grateful to it for that. Thanks for all the info about the Sailor Moon games above by the way.

[Griking]

Anyone has any idea if there's a device I could get to record screenshots and clips off my video game consoles? I'd love that

It's called a VCR, it was invented about the same time as a Beta Max.

Problem is I've not had a VCR since freaking 1998
I've only got an LD-Player and a DVD player.
And I'd want something that'll allow me to transfer it to my PC. A DVD player with recording capabilities? :/

Actually, you can probably find a VCR easier and cheaper then you can find the 3DO console that you're talking about. They go for about $10-$20 at most second hand shops.

[Daedalus]

Anyone has any idea if there's a device I could get to record screenshots and clips off my video game consoles? I'd love that

It's called a VCR, it was invented about the same time as a Beta Max.

Problem is I've not had a VCR since freaking 1998
I've only got an LD-Player and a DVD player.
And I'd want something that'll allow me to transfer it to my PC. A DVD player with recording capabilities? :/

Actually, you can probably find a VCR easier and cheaper then you can find the 3DO console that you're talking about. They go for about $10-$20 at most second hand shops.

ah yes, that's true but problem is it'd be difficult converting the recording to a format I can play on my PC :S

Mezrabad: hehe.. yeah, the dub is more family-friendly so to speak

[Daedalus]

I found some info on an unreleased Sailormoon game that apparently reached the prototype stage, it was supposedly meant to be made for the Saturn, PSOne and 3DO!
I'll post more info soon :P

[Daedalus]

I found some info on an unreleased Sailormoon game that apparently reached the prototype stage, it was supposedly meant to be made for the Saturn, PSOne and 3DO!
I'll post more info soon :P