Sailor Moon | |
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![]() French Super NES cover art | |
Developer(s) | Angel |
Publisher(s) | |
Producer(s) | Jōji Yuno |
Artist(s) | Kazuko Tadano Naoko Takeuchi Yukihiro Kitano |
Composer(s) | Takanori Arisawa |
Series | Sailor Moon |
Platform(s) | Sega Mega Drive, Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
Release | SNESMega Drive
|
Genre(s) | Beat 'em up |
Mode(s) | Single-player, co-op |
Sailor Moon [lower-alpha 1] is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game originally developed and released by Angel in Japan on August 27, 1993 and later in France and Spain in November 1994 by Bandai for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second game to be created by Angel based upon Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon shōjo manga and anime series, the first for the Super NES and one of the few Sailor Moon titles that had an official international release. [1]
Following the first season of the anime series, which adapted the first arc of the manga, [2] the players control one of the five original Inner Sailor Guardians and fight against enemies across several locations in order to protect Earth from the Dark Kingdom, a group of antagonists led by Queen Beryl who previously destroyed the ancient Moon Kingdom as they attempt to steal life energy from humans and the Silver Crystal to free Queen Metaria from her imprisonment. Due to the success of Sailor Moon for Game Boy in Japan, Angel wanted to develop a project for the Super NES with the aim to appeal towards fans of the series. The title was later ported to the Sega Mega Drive, featuring various changes compared to the original SNES version.
Sailor Moon was met with mixed reception from critics since its release on both SNES and Mega Drive. A sequel, Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon R , was released later in 1993 by Bandai exclusively for the SNES.
Sailor Moon is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game where players take control either of the five original Sailor Soldiers across various stages, each one set in a different location, and fight against an assortment of enemies and villains from the series in order to defeat Queen Beryl and the Dark Kingdom. [3] [4] Each Soldier has a special attack of their own that deals damage to all enemies on-screen at once by charging it. [3] [4] Unlike other titles based on the franchise, most of the fighting is physical rather than magical. The Soldiers can punch, kick, and throw enemies. Each Soldier also has different attributes during gameplay, encouraging players to select their preferred character. [3] [4]
Sailor Moon on Super NES was created by a team comprised from staff of the titular shōjo manga and anime series, with producer Jōji Yuno at Angel heading development, who recounted its making process and history in an official strategy guide by Kodansha from December 1993, four months after the game's release to the market. [5] Kazuko Tadano, Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation artist Yukihiro Kitano were responsible for illustration, original youma designs and character animations respectively. [5] The soundtrack was composed by Takanori Arisawa, who also served as music director of the anime series. [5]
Yuno stated that Sailor Moon for the Super NES was created in response to the commercial success their previous title on Game Boy in Japan, as the Super NES hardware imposed less restrictions than the Game Boy and Angel wanted to developed a Sailor Moon for the console. [5] The team desired to have a game that would be enjoyed by all fans and meet expectations from those who liked the characters, prompting the involvement of staff members from both the manga and anime series. [5] Yuno was introduced to Kitano, who created the hand-drawn animation work from paper before being transposed into pixel art, however this process took a large memory space and technical difficulties were faced when displaying four enemies on-screen due to the characters' large size as a result but the team were able to implement them into the game. [5] Yuno also stated that the Sailor Soldiers' attack techniques were based from pro-wrestling magazines. [5]
Angel requested Arisawa to compose the music, with Yuno stating that although said music felt like Sailor Moon songs they seemed to not fit the action. [5] Seiyūs from the anime series returned to reprise their roles, recording new audio during a break on their schedule due to the project being a character-based game. [5] However, Yuno stated this process also took a large memory space and the characters' attack techniques are spoken quickly due to hardware limits when voice samples are enabled, while simultaneous spoken attacks are disabled during co-op play as a result. [5] Tadano, who was recommended by Nakayoshi editor Fumio Osano to the team at Angel, created art for the cover package, character selection screen, post-transformation poses and the ending. [5] Yuno stated that Tadano also drew more elements that were ultimately scrapped from the final version due to memory space, while having Takeuchi make original youma designs was an idea from Osano due to his desire to see a Sailor Moon title on SNES. [5] Other elements such as destructible vehicles were implemented as a response from players during the game's showcase at a trade show. [5] Several elements, items and stages were either reworked or scrapped before launch. [5]
Sailor Moon was first released for the Super Famicom in Japan by Angel on August 27, 1993 and later on the Super NES in France and Spain by Bandai on November 1994 with a French translation. [6] [7] [8] [9] The game was later ported to the Sega Mega Drive by Arc System Works and TNS, with Ma-Ba publishing it on July 8, 1994. [10] [11] [12] [13]
Publication | Score |
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Beep! MegaDrive | (Mega Drive) 5.25/10 [14] |
Consoles + | (Mega Drive) 60% [15] |
Computer and Video Games | (SNES) 53/100 [16] |
Famitsu | (SNES) 21/40 [17] (Mega Drive) 53/100 [18] |
HobbyConsolas | (SNES) 76/100 [19] |
Mega Fun | (Mega Drive) 43% [20] |
Player One | (SNES) 40% [21] |
Superjuegos | (SNES) 84/100 [22] |
Total! | (SNES) 3+ [23] |
Computer+Videogiochi | (Mega Drive) 68/100 [24] |
Nintendo Magazine System | (SNES) 40/100 [25] |
Mega Console | (Mega Drive) 69/100 [26] |
Sailor Moon was met with mixed critical reception on both SNES and Mega Drive. [14] [15] [18] [23] However, public reception was positive; readers of the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine voted to give the Mega Drive port a 6.5263 out of 10 score, ranking at the number 337 spot in a poll, indicating a popular following. [27]
Animerica 's Sergei Shimkevich regarded the SNES version to be a copy of Final Fight and Street Fighter that brings little new to the genre, and instead relies upon the Sailor Moon series to gain attention. [28] Nintendo Magazine System regarded it as a dire Final Fight clone, criticizing its slow pacing, limited moveset, repetitive enemies, sound and playability but commended the graphics and presentation. [25] Computer and Video Games ' Deniz Ahmet agreed, commending the audiovisual presentation but criticized the limited controls and moveset, as well as enemy AI, calling it "Unrewarding, unimaginative and unwanted." [16] Likewise, Player One's Guillaume Lassalle praised the visuals but criticized the game for being repetitive and its slow pacing. [21] Hobby Consolas ' Esther Barral gave positive remarks to the graphics, audio, simple controls and faithfulness to the original manga but noted its low difficulty during two-player mode and slow character movement. [19] Superjuegos' Bruno Sol criticized the lack of enemy variety and repetitive in-game music but gave positive comments to the sound effects and arcade-like gameplay, comparing it with Final Fight. [22]
Upon reviewing the Mega Drive version, Animerica found its graphics to be better than previous Sailor Moon titles on SNES. [29] Mega Console's Pier-Franco Merenda and Fabio Massa were also positive of this version, praising the audiovisual presentation and longevity but felt mixed in regards to its playability. [26] Mega Fun 's Stefan Hellert also praised the large character sprites and impressive backgrounds but criticized the sound design and lack of a two-player mode. [20] Computer+Videogiochi's Marco Ravetto gave positive remarks to the large and fluid character sprites, music and gameplay but he regarded this aspect as monotonous and criticized the lack of two-player mode. [24] Spanish magazine Minami commended the big sprites and visuals. [30]
Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The series follows the adventures of a schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino as she transforms into the eponymous character to search for a magical artifact, the "Legendary Silver Crystal". She leads a group of comrades, the Sailor Soldiers, called Sailor Guardians in later editions, as they battle against villains to prevent the theft of the Silver Crystal and the destruction of the Solar System.
The Sailor Moon musicals, commonly referred to as Sera Myu, are a series of live theatre productions based on the Sailor Moon manga by Naoko Takeuchi. The series consists of 31 musicals which have had more than 800 performances since the show opened in the summer of 1993. The first set of musicals, which ran from 1993 to 2005, were produced by Bandai with over 500 performances. The current musicals have been produced by Nelke Planning since 2013.
The fourth season of the Sailor Moon anime series, Sailor Moon SuperS was produced by Toei Animation and directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. It adapts the "Dream" arc of the Sailor Moon manga series by Naoko Takeuchi and follows the adventures of Usagi Tsukino and her fellow Super Sailor Guardians. The series is divided into two story arcs: the first arc for 22 episodes depicts a mighty deity known as Pegasus, entering Chibiusa's dreams to flee from the Amazon Trio, minions of the Dead Moon Circus, who are trying to steal the legendary Golden Crystal from him. The second arc for 17 episodes depicts the arrival of the Amazoness Quartet, a group of enemies who dream of remaining young forever, as well as Queen Nehelenia, the depraved ruler of the Dead Moon Circus.
Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, or simply Sailor Stars, is the fifth and final season of Sailor Moon, a Japanese magical girl anime series based on the Sailor Moon manga series by Naoko Takeuchi; the season was directed by Takuya Igarashi and produced by Toei Animation. Like the rest of the Sailor Moon series, it follows the adventures of Usagi Tsukino and her fellow Sailor Guardians. The season is divided into two story arcs, with the first 6 episodes consisting of a self-contained arc exclusive to the anime in which the Sailor Guardians encounter Queen Nehelenia again. The remaining 28 episodes adapt material from the "Stars" arc of the manga, in which the Sailor Guardians meet up with the Sailor Starlights, led by Princess Kakyuu. They discover that Sailor Galaxia, the leader of the "Shadow Galactica" organization and a corrupted Sailor Guardian, plans to increase her powers and rule the Milky Way.
The second season of the Sailor Moon anime series Sailor Moon R, was produced by Toei Animation and directed by Junichi Sato and Kunihiko Ikuhara. According to the booklet from the Sailor Moon Memorial Song Box, the letter "R" stands for the word "Romance", "Return" or "Rose".
Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie is a 1995 Japanese animated superhero fantasy film directed by Hiroki Shibata, written by Yōji Enokido, and based on the Sailor Moon manga series by Naoko Takeuchi. It takes its name from the fourth arc of the Sailor Moon anime, Sailor Moon SuperS, as Toei Company distributed it around the same time.
The first season of the Sailor Moon anime series was produced by Toei Animation and directed by Junichi Sato. It was broadcast from March 7, 1992 to February 27, 1993 on TV Asahi. This season adapts the first arc of the Sailor Moon manga series by Naoko Takeuchi, the "Dark Kingdom" arc.
The third season of the Sailor Moon anime series, Sailor Moon S, was produced by Toei Animation and directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. It began broadcasting on TV Asahi on March 19, 1994, and ended on February 25, 1995. It adapts the "Infinity" arc of the Sailor Moon manga series by Naoko Takeuchi, and follows the adventures of Usagi Tsukino and her fellow Sailor Guardians. In this season, they must fight against the Death Busters, who are planning to take over Earth. In 2000, Cloverway Inc. licensed the season for an English-language broadcast in North America. Optimum Productions dubbed the season, continuing over from the first two seasons that were licensed by DIC Entertainment and General Mills' The Program Exchange. The series aired on YTV in Canada, who adjusted the episode numbers to match those of the original Japanese version, from June 12, 2000, to August 1, 2000. The season later aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block in the United States. Edited and unedited VHS tapes and uncut bilingual DVDs of their adaptation were released by Pioneer Entertainment. In contrast to DIC's handling of the first two seasons, Cloverway retained the background music and sound effects from the original Japanese version. Eventually, the season was re-licensed by Viz Media in 2014 for an updated English-language release, produced by Studiopolis. The first 18 episodes of the season were released as Part 1 on November 15, 2016, and the remaining 18 episodes were released as Part 2 on June 20, 2017. While Sailor Moon S began very similarly to the first two seasons, it eventually took a darker, more emotional turn.
Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another Story is a role-playing video game developed and published by Angel exclusively for the Super Famicom in Japan on 22 September 1995. Based upon Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon shōjo manga and anime series, the game takes place between the third season and fourth season of the anime series, which adapted the third and fourth arcs of the manga respectively, as players take control of either the five Inner Guardians or the four Outer Guardians in order to protect Crystal Tokyo by fighting against a group of rebels and several of their previously defeated enemies once again that were resurrected by the sorceress Apsu.
Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S is a fighting game developed by Tose and published by Bandai exclusively for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer in Japan on 17 March 1995. It is based upon Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon shōjo manga and anime series, though its gameplay has been compared with other titles in the same genre such as SNK's Samurai Shodown. Loosely following the third season of the anime series, which adapted the third arc of the manga, the players control either one of the five original Inner Senshi or one of the three Outer Senshi as they enter a tournament to fight against each other and become the winning victor. Takeuchi supervised the production of the project and seiyūs from the anime series returned to reprise their roles.
Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon is a side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video game developed by Gazelle and released on March 22, 1995. It was published by Banpresto. It is the first game to be created by Gazelle, one of the offshoots of defunct developer Toaplan that were founded after they declared bankruptcy in 1994, and one of the few titles based upon Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon shōjo manga and anime series that had an official international release, and it also has been compared with other titles in the same genre such as Capcom's Final Fight and Technōs Japan's Double Dragon.
Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon R is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed by Angel and published by Bandai in Japan on December 29, 1993. It is the third game to be created by Angel based upon Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon shōjo manga and anime series, as well as the second title in the franchise for Super Famicom, serving as the sequel to Sailor Moon.
Sailor Moon Eternal is a 2021 Japanese two-part animated action fantasy film directed by Chiaki Kon and written by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu based on the Dream arc of the Sailor Moon manga by Naoko Takeuchi, who also serves as a chief supervisor. Co-produced by Toei Animation and Studio Deen and distributed by Toei Company, Eternal is a direct continuation and a "fourth season" for the Sailor Moon Crystal anime series. The two-part film stars Kotono Mitsuishi as the voice of Sailor Moon alongside Hisako Kanemoto, Rina Satō, Ami Koshimizu, Shizuka Itō, Misato Fukuen, Kenji Nojima, Junko Minagawa, Sayaka Ohara, Ai Maeda, Yukiyo Fujii, Ryō Hirohashi, Taishi Murata, Shoko Nakagawa, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Naomi Watanabe, and Nanao. Eternal was released in Japan in 2021, with the first film on January 8, and the second film on February 11.
Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon SuperS: Shin Shuyaku Sōdatsusen is a 1996 fighting video game developed and published by Angel for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It is based upon Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon shōjo manga and anime series. Loosely following the fourth season of the anime series, which adapted the fourth arc of the manga, the players control either one of the five original Inner Senshi or one of the four Outer Senshi as they enter a tournament to fight against each other and become the winning victor. The game was created by most of the same team who worked on previously released fighting titles in the Sailor Moon franchise for the Super Famicom at Angel.
Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon S: Jōgai Rantō!? Shuyaku Sōdatsusen is a 1994 fighting video game developed by Arc System Works and published by Angel for the Super Famicom. It is based upon Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon manga and anime series and stars heroic teenage girls who represent the major celestial bodies of the solar system. The player takes control of one of the girls who have decided to stage a fighting tournament to determine who should lead the group.
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