is a

fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...

developed by

Tose (also called Tose Software) is a Japanese video game developer based in Kyoto. It is mostly known for developing Nintendo's ''Game & Watch Gallery'' series, various ''Dragon Ball'' games, as well as contract work or assistance to other develo ...

and published by

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

exclusively for the

3DO Interactive Multiplayer 3DO is a video gaming hardware format developed by The 3DO Company and conceived by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins. The specifications were originally designed by Dave Needle and RJ Mical of New Technology Group, and were licensed by third ...

in Japan on 17 March 1995. It is based upon

Naoko Takeuchi is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known as the author of ''Sailor Moon'', one of the most popular manga series of all time. She has won several awards, including the 1993 Kodansha Manga Award for ''Sailor Moon''. Takeuchi is married to ...

's ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...

shōjo manga is an editorial category of Manga, Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent girls and young adult women. It is, along with Shōnen manga, manga (targeting adolescent boys), Seinen manga, manga (targeting young adult and adult men ...

and

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series, though its

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...

has been compared with other titles in the same genre such as

SNK is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...

's ''

Samurai Shodown ''Samurai Shodown'', known in Japan as is a fighting game series by SNK. The series began in 1993 and is known for being one of the earliest in the genre with a primary focus on weapon-based combat. Plot The stories in the series take place i ...

''. Loosely following the third season of the anime series, which adapted the third arc of the manga,Sailormoon Channel
Name of story arc given on the official website. the players control either one of the five original

Inner Senshi The ''Sailor Moon'' manga series features a cast of characters created by Naoko Takeuchi. The series takes place in Tokyo, Japan, where the , a group of ten magical girls, are formed to fight against antagonists who aim to take over the Earth, t ...

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

seiyū Voice acting in Japan is an industry where actors provide voice-overs as characters or narrators in media including anime, video games, audio dramas, commercials, and dubbing for non-Japanese films and television programs. In Japan, and a ...

s from the anime series returned to reprise their roles. Despite being exclusive to Japan, ''Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S'' garnered negative reception from critics who reviewed it as an import title since its release and although it was commended for the presentation, the animation and controls were heavily criticized.

Gameplay

As with the previously released ''Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon S: Jōgai Rantō!? Shuyaku Sōdatsusen'' on

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

, ''Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S'' is a fighting game similar to '' Street Fighter II: The World Warrior'' in which the player fights against other opponents in one-on-one matches and the fighter who manages to deplete the

health bar Health is a video game or tabletop game quality that determines the maximum amount of damage or fatigue something takes before leaving the main game. In role-playing games, this typically takes the form of hit points (HP), a numerical attribute ...

of the opponent wins the first bout and the first to win two bouts becomes the winner of the match.''Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S'' manual (3DO Interactive Multiplayer, JP) Each round is timed, which can be adjusted or deactivated at the options menu screen and if both fighters still have health remaining when time is over, the one with more health wins that round. The game features various game modes and settings that can be selected on the menu screen. In the single-player mode, players can choose from nine playable Sailor Soldiers and fight against computer-controlled fighters across several locations from the series, although

Sailor Saturn is a fictional supporting character in the ''Sailor Moon'' manga, the 1992–1997 anime series created by Naoko Takeuchi and the 2014–2023 reboot that more closely follows the manga. Her spirit resides deep within twelve-year-old , a frail m ...

is not present in this title. Each of these Soldiers has their own special attack set, as well as their own special moves that can be performed by inputting a combination of directional and button-based commands. An easy difficulty mode allows players to execute special attacks with simple button presses while a normal mode requires more complex input combinations. Similar to the ''Samurai Shodown'' franchise, the camera zooms in or out to maximize or minimize the level of graphical detail depending on character movement.

Development and release

''Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S'' was developed by Tose for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and several people were involved in its creation. ''Sailor Moon'' author Naoko Takeuchi was involved during the production as supervisor and seiyūs from the anime series returned to reprise their respective roles. The game was released for the 3DO exclusively in Japan by Bandai on 17 March 1995. Early previews prior to release showcased minimal differences compared to the final version.

Reception and legacy

According to ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

'', ''Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S'' on 3DO sold over 11,005 copies in its first week on the market. The game sold approximately 19,075 copies during its lifetime in Japan. ''

Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

'' reviewed the game, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "While the premise is interesting, the animation is stilted, and the controls aren't as smooth as they could be. Overall, this game is of interest to fighting game collectors only." Christophe Delpierre of French magazine ''Player One'' reviewed the game and gave a score of 25%. However, Spanish magazine ''GamesTech'' regarded the title as the best fighting game in the ''Sailor Moon'' franchise. Argentinian website ''Malditos Nerds'' ranked it as number four on their top ''Sailor Moon'' games. Will Matthews of ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...

'' counted it among the "excellent 2D fighting games" available for the 3DO during its life which also included ''

Super Street Fighter II Turbo ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'', released in Japan as is a 1994 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the fifth installment in the '' Street Fighter II'' sub-series of ''Street Fighter'' games, following '' ...

'' and ''

''.

Notes

References

External links

''Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S''
at

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''Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S''
at

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{{Portal bar, 1990s, Japan, Video games 1995 video games 3DO games 3DO Interactive Multiplayer-only games Bandai games Fighting games Japan-exclusive video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Sailor Moon games Tose (company) games Video games developed in Japan