Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]

Developed and published by Banpresto in 1995

I must confess that I know nothing about the Manga comic on which the game is based, and having played the game I’m not sure I’m any the wiser. I suppose it was mainly my ignorance, coupled with the fact that a fighting game starring a cast of teenage schoolgirls is unusual, drove me to check the game out in the first place, although I’m not sure it was worth the effort.

On the surface, the game looks amazing; great presentation featuring excellent artwork and slick animation, and the likenesses of the characters are certainly accurate to the comic book counterparts; the artists who worked on the game really deserve praise for their work!

Unfortunately, the actual gameplay is a massive let-down. Maybe it was because I was playing solo, but the game felt completely stacked against me. Many of the enemies have attacks that not only out-range your own, but also interrupt (or disrupt) any attack you might otherwise be executing. This means that the only real way to make progress is to game the system as much as possible, and always, ALWAYS group enemies up as much as possible. The time limit is so strict in this game that wasting precious seconds fighting lone enemies is a straight road to defeat, something made worse by how weak your attacks are - with everything stacked so heavily against you, the game turns into a repetitive chore.

I guess the game will have its fans, but I must confess the various frustrations left me somewhat cold.

Chapters
00:00 Attract mode
00:20 Character select
00:31 Round 1
01:30 Round 1 boss: Kastol & Polx
02:50 Round 2
04:56 Round 2 boss: Morga
06:48 Round 3
10:43 Round 3 boss: Kyulene
12:40 Round 4
18:10 Round 4 boss: Garoben
19:57 Round 5
24:20 Round 5 boss: Zoisait
29:03 Round 6 boss: Twin Kyulene
30:01 Round 7
32:26 Round 7 boss: Bakene
33:26 Round 8 (Final round)
37:33 Round 8 boss: Queen Beryl
39:30 End credits

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