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.
As with the previously released Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon S: Jōgai Rantō!? Shuyaku Sōdatsusen on Super Famicom, 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 of the opponent wins the first bout and the first to win two bouts becomes the winner of the match.[4][6][7] 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.[6]
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 not present in this title.[6][7] Each Soldier has a set of special attacks, as well as their own special moves that can be performed by inputting a combination of directional and button-based commands.[6] Similar to the Samurai Shodownfranchise, the camera zooms in or out to maximize or minimize the level of graphical detail depending on character movement.[4]
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.[8]Sailor Moon author Naoko Takeuchi was involved during the production as supervisor and seiyūs from the anime series returned to reprise their respective roles.[6][8] The game was released for the 3DO exclusively in Japan by Bandai on 17 March 1995.[3] Early previews prior to release showcased minimal differences compared to the final version.[9]
According to Famitsu, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S on 3DO sold over 11,005 copies in its first week on the market.[11] The game sold approximately 19,075 copies during its lifetime in Japan.[11]Next Generation 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."[4] Christophe Delpierre of French magazine Player One reviewed the game and gave a score of 25%.[10] However, Spanish magazine GamesTech regarded the title as the best fighting game in the Sailor Moon franchise.[12] Argentinian website Malditos Nerds ranked it as number four on their top Sailor Moon games.[13]
