Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another Story

"In the name of the moon, this game will astonish you!"

One of the ''lost gems'' of the super nintendo/famicon system, Sailor Moon: Another Story never made it to North America. With its amazing soundtrack, compelling storyline, and nicely detailed graphics, you'll wish more games were like this one! To truly enjoy the game, however, you'll need to know some background knowledge of the Sailor Moon series. It isn't much of a problem, just go online and read up a little bit on the series and you'll be fine. Well, let's get down to business!

Storyline: 10/10
WOW. That's the only word that can truly do it justice. Rather than reviving old villains from the anime series, a brand new enemy is created just for this game. Mix this with some time travel, a la Chrono Trigger style, and you'll meet up all the evil doers from the television show from Queen Beryl to the Witches 5. The storyline fills in some plot holes and unanswered questions from the television series, giving any avid Sailor Moon fan a sense of completion. It then builds up to a magnificent finale, which will either break your heart, or fill you with a sense of great triumph.

Gameplay: 9/10
Excellent controls that are simple to use. With variable walking speeds, you can take a leisurely stroll down Crystal Tokyo, or run like the wind when you're late for school. The battle system is unique and a refreshing break from the usual turn based system. Each Sailor Scout has special moves (as seen in the show or manga) which can be linked up with other Scouts to create dual, triple, quadruple, or a 5-way attack! Instead of basing the special moves on a mana/mp system, each Scout has 12 EP. Each battle begins with each party member full up 12 Ep, with special attacks using several points at a time. When EP runs out, you can switch back to normal physical attacks or use items to refill your EP. This adds a new edge to battles, as you don't only need to use physical attacks so you'll conserve your mp for later battles. This game encourages the use of special attacks as your special ability EP points refill for every fight.

Graphics: 10/10
When giving Sailor Moon: Another Story this score, you must remember this game was build for 16 bit systems, not a playstation. The graphics are well coloured and shaded, with each character having multiple highly animated sprites when performing attacks and special moves. Each character also has a detailed portrait that is displayed when they're talking. Sailor Moon: Another Story pushes the graphical limits of the console to it's limits, and looks wonderful because of it.

Sound: 9/10
Voices? In a snes game? Unbelievable! Each Sailor Scout has several voice clips for their special attacks. This has only been done in 3 games, Tales of Phantasia, Star Ocean, and Sailor Moon: Another Story. The music you hear in this game is also exactly the same as the soundtracks from the TV show, and they sound identical. The music is nicely orchestrated, and you'll love the tunes along with the cute graphics.

Replayability: 8/10
The problem with most RPG games is the ability to keep you coming back after you've finished the game. Sailor Moon: Another Story stands up on its own admirably. With the little bonuses of hidden treasures, and a neat puzzle side quest which reaps a fantastic prize, you'll spend at least a few hours extra with this game. Not to mention the length of this game! You won't finish this one in one night, you'll spend anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks completing this game. I assure you, you'll love every second of it.

Challenge: 10/10
If you're the type of person who likes to blaze through a game without leveling up, prepare to meet your match. The challenge in this game is HIGH. With fearsomely powerful enemies and bosses, you'll need to level up and purchase items to beat this game. Don't worry though, this game is not impossibly difficult! The creators have managed to tread the line of ''Difficult and Fun'' perfectly, forcing you to train up and spend a few hours working on you characters without boring you to death with too much repetitiveness.

FINAL SCORE
10/10
9/10
10/10
9/10
8/10
10/10

Total: 56/60 = .933 rounded down to 9/10

Rent or Buy?
Unfortunately, you can't do either with Sailor Moon: Another Story. You'll have to import this game from Japan.
There is a Translation Patch available for this game, but you can only utilize it with a ROM and emulator. Which is the only way you'll probably be able to play this wonderful game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/27/03, Updated 03/27/03