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Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon S - Jougai Rantou! Shuyaku Soudatsusen © 1994 Angel.
Released by Angel, this titleâwhose title translates roughly to "Sailor Moon S: Out-of-Bounds Brawl! The Battle for the Lead Role"âis a departure from the side-scrolling action of earlier entries. It is a 2D competitive fighting game that captures the high-energy, colorful aesthetic of the Sailor Moon S season. Players select from the core Sailor Guardians and other key characters to participate in one-on-one combat, each utilizing unique moves, projectile attacks, and distinct "finisher" animations that reflect their powers from the anime.
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GAME ID: SHVC-AQSJ-JPN
Released on December 16, 1994 (Friday) in Japan.
Genre Pivot: After establishing the brand with beat-'em-ups, moving into the fighting game genre was a natural progression. Following the massive success of Street Fighter II on the Super Famicom, many developers sought to adapt their popular licenses into the fighting format, and Sailor Moon S offered the perfect cast of diverse characters with unique abilities to make this work.
"Shuyaku Soudatsusen": The humorous premiseâa "battle to see who gets the lead role"âperfectly captures the lighthearted and often meta-fictional tone of the Sailor Moon franchiseâs side content. It frames the violence of a fighting game as a playful competition, keeping the tone consistent with the source material while still providing a robust combat engine.
Technical Combat: For a licensed game, the engine is surprisingly competent. It utilizes a typical fighting game layout, allowing for combos, blocking, and special meter management. Itâs not just a button-masher; there is a tangible rhythm to the combat that rewards players for learning frame data and spacingâa testament to the effort Angel put into the gameâs mechanics.
Visual Style: The game features large, vibrant, and highly detailed character sprites that represent the peak of 16-bit anime-to-sprite conversion. The backgrounds, which include iconic locations from the Sailor Moon S season, are packed with detail and character cameos, making the game a fan-service goldmine.
The Fighting Game Boom: Released during the height of the 16-bit fighting game craze, this title managed to carve out a niche for itself. It was the go-to fighting game for fans of the show, proving that the Super Famicomâs library was robust enough to handle competitive fighters beyond the major third-party arcade ports.
Collectorâs Note: While Another Story is often cited as the "best" Sailor Moon game due to its RPG depth, Jougai Rantou! Shuyaku Soudatsusen is highly regarded for its frantic, local-multiplayer appeal. It is a fantastic example of the era's experimentation with game genres and remains a frequent highlight for collectors interested in the evolution of the Sailor Moon gaming brand.