0. Table of contents
1.* Questions that still need answering
2. Territory related questions
3. Real world issues (cost, availability, etc.)
4.* General game questions
5. Misc. questions
6.* Need more?
Before I actually begin, I'd like to say a little bit here. The
reason I made this FAQ is that my page devoted to the game created a
lot of email. I didn't have a problem with this, but I noticed that
several of the same questions kept coming up. Therefore, I created
this FAQ. Why do I devote this kind of time to the game? Well, I
like it. I'm a major Sailor Moon fan and enjoy playing the game.
0 - Table of Contents
*1 - Questions that still need answering
2 - Territory related questions
2.1 - Do you need a converter?
2.2 - What's a "swap-trick"?
2.3 - Is it available in North America?
3 - Real world issues
3.1 - Where can I get it?
3.2 - How much does it cost?
3.3 - How long does it take to get here via mail?
3.4 - What systems is it available for?
3.5 - Is it available on the Sega Saturn?
3.6 - How do I get the Super Famicom game to work in my SNES?
4 - General game questions
* 4.1 - Ok, now that you've translated the title, what's it mean?
4.2 - Is the opening animation any good?
4.3 - What sort of game is it?
4.4 - Are the graphics any good?
4.5 - Is the music any good?
4.6 - Is it hard?
4.7 - I hear it's lame.
4.8 - What are the buttons?
4.9 - What do the menu options mean?
4.10 - What do the different difficulties do?
4.11 - What is the Ability Customize System?
4.12 - Are they the "Super Senshi"?
* 4.13 - Can you play the "outer" Senshi?
4.14 - Is Darien/Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask/Tuxedo Kamen in it?
4.15 - I hear Uranus is hard.
4.16 - Why is Uranus so hard?
* 4.17 - What are the moves?
4.18 - What are the endings?
4.19 - What does Sailor Moon say at the menu screen?
4.20 - What are they saying here?
5 - Misc. questions
5.1 - Who are the voice actors/actresses?
*6 - Need more?
2. Territory related questions
---------------------------
2.1
Q I hear you have to have a converter to play foreign games on your
Playstation. Is this true?
A Yes and no. I've heard of "converters" that defeat the territory
protection on the Playstation, however, I've been unable to find any.
Personally, I use a "swap trick" to basically trick the Playstation into
thinking I'm playing a local CD.
---
2.2
Q What's a "swap trick"?
A Simply put, a swap trick is a way to trick your Playstation into
thinking you're playing a local CD. The details of how to perform any
of the swap tricks can be found at
http://www.gamefaqs.com/vidgame/psx/sony_swap_trick.txt
or on the newsgroups at
alt.games.video.sony-playstation -and- rec.games.video.sony
The method I use is called the "double-swap trick". You have to
use this method on some models, but you get the best results from
this method, so I know people who use it on earlier models. The
step-by-step for this method follows:
*!!!NOTE!!!*
I have done this many times, and I have never damaged my system
by doing this. HOWEVER, damage to your system *IS* possible. I
can not be held liable for any damage done to your system, game,
or anything else.
Some definitions:
local CD - An American CD (one you don't have to do the swap
trick to get to work).
foreign CD - The CD you want to play (I.E. Sailor Moon).
PSX - Sony Playstation
Step 1: You need to get the little button that tells the PSX it
is closed to stay down. There is a button under the lid (where
you put the game) near the back. I use a small square of Scotch
tape, but I've heard of many other methods.
Step 2: You may want to watch a local CD boot a few times,
just to get familiar with how the Sony boots up. This helps
*tremendously*, trust me. You watch this because the Sony will
change speed several times (we'll call this 1x and 2x speed).
You will want to swap the CDs at some of these speed changes,
so just watch it a while to get a kind of feel for when it
will happen.
Step 3: Put your local CD in the PSX and turn on the power. I use
the demo disc that came with my PSX, just in case. . .
The white screen will come up and the PSX will do the bass-filled
sound test. Just as the screen is about to turn black, the CD
will speed up to 2x speed. *Just* as it speeds up, pop the
local CD off and pop the foreign CD on.
Step 4: The screen should go black now and you should hear the
chimes. The CD will slow back down to 1x speed. Let it, and
just wait. The CD will speed back up to 2x speed. Again, let
it. Now, as soon as it slows down again, pop the foreign CD
off and pop the local CD on.
Step 5: The CD will speed back up to 2x again. As soon as this
happens, pop the local CD off and pop the foreign CD on.
Step 6: At this point, the game should start playing. If you
used Scotch tape like I do you can even close the lid now.
Make no mistake, this is *not* easy to do. It will take
several tries to get the timing just right. It took me quite
a while to get it to work the first time, but since then, I've
had no trouble at all.
---
2.3
Q Is the game available in North America?
Q Will the game be coming to North America soon?
A The simple answer to both these questions is no. As for whether or
not the game will be coming to North America soon, I'm not sure.
However, I doubt it since the series is being cancelled in the United
States. The possibility exists, however, and the far future looks
promising; but I wouldn't hold my breath.
3. Real world issues (cost, availability, etc.)
-----------------
3.1
Q Where can I get it?
A Japan is the best place, but that's not real convenient. There are
several mail order businesses that deal in and/or specialize in
foreign games. Two of the best are:
Tronix
- http://www.tronixweb.com/
National Console Support
- http://www.ncsx.com/
Note: Tronix has changed to a new location. However, you can
connect to it again now.
Here are a few others that I've heard about on the web. Mind you,
I've never dealt with these guys:
Tuskins Games
- Phone # : (213)728-2785
email : tuskins@ix.netcom.com
Jmac Systems
- Phone/Fax : (617)646-1333
email : JmacSystems@aol.com
JMacSySII@aol.com
snail mail: ATTN: H. Morita
39 Thorndike St.
Arlington, MA 02174
A At the above two locations the game will cost about $70 (US). This
includes all the tariffs and such that are associated with buying
foreign games. However, it does not include shipping and handling.
That can run anywhere from $5 to $25 depending on how you want it
sent and how soon you want to get it.
---
3.3
Q How long does it take to arrive via mail-order?
A Well, when I bought it I had it sent 2 day priority mail by the
US Postal Service. It ended up taking around 2 and a half weeks,
but considering the time it took my check to get to them, them to
process it, and then mail it, I'd say that was extremely fast.
---
3.4
Q Is it available for system?
Q What systems is the game available for?
A From the SAILOR MOON FAQ, by: Ken Arromdee
email address: arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu and karromde@nyx.nyx.net
http://www.randomc.com/~arromdee/
" There are Japanese video games for just about every system. The games ex-
ist in the arcade and for the PC Engine Duo (TG-16), Super Famicom (SNES),
Gameboy, Mega Drive (Genesis), Game Gear, 3DO, Playdia (a Japan-only system),
and Playstation. There is an upcoming Saturn one. The Duo, Gameboy, Game
Gear, and 3DO ones are compatible with American systems. The Super Famicom
and Mega Drive ones are compatible if you remove the plastic that keeps the
games from fitting in some machines. Saturn requires an adaptor or hardware
modification, and Playstation requires a hardware modification (or _may_ play
with disk swapping on early machines). "
---
3.5
Q Is this game available for the Sega Saturn?
A Yes and No. There is a Sailor Moon game available for the Sega Saturn.
The Saturn game is based on Sailor Moon S, whereas the Playstation game
is based on Sailor Moon SuperS. I'm not sure what the difference is,
since I have never seen the Saturn game or even any screen shots. I do
know that the Saturn game is also a 2D fighting game. I do not know if
the information in this FAQ will apply to the Saturn game.
The Saturn game is also an import. You can get it from Tronix at
http://www.tronixweb.com/
---
3.6
Q How do I get the Super Famicom game to work in my Super Nintendo?
A Well, I wasn't going to address this question since it doesn't really
have anything to do with the Playstation game; however I've gotten
several emails about it and decided to add a section here.
Perhaps first I should state a warning: I've never done this, and I
can't be held responsible for anything that happens to your system
if you try this. Anyway, I've heard that the Super Famicom games
will work in a Super Nintendo without any modification if you can
get the game to fit into the slot (the Super Nintendo cart-slot is
smaller than the Super Famicom one). Supposedly, if you cut a
larger hole in your Super Nintendo so the game can fit inside it
will work. Like I said, I've never tried it.
A Well, first off, I translated the kanji in the title, and I'm not very
experienced at that. Most likely, I got something wrong. If you notice
anything that you know I got wrong then please email me.
The title is (in Romanji and the section after SuperS I'm just guessing
at the word groupings), "Bishoujo Senshi SeeraaMuun Supersu Shin Shuyaku
Sodatsusen". The first part almost anyone who watches Sailor Moon
already knows; Bishoujo Senshi translates to Pretty Soldier, SeeraaMuun
Supersu is Sailor Moon SuperS.
Here's what I've made of the rest:
There are six kanji in the last part of the title, they are:
kanji reference # translation
----- ----------- -----------
shin 422 truth/reality
shu 155 lord/master or main/principle
yaku 375 battle
so 302 dispute/argue
datsu 1310 take by force
sen 301 fight/war/battle
The last three combine to make one word, sodatsusen. This word means
"a competition, struggle". I've heard (thanks Jacob Poon -
a324poon@cdf.toronto.edu) that the second two combine to make the
word "shuyaku", and that this word means leader or protagonist.
So that would make the title something like, "Pretty Soldier Sailor
Moon SuperS True Leader Competition", if you translate it literally.
If you just go for the meaning behind the words, it seems to just say
there's a fight or argument involved.
---
4.2
Q Is the opening animation any good?
A YES! The rendering is beautiful, and the sequence is wonderful. It
shows each of the scouts doing their signature move (from the series)
and plays the (Japanese) theme music in the background.
---
4.3
Q What sort of game is it?
A It is a Street Fighter-esque fighting game. Two players, or one
player vs the computer, fight by jumping, kicking, punching, and
throwing cool-looking special moves at each other. The game uses the
same view as the Street Fighter games, and many of the moves are
actually the same.
---
4.4
Q Are the graphics any good?
Q Are the backgrounds any good?
A I hate to say it, but the graphics aren't that great. The Senshi
are computer modeled, and they are well done, but they have no
facial features. That alone might not be a problem if the game
were speedy, but it seems a bit sluggish if you play it just after
a game like Darkstalkers or Street Fighter. This is probabally
because it is more of a "kids'" game (I don't believe that for a
minute. . . it's too much fun!).
The backgrounds, on the other hand, are superbly done. There are 10
backgrounds available. Plus, the backgrounds seem to have something
to do with who is fighting (ie, if you're fighting against Chibi-Moon
you're on her arena, the grassy hill with Crystal Tokyo in the
background).
---
4.5
Q Is the music any good?
Q Is the music from the series or is it original?
Q Does the music have lyrics?
A I think the first is a very important question. However, it is also an
opinion. I like the music. Plus, it tends to have something to do
with what's going on on the screen. When you're fighting in Sailor
Chibi Moon's arena, it plays Chibi Moon's theme song (I know this now
because I have a Japanese CD with her theme from SuperS on it). I'm not
sure if any of the other music is from the series, because I haven't seen
any of the newer Japanese episodes ( :[ ). However, the music that plays
during the intro is the Japanese theme music. The intro music is the only
music that features lyrics, but this is an advantage, since a bunch of
singing would confuse any human players that were fighting.
All of the music except for the theme music is on CD tracks. I haven't
found the intro/theme music on the CD, so I think it's actually in a
file in the data track. When you think about it, this makes sense. The
intro animation is large, and when you watch it, you can hear the
PlayStation load data a few times while it's still going on. If the
music were on a CD track, it would have to stop reading the music to
read the data on track 1. Unfortunately, this means that if you want to
make a tape of all the music on the game, you can't get the theme music.
---
4.6
Q Is it hard?
Q I hear the AI is weak.
A Let me start with the second "question". Where did you hear that?!
True, the AI is predictable, but at times it seems the computer simply
doesn't believe in punching and kicking. Often, all you get is a stream
of special moves and/or "chump" moves (continual sweeps so you don't get
a chance to fight). The latter is Chibi Moon's favorite tactic.
The game is not terribly hard, you can beat several of the scouts with
little to no trouble. However, the game overall, and some of the scouts
individually, is hard. If you want to beat it and actually see the end
of the game it will take some practice. But, it's not impossible.. I'm
really not very good at fighting games, and I beat it (eventually).
---
4.7
Q I hear it's lame.
A Ouch. Well, that's probabally from people who are comparing it to
Toshinden and/or Tekken. Granted, it doesn't do the cool things they
do, and as a fighting game, it may be a little sub-standard when compared
to the mega-hits like Stree Fighter or Darkstalkers; but hey, look at it
from a fan's perspective, and it's absolutely awesome!
---
4.8
Q What do the buttons do?
A Well, in the menus and such, "circle" will choose things and "select"
will back you out a step. "Start" seems to cancel any actions such
as the intro animation or demos.
In the game, the default buttons are:
"Square" : weak punch
"Triangle" : strong punch
"X" : weak kick
"Circle" : strong kick
"L1" : See below
"L2" : See below
"R1" : See below
"R2" : See below
And, the direction pad works just like any other fighting game.
After you choose your scout and before you fight you will see some
Japanese text. Some of the text is green and some of it is red.
If you choose the green text, you have to do the special moves on
your own. If you choose the red text, the top four buttons do them
for you according to this table:
"L1 + weak or strong punch" : Special move A
"L2 + weak or strong punch" : Special move B
"R1 + weak or strong punch" : Special move C
"R2 + strong punch" : "Super" Special move
I've now beaten the game several times using the "easy specials" mode.
As far as I can tell, choosing the red text has absolutely no effect
on the game except for making it easier on you.
Note: when you're in the training mode you keep fighting until you
press "select".
---
4.9
Q What do all those menu options mean?
A At the moment, I haven't translated them into English. However, I have
figured out what most of them do.
Main Menu:
Option 1 : 1 Player game
Option 2 : 2 Player game
Option 3 : Training mode
Option 4 : Options screen
2 Player:
Option 1 : Human vs Human
Option 2 : Human vs Computer
Difficulties : from easy (top) to very hard (bottom)
Round time : Infinite, 90 seconds, 60 seconds, 30 seconds
Sound/Music options screen:
Stereo/Mono select? (I'm not sure about this one)
Background Music test
Sound Effects test
Also, when you play anything but a practice (training) fight, you
will get an option that asks you to pick between some green Japanese
text and some red Japanese text. Before, I thought this let you
choose between auto-blocking and no specials or specials and you
do the blocking. However, I was wrong. There doesn't seem to be
an auto-blocking option. When you choose the red text, you can
access the special moves easier (see table in the "What do the
buttons do?" section above this question).
---
4.10
Q What is the difference on different difficulties?
A The only real difference I've noticed is how many points you get to
use on the Ability Customize System.
Easy : 30
Medium : 25
Hard : 20
Super-Hard : 15
Also, some of the scouts go a little easier on you with the special
moves if you're on an easier level. But, when you get to the outer-
senshi, you can forget them being easy on you.
---
4.11
Q What is the Ability Customize System?
A This system allows you to add points to some of your scout's abilities.
Note: I got most of these translations from Herb Quiong off his page
at http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~hlq94001/sampform.shtmll .
First option : Punching damage
Second option : Kicking damage
Third option : Throwing damage
Fourth option : Defense
Fifth option : Hit points
Sixth option : Kawai (Cuteness)
Seventh option : Special moves damage
Eighth option : Super special move damage
Point pool
Continue (select to go on, even if all points are not allocated)
Most of these options are self-explanatory. However, the cuteness
one may be a bit confusing. It seems that the higher this option is
the more often the scout will stop and "pose". Personally, I find
this more annoying than anything else. When she poses you just
stand there vulnerable and your opponent can land several punches.
---
4.12
Q Are they the "Super" Senshi?
A Yes. They are even wearing the Super Senshi outfits, Serena has the
Moon wand (I'm not sure of its actual name since I haven't seen these
episodes :[ ), and they do the Super Senshi attacks in their special
moves.
---
* - Updated (April 22, 1997)
4.13
Q Can you play as the "outer senshi"?
A Yes and no. In the training mode and in the two player game, you can
play as any one of the scouts. That includes: Sailor Moon, Sailor
Chibi Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus,
Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Pluto, and Sailor Saturn.
However, in the one player game you can only play what is known as
the "inner senshi". These are: Sailor Moon, Sailor Chibi Moon,
Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus.
Why? I don't know. I suppose because they didn't want to program
10 different endings.
---
4.14
Q Is Darien and/or Tuxedo Mask in it?
A Darien is featured in the intro, some of the screens, and some of the
speech (sometimes, he will be the one to say "Ready... FIGHT!").
Unfortunately, you can't play as him. Personally, I'd like to be able
to play as him. Maybe if there's a sequel (considering the popularity
of the show in Japan, there probabally will be one).
---
4.15
Q I hear Sailor Uranus is hard.
A Yup.
---
4.16
Q Why is that?
A Well, she is the last person in the game, and she's _fast_! Plus, even
though you can block most of the other scouts' special moves (all but
their super move) and only take a little damage, if you block Uranus's
moves, they only do a little less damage than they normally would. On
top of all that, every other move takes some time to do. You know, like
in the show, before they can do the cool move they have to spin in a
circle, wave their arms, and let you know it's coming. Well, Uranus's
moves just .. happen. She'll be standing there and then suddenly fly
towards you with a golden arc in front of her, then do a major uppercut
and put a serious hurt on you. She is tough, but, especially with the
investment of a few continues, you can beat her. I usually just forget
about specials when I go against her, and if I start to get really hurt,
I take a lesson from Chibi Moon and don't let her get off the floor.
I've gotten emails from several people to the effect of, "Sailor Uranus
isn't hard. Sailor is hard!" Ok, the fact of the
matter is, everyone has different fighting styles. Therefore, some
people don't have a hard time with Sailor A, but keep getting beat up
by Sailor B. However, from what I've seen and heard most people find
Sailor Uranus the hardest.
---
* - Updated (April 22, 1997)
4.17
Q What are the moves?
A Oh, my. Well, these are VERY easy to find out once you buy the game.
All the moves are in the manual. Even if you lose the manual, go to
the training mode and press "start" to pause, a little screen pops
up telling you all the moves for that scout.
The "Super-Moves" (the last move listed for each scout) can only be
done as desperation attacks. In other words, you can't use them until
your health bar is flashing red.
Moves according to each scout:
( Note: I translated these by using the Kana in the manual. Each of
the characters in the manual represents a syllable. I now know
what these syllables mean, and I translated them into Romanji below.
The reason the Romanji looks a lot like the English translation is
that many of the attacks use "borrowed" words, so they're actually
already in English
In a few places, I have a word followed by a ? - Marshmallow? - this
means that I'm not 100% sure on this translation. Some places I
have several ???, this is because I haven't been able to figure out
what they're saying there yet. I also have a few places with a /
this means that I've heard both.)
U - Up U
UT - Up-Towards +--+
T - Towards UA| |UT
DT - Down-Towards +--+ +--+
D - Down A| -- |T
DA - Down-Away +--+ +--+
A - Away DA| |DT
UA - Up-Away +--+
D
WP - Weak-Punch
SP - Strong-Punch
WK - Weak-Kick
SK - Strong-Kick
Super Sailor Moon:
Muun Teiara Akutsyon (Moon Tiara Action)
D-DT-T + WP or SP
Muun Supairaru Haato Atatsuku (Moon Spiral Heart Atack)
T-DT-D-DA-A + WK or SK
* Onegai Ginsuishou
T-D-DT + SP or SP
Muun Goozyasu Medeiteishon (Moon Georgeous Meditation)
D-DT-T-A-T + SP
* In the manual, this attack has four "kanji" in it. Each of the
kanji not only has a syllabic sound associated with it, but a meaning.
For example, the first kanji is pronounced "nega", but it has the
meanings petition, request, and desire associated with it. Here is
how the four kanji in the third attack are translated (as best I can
figure out, anyway):
A I'm not going to tell you. But, I will say that they're neat. They
aren't spectacular with animations and such, but they're neat none the
less. Plus, it does neat "extra" things to the screens.
---
4.19
Q What does Sailor Moon (usually) say at the main menu screen?
A This is when the main menu screen first pops up and Sailor Moon says a
bit in Japanese. I originally thought she was saying the title, but
now that I have translated the title of the game, I've discovered that
they are saying something different. Sailor Moon will say, "Bishoujo
Senshi Seeraa Muun Supersu. . .", but after that what she says differs
from the title.
I'm not sure what Sailor Moon says at this point. It sounds like,
"Tsukino no. . .", with a little more after that. I know that Tsukino
means "of the Moon", and no is a possesive, but I don't know enough
Japanese to figure out what they are saying after that. If anybody can
help, email me.
---
4.20
Q What are they saying here?
Q What does that screen say?
A I dunno. At the moment, I can't speak or read Japanese very well. I'm
actually starting to learn some, but it's slow going. I'm trying to
learn it in my spare time, and I'm having less and less of that now
that I'm in college.
I have translated the attacks, and I'm going to work on the little
stories that appear under each of the scouts in the manual next.
Perhaps after that, I'll work on that little segment that appears in
the 1 player game that seems to set up the plot.
5.1
Q Who are the voice actors/actresses?
Q Are the voice actors/actresses the same as the ones from the Japanese
series?
A Well, from what I've heard, many of the voice actors/actresses from
the Japanese series did do the voices on the game. Here are all the
voice contributors and who they are in the game.
Kotono Mitsuishi Super Sailor Moon
Kae Araki Super Sailor Chibi Moon
Toru Huruya Tuxedo Kamen (Mask)
Michie Tmizawa Sailor Mars
Aya Hisakawa Sailor Mercury
Emi Shinohara Sailor Jupiter
Rika Fukami Sailor Venus
Keiko Han Luna
Yasuhiro Takato Artemis
Kumiko Nishihara * Diana
Megumi Ogata Sailor Uranus
Masako Katsuki Sailor Neptune
Chiuoko Kawashima Sailor Pluto
Yuko Minaguchi Sailor Saturn
* I actually haven't seen/heard Diana yet. I think the extent of
her inclusion is just another voice for the "Ready.. Fight!"
stuff. I have been told that her voice is sampled among the
options screens.
A) If you have more questions about the game, visit my web page on it
at
http://www.main.com/~koyn/smpsxrev.shtml
B) I've also encountered another FAQ about this game by Larry Eng.
However, right now I don't know its home site and can't really tell
you where to get it.
C) Also, if you have more general questions, you can visit my Sailor
Moon page at
http://www.main.com/~koyn/
C2) or the Sailor Moon FAQ, by: Ken Arromdee
email address: arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu and karromde@nyx.nyx.net
http://www.randomc.com/~arromdee/
or try the newsgroup: alt.fan.sailor-moon. And, you can always
email me at: koyn@flash.net.
D) If you would like to know where I looked for all the kanji/kana
translations, here's the info:
Title : Kanji & Kana
A Handbook and Dictionary of the Japanese Writing System
Authors : Wolfgang Hadamitzky and Mark Spahn
Publisher : Charles E. Tuttle Company
Rutland, Vermont : Tokyo, Japan
D2) For learning kanji/kana, try this link:
Japanese <-> English Dictionary Server
URL: http://enterprise.ic.gc.ca/cgi-bin/j-e/
