Sailormoon DASH

Bishojo Senshi Sailormoon DASH, aka "Sailor Dash", was a popular fan game for Android and Apple devices. The app used to be available on Google Play and iTunes in 2014, but in Fall of 2015, Bandai Namco got a little butthurt over the game doing better than their Japan-Only-Bejeweled-Clone "Sailor Moon Drops", so they filed a copyright claim, getting the game banned.

Isn't that funny? Bandai totally rips off of Bejeweled, and has previously stolen coding from Street Fighter, Puyo Pop, Streets of Rage and Final Fantasy for their 1992-2015 Sailor Moon game output, to the point where identical items from other video games appear in the source code for their games, but they have the nerve to get ass-hurt over an ORIGINAL fan game. Wow. Is this company run by 12 year old girls? Because no true adult should ever behave that way. Ah well, I still buy official Bandai goods, but they need to grow up.

Many sites reported that Sailormoon Dash was actually an official game, licensed by Toei Animation, but M-TAKE have updated their Google Play page to inform players that it is not an official game. Right to the end, they made it clear that they wanted fans to support legal Sailor Moon merchandise, and that this was just a freebie.

At the start, the first character you can play as is Sailor Moon, who has klutzy game mechanics. As you play, you will earn points, which you can use to bulk up Sailor Moon's powers, or you can save them to unlock other Sailor Senshi. Each Sailor Senshi is 3000 points. One new Guardian will only be released every few updates, but eventually, you can play as Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter or Venus. Sailor Chibi Moon, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn were supposed to be added on a monthly basis, but between fixing glitches and fighting a losing battle to Bandai Namco, the S series of Guardians never saw the light of day.

Luckily, you only pay in points, not real life money, so there was no freemium nonsense here. But to earn up enough points to unlock a Guardian, you had to play through the stage many, many times. The longer you survive, the better.

Once you had selected your character, (if you can't read Japanese, use the far left button on the menu screen, and it will take you to character select, then hit the button under your Guardian.) you are sent to the 30th Century to fight zombies, re-animated Youma, evil puppets and flying zombie witches.

Since your power ups include items found VERY late in the series (like Seiya's brooch) it is theorized that instead of playing as 14 year old Usagi, you are playing with Neo Queen Serenity returning as Sailor Moon, or Parallel Usagi.

The first theory comes from the manga (and later Act 26 of Sailor Moon Crystal), where after the death of Wiseman, Neo Queen Serenity suddenly has her "Sailormoon S" Heart Moon Rod, and the version of Sailor Moon you are playing as has both that exact wand and her S attacks.

When you unlock the other Sailor Guardians, you (in theory) could be playing as their 30^th Century or Parallel selves.

It remains unclear if Chibi Moon would have been her 900+ year old self we're all used to, or if she would have been the version of her Usagi gives birth to before Parallel Sailor Moon. It's likely she would have been the usual, 30^th Century variety, but we may never know.

Another theory is that there is a crisis in the future, and 14 or 15 year old Usagi is once again sent ahead, but again, with nothing definite, it's up to you to decide which incarnation you are playing as. And again, we can use Seiya's brooch. More on that shortly.

Starting the game, you are in the 30th Century, and along with defeating the enemies, you need to jump over dark crystal leftover fragments and other obstacles, while staying on platforms and avoiding the abyss. The left button lets you jump with one press and double jump with a second, and the right lets you shoot.

You need to collect hearts to stay alive and stars to shoot the enemies. If you fill up your star meter, you will have a new button that will let you do an attack from the show.

↑ The Holy Grail upgrades yellow stars into purple double stars.

↑ The Pink Moon Crystal (CHIBIUSA'S!!) turns all enemies on screen into stars.

↑ Seiya's brooch let's you travel at warp speed.

↑ The orb from Haruka's transformational pen puts you in a shield bubble. Chose this item, and you will see a number of stars above your head. Those stars represent how many times you can get hit before the bubble will burst. Sailor Moon can only have 3 hits, while Mercury is good for 5.

↑ Mamoru's rose will shoot enemies dead for you for a few seconds.

↑ Luna-P will grab EVERYTHING on the screen.

↑ The rainbow ribbon (Cosmos??) will grant you a giant rainbow to dash across for a short time. (Very useful!)

The Time Key warps you to the time gate, where you collect stars until you reach the time door.

On older phones and devices, there is a glitch (even after the first update) where if you play as Sailor Moon, Mars or Mercury, and you grab the first Time Key, the door leads you to a platform-less void after you collect your stars, and you die. To get around this glitch, avoid every sunset and night time Luna-P, then double jump over the time key, so you do not touch it. If you are agile enough, you will skip the glitch.

Another way to avoid the glitch is to start playing on a tablet or any device that is newer and with more RAM. This will also give your characters more fluid animations.

If you do hit the glitch however, keep tapping the jump button, tap and hold if you can. If you are extremely lucky, you can float to another platform, but be warned, a puppet Youma is waiting for you.

Some of the ads appear on the title screen inside Chibiusa's Dream Mirror. After Pegasus left, her heart turned to advertisements to make ends meet. :/

Once you've gotten accustomed to the controls, it's pretty fun! ☺

	Sailor Moon Sailor Moon is the first character you can play as. Starting off, she isn't very fast or strong, so you will spend your first 1000 points on the character select screen fixing her. Her main attack is Moon Tiara Magic. Her finisher is Spiral Moon Heart Attack. When she gets a shield, it lasts 3 hit stars. The shield becomes a yellow bubble.
	Sailor Mercury Sailor Mercury is the second Sailor Guardian you can play as. She is faster than Sailor Moon, can jump higher, and her Shabon Spray attack goes a little farther. Her finisher is Shine Aqua Illusion. When she gets a shield, it lasts 5 hit stars. Her shield is a purple and blue bubble.
	Sailor Mars Sailor Mars is the third Guardian you can choose. She is slower than Sailor Moon, and jumps about at the same level. Her main attack is a fire bird. Her finisher is Burning Mandala. When she gets a shield, it lasts 3 hit stars. Her shield is made of the flames from her transformation.
	Sailor Jupiter Sailor Jupiter is the fourth Guardian you can choose. Her main attack is Supreme Thunder. She is as fast as Sailor Mercury, but her jumping requires sharp timing. Her finisher is Sparkling Wide Pressure. When she gets a shield, it lasts 3 hit stars. Her shield is made from the lightning in her transformation.
	Sailor Venus Sailor Venus is the fifth Guardian you can choose. Her main attack is Crescent Beam. She is fast and is great at jumping, a very smooth character to play as. Her finisher is Venus Love-Me Chain. When she gets a shield, it lasts 3 hit stars. Her shield is made from the hearts that surround her during Venus Love and Beauty Shock.