As far as I'm concerned, Sailor Moon is completely untapped in video games. There's a sizable community of Sailor Moon fans just waiting for something, anything, related to Sailor Moon, and I've told Koei Tecmo and Bandai Namco developers that a Dynasty Warriors reskin with Sailor Moon characters (call it Sailor Warriors or whatever) would sell a lot more than they might expect. Who doesn't want to see Sailor Mars smote alien demons with a fireball?
So it was surprising to hear the announcement of the free-to-play Sailor Moon Drops at a private Bandai Namco studio event. My inner Sailor Moon fan wanted to cry like Usagi. But while it's nice to have any game related to the Sailor Moon universe, the game works essentially like any other a match-3 title on mobile, complete with all of the typical objectives and linear path. That might also make you cry like Usagi.
Sailor Moon Drops does have some neat innovations in the genre. As you progress through the game, your party of Sailor Scouts will grow much like the first season of the show: (in order) Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus. Each Scout has their own special ability and can be leveled up separately, if you're strategic and lucky enough to pass each stage. Sailor Moon fans will appreciate all of the voicework and familiar Sailor Moon attacks, as well as the ability to unlock
After the first handful of tutorial stages, the game gets incredibly difficult, mainly due to stages having six different gems. So your success will depend much on how lucky you are with the initial gem board. Whether it's because the game is ported from the Japanese version or the game is meant to be difficult to entice you into purchasing in-game items, stages in Sailor Moon Drops usually takes more than a few tries (or hearts) to complete. And even then, just barely passing a stage isn't good enough when earning two or three stars is a requirement for earning collectibles and keys.
On the flipside, Sailor Moon fans will want to stick with the game if just to send a message to Bandai Namco to support more Sailor Moon titles. Sailor Moon Drops is currently free on mobile on iOS and Android.
