The Neptunia series has a long history of turning video game consoles and companies into anime girls for their games. But the new spin-off game, Hyper Goddess Faith Noire: Ultra Goddess Black Heart, takes it a step further and gives famous Japanese game franchises their own anime girl treatment.
[Note: As the names of these characters have no official English names as of yet, these are my own transliterations of the Japanese.]
Bio (ビオ) – Resident Evil
Bio's name comes from the Japanese title of the survival horror series—i.e., “ Biohazard.” You've gotta love the little zombie chewing on her shoulder and the little red and white umbrella it carries around.
Moru (モルー) – Monster Hunter
Moru's name comes from the first syllable of the franchise she represents: Monster Hunter—and she definitely looks the part.
Lifai (リーファイ) – Street Fighter
It's easy for anyone who's ever played a fighting game to see that Lifai is modeled after Chun Li from Street Fighter. I also enjoy that her bracers have down to forward punch written on them.
Lid (リッド) – Metal Gear
Her name is Lid, as in Metal Gear Solid. Her design is based on that of “Old Snake” in Metal Gear Solid 4.
Win (ウィン) – Pro Evolution Soccer
Win is the embodiment of the Pro Evolution Soccer series—or as it's known in Japan, Winning Eleven.
Saori (さおり) – Tokimeki Memorial
Tokimeki Memorial, back in the PS1 days, was the first break-out game for the dating sim genre. The game's main love interest is Fujisaki Shiori.
Restore (レストア) – Record of Agarest War
Restore personifies the Agarest War franchise. In appearance she looks like the game series' Ellis and Fiona—and as they were both healers, this adds another layer to Restore's name pun.
Little Rain (リトル・レイン) – Neverland
Little Rain represents Idea Factory's Neverland series of games. Both her name an appearance are based on the Spectral Force character Little Snow.
Generia G (ジェネリア・G) – SD Gundam G Generation
Representing the Gundam G Generation series of games, Generia G takes her appearance from any number of captains from the Gundam franchise.
Lady Wakku (レデイ・ワック) – Pac-Man
Fruit on her dress, a giant bow, and sitting on a ball—need I say more?
Ai Masujima (増島 愛) – IDOLM@STER
Ai Masujima represents the Idolmaster series (though it’s not the first time Neptunia has parodied this series). She is based on IDOLM@STER 2's Mami Futami.
Estelle (エステル) – Dragon Quest
Dressing like the hero from Dragon Quest III, Estelle's appearance is especially iconic for Japanese gamers.
Ain Al (アインアル) – Final Fantasy
A crystal on her chest, a rabbit that looks like a moogle, and a character design that looks more than a little like FFXIII's Lightning, it’s obvious at a glance that Ain Al represents Final Fantasy. I should also mention that her starting weapon in the game proper is an FFVIII-style gunblade.
Sango (サンゴ) – Dynasty Warriors
Dynasty Warriors, called “Sangoku Musou” in Japanese, appears as a girl that looks a lot like mainstay character Sun Shang Xiang.
Poona (プーナ) – Opoona
From quirky little Wii game Opoona, it's pretty easy to guess the origin of this character's name.
Brossa Aizen (ブロッサ 愛染) – Sakura Wars
Weird foreign-sounding name and an 18th century European military-esque uniform? This could only be Sakura Wars.
Ryuka (琉歌) – Yakuza
With an outfit halfway between that of a hostess club girl and a white mobster suit, Ryuka is a clear embodiment of the Yakuza franchise—or “Ryu ga Gotoku” as it is called in Japanese.
Tsunemi (つねみ) – Vocaloid/Project Diva
Tsunemi is based on the world's most popular virtual singer, Hatsune Miku.
Hyper Goddess Faith Noire: Ultra Goddess Black Heart was released for the PlayStation Vita in Japan on May 29, 2014. There is currently no word on a Western release.
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