#system: arcade

[vgheroines]

Game: Pu-Li-Ru-La

Heroine: Mel

System: Arcade

Year: 1991

Developer: Taito

Genre: Beat 'em up

(screenshots from JACK)

[vgheroines]

Game: Wonder Momo

Heroine: Momo Kanda

System: Arcade

Year: 1987

Developer: Namco

Genre: Beat 'em up

Etc: Wonder Momo has been a long time classic 'mascot' character of Namco's, making some kind of cameo appearance in many Namco spinoff games. Wonder Momo now has her own webcomic courtesy of ShiftyLook and Udon Entertainment.

(screenshots from zun)

[vgheroines]

Game: Psycho Soldier

Heroine: Athena Asamiya

System: Arcade

Year: 1987 (US)

Developer: SNK

Genre: Action

Etc: Athena Asamiya, most popularly known for her continuing appearance in The King of Fighters franchise of fighting games, originated in the game Psycho Soldier, but she is the canon descendant of Princess Athena, heroine of the earlier SNK arcade game Athena (1986)

(screenshots from cubex55, Tsunao)

[vgheroines]

Game: Dead or Alive (series)

Heroine: Kasumi

System: Arcade, Saturn, Playstation

Year: 1996

Developer: Team Ninja

Genre: Fighting

Etc: Creator Tomonobu Itagaki felt strongly enough for his character, Kasumi, that he brought legal action upon the creators of a "nude Kasumi" hack for Dead or Alive 2 - claiming the hack was a violation of Kasumi's dignity.

(screenshots from Thegamerwalkthroughs, BoneofHead, AldinSaric)

[vgheroines]

Game: Fantastic Night Dreams COTTOn

Heroine: Nata De Cotton

System: Arcade, others

Year: 1991

Developer: Success

Genre: Shooter

Etc: The series has had at least six main entries spanning many consoles, as well as a pachinko spinoff for the PS2. Cotton herself also made a guest appearance in Rondo of Swords for the DS.

(screenshots from marchang)

[vgheroines]

Game: Ms. Pac-man

Heroine: Ms. Pac-man ("Pepper" in the Pac-Man animated series)

System: Arcade

Year: 1982

Developer: Midway, General Computer Corporation

Genre: Maze

Etc: Ms. Pac-man, originally a third party conversion kit for the Pac-man arcade game, (working title: "Crazy Otto") provided gaming with one of it's first playable women.

(screenshots from HardWiredGaming)

[vgheroines]

Game: Time Gal

Heroine: Reika Kirishima, aka, Time Gal

System: Arcade, ported to various other consoles

Year: 1985

Developer: Taito w/ Toei Animation

Genre: Interactive Movie

Etc: Some twenty (!!) years later, Reika Kirishima returned to make a second appearance as a playable protagonist in Taito's Castle of Shikigami III!

(screenshots from italiandoh, GMIX6809, )

*

When I was a little girl, I loved Time Gal! I played the Sega CD version all the time. The animation was cool and pretty, the direction based gameplay was easy to understand (if hard to perfect) and it stared a cool future girl with green hair! I wanted to grow up to be Time Gal! (Along with several other female characters of course)

…And then I did grow up. You know how you watch cartoons as a kid, and then you watch them as an adult and you see all the things you 'missed'? Time Gal is sort of like that for me. When I was a kid, I didn't pay attention to Reika's latex bikini, the attacks that always targeted her boobs or ass, or the squeaky "iya" (no) and "yamete" (stop it) sounds she made when in trouble.

I'm not saying Time Gal is hentai. If anything, it's just slightly ecchi. But that is a problem with a very large amount of games staring women. They aren't there for women players to sympathize and identify with, they are there to attract heterosexual male players.

...But that also doesn't mean women can't enjoy, study or elaborate on them. In fact, something that really re-ignited my passion for Time Gal all over again is playing as Reika in Castle of Shikigami III, where she will elaborate (often hilariously) on the tropes and mishaps of her original game.

[vgheroines]

Game: Mushihime-sama

Heroine: Reco

System: Arcade, PS2, iOS

Year: 2004

Developer: Cave

Genre: Vertical Shooter

Etc: Reco also stars in the sequel game Mushihime-sama Futari (2006)

(screenshots from TeraPatrick2008)

*

Guest Commentary by Saint Bomber

Reco dodges more bullets in stage one than mega man does in his entire series. Curtain fire games seem to be a fairly casual exception to the general tendency for warriors and pilots in video games having to be male. In arcade style shooters like Touhou, Cotton, Cave and Psikyo games and the like, it is not uncommon to see girls atop or inside terrifying war machines that pump out unbelievable volumes of firepower, and are required to dodge in equal measure. Despite this, Reco spends most of her time in Mushihimesama laughing and being very chipper through the whole process, even as bodies and explosions carpet the screen. But then, when you're riding atop a golden beetle the size of a Volkswagen, perhaps the world has precious little surprises left for you. Its also worth noting that it isn't until the sequel that Reco is joined by a selectable male character.