When it comes to anthropomorphic consoles in our games, JRPG fans know who our goddess and goddess candidates are. We’ve seen eight games in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series by this point, after all. Neptune, Noire, Blanc, Vert, Nepgear, Uni, Rom, and Ram are household names in the right circles. Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls is increasing our pantheon when it comes to the PlayStation Vita this year. It takes us through an adventure where the Hyperdimension Neptunia goddesses and Sega Hard Girls both exist and it’s up to IF and Sega Hatsumi, an entirely new heroine, to work with people we do and don’t know to restore the Grand Library and visit different eras and times to set things right.
But, we don’t have to wait until Superdimension Neptunia VS Sega Hard Girls’ characters that are new to us. The Hi-sCoool! Seha Girls anime is available on Crunchyroll, allowing us to meet these women before their western game debut.
It’s best to start with Dreamcast, as she’s Hi-sCoool! Seha Girls’ heroine. She’s based on the Sega Dreamcast and, at a glance, looks a lot like Ulala from Space Channel 5. She also happens to have a Dreamcast controller with a VMU in it in her headdress, which is pretty difficult to miss, and the Dreamcast spiral logo as her belt buckle. In terms of her outfit, it has a lot in common with Orange Heart’s attire, as it’s white with orange highlights. Her weapon is more dramatic than Uzume Tennouboshi’s megaphone, as she has a sword with a VMU in the hilt and the Dreamcast spiral on it.
Dreamcast is a very energetic, upbeat young woman. Perhaps a bit to the extreme, as she’s interested primarily in having fun and enjoying good food. This is exemplified by her recklessness, as she often engages in some friendly fire in the anime and had a tendency to fall and trip.
Saturn is Hi-sCoool! Seha Girls’ second biggest character. She’s a physical manifestation of the Sega Saturn. She has the Saturn’s red “S” logo on her collar and boots, the controller’s action buttons on the left side of her white vest, and her two staves have the “S”s around blue orbs. She has heterochromia eyes, with one blue and the other green.
When it comes to the anime, it does a wonderful job of making sure Saturn (the character) goes through many of the same things as Saturn (the console). She’s probably the most normal of the whole cast, though she may be a bit overconfident. Which always works against her. She starts out ahead of the other girls in school, but quickly falls behind. (Just like the real Saturn!) When she tries to do things to ingratiate herself with people, it’s rejected where Dreamcast’s advances would be. A great example is episode nine of the anime. While Dreamcast and Mega Drive get super lucky in Chain Chronicle and get 5-star cards, Saturn’s is 1-star. She’s a classic underdog heroine with magic abilities.
The third Sega Hard Girls console is Mega Drive. Like Plutia, she represents the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis. She carries a 16-Bit book, whose title is strikingly similar to the 16-Bit gold lettering emblazoned across the top of the console. Her left sleeve has the three ABC action buttons on it as accessories, as do her hairclip and shoe straps. Her color scheme is black, white, and pink, referring to the system’s black background, red accents, and white logos.
In terms of personality, she’s studious, stoic, and passionate about the things she cares about. She’s considered the most aloof of the three primary heroines in Hi-sCoool! Seha Girls, because the Dreamcast and Saturn consoles were more popular than it was in Japan. She could be considered the most determined member when she sees a fight she want to win or a cause to back, such as when she rails against smart phones or finds herself in an advantage in a fight. Her book is, naturally, her weapon.
Then, there’s Game Gear. She’s Nepgear’s counterpart and represents the Sega Game Gear. Her hair is red, green, and blue, referencing the colors in the ovals on the handheld’s screen. Her entire outfit is a black, bulky outfit. She even has an antenna on her back, as a nod to the handheld’s TV tuner. Though personally, I think a great nod would have also had her image fading in and out, as all three of the Game Gears I’ve owned have had the screens eventually die on me. Her backpack straps have the Game Gear Start button on the left strap and oval icons on the right, and the bottom left of her jacket has two buttons resembling the handheld’s 1 and 2 buttons.
To be honest, we don’t get to know as much about Game Gear in Hi-sCoool! Seha Girls. She isn’t as involved in the story as Dreamcast, Saturn, and Mega Drive. Like the Game Gear, she doesn’t have much energy. She stays inside a lot, resting and relaxing, and doesn’t show much emotion. Basically, she doesn’t seem to have much time for the other characters’ antics in the show, though she does get pulled along sometimes, with episode eight showing her participating in the cultural festival.
Each of the Hi-sCoool! Seha Girls have personalities as intricate and defined as Hyperdimension Neptunia’s goddesses. Their quirks and natures will definitely make for some interesting storylines and antics once Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls arrives this fall, especially since so many characters have a direct counterpart in the Neptunia universe.
Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls will come to North American and European PlayStation Vitas in fall 2016.
Published: Jun 16, 2016 01:30 pm