MD games with a female character lead

[Hans-CD]

Hi guys sorry for the weird topic, but my niece just wanted one of my old Model 1 MDs so i obviously gave it to her and threw in Sonic 1 and 2 since i had multiple copies of those.

She s kinda young, 14~ but she s really enjoying the MD and i m happy for that! Now she usually likes games where there are female character leads and on top of my head i can only think of Alisia Dragoon.

I want to buy her a few cart only games , what are your suggestions? Because i really don't know any other game that had a female lead in it. Maybe Rolling Thunder ? But i could be wrong.

Thanks for your answers and your kindndess guys!

[evil_ash_xero]

Monster World IV, of course. Unfortunately, it's JP only. But you can get an English version from a guy on this site.

[Furnessly]

It's hard to think of examples but I can try since two games with a female lead have already been said.

Games that have a female lead:
El Viento
Panorama Cotton [Japan only but playable without knowledge of the language]
Ariel the Little Mermaid (I don't think she would play this game though)
Trouble Shooter (Battle Mania series) [Both characters are female]
Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Quest
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon [Japan only and is region locked but playable without knowledge of the language, all player characters are female]
Burning Force [The pilot is female]
Danha (Japan/Korea only, very hard though...)
Ms. Pac-Man
Pocahontas

Game that have a female character as a playable character (who might not be the main character):
Blades of Venegance (could be too violent for her, depends on what type of personality she is)
Streets of Rage series [Blaze] (ditto)
Golden Axe series [Tyris, whoever the one from the 3rd one is] (ditto)
Alien Storm
Ex-Mutants [Shannon]
X-Men series
Rolling Thunder 3 (via a cheat in the password screen)
Second Samurai (as Player 2)
Adventures of Mighty Max [Bea] I don't recommend this game at all though
Micro Machines series (there are a couple of women in the roster)
Combat Cars (ditto)
Gain Ground (there are a few but not sure whether you can chose them or that they are random)
Gauntlet 4 (the Valkyrie)
Great Circus Mystery (Minnie Mouse)
Hurricanes (one of them is a girl)
The Smurfs Travel the World (Smurfette)

Arrow Flash, Gleylancer and Hellfire technically have female pilots but they are either on the game packaging or the cutscenes/ending. Fighting games usually have a female character that you can play as (like Chun Li and Cammy from the Street Fighter series). There are also a few games that also have a female lead but they require knowledge of Japanese to play on them (e.g. Battle Golfer Yui).

Also if you have a Mega CD, there's also Keio Flying Squadron.

[Crackdown]

Alisia Dragoon
Jennifer Cappriati Tennis
Barbie Vacation Adventure

[The Jackal]

Wiz N' Liz.

[Thunderblaze16]

Would the SOR series count since you have the choice to play as a chick?

[eddiespruce]

Valis, Valis SD, Valis 3.

Glad you mentioned those. I always loved the Valis series. Yuko Asou is one of my favorite female protagonists in video games.

[Thunderblaze16]

Yu yu Hakusho Mega Drive

[Sik]

Huh, neither of the Yuu Yuu Hakusho games let you play as a female character. Heck, I think this is true for the SNES games as well...

[A Black Falcon]

In the US SD Valis was called Syd of Valis. Also, several shmups with female pilots were mentioned, but not MUSHA I think... that's another one.

Many have been mentioned. Some more:

Games with gender choice - not a female lead, but you can play as characters of either gender

Genesis
Rolling Thunder 2 -- in Rolling Thunder 3 you can only play as the girl with a special password (that you get for beating the game I believe), but in Rolling Thunder 2, not only can you choose male or female characters, there is also two player simultaneous (that the third game doesn't have).
Alien Storm (beat 'em up)
Contra: Hard Corps
Tyrants: Fight through Time (strategy game, complex, but you can choose to play as either gender though given the genre you don't see your character or anything most of the time.)

Sega CD games
--
Popful Mail (three playable characters, eventually, but the female one is the lead)
Time Gal (Dragon's Lair style game)
Annet Again (Japan import beat 'em up, but there are ways to play import titles on a US system (making a region-altered copy being the easiest one. Sequel to El Viento.)
Keio Flying Squadron (mentioned already)

There's also Ninja Warriors, for Sega CD (Japan import game); the female robot ninja is the default one, so I guess she's sort of the main character?

And for gender choice, in the strategy game Dark Wizard you have a choice of several campaigns, some with female leads and others with male. I'm not sure if the game really has a single lead character.

Arrow Flash, Gleylancer and Hellfire technically have female pilots but they are either on the game packaging or the cutscenes/ending. Fighting games usually have a female character that you can play as (like Chun Li and Cammy from the Street Fighter series). There are also a few games that also have a female lead but they require knowledge of Japanese to play on them (e.g. Battle Golfer Yui).

No, only the PC Engine CD version of Hellfire, Hellfire S: The Another Story, has a female pilot. In the original arcade/Genesis game, the pilot isn't identified by gender, you just see a helmet and such. It might imply it's a male pilot, but I don't think there's a clear gender identification. The endings are also completely different -- the original has a nice, classic shmup ending, while Hellfire S has a completely stupid bunch of idiocy that I hate at the end. The actual levels are pretty much the same between versions, though, and the PCECD version does have two player simultaneous. But that ending... awful.

[Zebbe]

Phantasy Star and Phantasy Star IV. Zombies. Madou Monogatari I. Puyo Puyo and Puyo Puyo Tsuu. MUSHA.

[StarMist]

Devil Hunter Yoko.
Twinkle Star Sprites. EDIT >> Twinkle Tale {{ as I said below, busy elsewhere. }}
>>>> sorry those are borderline useless for purchasing prospects.<<<<<
I would count Streets of Rage because Blaze is the best.
Alien 3.
Pirates of Darkwater.
Cutey Suzuki's Ringside Angel (don't give her this).
Saint Sword (very underrated game, ignore the local review).
I think Dangerous Seed's pilot is female.
Pocahontas is worth repeating---but Meeko is the real lead.
Both Battle Mania/Troubleshooters.
Phantasy Star II's true lead is Nei.

CD = Yumimi Mix, Urusei Yatsura, something else (folk are mentioning this CD stuff--there's one that's a very shabby brawler, forget it).

{{ Sorry man, I'm a bit busy elsewhere, that's all I can name for now }}.

[andlabs]

So as you can see, a lot of MD/MCD games have female characters =P Be careful not to overdose on them! And beware the Japanese imports that require you to know the language (Mamono Hunter Youko doesn't, Madou Monogatari I and most of the Mega CD ones definitely do... and actually does Yumimi Mix even have text?!).

I guess I'll add:

• Animaniacs (Dot)
• Arcus Odyssey (I believe two of the four characters are female)
• Second Samurai (EU import; I believe player 2 in a two-player game is female)

[tenchibr]

Am I the only one who plays Arrow Flash?

[eddiespruce]

Am I the only one who plays Arrow Flash?

Nope, I liked it. I'm thinking of buying the Japanese version just because you get to see the girl on the cover.