Rika. Nei. These two names speak volumes of the Newman race. It first became somewhat apparent in PSO, and very much so with PSU, that the Newmans are now but a mere shadow... scratch that... a pale silhouette of their former greatness.
Who said Newmans were meant to be techers? I remember Rika being the best character in PS4, not only by sheer beauty and grace, but because of all-around good stats. She could hit hard with her claws, had decent skills, and could heal Chaz's butt when he couldn't take a beating, the pansy.
Why did sega team lay the beatstick so heavily against the Newmans? Furthermore, why did they have to associate their culture with an antiquated, tacky, and somewhat gratuitously narcissistic oriental overtone? (re: Neudaiz). Granted, they didn't get gypped with simple platform set within a barren desert like the Beasts did, but they also didn't get the appropriately thematic scenery that the robots somehow pulled off.
When PSU inevitably dies, it is my hope that the sequel, should it be released, will feature a complete overhaul redesign of the Newman people. Let us play Newmans who are as generally competent as Rika was, and as memorable as Nei is. And for god's sake, give the Newmans a unique culture and not some blatant spin-off of what the developers are used to.
Rika was also much better than Nei ever could have been. Not only because she was made after Nei, or not simply because of that, but due to the ... well, I don't know. She was better, okay?
As for how PS4 ended with Rika... well, it was forced like those movies that throw in a girl and force romance to appease demographics at the cost of creativity. Chaz was a boring hero and the real star of the story was Rika, though the developers, being notoriously sexist, could not have any of that. What happened to Alys should have happened to Chaz, but didn't, because of the point I alluded to in the previous sentence. Alys and Rika were the dynamic duo in the story and all the other characters were just filler or much too static.
If I could, I'd develop a PS:V and feature an arcane and controversial storyline like Xenosaga, and all the characters are either Newmans, Dezolians, and robots. It could work! A Rika/KOS-MOS hybrid? The fanbois would eat that up.