by Jin Lovelace, HSM team writer & filmmaker

I want to discuss this one fighting game on its own empirical terms, without trying to draw comparisons to other genre titles.

There were a lot of confusion about this series in its younger years. The system direction was never elaborate, thorough, or very well known. Not many gaming magazines gave it exposure or the press it naturally deserved, and for a good reason; Tekken 3, among other fighters that were coming to the PlayStation console, was dominating the 3D fighting genre at the time.

Dead or Alive, the first fighting game coming from Tecmo for PlayStation, generated some mixed reviews at the time. For one, the controversial “bouncy breasts” feature was as enticing and hypnotic as it was unnecessary and strange. Unlockables such as costumes and two characters Ayane and Raidou (the game’s final boss), were pretty decent for its time, but lacked a solid story. From its overall presentation, DOA was just another average fighter.

But what made it so good, however, was its depth in gameplay. The button layout was inspired from games such as Virtua Fighter and Fatal Fury, with a smooth system direction that was good to get into. The countering system, once mastered, opened a lot of strategy elements for each character on the roster. However, the problem with this (along with the rest of the DOA games in the series up to DOA3) was it was far too easy. You could literally press the counter button to simply counter everything, and the matches could just go back and forth with just that.

In an era where lengthy, flashy combos are quite the norm, the fifth installment has changed a bit of its formula and then some. Skipping over its past iterations and into the now, there are a lot of reasons why Ultimate stacks up to its competition and why you should be playing this game. Keep in mind, however, that there are many areas that Tecmo Koei needs to improve if they want a bigger audience for this game.

First off, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is an update to its previous released game. As it followed the free-to-play route, much akin to Namco’s Tekken series, players who desire to try out the game can purchase the “Core Fighters” for free in the PlayStation Store right now. It features a slew of updates and shifts on some of the mechanics, along with a few tweaks and gameplay balances that were much needed (Rachel’s infinite foot stomp bug being an example). The graphical enhancements in this game represent quite an overhaul of the rehashed character models used in every single DOA game, literally fleshing out all of the fighters in the roster.

But what makes it so good is the accessibility of the game. It’s easy to learn and complex to master. The system direction is as frantic as it was in the past, added to the flow of the fights in solo and tag matches. Everything is really accounted for, from your character combos to the latent strategy you implement on performing your critical burst combos, as some of them are rather easy to read, thus counters and delayed inputs are key ingredients to a successful match on your end.

You also have your special guest characters from other IPs like Ninja Gaiden (Rachel and Momoji) and SEGA’s Virtua Figher series (Akira, Sarah, Pai, and Jacky), to whom they’ve also helped flesh and balance out the mechanics of the game. Though every bit of me wished that Vanessa, Jeffrey, and Kage-Maru were a part of this roster, I’m just happy these characters are in a crossover game such a DOA and they play a bit differently than what you expect, but their essence is still there.

As far as involvement, Tecmo has definitely shined in this area. Featuring so many costume updates than what I even have in my Home wardrobe, constant updates, and community involvement such as hosting tournaments and events, this is something I don’t see from other developers of their respective fighting game IPs, and one I highly respect Tecmo Koei for.

With all of the positives out the way, there are some problem areas that I personally believe need to vastly improve.

For instance: the announcement of new character DLCs being free, only to do a complete one-eighty on that statement and place a price tag on them. This was a major disappointment. This could have potentially brought more users to the community, and while business plans do change, there is something to be said for keeping your word as a company. Instead, you’re paying $5.99 for one character, partially from scratch, and the other who is the final boss of story mode.

Secondly, as much as I enjoy the costumes in this game, it really has become a T&A fest. I acknowledge this is DOA’s signature staple to the game, but if I really wanted a striptease, I could just purchase Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude and gawk over the partial — if not full — nudity in the game. However, not such the case for this fighting game, as you are treated with a bevy of costumes that are scantily clad for almost anyone’s taste these days. Seriously, why do I wish to fight in a bathrobe? It is something not even Mama Lovelace could break down (for now, at least).

And while the costumes are aplenty, I’ve came to the conclusion that this is something that would’ve been better if you were able to fully customize your favorite character. Without going into full comparisons here, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 lacks in the customization area as far as in clothing items due to the company’s move over to their F2P model. But the thing is: the option exists! And, likewise, so it also exists in Virtua Fighter, Soul Calibur V, and even the 2D fighter King of Fighters XIII that allows you to optimize color palettes on characters to achieve custom designs.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate‘s potential truly lay here, but the game is so laced with skimpy clothing that the community would’ve been festooned with female characters in provocative designs — complete with pasties — and my interests from that point would’ve waned. Moreso, I don’t mind the sex appeal every now and then, but some of the clothing in this game really pushes the bar.

Even more: why there is no love for the male characters in this game? What of Zack and Bayman? I don’t wish to see them in Speedos or thongs, but some customizability would’ve been much appreciated, even if the target consumer audience is overwhelmingly male. Spread the love; that’s all I’m saying.

How can she lose when there’s no support, let alone to manage to keep that top on during her acrobatics?

Lastly, and this maybe touchy to some: this game falls short in-between promotion and fan service.

Don’t get me wrong — entice the casual crowd and build from there. Simple, yes. The problem here lies in promotion. The US and EU market — combined — totals up to a community base of five figures. That’s four to five times less than your average six to seven figures that you see in games that don’t even deserve the attention, in my opinion. The potential for this market is astoundingly strong, should the community step it up, but it also lies on Tecmo Koei as well. The content provided for this game is a hit or miss for me, but if you announce publicly a business practice that will give DOA5U the shining grace it deserves, then stick to the formula and not skimp.

It bothers me to see the more popular games get exposure at EVO, but not the games that deserve the light. It starts from interests, and from there it’s up to the community to build from there, and no, we’re not talking about catering to the hordes of Nipponophiles and weeaboos that thinks eating Pocky Sticks and associating their names with “kawaii” makes them any more “cultural” than Magnus being the true homeboy stereotype of thug life. (Sorry dude, but let it die.) I’m talking about finally making the content appeal to the broader audience and tweak the online modes to tailor to the crowds that desire to hone their skills in the game.

Am I willing to step it up? You bet your sweet bottom I am. The game is brimming with potential and it’s time for games like this to start stepping into the limelight and share the wealth with other crazy good fighters. It would be like watching The Atlanta Hawks going to the Playoffs every season only to lose; so much potential, but no big superstar player is willing to step it up to the plate to make the franchise better than what it is now.

In closing, I wish to see DOA5U seated at EVO and garner more exposure. I’ve never had this much fun since playing Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and while everyone enjoys Solo mode, I dig the Tag variant. But again, this is something not everyone is willing to exploit. Check out these amazing videos from Crimson Rex; you’ll see why I smell potential in tournaments.

The game has finally made the strides necessary to being one of the fantastic fighters on the market. Give it a try for yourself and see why I’m enthusiastic about Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate.

The Fall Classic Tournament (by Team Spooky)

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