Dead or Alive (video game)

Unlike other fighting games of the time, in place of a "guard" button Dead or Alive uses a "hold" button, which causes the fighter to grab their opponent's limbs if they are attacking at the time.[3] This countering system was the first in the fighting genre to utilize different commands that correspond to each type of attack. There are two kinds of holds, an Offensive Hold and a Defensive Hold; the latter are executed by holding back or forward on the directional pad along with the guard input to either force away or counter-damage an opponent.

The outer edges of the fighting arena are set with explosives which deal a high amount of damage to any fighter who comes in contact with them.[3] They can also send an affected character in the air so the opposing player can execute a juggling air combo. However, this can be avoided with a defensive roll.

• Bayman, a Russian mercenary and Russian martial arts practitioner hired to kill DOATEC's founder and CEO, Fame Douglas.
• Gen Fu, an old Chinese xinyi liuhe quan martial arts master and bookstore owner who enters the tournament to win the prize money in order to provide funds for his sick granddaughter.
• Jann Lee, a Chinese jeet kune do martial artist who enters the tournament to test his skills against powerful opponents. His character is modeled on Bruce Lee.
• Kasumi, a Japanese kunoichi who abandons her village in search of Raidou, the man who crippled her brother.
• Leifang, a young Chinese tai chi quan practitioner, who enters the tournament to defeat Jann Lee.
• Raidou (unlockable), an evil ninja exiled from Kasumi's clan.
• Ryu Hayabusa, a Japanese ninja hero and best friend of Kasumi's brother who enters the tournament to fulfill his thirst for challenge. He is originally from Ninja Gaiden.
• Tina Armstrong, an American female wrestler who enters the tournament to be noticed by Hollywood.
• Zack, a flamboyant African-American DJ and kickboxer who enters the tournament to win the prize money.

Added in the PlayStation and Arcade++ versions are Kasumi's half-sister Ayane and Tina's father Bass Armstrong.

• Ayane, a Japanese kunoichi from the same clan as Kasumi who was ordered to kill her.
• Bass Armstrong, an American professional wrestling champion and father of Tina who tries to stop her from being noticed by Hollywood.

A massive corporation known as DOATEC (Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee) host a fighting competition called the Dead or Alive World Combat Championship, where fighters from all over the world can compete for the title as champion and a vast amount of money. A runaway kunoichi known as Kasumi enters the Dead or Alive tournament to seek revenge against her uncle Raidou, who was responsible for crippling her brother Hayate. Kasumi eventually defeats and kills Raidou, but her decision to leave her village without permission violates the strict laws of the ninja society, and as a result, she becomes a hunted fugitive.

During the mid 1990s, Japanese gaming company Tecmo was in financial trouble. Seeing how popular Sega's Virtua Fighter series was in Japan at the time, the management asked Tomonobu Itagaki to create a game similar to Virtua Fighter.[4] Itagaki was a fan of Virtua Fighter, but he wanted Dead or Alive to stand out among the competition. This included a stronger emphasis on being provocative, as Itagaki believed entertainment needed both sexuality and violence to truly be entertainment.[5] All the animations in the game were created using motion capture.[6]

The original game, which runs on the Sega Model 2 arcade board, the same arcade board that Virtua Fighter 2 ran on, had polygonal modeled backgrounds.[7] Dead or Alive was unveiled alongside Jaleco's Super GT 24h at the February 1996 AOU show as part of Sega's announcement that they were licensing their Model 2 hardware to third-party companies.[8]

In comparison to other 3D fighters, such as Tekken (which gained a substantial market base in Japan and North America), DOA introduced a countering system unique to the genre and an added emphasis on speed, as well as a rich graphics engine that lacked many jaggies and incorporated very smooth surfaces.

A Nintendo 64 port was rumored, but did not come to fruition.[9] Dead or Alive was instead ported to the Sega Saturn exclusively for the Japanese market in 1997. Acclaim intended to bring the Saturn version to the UK by Christmas 1997,[10][11] but plans were shelved for unknown reasons. When ported to the Saturn, the developers used Gouraud shading (a feature not available on Model 2) for the character models to compensate for the Saturn not being able to generate as many polygons as the Model 2 hardware.[12] The Saturn conversion uses bitmaps and parallax scrolling in the same fashion as the Saturn version of Virtua Fighter 2. It also includes a new rendered intro and tournament and training modes.[11]

In 1998, Tecmo released Dead or Alive for the PlayStation in all regions. It was the first game designed for Sega arcade hardware to be ported to the PlayStation.[12] This version included two new characters, a different graphics engine, a slightly revamped fighting engine, and new background music. Tecmo also released an upgrade titled Dead or Alive++ for the arcades in Japan which was based on the PlayStation version.[13] This version was based on the PlayStation version with an even slight updated gameplay that later expanded for the sequel, Dead or Alive 2.

Reception

Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings SSAT: 82%[14] PS: 84%[15] Metacritic PS: 84/100[16] Review scores Publication Score AllGame ARC: [17] SSAT: [18] PS: [19] CVG SSAT: [10] PS: [20] EGM PS: 30.5/40[21] Famitsu PS: 31/40[22] Game Informer PS: 7.75/10[23] GameFan SSAT: 280/300[24] GamePro SSAT: 19/20[25] PS: 17/20[26] GameSpot SSAT: 6.8/10[27] PS: 7.3/10[28] IGN PS: 8.5/10[29] Next Generation ARC: [30] Consoles + SSAT: 95%[31] Sega Saturn Magazine SSAT: 92%[32]

Upon the game's release in arcades, a Next Generation reviewer commented, "A fighting game that mimics Virtua Fighter 2 in its look and feel to a frightening degree ... Dead or Alive boasts smooth control, crisp polygonal graphics, and an attitude that may enable this game to stand on its own despite its familiar origins." He identified the variety of characters and the danger zones as the game's standout features, and said the tough AI forces players to learn more complex moves and strategies.[30]

Although it was not widely distributed in U.S. arcades, Dead or Alive was a commercial success,[12] helping Tecmo pull in a profit of 9.2 million dollars in 1996 and saving the company from bankruptcy.[33] The Saturn version would go on to sell more than 161,000 copies in Japan.[34]

The Saturn version was successful critically as well. Sega Saturn Magazine described it as "an incredible beat 'em up both technically and visually, even getting close to beating Sega's own-brand Virtua Fighter games."[32] Computer and Video Games stated it was "an essential buy for import Saturn gamers."[10] GamesRadar included it in their list of best Sega Saturn games, stating that "the games high-speed, rock-paper-scissors style of play was a quick hit with arcade players."[35] In 2011, Complex ranked it as the seventh best fighting game of all time.[36]

Next Generation reviewed the Saturn version of the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Dead or Alive is such a polished game that it's surprising to realize this is Tecmo's first 3D fighter."[37]

In 2004, Tecmo released Dead or Alive Ultimate, a package that featured revamps of the first two DOA games, on the Xbox. The remake of the first game was based on the Sega Saturn version, as it was Itagaki's preferred version.[4] It featured smoother graphics, sound updated from stereo to surround, and adds Xbox Live online gaming. Both Dead or Alive 1 Ultimate and Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate were among the first fighting games with online play.

• Saturn version official website (in Japanese)
• PlayStation version official website (in Japanese)
• Dead or Alive at MobyGames
• Dead or Alive at the Killer List of Videogames