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Team Ninja reflects on the road to Dead or Alive 5 in this dev diary
Dead or Alive 5 represents the most significant visual overhaul the series has seen, but Team Ninja also assures (in the above developer diary) that it's also the most accessible entry yet.
Pore over important plot details before Dead or Alive 5's launch
With last week's quick video synopsis of the events leading up to Dead or Alive 5, we totally get it if you're still confused about what's going on. We'd hate to think that you went into Team Ninja's latest not knowing that Zack was running the show this time around, or that Brad has no relationship with anyone at all.A short video is hardly enough for such a storied franchise. And so Team Ninja's laid it all out in plain text on its website. There you can read up on the plots to each Dead or Alive game, and what to expect from each fighter, emotionally, going into Dead or Alive 5.
Oh, right, there's a plot in Dead or Alive 5
The above Dead or Alive 5 cinematic would like to remind everyone out there that, yes, the Dead or Alive series does have a plot. To prove it, here are some random things that are related to that in some way probably.
These Dead or Alive 5 videos aren't embarrassing at all
While the subject matter of recent Dead or Alive 5 trailers has been suspect, we can assure you this footage won't make you cringe at the sight of overly sexualized costumes. Nope, the only cringing will come from good, old-fashioned violence.
Zack is creepy in latest Dead or Alive 5 clip
It was only five months ago that Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi said the team was trying to elevate its image of "sex and violence" and move towards something more emotional with Dead or Alive 5. Zack seems happy at least. Happiness is an emotion, right?
Dead or Alive 5 tags in with new 2-on-2 footage
We're sure there are plenty of people who still think of Virtua Fighter characters in Dead or Alive 5 as some kind of sacrilege but, man, pairing Akira and Kokoro looks like just about the best thing ever. In other, completely unsurprising news, Tecmo has revealed that both Jann Lee and Tina will return in Dead or Alive 5.%Gallery-160752%
Hori's Dead or Alive 5 arcade stick is for fighters
If you watched EVO streams over the weekend, chances are you walked away with a sudden and intense desire to play King of Fighters XIII. Hori's newest arcade stick ... is themed after a totally different game, but would totally work for KOF or really any fighting game. It would work great, of course, for the game it actually represents.Hori is producing a Dead or Alive 5 stick using the same casing as its Soulcalibur 5 stick, due alongside the game in September. It's available for both PS3 and Xbox, and features the "I'm a Fighter" slogan, which should be helpful in case you glance down at the device and happen to forget what you're supposed to be doing.
Watch DOA 5's Rig beat up Bass (on a rig)
Meet Dead or Alive 5's Rig. Through some incredible cosmological coincidence, Rig works on an oil rig. He also has a penchant for weird, sleeveless hoodies. Get to know him intimately in the video above.
Dead or Alive 5 adds new fighter, improved photography mode
The latest issue of Famitsu reveals a new Dead or Alive 5 character named Rig, a Canadian fighter who specializes in taekwondo. Bass Armstrong, the wrestler who is totally not Hulk Hogan, is returning to DOA5 as well. The same issue also brings word of an updated photography mode, which allows players to change angles to snap still pictures and video replays.We assume this functionality will be used solely for capturing evidence of impressive combos, and for showing off the impressively interactive stages. We can't imagine what else someone would use a photo mode for in a Dead or Alive game.
Dead or Alive 5 news: swimsuit edition
Two different retailers are offering different pre-order bonuses for Dead or Alive 5, but no matter which you choose, you'll get swimsuits. GameStop and Amazon both offer "bunny-style swimsuits;" in addition, GameStop will grant you white swimsuits for Kasumi, Leifang, and Hitomi, and Amazon offers black swimsuits for Christie, Tina, and Ayane.If you want some stuff with your copy of DOA5 that isn't skimpy digital clothing, you can also order the GameStop-exclusive collector's edition, with a steelcase, hardcover art book and soundtrack CD.It ... also comes with the swimsuits.
Team Ninja's Hayashi says 'no plans' for Dead or Alive 5 character DLC
Don't expect any supplementary character DLC for Dead or Alive 5. Depending on how you feel about Freddy Krueger surprises, this could be an important revelation.Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi says there are no plans to offer post-launch character DLC in Dead or Alive 5. In fact, he thinks the practice wreaks havoc on the balance of the game – essential in any good fighter. "Even with over 20 characters that's still a real challenge," Hayashi tells Videogamer. "If we had 50, how much more time would need to balance the game? It gets that much harder to get it right, and it's already very difficult to get right."Hayashi also doesn't like the idea of different players with different character rosters. "It's a similar thing to if certain people have all these characters and others don't. It makes it an unfair game, and we don't think that's the right way to go for fighting games."
Dead or Alive 5 brings back tag matches, cuts DOA 4's online lobbies
Friendships have been ruined over Dead or Alive – we'll never forgive you, Frank – but now you and Billy don't even need to consider fighting each other in Dead or Alive 5. Tag matches return, allowing two folks to go up against two other folks in a contest of might, both locally and online.And speaking of online stuff, Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi confirmed with Joystiq that the interactive lobbies seen in Dead or Alive 4 would not return in Dead or Alive 5. The reasoning behind omitting the interactive lobbies in Dead or Alive 5 is so that Team Ninja can provide the best, most stable online experience possible. Sure, that's all well and good, but ice-skating crabs.%Gallery-157383%
Dead or Alive 5 enters the retail arena on September 25
The latest entry in the Dead or Alive series launches on September 25, Tecmo Koei has revealed. Dead or Alive 5 gets a visual facelift and incorporates some more interactivity into its levels, but will retain the same four-point counter system seen in Dead or Alive 4.It is also revealed today that Sarah Bryant will join fellow Virtua Fighter character Akira at launch.%Gallery-157383%
Dead or Alive 5 to use a DOA4-style four-point hold system
Ignoring any aesthetic peculiarities the franchise may be known for, the Dead or Alive series' calling card is its hold system, which allows players to counter incoming attacks and turn the tide of battle in their favor, provided they're skilled enough to do so.Dead or Alive 5 will use a four-point hold system ala Dead or Alive 4 (high, mid-punch, mid-kick and low) rather than the three-point system (high, mid and low) used in Dead or Alive 3, director Yohei Shimbori revealed on Twitter. "Four-point holds work really well for game balance, but I was worried that beginners couldn't pull off mid kick holds," Shimbori tweeted. "But all of the feedback we got from players with the Alpha Demo gave me the final nudge to go with four-point."The demo in question, distributed as a pre-order bonus and included in collector's editions of Ninja Gaiden 3, used a three-point grab system similar to Dead or Alive 3's. It's nice to know that Team Ninja still has time to think about DoA5's design from a balancing standpoint in between implementing costume-specific breast physics and integrating helicopter missiles into gameplay.
Kick Zack so hard his fro comes off in Dead or Alive 5
The only thing worse than losing your fro mid-fight is getting run over by a tiger. In this match between Lei Fang and Zack in Dead or Alive 5, there's plenty of both.
Dead or Alive 5 has costume-specific breast physics
Since the departure of Tomonobu Itagaki back in 2008, Team Ninja has attempted to shake its reputation as nothing but a stylish, sex-crazed gore factory. It attempted to give Ninja Gaiden's Ryu Hayabusa a softer side, for one. Only two months ago, Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi said Dead or Alive 5 will rise beyond "sex and violence," instead pursing "a direction that contains emotional experiences that can move players."Now, in an interview with Famitsu, Hayashi has now revealed that Dead or Alive 5's voluptuous vixens will feature costume-specific breast physics. Furthermore, each costume will have varying levels of transparency. It sounds like a contradiction to Hayashi's previous statements ... that is, of course, until you realize that "move" is a very ambiguous term.
Watch Dead or Alive 5's Christie get shot with a missile
We tried to come up with something witty to say about the latest Dead or Alive 5 trailer, but all coherent thought pretty much stops when Christie gets nailed by a missile. You'd think she would throw in the towel, but nope.%Gallery-154189%
Rumor: More Virtua Fighters discovered in Dead or Alive 5's demo code
Waiting for characters to be announced is so 2011, you guys. Nowadays, hackers figure out a game's roster by themselves, using nothing but a demo and sheer willpower. According to neoGAF user Sectus, alternate costume data mined from the Dead or Alive 5 demo has revealed the fighter's entire character list.Every character from Dead or Alive 4 supposedly returns, along with series newcomers Mila and Rig, and Virtua Fighter veterans Sarah Bryant and Pai Chan. Each character also has around 6 costumes, assuming this all checks out, of course. Jump past the break for the complete list of uncovered characters.
Ayane whomps Hitomi in this new DOA5 trailer
Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi said that he and his team would be toning down the Dead or Alive franchise's trademark dependance on sex and violence, and from this trailer we're actually starting to believe it. It's still violent, sure, but Hitomi and Ayane almost look like human females.
Dead or Alive 5 falls into the 'alive' category this September
If you want to punch dudes from Virtua Fighter, but not ... in ... Virtua Fighter, you'll have your chance this September. Tecmo Koei confirmed to Joystiq that Dead or Alive 5 will launch worldwide in September.That marks just about one year since the first unveiling of the fighter at a pre-Tokyo Game Show event. Tecmo promised an emphasis on what it called "fighting entertainment," with an emphasis on more interactive stages.
