Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate

Overview

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is an updated rerelease of 2012's Dead or Alive 5. Ultimate will feature new characters, stages, and costumes, as well as the added game modes from Dead or Alive 5 Plus for the Vita.

Announced on May 7th, 2013, the game's announcement trailer revealed Ninja Gaiden's Momiji as a new addition to the Dead or Alive roster, as well as a stage inspired by Ninja Gaiden II's Sky City Tokyo level. The trailer also hinted at a return of Leon, a character who was absent in DOA5. Guest character Jacky Bryant from the Virtua Fighter series, could be seen fighting alongside his sister Sarah Bryant against Rig and Christie. Ein was also shown fighting Hitomi on the Dead or Alive 3 stage "Lost World".

In the E3 2013 trailer, Leon and Ninja Gaiden's Rachel were revealed as new playable characters. The trailer also showed off two new stages set in locations from Ninja Gaiden 3; The Black Narwhal, a ship in the pacific ocean, and Deserted City, Rub' al Khali. Also shown were many new costumes, hair styles, entry poses and animations.

Dead or Alive 5: Core Fighters is a free edition of Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate that will feature four playable characters: Hayabusa, Kasumi, Ayane and Hayate, as well as the option to purchase characters individually.Both versions are slated for early September in Japan, North America, and Europe. All Dead or Alive 5 titles and unlocks, plus selected DLC will be linked to the release of Dead or Alive 5: Ultimate.Dead or Alive 5: Ultimate is also the first DoA game to see an arcade release since Dead or Alive 2.

Gameplay

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is a 3D fighting game, where players can move in a three-dimensional axis allowing for sidestepping and more freedom than in 2D fighters. DOA5U uses four buttons; a punch, kick, grab and hold button which are used to perform attacks and defensive maneuvers. The primary objective is to win the match either by depleting your opponent's health meter, or to have the most health when the game clock runs out.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate will revolve around the same system that previous installments have. Dubbed "The Triangle System", it functions in a rock-paper-scissors-esque style, where some attacks and moves have priority over others. Strikes will beat throws, throws will beat holds, and holds will beat strikes.

New Features and Additions

New Characters

Five new characters have been added to Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate. Momiji and Rachel; characters from Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden franchise will make their Dead or Alive debut in DOA5U. In addition, Leon and Ein (Hayate's alter-ego) from previous entries in the series will return to the series after an absence from Dead or Alive 5. A fourth Virtua Fighter guest character-- Jacky Bryant, will join DOA5U's roster.

Along with new characters, new moves and mechanics have been added. Momiji has some new gameplay mechanics never before seen in Dead or Alive, such as a mid-air power blow and double jumping.

The arcade version of DoA5U introduces a new character by the name of Marie Rose, a Swedish loligoth maid who uses the Russian martial art of Systema. Team Ninja is also planning to release another new character in Phase-4, a clone of Kasumi more advanced than previous iterations. Most recently, Team Ninja announced the addition of Nyotengu, a female tengu.

New Stages

DOA5U will retain all stages from Dead or Alive 5, with the addition of new stages and returning stages from previous games. Stages based off Ninja Gaiden II (Sky City Tokyo) and Ninja Gaiden 3 (Desert and Destroyer Ship) will be present, alongside returning fan-favorites from Dead or Alive 3.

New Mechanics and Moves

Recurring characters have been tweaked as well. Characters such as Mila have been given new natural combos and characters such as Hayate have received new teleportation options.

A brand new mechanic to the series has also been added called a Power Launcher. Power Launchers will launch your opponent into the air in a completely defenseless state for longer combos and juggles. Power Launchers will also give you a good opportunity to score extra wall damage, and can easily capture environmental drops. The specifics of the move, such as its availability in a match and properties are not yet known.

Refined Tag Team Mode

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate will feature tweakings and additions to its frantic 2v2 tag team mode. New to the series is a snap-back move similar to the one seen in Marvel vs Capcom 3. This move will allow players to forcefully tag out their opponent's character. In addition to this, the game will feature new, special tag team grabs and animations.

Other changes to the tag team mode include more refined online support. Players will now be able to take part in 2v2 online matches in the vein of Dead or Alive 4. Characters who are tagged out will also no longer be able to fully regain health.

Last Round

On August 31, 2014, Koei Tecmo announced that a "complete edition" final update of Dead or Alive 5, entitled Dead or Alive 5 Last Round, for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. The game includes the DLC characters released for Ultimate, new characters, and more stages.