Dead or Alive (video game)

The gameplay of Dead or Alive borrows from Virtua Fighter, but includes some key differences. Dead or Alive's defining features are its speed and countering system. The game puts an emphasis on speed and relies more on simplistic commands and reaction time rather than long combo strings. 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. 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, called "danger zones", are set with explosives which deal a high amount of damage to any fighter who comes in contact with them. 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. == Characters ==

• Bayman, a Russian mercenary and commando hired to kill DOATEC's founder and CEO, Fame Douglas. • Gen Fu, an old Chinese shini-rokugo-ken martial arts master and bookstore owner, who enters the tournament to win the prize money in order to provide funds for his sick granddaughter, Mei Linn. • Jann Lee, a Chinese jeet-kune-do martial artist, who enters the tournament with the desire to challenge himself against powerful opponents. His character is modeled on Bruce Lee. • Kasumi, a Japanese kunoichi of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan, who abandons her village to search for Raidou, the man who crippled her older brother, Hayate. • Leifang, a young Chinese taikyoku-ken prodigy, who enters the tournament to defeat Jann Lee. • Raidou , an evil ninja exiled from Kasumi's clan. • Ryu Hayabusa, a Japanese ninja hero of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan and best friend of Kasumi's brother. He enters the tournament to fulfil his thirst for a challenge. He is originally from Ninja Gaiden. • Tina Armstrong, a flamboyant American professional 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. The PlayStation and Arcade++ versions feature two additional characters: • Ayane , a Japanese kunoichi from the same clan as Kasumi. Ayane was ordered to kill Kasumi for abandoning their village. • Bass Armstrong, an American professional wrestling champion and father of Tina. He tries to stop Tina from being noticed by Hollywood. Boss character, unlockable and playable only in the console versions and Dead or Alive++ Unlockable in the PlayStation version == Plot ==

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 world 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 older brother, Hayate. Kasumi's brother, Hayate, was next in line to succeed their father, Shiden, as the 18th leader of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan. After Hayate was crippled by Raidou, Shiden was left bitter from what Raidou did to his son, and Shiden refused to discuss the details surrounding the attack. Shiden ordered his daughter, Kasumi, to take her brother's place as the next leader of their clan. However, Kasumi abandoned the village. Learning that her evil uncle was her brother's attacker, Kasumi tracks him down to the Dead or Alive tournament where she enters to defeat him. Kasumi eventually defeats and kills Raidou, but her decision to leave her village without permission violates the strict laws of the ninja society and is punishable by death. As a result, she becomes a hunted fugitive. == Development and release ==

During the mid 1990s, Japanese gaming company Tecmo was in financial trouble as the company invested heavily in sports games for years, but faced tough competition from EA's rise during that period. After three consecutive years of losses, Tecmo was on the verge of bankruptcy by 1995 and was in desperately need of a new game to turn things around. Seeing how popular Sega's Virtua Fighter series and their Sleepwalker America racing game was in Japan at the time, the management asked Tomonobu Itagaki to create either a fighting or racing game similar to either Virtua Fighter or Sleepwalker America. Itagaki ultimately chose to create a fighting game and was a fan of Virtua Fighter, but he wanted Dead or Alive to stand out among the competition. This included a strong emphasis on being fast-paced and being provocative, as Itagaki believed entertainment needed both violence and sexuality to truly be entertainment. All the animations in the game were created using motion capture. Some staff members had worked on Tecmo's first fighting game, Tōkidenshō Angel Eyes, and are credited for both games. 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. 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. It was released worldwide in November 1996. but did not come to fruition. Dead or Alive was instead ported to the Sega Saturn exclusively for the Japanese market in 1997. The Japanese release was originally set for December, but the developers finished the conversion ahead of schedule and it was released on October 10. Acclaim intended to bring the Saturn version to the UK by Christmas 1997, but due to the Saturn's poor market performance in Europe and North America, and with the Saturn's popularity in Japan on the decline by the end of 1997, plans for a European and North American release were canceled. 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. Most of the PlayStation version's development team had worked on the original arcade version. Tecmo released for the arcades in Japan an upgrade titled Dead or Alive++, which was based on the PlayStation version with slightly updated gameplay that was later expanded for the sequel, Dead or Alive 2. Digital release On December 8, 2008, the PlayStation version of Dead or Alive was made available as a downloadable game for the PlayStation 3 on the Japanese PlayStation Network. == Reception ==

In Japan, Game Machine listed Dead or Alive on their January 1, 1997 issue as being the most-popular arcade game for the previous two weeks. Game Machine also listed Dead or Alive++ on their November 15, 1998 issue as being the eleventh most-popular arcade game for the previous two weeks. Although it was not widely distributed in U.S. arcades, Dead or Alive was a commercial success. The initial run of 92,000 copies sold out on the day of release. It would go on to sell more than 161,000 copies in Japan. 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. GamePro lauded it for its vast number of moves and throws, and its fast and intense fights. Praise for the game typically focused on its "hold" mechanic. The "bouncing breast" feature was widely ridiculed for its exaggerated and prolonged animation, which critics regarded as comical and grotesque rather than appealing. In 2011, Complex ranked it as the seventh best fighting game of all time. == Enhanced version ==

In 2004, Tecmo released Dead or Alive Ultimate, a package that featured revamps of the first two DOA games, on the Xbox. The enhanced version of the first game was based on the Sega Saturn version, as it was Itagaki's preferred version. 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. == See also ==