Written by: Alex

 

 

 

Dead or Alive began fifteen years ago in arcades. Flat arenas with exploding boarders and an intuitive rock-paper-scissors system set it apart from the more cumbersome alternatives of the time.

 

But it was the characters (or more precisely the female characters) that really made it stand out. Breast physics were a huge (snigger) selling point to Dead or Alive with gaming’s still largely adolescent base. Of course like any relationship it would be hard for the series to endure on breasts alone, so it was thanks to its fluid combat and the increasingly complex arenas that Dead or Alive endured through four titles and two volleyball spin offs (to keep its titillating origins alive).

 

Now for its fifteenth anniversary Tecmo Koei have bought "Dead or Alive: Dimensions" to the 3DS. Containing all the characters, a campaign mode that re-enacts the entire story and an assortment of other modes and online features. Dead or Alive Dimensions is a weighty product that manages to stand out (for reasons other than it’s breasts) in the small handhelds current line up.

 

 

With the entire story to date contained in the campaign mode there is a significant amount to play through. With numerous cut scenes taken from each of the games (meaning some feel quite dated) it can at times drag, and even with the story to string all the battles together it frequently feels disjointed. This forced progression does serve to give some idea of what the story of the series was always meant to be, with the characters that were meant to be victorious in each tournament winning, which I suppose is fitting for an anniversary package.

 

 

The main point of the series is that the huge international conglomerate DOATEC is trying to make a super warrior by cloning members of a ninja clan (or stealing their abilities in the first game). To do this, and to test their creations, they hold tournaments and abduct strong fighters to gather as much data and techniques as they can. All of this is interlaced with a tale of ninja clans at war, run away ninjas and a dysfunctional ninja family.

 

As with all fighting games it is bizarre and was only ever created as a loose frame to hang the story off but it runs into trouble when viewed in one long tale as the more stupid points (and plot holes) that could be overlooked in short chunks become all to apparent.

 

For a single example of these plot flaws look at DOATEC’s leaders, the people who believe that two ninjas (Kasumi and Hayate) have reached the apex of human fighting ability and so make them the targets of their cloning. The very same people who choose them for their skills spend the rest of the story fighting them at every possible juncture. Here’s a hint DOATEC, if they are so tough, stop fighting them! It would be that simple. And if you could beat them then why didn't you just clone yourself? It would have saved you a lot of effort!

 

Dead or Alive’s flaws in logic are not helped by some dreadful voice acting (though improved significantly if you use the Japanese voices with English subs) and a glut of text on the bottom screen that tries to explain plot holes faster than I could read them. Poor translation is the root of much this. Such as the superfluous explanation to me as a westerner of what my idea of a ninja is, explaining how I they are mystical warriors. This is a hold over from the Japanese release where it is Samurai who are the exhausted warrior, explaining why ninjas are so much of the focus, but it should have been removed from the EU and US releases. 

 

As an anniversary piece the campaign is nice to have, but ultimately only good for unlocking some of the characters before jumping into the other game modes.

 

 

Fortunately the game play is where Dead or Alive Dimensions excels, and for a great many reasons. Really the combat has been unchanged since the original game, with a strike-hold-throw that forms the basic combat mechanic (hold beat strike, strike beats throw, throw beats hold). With the speed and fluidity Dead or Alive Dimensions this simple mechanic is elevated requiring lightening reactions and faking tactics to win, ensuring the a the action always remains fraught. And this is only further shown when combined with high mid and low strikes and using the environment to help with attacks.

 

 

As in all fighters there is a combo system. These primarily use the two strikes (punch and kick) and can range in complexity but never reach the ridiculous chains seen in games like Tekken. These combos do still need some learning though, and to help with this there is a limited training mode, this is fairly restricted though and amounts to little more than a move list and some ability to edit opponents AI.

 

However, if you are too lazy to learn these move chains the bottom screen acts as a short cut for EVERY combo in the game. A quick tap and you will be executing the toughest eight hit moves in no time… providing for opponent doesn't counter.

 

But for those who choose not to use the bottom screen Dead or Alive’s utilisation of only the four face buttons and either the circle pad or d-pad ensure the game handles well on the small device. It is a good thing that it works so well too, because with such a wide range of game modes you will be playing for a while, especially if you want to unlock all the characters, costumes and extra game options.