Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate
Expanded edition of Dead or Alive 5 with new characters and modes.
Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is a fighting game from 2013, created by Team Ninja and released by Tecmo Koei for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is a beefed-up version of 2012's Dead or Alive 5, pulling in features from the PlayStation Vita's Dead or Alive 5 Plus and adding new content. This release marked Koei Tecmo's first official arcade game since Dead or Alive 2 Millennium in 2000, with an arcade edition following later in 2013.
The game introduced five new or returning characters to the roster, including two from the Ninja Gaiden series, plus a full story mode and tweaks to the gameplay systems. Many of these changes focused on the online tag team mode, which now supported two-on-two battles. A free-to-play version called Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Core Fighters launched on the PlayStation Store alongside the retail game. The arcade version, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Arcade, hit Japan on December 24, 2013, distributed by Sega. The next entry in the series, Dead or Alive 5 Last Round, arrived in 2015. Reviews for Ultimate were generally favorable.
Gameplay additions included training modes from Dead or Alive 5 Plus: a Tutorial mode with lesson and mission parts, and a Combo Challenge mode for practicing combos. A Team Fight mode let players pick up to seven characters. A new move called the Power Launcher worked similarly to the Power Blow from DOA5—usable once per round when health dropped below 50%—but launched opponents high into the air for follow-up combos. Returning characters also got new combos.
Tag mode saw major changes. Two-on-two tag battles were added to online multiplayer, driven by fan demand. To make it more competitive, health recovery for the tagged-out character was restricted, and a new Force Out attack could knock an opponent's current fighter out of the ring, forcing the other partner into action for a while. The game also added new tag poses, tag throws (unique to specific character pairs), taunts, and appeals. Team Ninja promised smoother online fights and shorter match-finding waits. A Character Points system, similar to Street Fighter IV's Battle Points, let players gauge opponents' skill with specific fighters and showed world rankings.
Players could choose custom music from outside the Dead or Alive series for fights, and returning characters had their past themes.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Team Ninja
- Publisher
- Tecmo Koei
- Series
- Dead or Alive
- Director
- Yohei Shimbori / Tom Lee
- Designer
- Takeshi Omori / Takayuki Saga
- Producer
- Yosuke Hayashi / Hiromasa Inoue
- Artist
- Yutaka Saito
- Programmer
- Yuki Satake
- Genre
- Fighting
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Arcade System
- Sega RingEdge 2
- Platforms
- PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Arcade
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate adds five playable characters to the original roster, including guest characters Jacky Bryant from Virtua Fighter and Momiji and Rachel from Ninja Gaiden. Returning characters include Ein and Leon. The game introduces a new gameplay feature called the Power Launcher, which launches opponents into the air for combos, and major changes to Tag mode, including two-on-two online tag battles and the Force Out attack. New training modes from Dead or Alive 5 Plus, such as Tutorial and Combo Challenge, are included, along with a Team Fight mode where players choose up to seven characters.
Reader's Guide
Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate received generally favorable reviews and was followed by an arcade edition in December 2013. A free-to-play version, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Core Fighters, was released on the PlayStation Store alongside the retail game. The game features 231 costumes unlockable via Grade Points, and includes custom music options. Its significance lies in expanding the original Dead or Alive 5 with fan-requested features, particularly in online multiplayer and tag team battles, and in bridging the series with Virtua Fighter and Ninja Gaiden characters. The game was succeeded by Dead or Alive 5 Last Round in 2015.
Did You Know?
- Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate was the first arcade game officially released by Koei Tecmo since Dead or Alive 2 Millennium in 2000.
- The game includes a new system of Character Points to indicate player skill with specific fighters, similar to Street Fighter IV's Battle Points.
- The arcade edition was distributed by Sega and released on December 24, 2013.
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