Dead or Alive 5
Fifth main entry with Virtua Fighter guests and new mechanics.
Dead or Alive 5 hit PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012, developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo Koei. As the fifth mainline entry in the series, it followed *Dead or Alive 4* from 2005 and marked the first multiplatform release since *Dead or Alive 2* in 1999. The title brought in guest fighters from Sega's *Virtua Fighter* series—a key inspiration for the franchise—alongside fresh gameplay systems, sharper visuals, and a grittier, more realistic look than earlier installments.
The story picks up two years after *Dead or Alive 4*, weaving together the paths of multiple characters as a new DOA tournament unfolds and the hunt for Kasumi's evil clone continues. A portable, expanded version called *Dead or Alive 5 Plus* arrived on PlayStation Vita in 2013, followed later that year by *Ultimate* for home consoles and arcades. The final version, *Last Round*, came out in 2015 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. Critics generally gave the game positive reviews. By mid-2015, all versions combined—original, *Ultimate*, and *Last Round*—had sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide, with free-to-play versions racking up more than 12 million downloads by 2019. The series continued with *Dead or Alive 6* in 2019.
**Gameplay**
Combat in *Dead or Alive 5* sticks to the series' interruption triangle: strikes beat throws, throws beat holds, and holds beat strikes, with counterattacks dealing extra damage. Tag team battles return from earlier games. Arenas are interactive and more destructible than before, and characters now show sweat, dirt, costume-specific breast physics, and semi-transparent clothing for a more realistic look.
A new Power Blow attack triggers when a fighter's health drops below 50%, letting them knock an opponent in a chosen direction. Throwing foes into Danger Zones or off cliffs in multi-level stages activates Cliffhanger, a cinematic quick-time event where a character can grab the stage edge at the last moment, leading to a sequence where the attacker tries to inflict more damage.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Dead or Alive 5
- Developer
- Team NinjaWorked in collaboration with Sega.
- Publisher
- Tecmo Koei
- Series
- Dead or Alive
- Director
- Yohei Shimbori / Yutaka Saito / Ryuzi Kitaura
- Designer
- Takeshi Omori / Takayuki Saga / Manabu Nagasaki
- Producer
- Yosuke Hayashi
- Artist
- Hirohisa Kaneko / Haruhiko Shikata / Yoshiteru Tomita
- Programmer
- Yuki Satake / Takeshi Kawaguchi / Yoshinobu Suzuki
- Composer
- Yojiro Yoshimatsu / Ayako Toyuda / Masako Otsuka
- Genre
- Fighting
- Platforms
- PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Vita
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Dead or Alive 5 is set two years after the events of Dead or Alive 4 and the destruction of DOATEC's Tri-Tower headquarters. Helena Douglas has rebuilt DOATEC with peaceful intentions, dissolving its Biotechnology Division and stopping biological weapons projects. She announces a fifth Dead or Alive Tournament hosted by Zack. The story is told in hyperlink cinema style, divided into interconnected chapters following various characters, with two main storylines: one about the tournament and another centered on the hunt for Alpha-152, Kasumi's evil clone.
Reader's Guide
Dead or Alive 5 received generally favorable reviews and was followed by several expanded versions: Dead or Alive 5 Plus for PlayStation Vita in 2013, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate for home consoles and arcades later that year, and Dead or Alive 5 Last Round in 2015 for multiple platforms including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. By mid-2015, all versions combined had sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide, with over 12 million downloads of free-to-play versions as of 2019. The game introduced Power Blow and Cliffhanger mechanics, a more realistic visual style with sweat and clothing dirt effects, and guest characters from Virtua Fighter. Its legacy includes setting the stage for Dead or Alive 6 in 2019.
Did You Know?
- Dead or Alive 5 is the first series installment released for the PlayStation 3.
- The game features guest characters Akira Yuki, Pai Chan, and Sarah Bryant from Sega's Virtua Fighter series.
More in 3D fighting games 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced