Dead or Alive Dimensions

Unreleased

Dead or Alive: Dimensions is set to be the latest installment in the Dead or Alive franchise. In development for the and to be published by Tecmo Koei, Dimensions will be the first Dead or Alive game to be created for a Nintendo system, and the series's first fighting game for any handheld. It was officially announced on June 15, 2010 at E3, under the working title Dead or Alive 3D.

Dimensions was slated for a Japanese release on March 24, 2011, however, due the earthquake and tsunami which hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the game's release was pushed back

Accoring to the offical Dimensions websites, the game will be released late May 2011 in Japan, North America, and Europe.

Story
The plot of Dimensions is a more detailed follow-through of the Dead or Alive story, answering questions about the series, and showing events that were mentioned previously in past games but never shown. Pre-released screenshots and trailers show things such as:
 * Some of the fighters attending a formal party on a high-class cruise ship, including Ryu Hayabusa, Helena Douglas, Fame Douglas, Zack, Lisa, Jann Lee, Ein, and Hitomi.
 * Hayate and Ayane talking with Gen Fu and Eliot, which leads to Ayane giving the back of Eliot's head a slap for unknown reasons.
 * Bayman trying to shoot Fame Douglas with a sniper rifle, but is unable to as Raidou gets into his line of fire.
 * Ayane and Kasumi fighting outside their village, until Christie appears in a helicopter and saves Kasumi.
 * Christie standing before Ryu, holding a knife to a captured Sonia's neck.
 * An event between Hayate and Hitomi, which ends with Hitomi in tears.
 * Ayane and Kasumi confronting Raidou on the ship.
 * Kasumi and Raidou battling it out, using the Torn Sky Blast on one another.
 * Ayane visiting Genra during the night.
 * Lisa as a DOATEC scientist, with Hayate being wheeled away behind her.
 * Lisa pointing a handgun at an unknown person out of shot.
 * Brad Wong taking a liking to an enraged Ayane.
 * Hayate and Helena talking.
 * Kasumi Alpha confronts Helena.
 * Victor Donovan and Kasumi Alpha chat while Christie listens

Gameplay
The core gameplay of Dead or Alive: Dimensions will be based on the gameplay of Dead or Alive 4, with heavy modifications under the surface, including elements from Dead or Alive 3, such as the counter system. Although the basic gameplay is the same as the rest of the series, each character has a brand new set of techniques.

Known gameplay modes for Dimensions include:
 * Chronicle Mode: The games equivalent to "Story Mode", named so because it covers the story of the main Dead or Alive series, from the first Dead or Alive to Dead or Alive 4. It's possible that the game will also touch upon events that happen beyond Dead or Alive 4 as well. Chronicle Mode will be split into 5 chapters (A prologue, the DOA series, and an epilogue) and characters are pre-determined to fit the events of the story; for example, at the start of chapter one, the player must take control of Kasumi, and it changes from person to person as the story progresses. As well as playing through the story, Chronicle Mode will teach the player about timing and moves. Cutscenes will be in 3D, with event scenes being told with "figurines" that seem to pop out of the screen.
 * Arcade: A simple versus mode playing against the computer.
 * Survival Mode: Playing against wave after wave of computer-controlled fighters for as long as possible, until the player is KO'ed.
 * Tag Challenage: The simple Tag Battle Mode, where the player can control a tag team of two against another team controlled by the computer.
 * Training: A re-named Sparring Mode, where players can practice moves and combos.
 * Local Play: Allows players to fight one-on-one via local wireless connection.
 * Internet Play: Allows players to take on people from around the world via wireless internet connection. Friend codes will still be implemented. However, these are universal to the system and a Friends list will allow for easy access, without having to type out whole numbers.
 * Throwdown: Uses the "StreetPass" system of the 3DS, so players can scan the area for follow players and challenge them if they accept, no matter who they are.
 * Album: View in-game 3D photos of unlockable "figurines" of the characters.
 * Showcase: Used to view in-game "figurines", which players can activate through completing certain tasks in the game, and take 3D photos.
 * Fight Records: View best scores and other related results.

The player can either control their character through normal, manual button-pushing, or by tapping a move set on the bottom of the screen to execute a combos/throws/counter. From the preview on the trailer, the list automatically scroll up and down to the best moves to pull off next.

A new feature includes use of the 3DS' Cross Pass function, which allows 3DS players to connect with fellow players and exchange data when they walk by them. Dimensions will be using the Cross Pass to exchange player profiles and copy play style. By exchanging player style, the A.I’s in Arcade will try their best to play as the exchanged player style. This will teach players how to adapt to other players playing style for use in Street Pass and Online Mode.

It has been confirmed that falls can "K.O" a fighter on their last amount of health in Dimensions. Fall K.Os did exist in Dead or Alive 3, but it was taken out in Dead or Alive 4.



Characters
The original twenty playable fighters from the series - Ayane, Bass Armstrong, Bayman, Brad Wong, Christie, Eliot, Gen Fu, Hayate/Ein, Helena Douglas, Hitomi, Jann Lee, Kasumi, Kokoro, Lei Fang, Leon, Lisa, Ryu Hayabusa, Tina Armstrong, and Zack - will once again appear as playable characters, along with the bosses of Dead or Alive - Raidou, Gohyakumine Bankotsu-bo, Kasumi Alpha, Omega, and Alpha-152. Only a few of the characters will be playable to begin with; as the player completes certain tasks in the game, they will unlock more characters to play.

Additional characters from the Dead or Alive series will also appear in the game's new episodes of the story, including Shiden, Fame Douglas, and Victor Donovan; this will be Fame and Donovan's first physical appearance in the video game series. Sonia, one of Ryu's allies from Ninja Gaiden II, will also make an appearance in the game.

The game will also have a guest appearance from Samus Aran, the protagonist of the Metroid series; Team Ninja recently produced the Metroid title Metroid: Other M. A small trailer for Dimensions (see below) also had an appearance of Samus in her Power Suit. It was first thought that Samus would be an unlockable character, but it has been confirmed that she will just appear as part of the Metroid stage.



Locations
It's said that Dimensions will have 15 playable arenas that have been previously-seen in the series, including Azuchi, Biolab Core, Danger Zone, DOATEC Germany, DOATEC Great Hall, Kyoto in Bloom, Lorelei, Miyama, Tao, Tritower Heliport, Waterfall Valley, and White Storm. There will also be a couple of new stages; A cruise ship called "Freedom Survivor", with fights starting on the upper deck, and fighters can be smashed through a skylight into a ballroom below, and Hellfire, a burning forest at the base of a erupting volcano, with brawls taking place within a ring of fire.

As mentioned above, a Metroid-themed stage will be included, based on the boss fight against Ridley, a recurring enemy of Samus's, in Metroid: Other M. Ridley will act as a danger hazard in the area, dealing damage to fighters that fall off the edge of the platform fights take place on.

Other Features
It seems that old, trademark costumes, and new outfits for the characters will be avaliable, although it is unknown how many costumes there will be. Also, the game will use the SpotPass feature of the 3DS to offer players 28 daily downloadable costumes, with some one-day limited items, including a costume that can only be downloadable on March 24, the game's Japanese release date. It's unknown if these downloadable costumes will be avaliable outside of Japan.

A new visual feature is the flashes and sparks that appear when a hit is made, such as in the Tekken and Street Fighter series.

The western version of Dimensions will be dubbed into full English, but the player will be able to switch from the English voice cast to the Japanese version with English subtitles, like in Dead or Alive 2, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, and Dead or Alive Paradise.

Also See

 * DOAD/Promotional Artwork and Wallpapers

Trivia

 * While Dimensions is the first fighting game of the series to appear on a handheld, it is actually the third Dead or Alive title to be released for a handheld console; the first two were Girls of DOA BlackJack for the, and Dead or Alive Paradise for the.
 * Judging from demo footage, Dimensions will be the first title in the series that will show the ages of all of the fighters in Western versions. Previously, Western versions of any of the Dead or Alive games didn't publish the ages of the fighters under 18 years - Ayane, Eliot, Kasumi, and Kokoro - as they would have been considered underaged in most places, and Team Ninja wanted to avoid moral backlash.
 * While all versions of the game's box art feature the same image (bar the darker background on the EU version) Kasumi's leg is slightly more exposed on the Japan and EU versions, with the bare skin of her thigh showing. On the US version, the image has been edited so her skirt is covering the thigh.