Dead or Alive Dimensions

Dead or Alive: Dimensions (デッド・オア・アライブ・ディメンションズ, Deddo oa Araibu: Dimenshonzu) is the eleventh installment of the Dead or Alive franchise, and the sixth versus-fighting title of the series. Officially announced on June 15, 2010 at E3, under the working title Dead or Alive 3D, Dimensions was developed by Team Ninja and released in May 2011 by Tecmo Koei for the, making it the first Dead or Alive game to be created for a Nintendo system, and the series's first fighting game for any handheld.

Dimensions was originally 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 by two months.

Story
Rather then featuring a new plot, or simply being a remake of a previous title, Dimensions chronicals the story of the main series with more details and additional scenes, answering questions about the series, and showing events that were mentioned previously in past games but never shown. 'Please Note: this section will only cover the main running plot of Dimensions''. For additional infomation or for certain events not linked to the main plot, visit the character pages.'''

Prologue
After his son Hayate fell into a coma, Shiden, the leader of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan, decided that his second child, Kasumi would take over as heir to the head of the clan. He made her start training for the post, but refused to tell her how her brother ended up in his critical state.

To find out the truth, Kasumi asked her half-sister and former friend Ayane about what she knew. Believing that Kasumi woulndn't amount to anything as leader, she tells her that Hayate was injured by Raidou, Shiden's older brother and Ayane's father. The exiled shinobi had return to the village to "steal" the Torn Sky Blast, a ninpo spell learned by the clan leaders. Hayate tried to fight Raidou off with the Torn Sky Blast, but was overpowered and his spinal core was damaged in the brawl, causing Hayate to fall into his coma.

After learning the truth, Kasumi decided to run away from the village to take revange on Raidou for Hayate, even though it meant she would be killed by her own clan for leaving the village without permission. When Kasumi disappeared from the village, Ayane was order to track her down and kill her. She tried to capture Kasumi on the bridge leading out of the village, but was stopped when out of the blue, Christie appeared in a helicopter and saved Kasumi. Although Kasumi didn't know the woman, she went with Christie to safety, leaving Ayane screaming furiously below.

Chapter 1: Resolve
Christie tells Kasumi that she will find Raidou taking part in the Dead or Alive World Combat Championship, and that she should take part too. Bayman, Christie's co-worker, tells her not too, since she is just a little girl, but Christie claimed that Kasumi is actually one of the top contenders for the championship.

The three of them end up on the cruise ship Freedom Survivor, where Fame Douglas formally introduced the tournament. During the speech, Kasumi finds Ayane in the crowd, who had turned up for the same reasons Kasumi did, in addition to killing her sister. The girls discover that Raidou is working for Fame, and before he left the ship, Ayane tried to attack. She failed, and Fame stopped them, telling Kasumi if she wanted to fight Raidou, she would have to make it to the final round of the tournament.

Kasumi fought her way through every foe she faced, and managed to get to the final round in the Danger Zone. She defeated him, but he reawaked at once, more powerful then before. Determend to defeat him, Kasumi faces him in a Torn Sky Blast duel, where she finally comes out as the winner and kills Raidou. Unfortunately, her reward was to be kidnapped by DOATEC. That same night, Fame was assassinated by Bayman under the order of Victor Donovan.

Chapter 2 - Dead or Alive 2
One night, while a comatose Hayate laid in bed, Kasumi Alpha sneaked into his room, overjoyed to see her "brother". Ayane burst into the room after her, and believing that it's the real Kasumi, became enraged at the sight of her. Before Ayane attacked, Alpha preformed a ninpo illusion spell. Ayane saw a vision of the tengu, Gohyakumine Bankotsu-bo before she awoke again to find that Alpha and Hayate missing, and Genra next to her. It turns out that Alpha had broken the barrier between the human world and the world of the tengu, allowing Gohyakumine to return. Genra requested, to stop the tengu, that Ayane searches for Ryu Hayabusa, who at that moment was in the oceans surrounding Europe on a ship, Freedom Survivor.

Meanwhile, on the ship during a formal gathering, Helena Douglas addressed the crowd, annoncing her take-over of the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee, and that a second Dead or Alive World Combat Championship would take place, which Helena herself would take part in as a competitor. In the crowd, Ryu was spotted by a masked woman calling herself "La Mariposa" (real name Lisa Hamilton), and she asked him if he was taking part in the tournament too. When Ryu says he is not interested in the game, Lisa accidently insults him by reminding him he came second in the tournament, suggesting that he is a sore loser for not taking part a second time around. After saying sorry, Lisa took a call from Victor Donovan while in the shower. Listening outside, Ryu heard that Kasumi was at DOATEC Germany, and stole Lisa's DOATEC ID card, before taking off to Germany in a helicopter with his ally, Sonia.

Sometime later at DOATEC Germany, a fire brakes out, causing everyone to evacuate the building. As Lisa tries to get Hayate - who they had been using for Project Epsilon - out of the building. Alpha sneaked Kasumi out of her cell. Though suprised to see double of herself, Kasumi follows Alpha into one of the labs. Once there, Alpha told Kasumi they were "sisters", and Kasumi wasn't being a good sister because she was keeping Hayate to herself, so he was Alpha's now. Kasumi realized that Hayate had to be in the same building as her.

Lisa bursted in having tracked down Alpha, and becomes angry at the clone for telling Kasumi about Hayate. Kasumi demanded to know what they have done to her brother, but before she could attack, Lisa pulled out a handgun and threatened her with it, telling her to calm down. In the nick of time, Ryu Hayabusa bust in. Keeping the promise he made to Hayate to keep her sister safe, Ryu took Kasumi to safety against her will, while Lisa and Alpha made their escape from the colapsing building. As the DOATEC members flee on helicopters, the one holding Lisa and Hayate blew its engine, so had to make a emergancy landing as the others flew to the main headquarters.

In the nearby forest, Ryu and Sonia looked over data they had taken from the lab: DOATEC was experimenting with DNA to recode genes to boost the human body's physical power. This suggest to Ryu that there must have been its work behind the mysterious strenght of Raidou and the clone of Kasumi. To their surprise, they also found out that DOATEC had "resurrected" Hayate's body during their experiments. Hearing this, Kasumi urged that they need to go back and help Hayate. Despite Ryu's words against it, Kasumi ran off to find her brother, so Ryu sent Ayane after her.

In another part of the forest, Hitomi was training when Hayate, having gotten away from the helicopter alive, stumbles into her clearing and collapses, mistaking Hitomi for Kasumi as she runs off to get help.

Ayane had tracked Kasumi down to the snowy mountians, and the girls engaged in battle. Kasumi won, but as she was about the leave, a wounded Ayane tried to take her down with a ninpo spell. The spell missed and Kasumi escaped. All the while, the Tengu was watching them.

Chapter 3 - Dead or Alive 3
After Genra was turned by DOATEC into "Omega", Shiden and Hayate believed Genra had caused treason against the village. Hayate requested his father to allow him to hunt down Genra, which made Shiden believe that Hayate may be ready to take over as the leader of the clan. Hayate wanted to find Kasumi first, but Ayane spoke against it, calling Kasumi a traitor and suggesting that she might had been consorting with Genra. Enraged by her words, Hayate slapped Ayane.

Thinking that Hayate now hated her, Ayane tried commiting suicide outside the village, but is found by her mother, Ayame. Ayane was upset because she believed that Hayate only cared about Kasumi, so Ayame reminded her that all four of them shared the same blood, and the bond of a family was stronger then the shinobi code, and asked Ayane to save Kasumi.

Characters
Main article: List of Dead or Alive: Dimensions Characters

Dead or Alive: Dimensions features 25 playable characters, meaning it features the biggest character selection out of all of the Dead or Alive titles. In addition to the regular fighters, the bosses of the series can also be unlocked to play, and Shiden is a "secret" character.

Returning Characters

 * Ayane - A Japanese Kunoichi of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan.
 * Bass Armstrong - An American professional wrestler, who wants to stop his daughter from becoming discovered by Hollywood.
 * Bayman - A former Russian commando and a trained assassin.
 * Brad Wong - A Chinese master of Zui Ba Xian Quan on the search for the mysterious drink "Genra".
 * Christie - A British assassin who was hired by Donovan.
 * Ein - An Karate instructor sufforing from memory-loss.
 * Eliot - A British high school student, and the sole apprentice of Gen Fu.
 * Gen Fu - An old Chinese master who joins the tournaments to pay his grandaughter's medical bills.
 * Hayate - The Japanese leader of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan, seeking to destory DOATEC.
 * Helena Douglas - The mixed-French leader of DOATEC, and the daughter of Fame Douglas.
 * Hitomi - A German-Japanese Karate black-belt.
 * Jann Lee - A Chinese Jeet Kune Do bouncer who joined the tournament to prove his fighting skills.
 * Kasumi - A Japanese Runaway Shinobi from the Mugen Tenshin Village.
 * Kokoro - A mixed-Japanese "geisha-in-training", whose heart also lies in fighting.
 * Lei Fang - A Chinese T'ai Chi Quan student, seeking to prove herself against Jann Lee.
 * Leon - A Italian man who joined the tournaments to fulfill the expectations of his dead lover Lauren.
 * Lisa Hamilton - A American DOATEC scientist, who fights as the luchadora "La Mariposa".
 * Ryu Hayabusa - A Japanese master Shinobi, and a ally to the Mugen Tenshin clan.
 * Tina Armstrong - The daughter of Bass and a professional wreslter, who wishes for a Hollywood career.
 * Zack - An American DJ with a lust of money.

Boss Characters

 * Alpha-152 - A super-clone of Kasumi created by DOATEC during Project Alpha.
 * Gohyakumine Bankotsu-bo - A Tengu who wanted chaos to reign over the world.
 * Kasumi Alpha A prototype clone of Kasumi created during the first stages of Project Alpha.
 * Omega - Formally Genra of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan, who was turn into a super-human weapon by DOATEC.
 * Raidou - A Japanese Runaway Shinobi from the Mugen Tenshin Village, who want to become the ultimate fighter.

Secret Characters

 * Shiden - Hayate and Kasumi's father, and the 17th leader of the Mugen Tenshin Clan. To play as Shiden, the player must first unlock all 25 characters, then select Random while holding L+X, R+X, or L+R+X.

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.

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.

The game supports co-op both with local wireless connection and wireless internet connection which allows the player to fight others from around the world. 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.

Gameplay Modes
In addition to recurring gaemplay modes from previous games, Dimensions also features new ways to:
 * Arcade is a simple versus mode against the computer, where the player must select "courses" to fight against a line-up of pre-determend characters. Completing a course unlock the next, as well as characters, costumes, and figurines.
 * Throwdown uses the "StreetPass" system of the 3DS so people can connect with fellow players and exchange gameplay data when they walk by them. The collected data will then make the A.I’s in the game fight like the exchanged player style. This will teach players how to adapt to other players playing style for use in co-op.
 * Chronicle Mode is 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. 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.

Collectable Figurines
As the player completes tasks in Dimensions, they will unlock figurines, which act as in-game trophies. The figurines are in the form of the fighters in different poses and costumes (expressions can be changed), and can be viewed in Showcase. The player can also take in-game 3D photos of the figurines in various environment, and view said photos in the Album.

Downloadable Content
As well as been able to unlock costumes in-game, Dimensions will use the 3DS's SpotPass feature to offer players daily downloadable costumes. There are a total of 34 costumes to download, and there will be two chances to download the costumes in both the US and Europe:
 * First EU Round: May 20th - June 22nd 2011
 * Second EU Round: June 24th - July 27th 2011
 * First US Round: May 24th - June 26th 2011
 * Second US Round: June 28th - July 31st 2011

Note that the types of costumes avaliable and their order of release are the same in both rounds, and in both areas. Simularly, there is be a "Throwdown Challenge" avaliable through SpotPass for 26 weeks, starting from May 24th to November 15th, 2011. Anyone who takes on the challenge will get a rare figurine.

All this content is free, but contents and schedule may be changed without any prior notice. To get this downloadable content, players must make sure the 3DS is connect wirelessly to the internet, and must create additional data for Dead or Alive: Dimensions, by following on-screen instructions when you boot up the game. (To create additional data, a SD Card must be placed into the 3DS). Then, in the Options menu, select Network and check the settings for “StreetPass”, “Costumes” and “Notifications” are on in order to receive the data.

If the player successfully manages to get the data, a confirmation message will be displayed on the main menu. New costumes are useable on the "Costume Select" screen, and are displayed as "Download". Challenge data is selectable in Throwdown Mode, displayed with SP next to the name of the Challenge, indicating it was received via SpotPass.



Metroid Cameo
The game has a guest cameo from Samus Aran, the protagonist of the Metroid series; Team Ninja produced the Metroid title Metroid: Other M in 2010. It was first thought that Samus would be an unlockable character, but it was confirmed that she isn't playable at all. Samus appears in the Geothermal Power Plant (based on a location in Other M), along with Ridley, who acts as a hazard in the stage as fights take place.

Voice Cast
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: Hardcore, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, and Dead or Alive Paradise.

Reception
IGN gave Dimensions a overall score of 8.0 out of 10, praising the game for its "solid" gameplay and "beautiful" graphics, but critcised the use of stagnant cutscenes, problems with effectivness of the touch screen controls, and stated the overall sound was "fitting, but not spectacular."

games™ Magazine has given Dimensions a positive review on NowGamer, rating the title an overall score of 8.8 out of 10, and stating that it's "not the deepest fighter you'll ever play, but you'll struggle to find something so skilfully designed for its platform"; they gave the graphics an impressive 9.3 out of 10. Compared to the launch title Super Street Fighter IV 3D, another fighting game for the 3DS, Dimensions favoured better; Street Fighter 3D only received a 6.2 from the same publication.

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.
 * 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.