Dead or Alive 2

Dead or Alive 2 (DOA2) is a fighting game in the Dead or Alive series. It debuted in arcades in October 1999 and was released on February 29, 2000 for the Dreamcast. The graphics and gameplay were enhanced and based on a better game engine, which allowed the characters and stages to appear less angular and more detailed. The story involved a narrative continuation of the first game.

A popular and commonly discussed feature, one credited to Itagaki, was the level of graphical detail Tecmo put into the animated breasts of the female characters. Tecmo went so far as to create a physics engine dedicated entirely to the animation of the female characters' breasts. This feature boosted the overall popularity of the game with its primarily male audience, especially in Japan.

Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore
Itagaki and Team Ninja were still dissatisfied with the release versions of DOA2, and continued enhancing it on both Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 on each market as they worked towards their vision of the ultimate fighting game. On October 25, 2000, Tecmo released a last major update called DOA2: Hardcore for the PlayStation 2 which was based on the Japanese and second update of Dead or Alive 2 for Dreamcast, this "Limited Edition" was featuring new playable characters, new stages, extra costumes and introduced the "Gallery" option. The Hardcore release was finally the complete game Itagaki had envisioned at the time, featuring many changes compared to its predecessor:


 * Characters, pictures and moves were altered to appear more realistic, lessening the anime look.
 * Some fighting animations were elaborated upon and some were cut.
 * New stages were added (8 more than the Dreamcast update)
 * More character outfits were added.
 * Survival mode now only took place in the "Danger Zone" arena.
 * Overall gameplay speed was increased. The entire game, including cut scenes, now runs at a full 60 frames-per-second (In the Dreamcast version, the game ran at 60 fps while the cut scenes ran at 30).
 * A special "Items Collection" feature and menu section was added to appeal to video game collectors. New artworks were added compared to the first update.
 * A CG Gallery section, featuring renders of the female characters, was added.
 * The player history files were enhanced and now included statistics on how often the player used each character and tag battle pairing.
 * Several special moves were added, but left undocumented.
 * English voiceovers were added in the U.S. PlayStation 2 version, in addition to the original Japanese voiceovers.

The new release extended the success of Dead or Alive 2 in North America and Western Europe, and Dead or Alive became Tecmo's flagship series.

Tecmo also followed up on the release of DOA2: Hardcore in the USA and Europe with the release of DOA2: Hard*Core in Japan. This last version saw some minor updates, including new cut scenes, a few new costumes, and a new turbo speed option.

As a result, eleven different versions of Dead or Alive 2 were released, the first two were for the arcade market and the others were home versions. The Dreamcast version has been updated two times, first for the European market with new stages, costumes and cut scenes, and the second time was for the Japanese market with a "Limited Edition" featuring two new playable characters, two new stages, stage multipart extensions, new costumes, new cut scenes and the "Gallery" option was introduced. This edition was later updated with eight new stages, some new costumes and extra Gallery artworks and released as "Hardcore" edition on the PlayStation 2. The first PlayStation 2 versions for America, Europe and Japan were updates of the Dreamcast editions, with a few new cut scenes, costumes and stages added on each localization. Comparing the first and the last home versions of Dead or Alive 2, namely the Dreamcast American edition and the Japanese Hardcore edition, would show a lot of improvements including an enhanced gameplay and a doubled number of stages and costumes. Unfortunately, even with all the changes, Itagaki was still not happy with Hardcore. He is quoted as saying in the DOA 3 booster disc video, "They wanted a launch title in 3 months. I needed 4."

Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate
Dead or Alive Ultimate 2 is a remake of Dead or Alive 2 for Xbox with a greatly improved graphics engine. As it was created after the debut of Dead or Alive 3, it takes elements and mechanics from both its original iteration and successor. The action of 3D-axis movement is as free-formatted as Dead or Alive 3, and Hitomi, as well as Tengu are now playable characters (albeit outside story mode), but other elements have been kept intact from Dead or Alive 2. The biggest set of changes instituted in Dead or Alive Ultimate are online play over Xbox Live and the inclusion of slopes, which are a type of environmental hazard.

Story
A great leader was killed at the end of the 20th century. His name was Fame Douglas, and he was renowned as the sponsor of the legendary Dead or Alive World Combat Championship. Since his death, and in the absence of his charisma and leadership, the world has become chaotic. Yet something appears to be transpiring. Amid this chaos, it is announced that the "Dead or Alive Championship 2" will be held. However, Douglas's passing has taken with it the purpose and significance of the tournament. Even worse, the promoter of "Dead or Alive Championship 2", who is fond of conflicts and jealous of the string, is responsible for Douglas's death. The new promoter is more than a corrupt mastermind, but a man of pure evil. His involvement in the tournament has brought a sense of terror to the world, resulting in the infamous Tengu disaster that occurred at the end of the 20th century. The climax of the disaster is about to begin with a roaring battle.

Gameplay
The gameplay of DOA2, and all subsequent Dead or Alive games, borrows heavily from the Virtua Fighter series, but makes some key changes that drastically changes the way Dead or Alive is played in comparison to Virtua Fighter.

The Rock-Paper-Scissors Basis of DOA2
In DOA2, the basis of the entire fighting system is the circular relationship between three types of moves: holds, throws, and blows.

o Striking attacks that can be blocked o Comes in three heights + High blows: can be crouched and tech crouched under + Mid blows: cannot be blocked crouching, but super tech crouch moves can still go under + Low blows: cannot be blocked standing, but tech jump moves, with proper timing, will go over them o Deals hi-counter damage and effects (stuns, launchers, etc.) if you land a blow while the opponent attempts to throw you o Deals a normal counter-hit and counter-hit effects if you interrupt the opponent's blows with a blow o Loses to holds of the correct height o Defensive attacks that catch blows and either deal damage, or parries the attack, creating an opening o Comes in three basic heights in DOA2 Arcade, DOA2 Dreamcast, and DOA2 Hardcore + High holds: catches high blows, but loses to mid and low blows + Mid holds: catches mid blows, but loses to high and low blows + Low holds: crouches under highs and catches low blows, but loses to mid blows + Ultimate Version of DOA2 has mid punch and mid kick holds, which are done differently o If the hold is the correct height to an incoming blow, how soon the hold was done to when the blow would hit determines if normal, counter, or hi-counter damage is dealt o Loses to throws o Grappling attacks that deal damage to guarding and holding opponents o Comes in two heights + High throw: throws opponents who are standing + Low throw: throws opponents who are crouching o Deals hi-counter damage if you throw an opponent who is holding o Deals counter damage if you interrupt an opponent's throw with your own o Loses to blows, EXCEPT for catch throws, which don't obey the normal rules
 * Blows
 * Holds
 * Throws

So, blows beat throws, which beat holds, which beat blows.

Stuns and Stun Linking
The other defining feature of DOA2, aside from holds/throws/blows, is its stun system. In DOA2 many attacks upon hitting will inflict a stun on the opponent. While stunned, the opponent cannot attack, and cannot guard, but they can hold. If the attacker lands a non-knockdown, non-launching attack while the opponent is stunned, the opponent will be re-stunned in a new way, depending on what attack was landed.

Because of the massive damage that holds deal when successful, it is wisest to opt for a mix-up between several launching attacks which lead to combos, or to make the opponent think you will do a launching attack, and instead opt for a throw to deal high levels of damage to them.

There are many types of stuns in DOA2, from a bouncing, bobbing head stun rewarded for landing Ein's down/forward Punch, to a backwards-falling stun for landing Bayman's Kick+Free while in open stance.

If an opponent is crouching when struck with a mid blow, even if it had not been a counter hit, the opponent will be put into a typically short stun, giving mid blows even more of an advantage against crouching.

There is an added level of depth to the stun system in what is called Slow Escaping. Slow Escaping is where, while in a stun, you hold Free, rotate directions on the D-Pad (or Joystick) while pressing Punch and Kick alternatively. When successful, the stun ends much more quickly, changing a very disadvantageous situation into a potentially strong situation where you can punish the opponent, getting a free throw.

Character Stances and Stuns
The relationship between each character's foot position determines what stance they are in. If each character's foot that is further out is the same, they are in open stance. In the opposite case, they are in closed stance.

Stance matters in limbo stuns. Limbo stuns are stuns like Bayman's Kick+Free. If the attack strikes the opponent in the stomach, they double over and fall forwards. If they are struck in the back, the opponent's back arches, they spin a bit, and fall backwards, exposing his/her back to Bayman. Bayman's Kick+Free will only hit the opponent's back in open stance. This kind of relationship between open and closed stance is also apparent in other limbo stun attacks.

Advantage and Disadvantage
A major difference between DOA2 and other fighters is in the safety and non-punishability of attacks, both upon hitting and upon being blocked. Most blows in DOA2 can be punished on hit and block by each character's faster throws, making blow-based offense very risky. This makes it so that it is necessary to either use a character's moves that are safe on hit and block (primarily a basic Punch and basic low punch (down+Punch) and a few other blows), or to keep the opponent guessing by using unsafe moves that are the start of strings of blows, mixing up if they do just the first attack, or do the follow-up that would keep a throw from punishing the move, such as the situation with Gen Fu's forward+Punch, Punch, Punch string, of which the first blow in the string is throw punishable, unless the second move of the string is done.

In addition, because of the high level of punishment that most moves are subject to on block, it is much safer to simply block an attack and throw in response than it is to try to hold it, causing most high-level players to only hold when forced into a stun.

Slippery Surfaces
In DOA2, sometimes battles will occur on either water or ice. When a character is on such a surface, all non-knockdown, non-launching attacks will induce a stun on any successful hit. The stun is usually significantly longer than the normal stun for the hit. For example, if Ein's down/forward+Punch blow successfully hits an opponent normally, the opponent's head bobs up and down for a moment, then it is over; but if Ein lands the blow on a slippery surface, after their head goes up, the opponent slips, and catches his/herself, and must stand back up before the stun is over.

Environmental Hazards
Walls and falls in the middle of stages are everywhere in DOA2.

Walls
Walls deal either 5 points of damage for a hit from the side, or 10 points of damage for a direct hit, to characters that are slammed into them as a result of a knockdown attack.

In addition, if a character is near a wall, some throws change into wall-based throws, and some holds change into wall-based holds, which nearly always deals more damage than the normal version of the attack. For example, Bayman's forward+Punch+Free is normally a throw where he grabs their arm, knocks them down, and pulls it, dealing 48pts of damage on a normal hit. If the throw is done while the opponent's back is to a wall, however, he instead pushes them against the wall and knees them in the gut, dealing 55pts of damage on a normal hit.

There are also Danger Zone walls. Some walls are either electrified, or booby-trapped, causing more damage when a character is slammed into a wall by either a knockdown blow, a throw, or a hold.

Falls
Many stages in DOA2 are multi-tiered. To get to other areas of the stage, one character must be knocked off a ledge and fall into the next area. These falls deal usually fairly high damage, but cannot knock the opponent out. If the character is already near KO, they will be left with only a sliver of health remaining when they get to the bottom. The character who is still on the previous stage will jump down to finish their opponent, but will not be dealt any damage.

In the arena "The Aerial Gardens", it is possible to knock off your opponent infinitely without ever coming to the bottom of the mountain.

Launchers, Juggling, and Character Weight Classes
Some attacks, such as Bayman's back+Punch+Kick, launch on certain successful hit types (in this case, counter and hi-counter hits). Once the opponent is in the air, it is possible to juggle the opponent by continuing to hit them until they fall to the ground.

There are several types of hits for juggling blows:


 * Normal hits cause the character being juggled to stop falling for a brief moment, then continue
 * Pop-up hits cause the character being juggled to bounce up a bit in the air before continuing to fall
 * Slam hits cause the character being juggled to forcibly be slammed into the ground
 * Burst hits cause the character being juggled to fly away from the attacker and roll backwards when they hit the ground
 * Twisting hits cause the character being juggled to be knocked to the side while in the air
 * Knockaway hits simply knocks the character being juggled away without a burst effect

In addition to the normal rules of juggling, each character also fits into a specific weight category, which affects how the character responds to being launched and being juggled. The heavier a character is, the lower the character is launched, the less the character bounces up when juggled with a pop-up hit, the faster the character falls, and, because of all this, the less damage you can deal to them in a juggle.

* Heavy Weight Class: Bass, Leon, Bayman * Very Heavy Weight Class: Tengu
 * Light Weight Class: Kasumi and Ayane
 * Medium Weight Class: Tina, Zack, Jann Lee, Hayabusa, Helena, Lei Fang, Ein
 * Medium-Heavy Weight Class: Gen Fu

So, Bayman could land the combo of counter hit back+Punch+Kick, forward+Kick,Punch, Punch,Punch,Kick on a light, medium, and medium-heavy weight character, but cannot land the juggle on heavier characters than that, and must use a combo that deals less damage, and is typically fewer hits.

Character Stances in Juggling
Some juggles are only possible if the characters are in open or closed stance when the launcher is used. Such examples of this are Gen Fu's Up+Punch, Up+Punch, Forward+Punch,Punch,Punch+Kick combo. It can only be landed on medium weight characters while in open stance; the last hit misses in closed stance.

Characters

 * Ayane
 * Bass Armstrong
 * Bayman (Unlockable, cannot be used in Story mode)
 * Ein
 * Gen Fu
 * Helena
 * Jann Lee
 * Kasumi
 * Lei Fang
 * Leon
 * Ryu Hayabusa
 * Tengu (Boss character, unlockable, cannot be used in Story mode)
 * Tina Armstrong
 * Zack

Graphics
The Dead or Alive series is widely acclaimed for its graphical beauty, even back when it was first brought to the Sega Dreamcast. The game sports a semi-realistic, semi-anime appearance, and features many small touches, such as wind blowing an article of clothing or hair around.

Despite the graphics in all the other areas, the main focus of most people's graphical attention is in the women, specifically their breasts. Team Ninja created an entire physics engine dedicated to animating the breasts; as the character bounces about, attacking, defending, and being hit, the breasts react.

The original versions of DOA2 for the arcade and Dreamcast sported a more anime look than the later PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions, particularly in the character portraits.

The other area of graphics that gets a lot of attention are the costumes. The Dead or Alive series started its tradition of large numbers of costumes for many characters with DOA2, especially in the Ultimate version of the game, where some characters have around 20 costumes. The male characters typically have about half the number of costumes as the female characters in the Ultimate version of the game.

Music
Dead or Alive 2 made popular the song Exciter by Bomb Factory in its opening sequence. Also used as a background track was Deadly Silence Beach. Both tracks can be found on the self-titled album Bomb Factory and on the Dead or Alive 2 Soundtrack.