Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is an expanded version of Dead or Alive 5 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It includes the new features from Dead or Alive 5 Plus, as well as new/returning characters and stages.

The game was released in September 2013. An arcade version was released in Japan in Winter 2013.

Pre-Release
On April 28, 2013, a new Dead or Alive 5 project for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and was teased. The trailer revealed the addition of Momiji and a Ninja Gaiden themed stage, Sky City Tokyo.

On May 7, the name of the new game was revealed to be Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate. The game will be released in September 2013, and will include the new additions from Dead or Alive 5 Plus, including the tutorial mode, custom soundtracks, and new costumes. On May 9, another new trailer showed a battle between Kasumi and Momiji. At the end, there is a snippet of Leon in the desert. On May 21st, Famitsu revealed the return of Ein, the addition of Virtua Fighter's Jacky Bryant, and the Lost World stage from Dead or Alive 3. New screenshots released May 23rd also showed the return of the Forest stage.

On June 3rd, it was clarified that Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate will not be able to fight against the original DOA5 or Plus online, because of new moves such as the Power Launcher and changes to netcode. A new trailer shown June 11th confirmed Leon and the Desert Wasteland stage, Rachel from Ninja Gaiden and the new Aircraft Carrier stage, and many new costumes. After revealing Leon and Rachel, Ultimate's roster has been fully announced. On June 23rd, it was confirmed that the Custom Soundtrack will also include BGM from Dead or Alive 2 and 3 (in addition to 4 and 5 in Plus), and that online 2v2 Tag Mode will be included.

On July 18th, Famitsu revealed the return of Team Battle Mode with maximum 7v7 matches, a more detailed tutorial mode, and additional content for Survival Mode (item drops and health recovery).

Characters
Returning from Dead or Alive 5

New in Ultimate
 * Kasumi
 * Ayane
 * Hayate
 * Ryu Hayabusa
 * Helena Douglas
 * Christie
 * La Mariposa
 * Hitomi
 * Bayman
 * Kokoro
 * Jann Lee
 * Leifang
 * Tina Armstrong
 * Bass Armstrong
 * Zack
 * Eliot
 * Brad Wong
 * Rig
 * Mila
 * Gen Fu
 * Akira Yuki (Guest)
 * Sarah Bryant (Guest)
 * Pai Chan (Guest)
 * Alpha-152
 * Ein - Hayate's alter-ego. He awakened in a German forest and was taken in by a karate master and his daughter, Hitomi. He soon realized his true identity as Hayate, Kasumi's brother, having been a test subject of "Project Epsilon".
 * Leon - A former Sambo and now Close Quarters Combat practitioner from Italy. He continues to fight for Lauren, his lover who died of unknown causes in his arms.
 * Momiji - The young apprentice of Ryu Hayabusa and the sole Dragon Shrine Maiden. She looks up to Ryu Hayabusa and has acquired techniques through ninja training. She joins the tournament in order to put what she has learned to the test.
 * Rachel - The half-fiend, half-human, fiend hunter who is close friends with Ryu. She enjoys DOA fights and sees them as a way to test her skills against opponents who aren't fiends.
 * Jacky Bryant - Guest character from Virtua Fighter.  Sarah Bryant's older brother. When J6 targeted Sarah, he resolved to take them down in order to protect his sister. He takes part in a new battle as he collects info to prepare for a showdown with J6.
 * Marie Rose (DLC) - A teenage maid and Systema practitioner from Sweden. Secrets lie behind that devilish smile and childish appearance.
 * Phase-4 (DLC) - A clone of Kasumi and the prototype of the first Alpha. She is sent to the battlefield in order to test her abilities. Although she is a human weapon, she has a memory and emotions unlike the other clones. First seen at the end of Dead or Alive 5.
 * Nyotengu (Arcade only)

All characters are unlocked from the start. As Story Mode is unchanged, the new characters don't have their own chapters. Marie Rose was added to console versions as DLC in March 2014, and Phase-4 in June 2014. Nyotengu will be added in the near future.

Stages
Returning from Dead or Alive 5
 * Arrival / Dead or Alive
 * Depth
 * Dojo
 * The Ends of the Earth
 * Fighting Entertainment
 * Flow > Primal
 * Fuel
 * Home
 * Dining Room
 * Village
 * Hot Zone
 * Lab
 * Sanctuary
 * Sakura > Temple of the Dragon
 * Scramble
 * Rooftop
 * Street Incident
 * The Show
 * Coming Soon
 * The Show
 * The Tiger Show
 * Street
 * Rooftop
 * Back Alley
 * Sweat
 * Zack Island

New in Ultimate
 * Aircraft Carrier - A tag stage on the deck of a giant aircraft carrier.
 * Desert Wasteland - The desert remnants of an abandoned city, similar to the outside area of the Rub' al Khali desert stage of Ninja Gaiden 3 (2012).
 * Forest - A Japanese forest in Autumn, returns from Dead or Alive 3.
 * Haunted Lorelei - A German castle at night, returns from Dead or Alive 3, updated with a Halloween theme. (Included in Patch 1.03)
 * Lorelei - The returning stage from Dead or Alive 3 with normal designs. (Included in Patch 1.05)
 * Lost World - An infinite stage with stone pillars and waterfalls, returns from Dead or Alive 3.
 * Sky City Tokyo - The first stage of Ninja Gaiden II (2008) and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Tokyo in the near-future.

Costumes

 * Main article: Dead or Alive 5/Costumes

Most characters received one new costume, with Ayane, Hitomi, Kasumi, Kokoro, Leifang and Tina receiving two. The "training dummy" outfits from Dead or Alive 5 Plus are included, and several more costumes are available as DLC.
 * Akira: VF5 costume D.
 * Alpha-152: Dark purple.
 * Ayane:
 * NG3RE "Infiltrator" costume.
 * NGS2 "Blossom of Miyama" costume.
 * Bass: (Mr. Strong) Silver and blue spiked wrestling outfit.
 * Bayman: DOA1 outfit with green beret, brown t-shirt.
 * Brad: Cowboy outfit in green and brown.
 * Christie: Policewoman's uniform in black.
 * Eliot: Black hoodie with cat ears, red-and-black striped top.
 * Gen Fu: DOA1 yellow Hawaiian shirt, beige shorts, sandals, straw hat and sunglasses.
 * Hayate: Masked black ninja outfit with white scarf.
 * Helena: Beige "DOATEC" uniform.
 * Hitomi:
 * Signature denim jacket and jeans, shown with a ponytail.
 * Sleeveless white blouse with beige skirt, thigh-high argyle socks.
 * Jann Lee: DOA1 white suit with red tie.
 * Kasumi:
 * Blue argyle sweater and beige skirt.
 * DOA1 red and white ninja outfit.
 * Kokoro:
 * White tank top with black skirt, gloves and boots. Shown with side ponytail.
 * DOA4 white tank top, brown skirt and boots, yellow scarf.
 * Leifang:
 * Orange-and-white striped dress with pigtails.
 * Blue-and-white striped blouse, beige skirt.
 * Lisa: Nurse's uniform in white.
 * Mila: Red jacket with white t-shirt, white "Victoria" visor, and denim shorts.
 * Pai: VF5 costume D, shown with short hair.
 * Rig: Shirtless, black bandanna, black-and-grey striped pants.
 * Ryu Hayabusa: NG3RE "Spirit of the Fighter" costume.
 * Sarah: VF5 costume D.
 * Tina:
 * Signature DOA2 silver and black wrestling outfit.
 * White top, black shorts and boots, black "DOA" cap.
 * Zack: Light blue hoodie, black cap and sunglasses, jeans.

DLC

 * Main article: List of Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Downloadable Content

Downloadable content purchased for Dead or Alive 5 will work in Ultimate. Some costumes that were previously DLC are included as unlockables:
 * Costume Pack Round 1
 * Costume Pack Round 2: Kitty Pack, What a Character, Special Set
 * Costume Pack Round 4: Angels, Devils, DOATEC Divas
 * Costume Pack Round 5: China Pack, Special Set 3, Formal Wear
 * Costume Pack Round 9: Fighter Pack

Preorders of the Japanese version included a new set of pop idol costumes, chosen by popular vote. All preorders included Team D (Kasumi and Ayane), and depending on the retailer, either Team O (Hitomi, Kokoro, Leifang and Mila) or Team A (Christie, Helena, Lisa, Momiji, Rachel and Tina). In North America, preorders from GameStop included Teams D and A, while Amazon included Team O.

The Japanese Collector's Edition includes fourteen new swimsuits for characters.

Musou Orochi 2 Ultimate Collaboration Costumes
Those who purchase first-print versions of the game Musou Orochi 2 Ultimate will receive a downloadable serial code for Warriors Orochi-inspired costumes for the following characters: As there is no Xbox 360 version of Musou Orochi 2 Ultimate, these costumes were made available later on the Japanese Xbox Marketplace, followed by an international release.
 * Kasumi dressed as Gracia.
 * Ayane dressed as Wang Yuanji.
 * Momiji dressed as Sanzang.

Releases
Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is available as both a retail title and digital download.

Core Fighters
A free-to-play version titled Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Core Fighters is available on the PlayStation Store. Players are limited to four characters; Kasumi, Ayane, Ryu Hayabusa, and Hayate. The rest can be purchased for $3.99 each, or as a bundle for $34.99. Marie Rose was the first to be sold alone for $5.99.

All modes are available, except for Story Mode, which can be purchased for $14.99. Players of Core Fighters are able to fight against those with the full version in online matches. There are no plans to make this available on Xbox 360.

Japanese Collector's Edition
The standard Japanese Collector's Edition retails for ¥11,340, and includes "Ultimate Sexy Costumes" download code for fourteen characters, the DEAD OR ALIVE 5 Original Soundtrack vol.3 CD, and a "Kasumi-chan Blue" mousepad.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade
It has recently been announced that in Japan, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate will be made available in arcades. It will run on Sega's RingEdge 2 hardware, and be distributed digitally through the ALL.NET+ Multi Ver. 2 network. This will be the first arcade release for the series since Dead or Alive 2 Millennium in January 2000. This version will also include a new character, Marie Rose. It is currently unknown if the arcade version will be released in other regions outside of Japan. Phase-4, another new character, will be added in Spring 2014.

Reception
Before the game's release, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate was given "Best Fighting Game" by PSU's Gamescom 2013 Awards.

The Japanese magazine Famitsu gave the game a 34/40 score (9/9/8/8), two points less than the original.

Trivia

 * In the Dead or Alive 5 alpha demo, the lifebars were silver. The final release changed them to blue. In Ultimate they are changed again, to gold.
 * One of the new additions is a random select for costumes.
 * With a grand total of twenty-nine, and thirty-one in the upcoming arcade update, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate has the most playable characters in the entire series. The game also has the largest number of stages in a single Dead or Alive game.
 * The game has the most guest characters and, ultimately, the most new characters to be present in a single game.