I want to play the beach volleyball games want to get to know the characters beforehand, but unfortunately there's not story to be found here. Based on what I heard, I was expecting an adequate to good fighting game with a layer of sexploitation. But lo and behold, this game is actually mostly just cartoonish sexploitation, there’s not really much else here. I had heard the word “Jiggle Physics” before, but now I understand it. It looks physically uncomfortable to see the y-axis that Kasumi and Lei Fang’s breasts travel after every hit. But that’s nothing compared to the visceral sound effects in this game that feel truly uncomfortable. The combination of animation and sound effect of Jann Lee smacking Kasumi feels way too domestic-violencey for a video game and makes me sick to my stomach. I think the foley artist did smack someone’s cheeks to record the audio, and it’s just sleazy feeling.
After going into the options menu and turning “Bouncing Breast” to “off” and turning off the audio (the soundtrack is also bad tbh), I had a lot more fun with the game. However, 30 second rounds and certain characters killing you in 2-hits feels like it’s not really meant to be played seriously. It’s definitely not as polished as its contemporary Virtua Fighter or Tekken games. I like the idea of what it’s trying to do with its hold and counter system, but It’s a little bit loose, they didn’t quite nail it and sometimes it feels like it randomly works or doesn’t work.
The best part of the game are definitely the costumes and the environments. I hope other games in the series lets you turn off the breast options (especially the volleyball games) because the presentation fits a cool vibe otherwise.
After going into the options menu and turning “Bouncing Breast” to “off” and turning off the audio (the soundtrack is also bad tbh), I had a lot more fun with the game. However, 30 second rounds and certain characters killing you in 2-hits feels like it’s not really meant to be played seriously. It’s definitely not as polished as its contemporary Virtua Fighter or Tekken games. I like the idea of what it’s trying to do with its hold and counter system, but It’s a little bit loose, they didn’t quite nail it and sometimes it feels like it randomly works or doesn’t work.
The best part of the game are definitely the costumes and the environments. I hope other games in the series lets you turn off the breast options (especially the volleyball games) because the presentation fits a cool vibe otherwise.
Frankly insulting that turning off the breast physics is even an option
''dead or alive is the best fighting game for people who dont wanna learn how to actually get good at a fighting game'' -me. boy what a fucking dumbass i was this game sure did smack the shit out of me. growing up with tekken i knew that old ass 3d fighters were in the caveman era but this game definitely is above all that. also never knew how hot polygonal characters can be
Olha... o jogo tem uma jogabilidade bem boa pra ps1 e os inimigos têm uma I.A boa, inclusive dão counter na gente, então se você ficar se distraindo com outras coisas (se é que você me entende) vai tomar de graça! Fechei o torneio com a Kasumi.
It's the start of a franchise that I absolutely love, but god it's not really good, the game is really unbalanced and is not a great fighting game, every next game in the series is better as a game per se.
HORRENDOUS AI
That's my first impression, I am dead serious when I say this is worse than Virtua Fighter AI. Interesting to see the roots of the DOA franchise though, a lot of it carried onto the later entries and the soundtrack is pretty decent for the franchise's early beginnings. But still at the end of the day just please play dead or alive 2 it's 1000x better.
That's my first impression, I am dead serious when I say this is worse than Virtua Fighter AI. Interesting to see the roots of the DOA franchise though, a lot of it carried onto the later entries and the soundtrack is pretty decent for the franchise's early beginnings. But still at the end of the day just please play dead or alive 2 it's 1000x better.
You won't catch me dead or alive playing this game again.
Dead or Alive is another of those Virtua Fighter / Tekken clones from the PS1 era like Dynasty Warrior 1 or Soul Calibur. I'm no fighting game expert but I can definitely say that this game has nothing special outside of the infamous boob physics annnnd that's it, otherwise it's your average 2.5D fighting game with the usual Arcade mode, Survival, and such. None of the characters really stand out outside of Kasumi, kinda.
I got through the campaign through the stock difficulty, it wasn't particularly fun and it really just felt like looking at Virtua Fighters. I wouldn't really recommend anyone this game just like any of these types of fighting games from this era.
Dead or Alive is another of those Virtua Fighter / Tekken clones from the PS1 era like Dynasty Warrior 1 or Soul Calibur. I'm no fighting game expert but I can definitely say that this game has nothing special outside of the infamous boob physics annnnd that's it, otherwise it's your average 2.5D fighting game with the usual Arcade mode, Survival, and such. None of the characters really stand out outside of Kasumi, kinda.
I got through the campaign through the stock difficulty, it wasn't particularly fun and it really just felt like looking at Virtua Fighters. I wouldn't really recommend anyone this game just like any of these types of fighting games from this era.
Gameplay - ★★★½
Roster - ★
Graphics - ★★½
Sound - ★½
So I wanted to like this one - I labbed characters to get a hold of the mechanics but honestly? I just couldn't seem to get to grips with it. Game is floaty gameplay wise and struggles to really get off the ground. The ring out mechanics are interesting, as they make it so that the fighters stick to the arena specified, but honestly, roster is poor, sound design is equally as poor and game is very unmemorable
Roster - ★
Graphics - ★★½
Sound - ★½
So I wanted to like this one - I labbed characters to get a hold of the mechanics but honestly? I just couldn't seem to get to grips with it. Game is floaty gameplay wise and struggles to really get off the ground. The ring out mechanics are interesting, as they make it so that the fighters stick to the arena specified, but honestly, roster is poor, sound design is equally as poor and game is very unmemorable
Have a simple but nice gameplay, the combos are- Look thoose jiggle physics, daamn!!!
A good looking, well running PS1 game that proves I have nothing interesting to say about fighting games.
I'm actually perplexed at how competent the gameplay is here. seeing how excessive the jiggle physics made me audibly laugh my first match in because I didn't think they were gonna be overdone like that from the get go. I got to give them credit for making the characters feel weighted and the animations feel fluid when the gameplay isn't exaggerated with boobs bouncing, people flying when uppercutted, or explosions (that I honestly have no clue how I was summoning). the only complaint I have is that the CPU is definitely cheating but that's a given with these older fighters so I imagine this is at least a fun experience to have when playing with others casually. I wonder how many games off I am before they started introducing gambling as a spin off series
Laid down the fundamentals for a great series but good god does the AI just utterly destroy you. Feels a bit rigid compared to other fighters at the time as well. I spent a good hour on the final boss but I just couldn't finish this.
clunk as hell, but it could be worse
Adjusting your options, as you know, is an excellent way to customize your gameplay.
Music: On
Difficulty: Hard
Handed: Right
Bouncing Breast: On
Favorite Food: Hot Dogs
I have very little love for early 3D fighters. This is known about me. I look at Virtua Fighter and I start to seethe and write ill things in my Yu Sazuki rage journal so that my negative thoughts might cause him psychic harm. In private, I've expressed that the earliest 3D fighting game I can recall liking is Dead or Alive 2, which sparked some discussion with my friend Larry about whether it was with the original DOA or Soul Edge that the genre finally came into its own.
Well, it's not like copies of Dead or Alive are that expensive, and Soul Edge or Blade or whatever you want to call it are pretty reasonable, too. I could trust the reviews on this, run the numbers and put my faith in Backloggd's average ratings, but DOA currently has a 2.8 average to Virtua Fighter Remix's 3.3 and I know that can't be right, so I'm afraid I just have to buy both of these games and determine for myself when 3D fighters got good.
Starting with DOA, which I have a more personal connection to, was a good idea. Character movement feels fluid, controls are responsive, there's a surprisingly deep combo system, and attacks carry enough weight to feel impactful. More refined than its stiff and clunky contemporaries, robust in modes and unlockables, yet still low-fi, DOA feels like a proper half-step between 3D fighters of the Saturn era and the looming sixth gen. It is just a shame Ayane can only be unlocked after sinking a significant amount of time into the game, but hey, that's why you always keep an Action Replay cart in your Saturn. Well, that and to play burned discs and bypass regional locks.
The AI does have a tendency to fluctuate between being insanely punishing and outright braindead, sometimes from round-to-round, but I don't think it's any better or worse than other 3D fighters of this period. Which is to say, I have a hard time taking any of these seriously enough to dig into how the AI operates, they're all drenched in protoplasm and even DOA has a few drops coming off its frame. The more important element here to me, personally, is the overall feel of the game, and the fast-paced nature of combat and responsive controls definitely put DOA ahead of the pack.
That said, it's not my favorite game in the series (toss-up between 2, my first, and 3 which looks incredible on the Series X), and the jury's still out on whether or not Soul Blade is the better game, but I still had a great time with Dead or Alive. It's a very strong first outing and a solid step in the right direction given the slew of dire 3D fighters hitting the Saturn around this time.
Music: On
Difficulty: Hard
Handed: Right
Bouncing Breast: On
Favorite Food: Hot Dogs
I have very little love for early 3D fighters. This is known about me. I look at Virtua Fighter and I start to seethe and write ill things in my Yu Sazuki rage journal so that my negative thoughts might cause him psychic harm. In private, I've expressed that the earliest 3D fighting game I can recall liking is Dead or Alive 2, which sparked some discussion with my friend Larry about whether it was with the original DOA or Soul Edge that the genre finally came into its own.
Well, it's not like copies of Dead or Alive are that expensive, and Soul Edge or Blade or whatever you want to call it are pretty reasonable, too. I could trust the reviews on this, run the numbers and put my faith in Backloggd's average ratings, but DOA currently has a 2.8 average to Virtua Fighter Remix's 3.3 and I know that can't be right, so I'm afraid I just have to buy both of these games and determine for myself when 3D fighters got good.
Starting with DOA, which I have a more personal connection to, was a good idea. Character movement feels fluid, controls are responsive, there's a surprisingly deep combo system, and attacks carry enough weight to feel impactful. More refined than its stiff and clunky contemporaries, robust in modes and unlockables, yet still low-fi, DOA feels like a proper half-step between 3D fighters of the Saturn era and the looming sixth gen. It is just a shame Ayane can only be unlocked after sinking a significant amount of time into the game, but hey, that's why you always keep an Action Replay cart in your Saturn. Well, that and to play burned discs and bypass regional locks.
The AI does have a tendency to fluctuate between being insanely punishing and outright braindead, sometimes from round-to-round, but I don't think it's any better or worse than other 3D fighters of this period. Which is to say, I have a hard time taking any of these seriously enough to dig into how the AI operates, they're all drenched in protoplasm and even DOA has a few drops coming off its frame. The more important element here to me, personally, is the overall feel of the game, and the fast-paced nature of combat and responsive controls definitely put DOA ahead of the pack.
That said, it's not my favorite game in the series (toss-up between 2, my first, and 3 which looks incredible on the Series X), and the jury's still out on whether or not Soul Blade is the better game, but I still had a great time with Dead or Alive. It's a very strong first outing and a solid step in the right direction given the slew of dire 3D fighters hitting the Saturn around this time.
Honestly not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I'm mainly impressed with how fast paced the combat is which lead to a lot of tense moments where the match descended into chaos or both me and my opponent were down to a sliver of health. I am also really impressed with just how smooth a lot of the animations are. As it stands though, this game is really barebones with your main incentive for playing just unlocking costumes and two characters. Since I emulated this game I don't feel burned at all by the lack of content but I wouldn't imagine spending like $40 on this nowadays.
fundamentally do not like that the grab button defaults to a counter and the actual throws are inputs. feels evil and kind of imprecise, and you end up countering when attempting to input throws a lot. oh, also helicopter boobs
boob physics
It's like a faster paced Tekken but with boob physics
Some people believe that the name 'Dead or Alive' was chosen to represent a sense of urgency to the fact that Koei was almost declaring bankruptcy and desperately needed a hit to stay afloat, but in a 2007 interview with DemolitionD, the series director Tomonobu Itagaki stated that the name was chosen because the jiggle physics were killing him.
A fast-paced with simple controls, but a ton of depth to combos and reaction times.