Dead or Alive Dimensions (US ver)
I know, I know. DOA Dimensions was released around May-June of last year, so you could say this review of mine of the game is a pre-etty-darn late. But heck, I only got to buy a 3DS this January, and Dimensions only this last weekend. I’ve got other priorities, man.
So to start off, Dead or Alive Dimensions is the most recent fighting game that I’ve played so far. The last I’ve played preceding this was Tekken: Dark Resurrection that was ported to the PS3 a few years ago (if I remember correctly some called it Tekken 5.5, because it was basically an update for Tekken 5 for the PS2, as originally Dark Resurrection came out first for the PSP).
Why the sudden change of pace? What gives, man?
I admit I’m much of a Tekken fanboy when it was still much of rage way back. And graphics-wise, Tekken 2 (the first Tekken that I’ve played) was ahead of its time. Unlike the blocky and chunky-looking characters of Virtua Fighter.
Don’t get me wrong: the controls for Tekken are really complicated, even up until now: 2 buttons for punch (left and right), 2 buttons for kick (left and right too), and a whole lot of other combination of punches, kicks, punches and kicks, as well as directional combinations. But yeah, when executed properly you get juggles, unstoppable rush punches, or seeing your opponent get pounded to a pulp. It was a lot to take in, but once you get the hang of it, it’s almost muscle, or rather, finger-muscle memory for you.
I came across the Dead or Alive game way back when it was first released in the arcade. I was waiting in line for my turn on the machine for Tekken 3 when I spotted the DOA machine, demoing some AI-versus game and
Kasumi and
Lei Fang doing their
katas (I dunno the proper term for it for their respective martial arts, as kata is “form” for what they call it in Karate). Then one guy sat down in front of it and began playing DOA, and I was impressed at the moves and the characters.
Sure, Tekken has female fighters as well (not to mention the King of Fighters series, Virtua Fighter AND Street Fighter), but this is the first game I saw that has a woman as protagonist. Not to mention delicious graphics-goodness (yes, for that time).
I tried a few battles on the DOA arcade, and I was impressed by the moves and combinations. I decided then that I’d buy a copy for the PS so that I could play at home.
Let’s fast-forward things a bit: I never got to play DOA 2, then DOA 3 and 4 were released as XBox-exclusive titles (I never was an Xbox-type-of-guy). Then when Dimensions was announced for the 3DS, I made up my mind that I’ll skip the PSP and the Vita and settle for a Nintendo handheld console.
The Rave
So, what’s new in Dimensions? Well, to start off, it’s basically an updated Dead or Alive compilation, story-wise and graphics-wise. The Chronicle Mode features the storyline from the point of view of the main protagonists from every DOA game, and the final segment is from the point of view from another character. So if you’re a DOA fan and have played thru all DOA 1 to 4, you’re not going to get anything new from this game, sorry.
Arcade Mode features several “Missions”, wherein it’s differentiated in difficulty levels. The opponents of every mission in Arcade Mode is fixed, by the way. Also, ranking here is based on time-attack (unlike in Tekken wherein Arcade and Time Attack are two different Modes). Survival Mode is also divided into Missions, from fighting against 10, 30, 50, and finally 100 opponents. And every 10th opponent is a boss character.
The Pluses
Gameplay-wise, Dimensions use the movelist/combat system from DOA 4. So if you’re a veteran, fighting against opponents (AI or otherwise) will feel natural for you. For beginners, on the other hand, there’s the digital instruction menu displayed on the second interactive screen of the 3DS, and you can use the stylus to tap a combo that you want to execute. This is a good thing when you’re practicing, but rather useless when comes to actual fighting. When tapping for combos, that is. But scrolling for reference of a combo that you liked….well, maybe. As long as you can like, use the D-pad/analog stick to evade the enemy lest you want to be pummeled to submission.
DOA Dimensions Digital Instruction screen
I haven’t tried the local wireless versus mode, as I’ve yet to find another person who has a 3DS with a Dimensions loaded on the cartridge slot, nor even Streetpassed another person for a local Throw-down match. Though I’ve got to try the versus mode over the internet (read more below).
There’s also the costume collection. You can unlock several costumes of characters when accomplishing a mission from either Arcade or Tag mode. Some characters have up to 4 costumes, 2 by default and 2 more unlocked. Then an additional of up to 3 more costumes via DLC (thru Spotpass), which is free of charge of Tecmo-Koei (squee, thanks so much!). The DLC costumes were initially released last year, then was re-released again at a later date for those who missed it (including me!!). Check for the link below for the schedules.
From left to right: Kokoro in French-inspired suit, Kasumi's black kunoichi piece, and Lei Fang's all-leather halter-top-and-shorts costume. All available via Spotpass
Finally, there’s the Showcase “gameplay” mode, where you collect figurines of various characters in their different poses. The figurines are collected in-game from the different types of missions, or thru Spotpass, or even by spending coins collected by the 3DS pedometer system. In the showcase mode, you can create your own diorama of sorts by taking a picture of your character of choice, in one of many poses/costumes/scenery combinations, and 3D pictures can be taken as long as 3D is enabled on your 3DS. The pictures are saved into the SD card, though it can only be viewed in Dimensions, not in the default picture viewer of the 3DS, as every picture is encrypted. If you want to view your shots on your computer, you have to get a decrypter program first (I won’t give any links about that, sorry).
Display of the Showcase mode
The Rage
With all this praises, what's there to complain? Well, not a lot, but it's worth taking a look. For one, the Tag Team Mission is a letdown. I was expecting a Tekken Tag-esque type of gameplay, wherein you can control your choice of tagmate, but sadly, no. Your tag team partner will always be controlled by an AI, and most of the time, your AI partner's as dumb as a rock. Which is pathetic.
Another beef I have is the online versus mode. Not the local wireless or Streetpass mode, but
over the Internet. Connections are wonky, and framerate suffers so much that your fight staggers to a mere crawl in terms of graphics speed. Sure, turning off the 3D slider all the way down may help at times, but if your opponent is from the other side of the world, expect total slow-motion fights.
Lastly, is the difficulty of the AI. Easy is easy indeed, normal is an acceptable difficulty, but hard and the next top difficulty, it's almost impossible to defeat. I mean, you try to land a blow at your opponent, and all s/he does is catch it and throws you back. With ease. Multiple times. Flawlessly. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT SHIT??!
Seriously, the game can do without the
SNK Boss Syndrome.
All in all
Dead or Alive Dimensions is a great fighting game, lots of features, and even the collecting part is fun. If you could look past the cheating AI, the crappy online play, the worthless tag teammate AI, you're golden.
And oh, let's not forget the
breast physics.....well, it's good eye-candy, especially on winning poses and cut scenes, but when you're too distracted by your favorite character's boobs...
....oh well. Boys will be boys.
Links to the good stuff
Official Dead or Alive Dimensions webpage
A good wiki about Dead or Alive Dimensions
Schedule of release of DLC costumes
