So almost 3 years ago a little game called Dead or Alive 5 came out that I was excited for. You know the one I posted endlessly about for months? Well, who would have thought that this game would still be relevant to me this many years later. Now I've bought some re-releases in my time but this is the 3rd yes count it 3rd time I've bought this game. And strangely, I'm more excited about it than ever. I've been thinking the last few days what makes this game so compelling to me. Now the cynical answer obviously would be BOOBS. And guilty as charged I do enjoy the fanservice elements of the series. I've developed a crippling costume DLC addiction. I sort... of bought the $93 season pass? Yeah, ok I know... part of the problem.

Really though, the reason I enjoy it SO much is how the game plays. The back and forth of the triangle system makes for some thrilling game play. Without going into to serious detail the triangle system is basically paper , rock, scissors. Strikes beat throws,Holds beat strikes and throws beat holds. Its this synergy along with the top tier production and spectacle of the living breathing stages that make DOA's combat so flashy and fun. One of my favorite levels is the one that was in the DOA 5 demo "Scramble" its called. Both combatants start on top of a unfinished skyscraper under construction. When one combatant is smashed into a power generator it causes an explosion which sets off a chain of catastrophic events including the floor nearly buckling and a giant crane to wildly swing giant steel beams around. Its the essence of a hollywood action movie. Everyone can feel cool while playing DOA.

While the game has depth to it its also very accessible. Its a three button game Punch, Kick, Block. That is it. No having to watch a dozen meters fill up no confusing HUD elements just two combatants pummeling the ever loving shit out of each other. I also have been a fan of the characters of the Dead or Alive series. At least in my opinion they are some of the more memorable fighting game characters. And I enjoy thatTeam Ninja is starting to dip into the Ninja Gaiden series and bringing in characters like Momiji and Rachel.

I've been feverishly playing the game over the last week and really enjoying it. I was originally leaning to sticking with Rachel one of my real go to characters for Ultimate but Marie Rose has come onto the scene and stolen my heart. Part bubbly and cute and all deadly she is a ton of fun to play as. I'm sorry that I missed playing as her in Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate as I quit playing the game before any of the character DLC was added.

So, whats new in Last Round? What is worth buying this for the 3rd time? Well for starters two new characters. Raidou comes back from the dead to enter combat now looking like a Japanese Kano. The other new entry is a new fighter described as "Super Secret Fighter chick" Honoka. Not much is known about her at due time other than she has some mysterious power that lets her copy moves that she sees other fighters do. So naturally, her move set is cobbled together mostly with other fighters special stances and moves. She also seems to be a not so subtle nod to Love Live! character Honoka Kousaka. Beyond that two new stages have been added. "The Danger Zone" is a call back to a DOA 1 stage with exploding floors the other addition is "The Crimson" a Japanese shanty town.

Few other cool things about Last Round. Firstly, a large chunk of DLC is included with the game. Secondly, all DLC and Saves can be carried over from a previous generation consoles. Which is awesome as all previous titles and stats will carry over for you so you don't have to bother unlocking titles or costumes yet again for the 3rd time. There are some other smaller changes like the addition of a details menu allowing you to select hairstyles and glasses for the girls.

I can see how some might look at 2 new characters and 2 new stags and costumes and scoff and that is a fair enough reaction I suppose. However if you've been itching for a fighter on the PS4 there is no better choice right now. I think its also priced right. At $40 for the retail version you get everything and I think that is a good price.The game also looks really snappy and great on PS4 the skin textures look way better thanks to the new "Soft Engine". Now granted its not going to blow your socks off but Its a reminder that Team Ninja can make some good looking games and has me excited for possible future titles. I'm always down for a friendly challenge if anyone decides they want to play. My next blog will most likely be on the bouncy and curvacious girls of Senran Kagura. As Senran Kagura Estival Versus is coming out next month and I have an import copy on order! Till next time.

I've been messing around with the free version on PS3 and liking it a lot. Having troubles with diagonals on the dpad but that's probably due to using a Dualshock 4.

@corevi: Yeah, they can sometimes be a pain especially moves that require double diagonal double taps. If you stick with it you'll figure it out though. :)

Somehow I don't think you spending money on that season pass was in any way a waste of money for you.

I picked up the disc for XboxOne. Wasn't sure which thing to download in the marketplace. Very confusing. I still don't see where they have a season pass for xbox yet, but i haven't been on in the last few days. I have loved this game since the first one came out. My favorite fighting game next to Soul Caliber.

Once I turned off Throwdown mode , where people can challenge you while you are playing against a cpu I have had no problems, however when going online it freezes up like crazy. Just been avoiding online for now. Have they updated and fixed this problem yet?

Different strokes (haha!) for different folks I suppose. Almost everything about this game appalls me. Not that I'm particularly opposed to some cheap titillation, but wow this game milks it for all it's worth.

@grantheaslip: Yeah, they sure don't hide that fact. If you're going to go this crazy with it you kinda just have to embrace it.

I've bought this game twice now (vanilla & Ultimate on 360) and I'll buy it again on PS4. Kinda sucks that my costumes won't carry over, but I don't buy them that much anyway. I only play Rachel & Kokoro so I bought their costumes and ignored the rest.

I do appreciate that each character has a good amount unlockable costumes though. I can't recall any fighting game off the top of my head that actually gives you brand new, unlockable, non-paid costumes like DOA does. In fact it's one of the few games that gives you unlockable content that's NOT just Achievements/Trophies these days, and that's cool.

Just realized I only talked about costumes in this post. This game is also very fun and easy to pick up, and that's why I've bought it twice. :P

Picked up the game earlier today, but I'm a total scrub when it comes to 3D fighters. I have always liked DOA more then Tekken or Virtua Fighter or whatever other fighters that exist, so I thought I would try and get into this. I had picked up vanilla version way back, but didn't end up playing it much. Also @demoskinos digging the Katsuragi.

@liquidprince: Katsuragi is love. Katsuragi is life. Also protip might seem obvious to say but I can't recommend doing the tutorial enough. Its very in depth and covers everything from basic movement to complex concepts.

I tried recently to get into DOA5U but couldn't really enjoy it much. It has the problem that I have with a number of other fighters: obviously when you play against people who are actually good at the game, you get destroyed so hard you don't have a chance to try anything, and when you play against someone who's new, they mash A so hard and fast that you don't have any time to try anything cool.

That and while I have accomplished some challenging execution heavy things in fighting games, I couldn't finish the DOA5U tutorial.

Glad to hear it's still good. Bummed that I have to wait another month and a half for it to hit PC D:

@gunslingerpanda: I'm hoping that PC version turns out Okay but man hearing all this crazy stuff like the online not launching until months later seems suspect.