''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round'' is a 2015 fighting game developed by

Team Ninja is a Japanese video game developer, and a division of Koei Tecmo, founded in 1995 as a part of Tecmo. It is founded and formerly led by Tomonobu Itagaki, later by Yosuke Hayashi, and is best known for the ''Ninja Gaiden'' action-adventure gam ...

and published by

Koei Tecmo is a Japanese video game, amusement and anime holding company created in 2009 by the merger of Koei and Tecmo. Koei Tecmo Holdings owns several companies, the biggest one of those being its flagship game developer and publisher Koei Tecmo Games ...

for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

, PlayStation 4,

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

, Microsoft Windows, and Arcade. It is the third and final updated version of 2012's ''

Dead or Alive 5 is a 2012 fighting video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo Koei for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the fifth main entry in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting series and the first to have a multi-platform release since '' Dea ...

'', following 2013's '' Dead or Alive 5 Plus'' and '' Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate''. Notable changes from ''Ultimate'' include two additional characters and a graphical upgrade for the new generation of consoles. Unlike the original ''

'', as a download update for PS3 and Xbox 360, the game can convert either the digital versions of ''Ultimate'' or ''Ultimate: Core Fighters'' into ''Last Round''.

Gameplay

''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round'' features all the content from '' Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate'', adding new costumes and customizable hairstyles for outside PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, as well as two new characters and two new stages for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The PlayStation 4 and

versions received upgraded graphics, running at 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second. These two versions also use the new game engine called Soft Engine and designed to better depict "softness" of character's bodies. Since the appearance of the ''

Senran Kagura is a video game series created by Kenichiro Takaki, produced by Marvelous and mostly developed by Tamsoft. The franchise revolves around groups of female shinobi, and has received manga and anime adaptations. The anime has been licensed by F ...

'' DLC costume pack, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions have clothing breaker mechanisms for certain DLC collaboration outfits, including female characters' Valentine's Day DLC outfits when using a Critical Burst finisher on the opponent who wears some DLC collaboration outfit, similar to the Armor Breaker from other

Sega AM2 previously known as is a video game development team within the Japanese multinational video game developer Sega. Yu Suzuki, who had previously developed arcade games for Sega including '' Hang-On'' and ''Out Run'', was the first manager of t ...

's ''

Fighting Vipers ''Fighting Vipers'' (ファイティングバイパーズ'' Faitingu Vaipāzu'') is a 3D fighting video game developed by Sega AM2. It uses the same game engine as AM2's ''Virtua Fighter 2'' but features enclosed arenas and an armor mechanic, and ...

''.

Characters

''Last Round'' retains all 32 characters featured in ''Ultimate'', including the four guest characters from the ''

Virtua Fighter is a series of fighting games created by Sega-AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original '' Virtua Fighter'' was released in October 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first ''Virtua Fighter'' ga ...

'' series (counting ''Ultimate''s

Jacky Bryant The following is a list of characters from the ''Virtua Fighter'' fighting game series released by Sega. Starting with ''Virtua Fighter'', this series has spanned five games (not including updates) and has been released on arcade systems as well as ...

) and the three characters who first appeared in the arcade version and then as DLC ( Marie Rose, Nyotengu and

Phase-4 is a fictional character and the protagonist of the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting game series by Team Ninja and Tecmo (Koei Tecmo). Kasumi has served as the lead character of the ''Dead or Alive'' franchise since its premiere in 1996. She was a ...

), along with over 300 costumes for them. In addition, the game adds four new characters, including bringing back the original '' Dead or Alive'' game's

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

Raidou to life and introducing a new female fighter named Honoka, for a total of up to 36. *

Honoka is a Japanese TV personality, actress, writer and former adult video (AV) performer who retired from the AV industry in 2008. Life and career Honoka was born in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. She is a licensed practical nurse and has appeared as ...

: An 18-year-old Japanese schoolgirl who uses has her own style that she calls "Honoka Fu". Although she does not have any experience in combat, she uses some fighting moves from other characters and also a mysterious power. * Raidou: An evil ninja and

Ayane Ayane (/aˈjaˌnɛ/) is the romanization of a feminine Japanese given name. Literally translated it means "colorful sound" (彩音 or 綺音). * or Junko Hirata, Japanese singer-songwriter *, Japanese television personality *, Japanese badminton ...

's biological father using techniques he has stolen from other fighters. Killed in the first ''Dead or Alive'' game, he returns as an undead cyborg. The memories on what's good left in him from his past no longer exist, leaving only his obsession to copy the fighters' fighting skills. *

Mai Shiranui (alternatively written しらぬいまい) is a fictional character in the ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting games by SNK. She has also appeared in other media of these franchises and in a number of other games since ...

: A guest character from the ''

Fatal Fury ''Fatal Fury'', known as in Japan, is a fighting game series developed by SNK for the Neo Geo system. Games Canon * '' Fatal Fury'' – The first game of the ''Fatal Fury'' series allowed players to select one of three characters, Terr ...

''/'' King of Fighters'' series. She was announced at the 2016 Dead or Alive Festival and arrived on September 13, 2016. After her addition in ''

Dead or Alive 6 is a 2019 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo. It is the sixth main entry in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting series. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 1, 2019, and w ...

'', she stopped being available for purchase on September 11, 2019. * Naotora Ii: A guest character from ''

Samurai Warriors is the first title in the series of hack and slash video games created by Koei's Omega Force team based closely around the Sengoku ("Warring States") period of Japanese history and it is a sister series of the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, relea ...

''. She was announced in December 2015 to arrive on February 25, 2016 on Arcade version, and as downloadable exclusive to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 17, 2016 and Microsoft Windows on March 29, 2016.

History

Console versions

''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round'' was announced on August 31, 2014, said to arrive during spring of 2015. On January 13, 2015, the new character Honoka was revealed in ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

''. The game was released on 17 February 2015 in North America, following by Japan on 19 February and Europe on 20 February. It has a digital-only English release for the

and

. North America and South America PlayStation 3 release was moved to the February 24 due to the

PlayStation Store The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable conten ...

issues. The "Beach Party" DLC has been available for free for four weeks after launch for North American and South American PlayStation 3 owners. Pre-ordering the retail version at GameStop and GAME for the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One rewarded the exclusive costume pack containing the "Ninja 2015" costume set (for

, Ryu Hayabusa, Hayate and

Kasumi Kasumi may refer to: Places * Kasumi, Hyōgo (香住), a former town in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan * Kasumigaseki (霞が関 "Gate of Mist"), a district in downtown Tokyo * Kasumi, Jajce, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina Other uses * Kasumi (gi ...

), and "Aloha" costume set (for Ayane,

Hitomi Hitomi may refer to:. People * Hitomi (given name), a feminine Japanese given name * Hitomi (voice actress) (born 1967), Japanese voice actress * Hitomi (singer) (born 1976, as Hitomi Furuya), Japanese singer and songwriter * Hitomi Nabatame (b ...

, Kasumi and Mila). Pre-ordering at

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

, Best Buy and ShopTo rewarded access to exclusive costumes sets "Showstopper" (for Christie, Helena,

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

and Tina) and "Beach Party" (for

Kokoro is a novel by the Japanese author Natsume Sōseki. It was first published in 1914 in serial form in the Japanese newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun''. The title translated literally means "heart". The word contains shades of meaning—notions of the he ...

Leifang , often written as Lei Fang, is a player character in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting game series by Team Ninja and Tecmo (Koei Tecmo). She was introduced in the original '' Dead or Alive'' in 1996 and has appeared in the series' subsequent in ...

Momiji ''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: ''irohamomiji'', , or ''momiji'', (栴), is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. ...

and

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

). In Japan, there are two special editions for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One: the Collector's Edition and the Strongest Package, containing various digital and physical bonuses. A

free-to-play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...

''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round: Core Fighters'' version (similar to '' Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Core Fighters'') was released in addition to the retail version for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It includes the "core" content with only four characters (Ayane, Hayate, Kasumi and Ryu Hayabusa) with the option to purchase the rest as DLC. Jann Lee, Mila, Kokoro, Hitomi, Rig and Leifang have all been free of charge for limited periods at different points in time as each other. The Xbox One also received a free trial version titled ''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round: Xbox One Trial'', which has the same playable characters as ''Core Fighters'' but allows only a certain amount of hours of playtime. After playing for the available play time, the game becomes unplayable unless the players would upgrade to ''Core Fighters'' for a small fee. A limited-time special campaign running between August 26 and September 14, 2015, has offered Leifang for ''Core Fighters'' free of charge and decreased prices on the add-ons for the game, also reducing the price of the trial version's upgrade on the Xbox One by half.

Arcade version

The arcade version of ''Last Round'' was brought by a free upgrade patch for the arcade version of ''Ultimate'' on February 17, 2015. It has the ''Last Round'' only contents unlocked by default.

PC version

The Windows PC version of ''Last Round'' is only the second game in the series on PC, after '' Dead or Alive Onlines open beta, and the third game for ''Virtua Fighter'' guest characters since their last PC game appearance on the PC version of ''

Virtua Fighter 2 is a 1994 fighting video game developed by Sega. It is the sequel to 1993's ''Virtua Fighter'' and the second game in the ''Virtua Fighter'' series. It was created by Sega's Yu Suzuki-headed AM2 and was released for the arcades in 1994. Ports ...

''. It is based largely on the PS3 version of the game, does not feature the improved breast physics of the Soft Engine for the characters but have the effects from the PS4 version for the stages. Although having an accessory option as PS4/Xbox One, except it has no new stages, which are exclusive to those two consoles. Originally intended to be released on February 17, 2015, it was delayed six weeks to March 30, with Steam users being given a Halloween 2013 costume pack free of charge. The online functionality support was promised to arrive within three months since the release, but the

patch Patch or Patches may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Patch Johnson, a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'' * Patch (''My Little Pony''), a toy * "Patches" (Dickey Lee song), 1962 * "Patches" (Chairmen of the Board song) ...

to enable it was postponed indefinitely by the end of June. On October 1, 2015, Patch 1.04 was released on the Steam version, enabling ranked online functionality. This patch, however, still lacks the lobby functionality that is currently only present on the console versions of the game. The ''Core Fighters'' version was announced to be released on October 3, 2016. Those who had already owned the full game prior the ''Core Fighters'' release received a free update on unlocking all characters, music, and the story mode.

Post-release

Director Yosuke Hayashi said they plan on supporting ''Last Round'' long-term, including "adjustments to game balance and maybe even adding additional modes." Several costume packs have been released as paid

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...

, including ninja outfits for all characters, superhero themed costumes, destructible collaboration clothings, such as from the ''

'' series, and from the '' Deception'' series of video games, and those created by ''

The World God Only Knows , abbreviated as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tamiki Wakaki. It was originally serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from April 2008 to April 2014, with its chapters collected in 26 ''tankōbon'' vo ...

'' creator Tamiki Wakaki. Later outfits included costumes of various characters from

Falcom is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', '' The Legend of Heroes'', and ''Trails'' series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. They are credited with pionee ...

and Square Enix games as well as from

Tatsunoko and often shortened to , is a Japanese animation company. The studio's name has a double meaning in Japanese: "Tatsu's child" (Tatsu is a nickname for Tatsuo) and " sea dragon", the inspiration for its seahorse logo. Tatsunoko's headquarters are ...

productions, Shonen Magazine's ''

Fairy Tail ''Fairy Tail'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from August 2006 to July 2017, with the individual chapters collected and published into 63 ' ...

'' and '' Attack on Titan'' (including a free ''Attack on Titan'' based stage for PS4 and Xbox One), Aquaplus,

Arc System Works , commonly referred to as ArcSys, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher located in Yokohama. Founded by Minoru Kidooka in 1988, the company is known for arcade 2D fighting game franchises, including ''Guilty Gear'' and ''BlazBlue'', a ...

's ''

Guilty Gear is a series of fighting games by Arc System Works, created and designed by artist Daisuke Ishiwatari. The first game was published in 1998, and has spawned several sequels. It has also adapted to other media such as manga and drama CD. ''Gu ...

'' and ''

BlazBlue ''BlazBlue'' is a fighting video game series developed and published in Japan by Arc System Works, and later localized in North America by Aksys Games and in Europe by Zen United. An anime adaptation aired in Autumn 2013. The series has sold 1. ...

''. In turn of having ''Senran Kagura'' collaboration costumes in this game and '' Dead or Alive Xtreme 3'', the character Ayane is set to appear as a DLC guest character in '' Senran Kagura: Estival Versus'', while Marie and Honoka, along with Ayane, who appeared as a DLC character in ''Estival Versus'' are set to appear as DLC characters in '' Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash''. The costumes for the Halloween pack were selected from fan submissions for a contest. Following the release of the Halloween Costume 2015, the update spaces on adding DLC for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 already reached their limits due to a file size problem on these versions. A new stage was added to the game with an update in July 2015 and a "major update" bringing another new stage and a mysterious brand new character was announced for spring 2016 (around March), later revealed to be Naotora.

from

SNK Playmore is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 197 ...

's fighting franchises was added to the game in September 2016. New DLC content and updates have continued to arrive until December 2017, when the full-time development of ''

'' began.

Reception

The game received generally positive reviews. Reviewers such as Brian Shea from ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

'', Blake Peterson from Game Revolution, Chris Dunlap from Gaming Age, Ernest Lin from PlayStation Universe, Simon Miller from ''

X-One ''XONE'' (formerly ''X360'') was a monthly magazine produced by Imagine Publishing in the United Kingdom. XONE was the UK's #1 selling independent dedicated Xbox 360 and Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Mi ...

'', and Ken McKown from ZTGD recommended this "great" and "incredibly accessible" fighting game with much content for those who did not get ''Ultimate'' or just never played a ''Dead or Alive'' game before, and to try out the free version first in case of a doubt. ''Hardcore Gamers Adam Beck endorsed ''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round'' for those "looking for a fun, over-the-top fighter with a lot of charm," even as he criticized it for how "the few new additions are far from compelling and there are some unfortunate bugs at launch." Jeremy Duff from Gaming Nexus wrote the "jaw-droppingly gorgeous" ''Last Round'' "is an excellent ending point for this chapter of the series. It takes all of the groundwork laid in ''DoA5'' and polishes it off in the best way possible. Armed with an excellent roster of characters and a ton of modes, this is a great introduction to 3D fighting on the new generation of fighters." The PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game have sold more than 35,000 physical copies in Japan within the first week after its release. After first six months, the game's free-to-play versions on all three console platforms have been downloaded by four million users worldwide. The number of downloads crossed five million by the end of 2015 and six million by April 2016. By January 2017, the total had reached 8 million, exceeding 9 million by July 2017 and 10 million by September 2017. It got to 11 million by June 2018, and 12 million by January 2019.

References

External links

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