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Dead
or Alive 6
ABOUT:
On June 8th, 2018,
Koei Tecmo announced Dead or Alive 6. Early on, the
developers stated DOA6 would have a more "mature" vibe, with less of an emphasis
on skimpy costumes and sexualized females, and more focus on stage
interactions, camera angles, facial expressions, and battle damage on
characters.
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Dead
or Alive 6 character selection screen.
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New gameplay mechanics in DOA6 include: Side Attack, Break Gauge, Fatal
Rush, Break Blow and Break Hold. Fatal
Rush
is a "powerful combo attack," done by just mashing
the Special button. Break
Gauge is a super meter, a first for the series. It fills
up when blocking or attacks land. Break Blow and Break Hold
can be used when the meter is full. Break
Blow is an attack executed by pressing forward with the
Special button. Break
Hold is a defensive technique that works against all kinds
of attacks. Finally, a
new Special button will execute new mechanics with 1
button press (and directional inputs).
Director Yohei Shimbori had this to say
about the new mechanics: "Pressing that 4th button continuously is an
activity all characters can trigger.... the first hit will initiate Fatal Stun,
which puts the opponent in an unprotected state, and the normal hold can not be
performed. If your gauge bar is filled you can use 'Break Blow' on the last hit.
This will be an easy move to pull off for beginners, but the timing of it will
be complex for high level play."
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NiCO
is actually a pretty cool new character.
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MODES AND FEATURES:
ARCADE - Fight
against a random selection of opponents to try to achieve the
highest score), Versus Fight - battle against the computer or other players locally.
TIME ATTACK -
Fight against a specific number of opponents within a specified
time limit, Survival - Defeat as many opponents as you can, as they appear one after
another.
TRAINING - Free Training, Tutorial, Command
Training, and Combo Challenge.
DOA QUEST -
consists of clearing quests made up of several missions. Players
can unlock rewards including costumes and owner points can be earned by
clearing these missions (many hours of grinding is required to
unlock all costumes). Playing this mode allow players to
naturally learn the game system.
STORY - features
cinematic cutscenes with the main roster. Progressing through Story Mode will unlock
substories focusing on each character. Having trouble? Use
character tutorials during gameplay to learn about the playable
character.
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DOA6's
customize requires many hours of grinding...
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DOA Central includes the
following: Wardrobe - Unlock and purchase new costumes,
hairstyles, accessories, and titles. Customize your main fighter,
Database - View your fight
records, Theater - Watch replays and COM vs. COM battles, Music - Unlock and purchase new
BGM. Change BGM settings for various modes, Library - Purchase and view DOA Encyclopedia and Trivia entries.
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Several
classic costumes return in DOA6.
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Team Ninja's developers
stated early on that Dead or Alive 6 will
apparently "tone down" the over-sexualization of female
characters. Below is an excerpt from an IGN interview.
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"We
wanted to make a more cool and more mature Dead or Alive this time, and to that
end we made a conscious decision to make characters less sexualized," Shimbori
told IGN.
It goes without saying that this decision is heavily influenced by the fact that
the industry is moving away from overly sexualized female characters in general,
but Team Ninja seems to have a concrete vision behind this shift in style. If
you look at the game's concept art, you can see that Kasumi is no longer just a
fantasy figure for young boys; she's a warrior.
"The female characters are still attractive, as are the men, but first
and foremost they are fighters," Saito Said.
In DOA6, female characters' breasts no longer jiggle and bounce in the
exaggerated fashion the series became increasingly known for, and the costumes
we have seen so far are less revealing. Females are depicted in a more natural
way, which makes them feel more human and believable than before.
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That's
very interesting... because a few months after Tecmo Koei made those statements (above), a
Japanese Collector's Edition containing hentai-looking body
pillow covers and boobie + butt cheek mousepads was announced. Don't be too surprised because this is actually standard fare for the DOA
series... as the DOA5'Collector's Edition featured the exact same
items (below). 
Shimbori also provided some very "different" details to gaming
media outlets in Japan, telling interviewers that female breasts will still
have the jiggle effect and clothing will become transparent when wet. Ohh
boy.
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"Toning
Down Sexuality in DOA6" .... Really? ^__^;
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In addition to a new
DOA project, Tecmo Koei announced
DOA6: Last Round with new enhancements including a now "Oboro
Lighting System" and other updates. Stay tuned for more details.
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| Page Updated: |
May
1st, 2026
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| Developer(s): |
Team Ninja |
| Publisher(s): |
Tecmo Koei |
| Designer(s): |
Yohei
Shimbori Director |
| Platform(s): |
PS4,
PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC Steam
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| Release Date(s): |
March
1st, 2019
June 25th, 2026
(PS5 / Xbox / Steam - DOA6: Last Round) |
| Characters: |
Kasumi, Ryu Hayabusa,
NiCO, Diego, Hayate,
Zack,
Jann Lee, Helena,
Rig, Hitomi,
Lei Fang, Ayane,
Marie Rose, Bayman,
Honoka, Bass Armstrong, Tina Armstrong,
Mila, Christie,
Lisa, Kokoro, Brad
Wong, Elliot, Raidou,
Nyotengu
(DLC),
Phase 4 (DLC),
Mai Shiranui (DLC),
Kula Diamond (DLC),
Momiji (DLC),
Rachel (DLC),
Tamaki (DLC) |
| News
Links: |
May
2026: EVO Japan 2026 - DOA6: Last Round Trailer
Feb.
2026: New DOA Project, DOA6: Last Round Announced
Dec. 2025: Tomonobu
Itagaki Passes Away at Age 58 |
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Featured Video:
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| Related Games: |
Dead
or Alive 5:
Last Round, DOA5: Ultimate, Dead
or Alive 5, Dead
or Alive, Dead or Alive 2, Dead
or Alive 2: Hardcore, Dead or Alive 3, Dead
or Alive 4, DOA: Dimensions,
MVC: Infinite, SNK Heroines: Tag Team
Frenzy, TEKKEN 7, SoulCalibur 6 |
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Gameplay
Engine
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6.0 / 10
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Story
/ Theme
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4.0 / 10
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Overall
Graphics
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7.0 / 10
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Animation
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7.0 / 10
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Music
/ Sound Effects
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5.0 / 10
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Innovation
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5.0 / 10
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Art Direction
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4.5 / 10
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Customization
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5.5 / 10
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Options / Extras
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5.0 / 10
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Intro / Presentation
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4.0 / 10
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Replayability / Fun
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5.5 / 10
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"Ouch" Factor
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8.0 / 10
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Characters
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6.0 / 10
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BOTTOM LINE
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5.7
/
10
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Review based on PS4 version
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| Final Words: |
Did they really reuse DLC characters (twice)? 
These days,
a fighting game having success with the competitive community is an imperative part of its longevity.
It the recent past, DOA5 barely managed to keep its head above water,
with certain issues and ridiculously-priced paid costume DLC drama. I
don't enjoy talking / writing about stuff like this... it's difficult for a
reviewer like me to "not sound too negative" when talking about games
with DLC practices like this.
Whatever, I don't really care too much. I've been playing DOA
since I walked into a cool arcade one day and saw the DOA1 machine and
played it for an hour or probably more. It was pretty cool. I enjoyed DOA2
on Dreamcast a while, and again on PS2 with DOA2:
Hardcore. Really fun games. For me, it peaked then. I enjoy the series,
I laugh at the characters and animations and all that. But, as far as playing in
and "caring" about DOA and where it goes? I preferred TEKKEN
competitively, but yes I still want to see more DOA! Go for it. Do
more crossovers with Sega or Bandai Namco! Do it!
"Toning down the sexuality" was the popular talking point leading up to DOA6's launch. (All the while, an irksome
and/or hilarious DOA6 Collector's Edition containing boob & buttcheek mousepads and a body pillow with hentai art
were already for sale in Japan). Confusing mixed messaging? Was it all just a publicity stunt?
Called it. So, same marketing strategy from Team Ninja as usual then? Sell "sexy" via DLC
costumes. Piss off consumers (not me, I'm just reporting it) concerning DLC
practices, yada yada. At least they make lots of cool other games like Ninja
Gaiden to make up for it. I dig it.
DOA6
set a record for fighting games by releasing FOUR
Season Passes in the span of 1 year (some costing upwards of $80). 
That's... not how Season Passes are supposed to work. Not compared to the
fighting games I play, anyway. Tecmo Koei seems to have taken the word "Season" a bit too literally. Did it work for them? Nope, it didn't work for them. DOA6 flopped harder
at launch than MVC: Infinite.
Not long into DOA6's short 1-year lifespan, Tecmo introduced "Premium Tickets" for players to buy with real money - used for unlocking DLC content. It was all downhill from here. They then began to sell paid DLC "hair dye" for customizing characters' hair color, which would fade over time - requiring players to
repurchase the hair color again
(with real money).
That's hilarious and sad, considering fellow 3D fighting games like TEKKEN 7 and SoulCalibur 6 offer 100% free customization modes with a full color wheel for customizing a character's hair (and outfits).
As a long-time fighting game player who fully embraces the "game" part of fighting
games... I'm always more interested in gameplay. Hell, decent character designs are important too. DOA6's mechanics are catered towards casual players, but most "strong-points" from past games is still present. Still, if the game isn't fun, serious 3D fighting game players won't care... and won't play it long term. Of
course, many DOA fans don't actually care about gameplay and play the game for other reasons. (_)_)
INB4 the next perverted beach volleyball spin-off game with VR capabilities gets announced and ends up having 9 times the player base of DOA6 (officially recorded in Steam stats, you can look it up). This is embarrassing, DOA6. I
don't hate DOA6 though. I honestly haven't played it enough to hate it.
One obvious thing Team Ninja needs to NOT do, next time... is charge over $1,000 USD for
DLC
costumes like they did with DOA5. Micro-transactions of this magnitude are no friend to
any level of gamer. In a few ways... DOA6, in its earliest stage, seemed like a step in the right direction. Sadly, the 4 over-priced Season Passes was another blatant
cash grab. Any DOA fans "surprised" by this did not learn from history.
(Thankfully, DOA6 didn't survive long enough to charge fans another $1000 for DLC.)
Hold my beer. Well looky
looky there, how long has it been? Back again, with the same DLC? Color me not
shocked but still a bit surprised. DOA6 is back again? Cool beans. I
might buy it for Steam.
Can I say anything positive about DOA6? The new stage designs and
close-up camera angles look alright. I'm glad Mai Shiranui is in the
game. Uhh. That's about it.  Overall, DOA6's newcomers
/ mechanics didn't wow me. Can we get new DOA characters that are
actually
interesting? You know, something outside the realm of "generic fighting dude with
shiny skin"
or "another new Asian
chick with boobs"? Bringing back / reintroducing some Virtua Fighter character's would've
really really helped DOA6... but that didn't happen. (Yet?) In fact, DOA6's roster was painfully inferior to DOA5: Last Round.
On that note, will DOA6: Last Round breathe new life into the series
before the new DOA project drops? Even though I wasn't a fan of DOA6, I
look forward to what's next.
~TFG Webmaster |
@Fighters_Gen
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