Dear or Alive is the first installment of one of the most popular series of three-dimensional fighting games. Created by Team Ninja, the production was originally released in 1995 on arcade machines, and in the following years the ports for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation consoles were released. The great financial success of the game saved its publisher, Tecmo, from bankruptcy.
Mechanics
The combat system in Dead or Alive is strongly inspired by another popular representative of the genre, Virtua Fighter. However, Team Ninja employees were tempted to introduce solutions that distinguish their work from the competition. Although the essence of the game is one-on-one duels between characteristic warriors, the production focuses primarily on speed, giving the player little time to react to the opponent's actions. Controls are simplified in comparison to other fighting games, but a smaller number of possible attacks is compensated for by a highly developed system of counterattacks.
A special feature of Dead or Alive is the construction of the arenas. Outside the battlefield there are so-called danger zones (Danger Zones). A careless warrior can be easily tossed into the air, giving their opponent the chance to land a deadly combo. Eleven characters were made available to the players, two of which made their debut only in the console version of the game.
Technical aspects
At the time of its debut, Dead or Alive's visuals were impressive and it was one of the best-looking representatives of the genre on the market. The title became particularly famous thanks to the high quality models of female warriors and the possibility of activating a special mode, in which women's breasts bounced during the battle.
