Dead or Alive 6: Gamesplanet Hands-on Preview and Interview

Brawler action returns to PC next month when Dead or Alive 6 launches on March 1st. Gamesplanet had a chance to get hands-on and ask some questions for the upcoming fighting game ahead of release.

The hard hitting action of Dead or Alive prepares for the next entry of the series as Dead or Alive 6 is just around the corner, and will launch early next month on March 1st. Gamesplanet was lucky enough to get early hands-on with the game thanks to KOEI Tecmo Europe, who treated us to a look at the game in action.

Dead or Alive 6 Developer Interview

Gamesplanet: The story for Dead or Alive 6 takes place after DOA5, can you explain a little about the different narratives for the game?
KOEI Tecmo: I can’t give too much away just yet, so I’ll keep it short! If we go back to DOA5, we saw Helena Douglas re-established DOATEC as a clean conglomerate. Meanwhile, Victor Donovan, the mad scientist who had caused suffering for the ninjas & Helena with his human experimentation/assassination plots, broke off from DOATEC and started a new organisation known as “M.I.S.T.”. Whilst at M.I.S.T., Donovan entered the mass production stage of ‘Phase 4’; a plot to create clones of the kunoichi (female ninja) Kasumi. The Ninjas of the Mugen Tenshin clan, led by Hayate and DOATEC, took action, and successfully stopped the original mass-production model clone form running rampant.

So, this is where DEAD OR ALIVE 6 begins! In addition to the mass-production model clone, M.I.S.T. had been working on another project. NiCO, the brilliant scientist entrusted with the project, had seen a young girl at the 5th DOA tournament emitting an unusual energy – and begins plotting. While this takes place, Helena, the tournament organiser, notices this unusual energy and instructs Marie Rose to investigate.

Though Kasumi is not yet aware of these events unfolding…

That’s all I can say for now!

Gamesplanet: In Dead or Alive 6 we're promised even more impressive visuals on display. What improvements are you making to the engine on PC?
KOEI Tecmo: DEAD OR ALIVE 6 is designed so that it can be played smoothly in 4K as long as the PC being used has good enough performance. If possible, I hope players can play the game on a PC with high performance! We want to make the game possible to play on PCs with low performance also, but that of course would mean sacrifices would be made to graphics quality. Of course, there are many users that want to enjoy the best graphics even if it means a drop in performance. As such, we have enabled a setting that allows players to maintain the quality of the graphics… even if it means sacrificing processing speed.

Gamesplanet: The series has been known for a range of fighters, but how many will DO6 have at launch, and will you add any post-release?
KOEI Tecmo: At launch, there will be 26 characters. Two of the characters are pre-order/digital deluxe version bonuses; Nyotengu can be added to the roster by pre-ordering the title, whereas Phase 4 is available through purchasing the Digital Deluxe Version.
More characters will be added to the game after release… as for how many, it will depend on how well the game and DLC performs, so if you enjoy them please do purchase them!

Gamesplanet: What are the essential features hardcore Dead or Alive fans and VS Fighting Pro Gamers will be happy to find in Dead or Alive 6 ?
KOEI Tecmo: It's going to sound like a strange answer, but one of the features of this game is that it can actually be enjoyed by a wide group of players, from hardcore DOA fans to fighting-game pro-gamers.

What makes hardcore DOA fans different from fans of other fighting games is that a large group is fans of fighting games, another large group is fans of the world/environments, and yet another group is fans of the characters and how they look. And we cannot ignore any of these groups!

For fans of fighting games, we will continue to incorporate the tactical strategy DOA is known for, and we are brushing up such tactical strategy, combos, and other features. In addition, to make the game easy to play for fans of fighting games other than DOA, we have introduced a new "Special" gauge, making it a little easier to understand the development of matches, controls, and rules that would normally only be understood by DOA fans.

For fans of the world/environments, in addition to the new scenarios that we will be of course adding, we will also be including new stages, some of which are essential to the story. Also, the characters will enable everyone to have new experiences in the world.

There are many fans of the characters and how they look, so costumes are extremely important. For normal fighting games, no one complains if there are 1 or 2 costumes at first, but for DOA, we get complaints even if there are 5 varieties!

The types of fans have increased, so we are working hard to make sure all of them are satisfied.

Gamesplanet: Will there be additional graphic options available for the PC version?
KOEI Tecmo: For Xbox One and Xbox One X, as well as for PS4 and PS4 Pro, players can simply choose between the settings "Prioritise graphics" or "Prioritise action". For PC, however, we are currently working to make it so players can configure more detailed settings.

Gamesplanet: How many challenges await players interested to complete the Story Mode?
KOEI Tecmo: The number of them is still a secret, but it is a game mode that is typical of fighting games - not too long but high-paced. The last boss is... perhaps it's better not to say, isn't it?

Gamesplanet: Which of the favourite maps will be back in Dead or Alive 6 ?
KOEI Tecmo: For this game, rather than choosing based on popularity, we revamped stages that we wanted to use for the story of DOA6. The pro-wrestling ring and Hong Kong stages are examples of this. As for the other popular stages, after release we will add them when I feel they are necessary as part of the DOA6 line-up.

Gamesplanet: Are the physics of breasts based on real motion capturing?
KOEI Tecmo: No. If they were captured, such motions would become fixed. As far as I'm aware, with the DOA series, motion has always occurred as a result of calculating physics in real time. As such, controlling it is very difficult, and there is an abundance of parameters that must be adjusted. It's not just one motion, but the previous motion, positioning, and posture must all be checked simultaneously. And while it creates a huge amount of work, we constantly make corrections as we continue to make improvements. You're probably wondering, "Why go to that extent when no one else is doing such work?" It's because our engineers are proud to be pioneers in the area, and feel an obligation of trying to be the best in the world. It's because they have the most knowledge and technical skill in the world that our fans have come to count on us. There is a large group of people who are expecting the highest quality in the world, and that is why we strive to work the very hardest that we can.

We'd like to extend our thanks to Koei Tecmo and Nathan for allowing us to get an early look at the game!

DEAD OR ALIVE 6 is coming to PC on March 1st 2019 and you can pre-order today to save 10% off!