Koei-Tecmo have decided to grace us with more footage of their upcoming fighter, and while most guys will probably come (LOL DOUBLE ENTENDRE*) to see Kasumi and Ayane trade blows, Team Ninja also slipped in a special surprise for long-time fighting game fans in the video (embedded after the jump)
That’s right — Virtua Fighter’s poster boy Akira is joining the Dead or Alive crew as a guest character for DoA5. Previous Team Ninja head Tomonobu Itagaki has stated on several occasions that he holds a deep admiration for Sega’s classic 3D fighter, and while Itagaki is no longer involved with Dead or Alive or Tecmo, it seems like Team Ninja has finally gotten around to showing some respect to the granddaddy of 3D fighters.
Current Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi is promising that Dead or Alive 5 will mark the beginning of a new direction for Team Ninja, and while DoA5 doesn’t look like it’s substantial change from its predecessors, it does look like it’s shaping up to be a solid fighter regardless. Previous DoA games have (possibly unfairly) been generalized for putting fan service before game play, but here’s hoping that Team Ninja’s new focus reinvigorates the franchise with some legit depth.
Dead or Alive 5 is scheduled to be released for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 sometime before the end of the year.
*my apologies for the immaturity displayed in this article.
Source: Andriasang
Chris Hernandez
I having been waiting for this game for too long and now I really hope its worth it.