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Character Close-up: Dead or Alive Ultimate
By Wendell Scott
The Dead or Alive®series of fighting games has always been famous for its colorful cast of characters. When Dead or Alive® Ultimate arrives on the Xbox® this fall, gamers will get a first-hand look at some of the brutes and babes that made theDead or Alive franchise so popular. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the combatants, but be advised: if you want to avoid story spoilers, you should probably stop here.
Ein/Hayate
This amnesiac character is at the heart of one of the most compelling sub-plots in the entire series. The heir to the leadership of the Mugen Tenshin school of combat, Hayate was attacked by an assassin, and then disappeared. Friends and relatives alike searched obsessively for any trace of his whereabouts, but none was found until the second Dead or Alive tournament. In that contest, a fighter appeared who looked exactly like Hayate. As “Ein” battled his way to the finals, encounters with people from his past slowly restored his full memory.
Kasumi
Hayate’s sister participated in all three Dead or Alive events so far for the same reason: to see her missing brother. Even after he was revealed as Ein in the second game, Kasumi chooses to participate in the third tournament just to see Hayate one more time. She has the same kind of combat training as her brother, but her headstrong pursuit of him brought her into conflict with her own ninja clan. Their frequent attempts to discipline her forced her to become a rogue kunoichi(female ninja) who operates on her own. There is a long-standing rumor that Kasumi was captured and cloned by the same evil organization that brainwashed her brother—perhaps in Dead or Alive Ultimate we will see if the rumors are true.
Kasumi, Lady Ninja
Ayane
Another piece of the complicated Hayate/Ein puzzle, Ayane is Kasumi’s half-sister who once saw Kasumi as a rival to be defeated. Ayane attended previousDOA tournaments to assassinate Kasumi, and her ruthless ferocity in the ring earned her the nickname “Female Tengu” (a kind of demonic monster). In Dead or Alive® 3 she confronts her former master, Genra, who has been twisted by DOATEC into a terrifying superhuman called Omega. As Ayane seeks to end her mentor’s torment, she also harbors an interest in Ryu, a fellow competitor. 
Ayane, Lady Tengu
Ryu Hayabusa
The super-ninja star ofNinja Gaiden®also had a central role in the first Dead or Alive arcade games. Ryu is a close friend of Hayate and swore to defend Kasumi when her brother went missing. Those who are used to tearing things up with Ryu’s powerful Dragon Sword will find he’s just as dangerous with his bare hands, having mastered the Hayabusa Clan Style of Ninjitsu martial arts. Ryu has been a tournament champion in the past, when he defeated Bankotsu-bo, the Tengu of Destruction, in the finals of Dead or Alive 2.
Tina
American Tina Armstrong is a pro-wrestling sensation with dreams of Hollywood stardom. Don’t let Tina’s pretty face and sunny attitude throw you—she’s a tough competitor who uses those long legs to put some serious hurt on her opponents. She’s also the daughter ofDead or Alive mainstay Bass Armstrong, who trained his daughter to fight (they share many of the same moves and are a spectacular tag-team in four-man bouts). She has never won a tournament, but as her ending cut scene in Dead or Alive 3shows, she has a way of getting what she wants no matter how well she does. 
Tina, All-American Girl
Hitomi
Hitomi never actually appeared in the earlier Dead or Alive games, but she’s in Dead or Alive Ultimate as a gift to Xbox gamers from Team Ninja. Both her Japanese mother and German father were experts in karate, and Hitomi is something of a prodigy, having inherited some of her parents’ physical skills in addition to training hard all her life.
There are plenty more characters to meet in Dead or Alive Ultimate, each with his or her own unique fighting style and, of course, set of flashy costumes!
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