Dead or Alive Dimensions

Template:Infobox VG

"One More Time, One More Fight"

—Tagline for the game.

Dead or Alive: Dimensions (デッド オア アライブ ディメンションズ, Deddo oa Araibu Dimenshonzu) is the 13th installment of the Dead or Alive franchise, and the tenth versus-fighting title of the series.

Officially announced on June 15, 2010 at E3, under the working title Dead or Alive 3D, Dimensions was developed by Team Ninja and released in May 2011 by Tecmo Koei for the Nintendo 3DS, making it the first Dead or Alive title for a Nintendo system, and the series's first fighting game for any handheld.

Dimensions was originally slated for a Japanese release on March 24, 2011, however, due the earthquake and tsunami which hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the game's release was pushed back by two months.

Story

As this game is the 15th anniversary title for the series, rather then featuring a new plot, or simply being a remake of a previous title, Dimensions tells the story of the main series with more details and additional scenes, answering questions about the series, and showing events that were mentioned previously in past games but never seen. While chapters one through four follow the story from the point of view of the shinobi - Kasumi, Ryu Hayabusa, Hayate and Ayane - chapter five features the story from the side of Helena Douglas. It also takes opportunities to teach the player about the mechanics of DOA in each chapter.

Please Note: this section will only cover the main running plot of Dimensions. For additional information or for certain events not linked to the main plot, visit the character pages.

Prologue

After a bit a chaos, Kasumi escaped Ayane's grasp with Christie via helicopter.

After his son Hayate fell into a coma, Shiden, the leader of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan, decided that his second child, Kasumi would take over as heir to the head of the clan. He made her start training for the post, but refused to tell her how her brother ended up in his critical state.

To find out the truth, Kasumi asked her half-sister and former friend Ayane about what she knew. Believing that Kasumi wouldn't amount to anything as leader, she told her that Hayate was injured by Raidou, Shiden's older brother and Ayane's father. The exiled shinobi had returned to the village to "steal" the Torn Sky Blast, a ninpo spell learned by the clan leaders. Hayate tried to fight Raidou off with the Torn Sky Blast, but was overpowered and his spinal cord was damaged in the brawl, causing Hayate to fall into his coma.

After learning the truth, Kasumi decided to run away from the village to take revenge on Raidou for Hayate, even though it meant she would likely be killed by her own clan for leaving the village without permission. When Kasumi disappeared from the village, Ayane was order to track her down and kill her. She tried to capture Kasumi on the bridge leading out of the village, but was stopped when out of the blue, Christie appeared in a helicopter and saved Kasumi. Although Kasumi didn't know the woman, she went with Christie to safety, leaving Ayane screaming furiously below.

Chapter 1: Resolve

Christie told Kasumi that she would find Raidou taking part in the Dead or Alive World Combat Championship, and that she should take part too. Bayman, Christie's co-worker, told Kasumi not to, since she was just a little girl, but Christie claimed that Kasumi was actually one of the top contenders for the championship.

It's highly implied that Raidou allowed DOATEC to experiment on him, making him more powerful.

The three of them ended up on the cruise ship Freedom Survivor, where Fame Douglas, the head of the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee, formally introduced the tournament. During the speech, Kasumi found Ayane in the crowd, who had turned up for the same reasons Kasumi did, in addition to killing her sister. The girls quickly discovered that Raidou was working for Fame and before he left the ship, Ayane tried to attack him. She failed, and Fame stopped them, telling Kasumi if she wanted to fight Raidou, she would have to make it to the final round of the tournament...

...Which she did. Kasumi fought her way through every foe she faced, and managed to get to the final round in the Danger Zone. She defeated Raidou, but he awoke at once, more powerful then before. Determined to defeat him, Kasumi faced him in a Torn Sky Blast duel, and with unseen help from Ryu Hayabusa on the sidelines, she finally came out as the winner and killed Raidou. Unfortunately, her reward was to be kidnapped by DOATEC, which prompted Hayabusa to save her. That same night, Fame was assassinated by Bayman under the order of Victor Donovan, but although he was successful, Christie left him behind as she returned to DOATEC headquarters.

Chapter 2: Rise of the Tengu

After Alpha kidnapped Hayate, Ayane was ordered to find Hayabusa for his help.

One night, while a comatose Hayate laid in bed, Kasumi α snuck into his room, overjoyed to see her "brother". Ayane burst into the room after her, and believing that it's the real Kasumi, became enraged at the sight of her. Before Ayane attacked, Alpha preformed a ninpo illusion spell on her. Ayane saw a vision of a tengu at Miyama, before she awoke again to find that Alpha and Hayate missing, and Genra next to her. Genra told her that Alpha had broken the barrier between the human world and the world of the tengu, allowing the tengu she saw to return. Genra requested, to stop the tengu, that Ayane searches for Hayabusa, who at that moment was in the oceans surrounding Europe on the Freedom Survivor.

Hayabusa meets a slightly drunk Lisa at the announcement of the second tournament.

Meanwhile, on the ship during a formal gathering, Helena Douglas addressed the crowd, announcing her take-over of DOATEC following her father's death, and that a second Dead or Alive Tournament would take place, which Helena herself would take part in as a competitor. In the crowd, Hayabusa was spotted by a masked woman calling herself "La Mariposa" (real name Lisa Hamilton), and she asked him if he was taking part in the tournament too. When Hayabusa says he is not interested in the game, Lisa accidently insulted him by reminding him he came second in the tournament, suggesting that he is a sore loser for not taking part a second time around. After saying sorry, Lisa took a call from Victor Donovan while in the shower. Listening outside, Hayabusa heard that Kasumi was at DOATEC Germany, and stole Lisa's DOATEC ID card, before taking off to Germany in a helicopter with his ally, Irene Lew.

Sometime later at DOATEC Germany, a fire broke out, causing everyone to evacuate the building. As Lisa tries to get Hayate - who they had been using for Project Epsilon - out of the building, Alpha sneaked Kasumi out of her cell. Though surprised to see a double of herself, Kasumi followed Alpha into one of the labs. Once there, Alpha told Kasumi they were "sisters", and Kasumi wasn't being a good sister because she was keeping Hayate to herself, so he was Alpha's now. Kasumi then realized that Hayate had to be in the same building as her.

As DOATEC Germany burns, Hayabusa saves Kasumi while Lisa and Alpha make off with Hayate.

Lisa bursted in having tracked down Alpha, and became angry at the clone for telling Kasumi about Hayate. Kasumi demanded to know what they have done to her brother, but before she could attack, Lisa pulled out a handgun and threatened her with it, telling her to calm down. In the nick of time, Hayabusa bust in. Keeping the promise he made to Hayate to keep Kasumi safe, Hayabusa took her to safety against her will, while Lisa and Alpha made their escape from the colapsing building. As the DOATEC members fleed on helicopters, the one holding Lisa and Hayate blew its engine, so had to make an emergency landing in the Black Forest as the others flew to the main headquarters.

In the forest, Hayabusa and Irene looked over data they had taken from the lab: DOATEC was experimenting with DNA to decode genes to boost the human body's physical power. To their surprise, they also found out that DOATEC had "resurrected" Hayate's body during their experiments. Hearing this, Kasumi urged that they need to go back and help Hayate. Despite Hayabusa's harsh words against it, Kasumi ran off to find her brother, so Hayabusa sent Ayane after her. In another part of the forest, Hitomi was training when Hayate, having gotten away from the helicopter alive, stumbles into her clearing and collapses, mistaking Hitomi for Kasumi as she runs off to get help.

As Hayabusa battled his way through the tournament, he had to come face to face with Hayate, who was presently going by the name of "Ein", and was suffering from amnesia. After they fight, Ein gained a memory of the tengu, and remembered Hayabusa's name, but little else. Later, Hayabusa tracked down the tengu and killed him, removing the threat of chaos.

Sometime later, Ein arrived at Miyama, which began to stir up memories. While trying to remember why he knew the place, Kasumi appeared, happy to see her brother again, however due to his amnesia, Ein didn't recognize her. Hayabusa then appeared, telling the two siblings that when fists bonded by blood met in battle, it awakens the very soul of a shinobi. After defeating Kasumi in battle and knocking her out, Hayate regained his memories, but his reunion with Hayabusa was short-lived as Genra appeared. It turned out that it was actually Genra who allowed the tengu to pass into the human world, but before Hayabusa and Hayate take him down, Genra escaped, leaving Alpha and a brainwashed Ayane to fight the men.

With the girls defeated, Hayabusa, along with Irene, explain to Hayate that Genra may have been involved with DOATEC, and the CIA have been watching the company for some time. Although Ayane returned to normal, both Kasumi and her clone had disappeared.

Chapter 3: Puppets

After Genra was turned against the clan, Hayate requested his father to allow him to hunt down the traitor, which made Shiden believe that Hayate may be ready to take over as the leader of the clan. Hayate wanted to bring Kasumi home first, but Ayane, naturally still possessing hatred for her sister, spoke against it, calling Kasumi a traitor and suggesting that she might have been consorting with Genra. Enraged by her words, Hayate slapped Ayane, nearly threatening exile.

Thinking that Hayate now hated her, Ayane tried committing suicide outside the village, but was found by her mother, Ayame. Ayane was upset because she believed that Hayate only cared about Kasumi, but Ayame reminded her that all four of them shared the same blood, and the bond of a family was stronger then the shinobi code. She then asked Ayane to save Kasumi, who she knew was the type to try to do everything herself.

A few days later in Kyoto, Kokoro found a feverish Kasumi almost passed out on the road. Although the girl tried to help her, Kasumi ran away at the sight of Ayane coming towards her. Kokoro quickly caught on to Kasumi's fright and refused to tell Ayane which way Kasumi went. The kunoichi cruelly proceeded to beat the information out of her, until Hayate arrived. Although Kokoro ran away, they still had a lead on Kasumi's whereabouts.

Hayate and Ayane join the third tournament to track down Genra, and while on the Freedom Suvivour, Hayate meets up Hitomi again for the first time since he left her family's home when he was Ein. Hayate introduced Ayane to Hitomi, who assumed that Ayane was Kasumi, the girl who Hayate was mumbling about when they first met. Angered for being mistaken for Kasumi, Ayane fought Hitomi. After the fight, Hayate told Hitomi the truth about his shinobi identity, much to her surprise.

Some time later, Ayane and Hayate argued about who should take down Genra; Hayate felt that as leader of the clan, it was his duty to take down the former master, but Ayane too felt it was her task, being Genra's foster daughter and heir. After fighting about it, they both agree to work together to kill Genra.

During the rounds of the tournament, Hayate met with Helena, who recognized him as the subject of Project Epsilon. Hayate demanded her to tell her why Genra joined DOATEC, but she claimed she didn't know, that Genra and even herself were just puppets that DOATEC could control. After defeating Helena in battle, he told her that he would defeat Genra, and she should leave DOATEC for her own safety.

A while later, Hayate and Ayane met up with Hayabusa and Irene, and the men engaged in battle to see who was the greater shinobi. The fight become extreme as the boys started a Torn Sky Blast duel, but were stopped by Ayane as Irene was kidnapped by Chrisite. Hayabusa ran off to save Irene, but Hayate and Ayane realized that her kidnapping was just a distraction for Genra. The fallen master created a portal to Hellfire, and transformed into his powerful Omega form. The two shinobi try to take him down, but Genra proved too strong and they were starting to become overpowered by him. When Hayabusa realized that Christie was just a decoy, he quickly arrived to aid his friends, and ran Genra through with the Dragon Sword. Before the monster could regenerate, Ayane and Hayate performed a duel-spell together and struck the final blow, killing Genra. When they returned to the village, Ayane cremated Genra, putting him to peace.

Chapter 4: The Fall of DOATEC

After Genra's death, Helena gained her role as head leader of DOATEC. Donovan discussed with her their business together, namely the biological weapon cloning project, Project Alpha. Donovan claimed the project was for the public, and it would ensure the company's national interests for the next century. Unconvinced, Helena warned him that she would begin a full review of the company and its actions, and started on creating the fourth tournament.

With the fourth tournament coming up, Hayate and the clan planned to take down DOATEC once and for all by attacking the company's main headquarters, the TriTower. Fearing the worst, Kasumi found her brother and tried to convince him not to start a war, but the plea fell on deaf ears.

One night, with the aid of Irene and the CIA, Hayate, Ayane, and Hayabusa attacked DOATEC, taking out the company's private army, and tried to stop them from finishing Project Alpha. Kasumi tracked them down to stop the chaos, but met up with Helena instead. She pleaded with Helena to put an end to the fight, but Helena merely told her that the shinobi would stop at nothing to destroy DOATEC, and the final product of Project Alpha, the super-weapon Alpha-152, created from Kasumi's DNA, was about to be awakened. Reluctantly, Helena tried to shoot Kasumi to keep her from stopping the war, but she was saved by Hayabusa, and after defeating Helena, Kasumi made her way to take out her clone.

Meanwhile, Hayate and Ayane were still fighting off DOATEC soldiers, and had to resort to using the Art of the Raging Mountain God spell to take out most of them. They made it out of the TriTower, only to have to face Alpha-152 themselves.

The chapter ends with a peaceful scene of the mountains around the Mugen Tenshin village, with Kasumi declaring that it was time to go back to the village.

Final: Helena

After the death of her father Fame, and her mother Maria, Helena took control of DOATEC, and created the second Dead or Alive Tournament. During the tournament, Helena came face-to-face with Hayate, who was then Ein at the time, and recognized him as the subject of Project Epsilon.

For some time, Helena tried to find out the truth about Project Alpha and its real purpose, but Victor Donovan ordered Lisa and Christie to keep her from finding out. Christie tried to convince him to get rid of her permanently, but they had to lay low due to the mistakes made last time; during the show in which Maria was shot, it was Helena who was the intended target for the sniper, but the CIA were still looking for the shooter, and DOATEC still had to find Hayate. In order to lure him in, they created the third tournament, using Genra as bait to get all the shinobi in.

During the thrid tournament, Helena hired Bayman to protect her and kill Donovan. When Christie, who had been acting as Helena's assistant, tried to kill her, Bayman caught the assassin, but when Kasumi α heard that Helena wanted her creator dead, she attacked, though Helena managed to defeat her.

During the fourth tournament, with Alpha-152 activated, Helena set out to cause the DOATEC TriTower to self-destruct in order to stop it. As the shinobi attack DOATEC, Helena faced Christie one last time, and learnt that it was actually her who killed Maria. After finding out the truth, Helena pressed the building's self-destruct button, and planned to end her life by going down with it. However, she was saved at the last minute by fellow fighter Zack, who swooped in by helicopter and pulled her to safety.

The final scene shows Donovan taking off his normal white mask, and putting on Genra's mask.

Characters

The character selection screen showing all of the fighter (minus "boss characters")

Main article: List of Dead or Alive: Dimensions Characters

Dead or Alive: Dimensions features 26 playable characters, meaning it features the biggest character selection out of all of the Dead or Alive titles. In addition to the regular fighters, the bosses of the series can also be unlocked to play, and there is one "secret" character.

Returning

• Kasumi, a soft, kind-hearted runaway shinobi from the Mugen Tenshin Village.
• Raidou, an insane shinobi exiled from the Mugen Tenshin Village, who wants to become the ultimate fighter.
• Ryu Hayabusa, a stoic master shinobi and an ally to the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan.
• Tengu, an evil tengu who wanted chaos to reign over the world.
• La Mariposa, real name: Lisa Hamilton, a determined DOATEC scientist.
• Alpha-152, a super-clone of Kasumi created by DOATEC during Project Alpha.
• Tina Armstrong, the stubborn, driven daughter of Bass and a pro-wrestler, who wishes for a Hollywood career.
• Bass Armstrong, a proud retired pro-wrestler, who wants to stop his daughter from becoming discovered by Hollywood.
• Bayman, a ruthless former commando and trained assassin.
• Christie, a cold-blooded and sadistic assassin who was hired by Donovan.
• Helena Douglas, the gentle and graceful leader of DOATEC, and the daughter of Fame Douglas.
• Kokoro, a sweet and polite maiko (geisha apprentice) whose heart also lies in fighting.
• Zack, a positive, happy-go-lucky DJ with a lust of money.
• Leon, a driven and merciless mercenary who joined the tournaments to fulfill the expectations of his dead lover Lauren.
• Brad Wong, the calm, laid-back master of the Drunken Fist on the search for the mysterious wine "Genra."
• Gen Fu, the wise and respected martial art master who joins the tournaments to pay his grandaughter's medical bills.
• Eliot, a soft-spoken, insecure high school student and the sole apprentice of Gen Fu seeking perfection in his art.
• Jann Lee, a hot-blooded and confident Jeet Kune Do bouncer who joined the tournament to prove his fighting skills.
• Leifang, a spunky college student and tai ji quan prodigy, seeking to prove herself against Jann Lee.
• Hitomi, a cheerful high schooler who wanted Ein to come back to the dojo.
• Ein, a reserved karate instructor suffering from memory-loss.
• Hayate, the kind and duty-bound leader of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan, seeking to destroy DOATEC.
• Kasumi α, the prototype clone of Kasumi created during the first stages of Project Alpha.
• Ayane, a deadly, strong-willed kunoichi of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan.
• Genra, formerly the Hajinmon master of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan, who was turned into a super-human weapon by DOATEC.

Secret

• Shiden, the 17th leader of the Mugen Tenshin Clan and the father of Hayate and Kasumi.

Non-playable

• Anne
• Ayame
• Fame Douglas
• Irene Lew
• Lauren
• Maria
• Victor Donovan

Guest

• Ridley
• Samus Aran

Gameplay

The Digital Instruction menu on the bottom screen

The core gameplay of Dead or Alive: Dimensions is based on the gameplay of Dead or Alive 4, with heavy modifications under the surface, including elements from Dead or Alive 3, such as the counter system. Although the basic gameplay is the same as the rest of the series, each character has a brand new set of techniques.

The player can either control their character through normal, manual button-pushing, or by tapping a move set on the touch screen of the 3DS to execute a combos/throws/counter. The list automatically scroll up and down to the best moves to pull off next.

Dimensions supports co-op both with local wireless connection and wireless internet connection which allows the player to fight others from around the world. Friend codes will still be implemented. However, these are universal to the system and a Friends list will allow for easy access, without having to type out whole numbers.

Unlocking Characters

At the start of the game, only the original eight characters of the series are playable, though the player can simply play through Chronicle Mode to unlock the other main characters.

Unlocking the Boss Characters

Character	Obtained
Kasumi α	Complete Tag Challenge Mission 16
Tengu	Complete Tag Challenge Mission 17
Genra	Complete Tag Challenge Mission 18
Alpha-152	Complete Tag Challenge Mission 19
Raidou	Complete Tag Challenge Mission 20
Shiden	Unlock all 25 characters, then select Random while holding +. For alternate costumes, select Random while holding either + or ++

Gameplay Modes

In addition to recurring gameplay modes from previous games, Dimensions also features new ways to play:

• Arcade is a simple versus mode against the computer, where the player must select "courses" to fight against a line-up of pre-determend characters. Completing a course unlock the next, as well as characters and costumes.
• Throwdown uses the "StreetPass" system of the 3DS so people can connect with fellow players and exchange gameplay data when they walk by them. The collected data will then make the A.I’s in the game fight like the exchanged player style. This teaches players how to adapt to other players playing style for use in co-op.
• Chronicle Mode is the games equivalent to "Story Mode", named so because it covers the story of the main Dead or Alive series, from the first Dead or Alive to Dead or Alive 4. Chronicle Mode will be split into 5 chapters (A prologue, the DOA series, and an epilogue) and characters are pre-determined to fit the events of the story; for example, at the start of chapter one, the player must take control of Kasumi, and it changes from person to person as the story progresses. As well as playing through the story, Chronicle Mode will teach the player about timing and moves. Cutscenes are in 3D, with event scenes being told with "figurines" that seem to pop out of the screen.

A figurine of Kasumi through the camera lens.

Collectable Figurines

As the player completes tasks in Dimensions, they will unlock figurines, which act as in-game trophies. The figurines are in the form of the fighters in different poses and costumes (expressions can be changed), and are viewed in Showcase. The player can also take in-game 3D photos of the figurines in various environment, and view said photos in the Album.

Development

Downloadable Content

Main article: List of Dead or Alive: Dimensions Downloadable Content

As well as been able to unlock costumes in-game, Dimensions used the 3DS's SpotPass feature to offer players daily downloadable costumes. There are a total of 34 costumes to download, and there were a couple of chances to download the costumes in both the US and Europe. The types of costumes available and their order of release were the same in both areas.

Similarly, there was a "Throwdown Challenge" available through SpotPass for 26 weeks, starting from May 24th to November 15th, 2011. Anyone who takes on the challenge got a "rare figurine".

All this content was free. To get this downloadable content, players had to make sure the 3DS was connected wirelessly to the internet, and create additional data for Dead or Alive: Dimensions, by following on-screen instructions when you boot up the game. (To create additional data, a SD Card had to be placed into the 3DS).

If the player successfully manages to get the data, a confirmation message would be displayed on the main menu. New costumes are usable on the "Costume Select" screen, and are displayed as "Download". Challenge data were selectable in Throwdown Mode, displayed with SP next to the name of the Challenge, indicating it was received via SpotPass.

Team Ninja announced through their official Twitter feed that they will be re-releasing all costume and challenge DLC worldwide through SpotPass, starting from December 8th, 2011.

Hitomi and Bass brawling in the powerplant; Ridley can be seen in the background.

Metroid Cameo

The game has a guest cameo from Samus Aran, the protagonist of the Metroid series; Team Ninja produced the Metroid title, Metroid: Other M in 2010. It was first thought that Samus would be an unlockable character, but it was confirmed that she isn't playable at all. Samus appears in the Geothermal Power Plant (based on a location in Other M), along with Ridley, who acts as a hazard in the stage as fights take place.

Demo Version

On December 7th, 2011, a demo version of Dimensions was made available on the Nintendo eShop for free. It is a very limited version of the game, as the player will only have access to Arcade Mode and some parts of Chronicle Mode, and the demo will expire after 30 sessions. In the demo, players can only select from Jann Lee, Kasumi, Hayabusa, and Hitomi. It is possible to fight against, but not as, Ayane.

Voice Cast

Character	Japanese Actor	English Actor
Kasumi	Houko Kuwashima	Kari Wahlgren
Raidou	Tetsu Inada	Michael McConnohie
Ryu Hayabusa	Hideyuki Hori	Troy Baker
Tengu	Osamu Saka	Joel Swetow
La Mariposa	Maaya Sakamoto	Masasa Moyo
Alpha-152	Sakura Tange	Amanda Troop
Tina Armstrong	Yūko Nagashima	Kate Higgins
Bass Armstrong	Kenta Miyake	Joe J. Thomas
Bayman	Banjō Ginga	Zach Hanks
Christie	Kotono Mitsuishi	April Stewart
Helena Douglas	Yuka Koyama	Julianne Buescher
Kokoro	Ayako Kawasumi	Kathryn Feller
Zack	Bin Shimada	Khary Payton
Leon	Jōji Nakata	Richard Epcar
Brad Wong	Unshō Ishizuka	Grant George
Gen Fu	Chikao Ōtsuka	Paul Nakauchi
Eliot	Junko Minagawa	Rolland Lopez
Jann Lee	Nobutoshi Canna	Darren Criss
Leifang	Yumi Tōma	Zinnia Su
Hitomi	Yui Horie	Eden Riegel
Ein	Hikaru Midorikawa	Yuri Lowenthal
Hayate	Hikaru Midorikawa	Yuri Lowenthal
Kasumi α	Sakura Tange	Kari Wahlgren
Ayane	Wakana Yamazaki	Wendee Lee
Genra	Osamu Saka	Andrew Kishino
Shiden	Yukitoshi Hori	Lloyd Sherr
Ayame	Houko Kuwashima	Kari Wahlgren
Fame Douglas	Jōji Nakata	Richard Epcar
Irene Lew	Mariko Suzuki	Amanda Troop
Lauren	Yuka Koyama	Uncredited
Victor Donovan	Moriya Endo	Grant George
System Voice	Miyako Endō	Kathryn Feller

Reception

Overall, Dimensions has received positive reviews from critics. IGN gave Dimensions an overall score of 8.0 out of 10, praising the game for its "solid" gameplay and "beautiful" graphics but criticized the use of stagnant cutscenes, problems with the effectiveness of the touch screen controls, and stated the overall sound was "fitting, but not spectacular."

Nintendo Power in issue 267 (May 2011) gave the game a 9/10 rating, saying that the cutscenes were 'well-produced' and 'top-notch.' They also praised the 'fast and furious as ever' gameplay but warned against the 3D effect, saying "for a game as fast-paced as this one is, I prefer having the better framerate even if that means the visuals aren't as impressive."

games™ Magazine has given Dimensions a positive review on NowGamer, rating the title an overall score of 8.8 out of 10, and stating that it's "not the deepest fighter you'll ever play but you'll struggle to find something so skillfully designed for its platform"; they gave the graphics an impressive 9.3 out of 10. Compared to the launch title Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, another fighting game for the 3DS, Dimensions favored better; Street Fighter 3D only received a 6.2 from the same publication.

The Official Nintendo Magazine gave it 90%, stating that it was overall a very good game and a great alternative to Super Street Fighter IV 3D. It even earned their 'Game of The Month' label.

VideoGamer.com gave the game an average score of 7/10, saying that, in the end, "the Street Pass feature is nice and the controls work well but the framerate suffers online and the Chronicle Mode is a narrative mess."

Dead or Alive: Dimensions was one of ten games which were nominated for "Best Fighting Game" in the 2011 Golden Joystick Awards, making it one of only six Nintendo 3DS titles to be nominated for the awards that year. Unfortunately, in the end Dimensions was not given a winning place, losing out to the overall winner Mortal Kombat 9 and the runners-up Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition.Dead or Alive: Dimensions also lost out in GameSpot's "Best Fighter" category for their Best of 2011 Awards GameSpot - "Best of 2011 Award: Best Fighter", and lost against Super Street Fighter IV 3D for the Editor's Choice and People's Choice of "Best Fighter" for the DS and 3DS in IGN's "Best of 2011."

On November 11, 2011, Tecmo Koei released materials from its earnings presentation, showing that, as of that date, Dimensions has sold 310,000 units worldwide.

Nordic Releases Pulled Due to Swedish Law

Due to concerns about Swedish laws on child pornography, Nintendo chose not to distribute Dead or Alive: Dimensions in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The concerns were raised when a user on the Swedish forum Flashback commented that three underage characters in the game - namely Ayane, Kasumi, and Kokoro, all of whom are aged 16 to 17 - could be photographed from revealing angles; the law in Sweden says that if someone is picturing a girl under the age of eighteen, fictional or not, in a pornographic situation, that accounts for being child pornography.

Although the forum user in question wasn't intending to get the game banned, just to highlight the overprotectivness of the law, the game was reported to the police before it was released, though the evidence was found "lacking." Nevertheless, the game was pulled not just from Sweden but also in Norway and Denmark. Retailers like GAME and GameStop in those countries have removed Dimensions from their websites and have refunded customers that pre-ordered the game.

Reclassified in Australia

Following Nintendo's choice to pull Dimensions out of Sweden, when the news reached Australian media, there was a backlash against the game due to the possibility of people taking indecent photographs of the underaged female characters. Australian media publishers reported that the game features these characters in bikinis (although out of the three characters, only Kasumi has a bikini costume available as DLC) and allows players to alter the camera angle for "up skirt shots." Australian media called it an easy way for pedophiles to gain access to child pornography.

Following the media uproar, the Australian Rating Board and Nintendo retracted the game from the market and decided to get the game's PG rating remarked. Nintendo said that the game's rating was a problem caused by THQ, the game's previous Australian publisher, who provided limited information to the ACB, so the rating board couldn't properly rate the title; in Australia, information sent by the publisher determines the rating of video games.

The game was later released and the ACB changed the rating from PG (E10+ equivalent) to M (T equivalent) which recommends the game for mature audiences though any age is still allowed access. The main factors for the new rating change were "online play, violence, and sexualized gameplay." Moreover, THQ no longer publishes Dimensions in Australia, with Nintendo of Australia now publishing the title.

Trailers

N3DS Dead or Alive Dimensions Trailer

Preview Trailer

DEAD OR ALIVE DIMENSIONS (3DS) TRAILER

Nintendo World 2011 Trailer - English Dub

DEAD OR ALIVE DIMENSIONS (3DS) - METROID OTHER M COLLABORATION

Metroid Trailer

Polygamia.pl Dead or Alive Dimensions - zwiastun

European Advertisment

Packaging Artwork

JPN Release

EUR Release

NA Release

AUS Release (Original PG Rating)

AUS Release (M Rating)

Also See

• Costumes
• Fighter Quotes
• Merchandise

• Promotional Artwork and Wallpapers

Trivia

• Dead or Alive: Dimensions was the first Dead or Alive game to be released on a Nintendo system.
• Dimensions was also the second fighting game to be released on the 3DS, after Capcom's Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition.
• A chibi-styled Kasumi is depicted as the game's 3D icon on the 3DS's top screen when the player highlights the game on their menu. The icon Kasumi spins around, surrounded by blossom petals, similar to when Kasumi teleports in the series.
• The physics of long hair and loose clothing were changed from previous versions due to the Nintendo 3DS not handling those types of physics as well as other consoles.
• While Dimensions is the first fighting game of the series to appear on a handheld, it is actually the third Dead or Alive title to be released for a handheld console; the first two were Girls of DOA BlackJack for the iPhone, and Dead or Alive Paradise for the Playstation Portable.
• While all versions of the game's box art feature the same image (bar the darker background on the EU version) Kasumi's leg is slightly more exposed on the Japan and EU versions, with the bare skin of her thigh showing. On the US version, the image has been edited so her skirt is covering the thigh.
• This was the first Dead or Alive game to not have an opening sequence.
• This was the first Dead or Alive game to not have Team Battle Mode

External Links

• Official US website
• Official EU website
• Official Japanese website
• Wikipedia: Dead or Alive: Dimensions