We have seen many remasters entering this generation of consoles and Dead or Alive 5: Last Round(DOA5:LR) continues the trend. Dead or Alive 5 has had a few updates already and Koei Tecmo has decided to release its final version which is subtitled Last Round. What makes DOA5:LR shine in this remaster edition is the amount of content you get for the price of $39.99, you get practically every DLC available which includes over 400 outfits and add-ons. New to the series in Last Round is a character named Honoka who is an amalgamation of various characters’ movesets. Unlike other fighting series, what makes Honoka unique is that she is not a copy-cat character but has her own style that combines all of the fighters’ movesets.
Honoka does have her own moves which have a really deadly strike and its kind of epic in their own right since she is really tiny compared to the other fighters. Honoka isn’t the only other fighter who was added in Last Round, Raidou also makes a return from the original Dead or Alive and he is a powerhouse. They each come with their own sets of costumes to wear but I can’t believe you still have to purchase some outfits for them as this is supposedly the definitive version of Dead or Alive, on that behalf still feels like a money pit. If some of you were expecting story out of Dead or Alive, you can look elsewhere as no new parts were added but yet again, meeting up with someone and saying a one-liner doesn’t count as a story. It’s very laughable, so just check it out if your into cheesy stories.
The most disappointing part about Dead or Alive 5: Last Round is that this remaster is lazy in terms of graphical improvements, everything looks so ” been there, done that”. It really looks exactly like a copy and paste just in 1080p, and with no upgraded textures or lighting it makes the thing look so outdated. Dead or Alive has always been a really colorful game but if you have been following every iteration of Dead or Alive 5 the stages look very drab and lifeless. While the character models do look great as the art style has changed over the years, you have to wonder what they would look like if the Playstation 4 or Xbox One version had been put to work.  One thing you do get is silky smooth gameplay at 60 FPS so the action never slowed down or hiccuped. Online will be the only time you will experience and type of slowdowns as the online honestly is only decent. The matchmaking has really only worked for me a couple of times, while just searching for lobbies has got me into more guaranteed matches. However the presentation for online is very basic compared to that of what Team Ninja has done in previous titles.
If you need a second opinion on Dead or Alive 5: Last Round I would suggest downloading the Core Pack on Playstation 4 or the Starter Pack on Xbox One as they will give you a idea of the visuals and play styles of some characters. These packs enable you to buy the characters you want and buy the game piece by piece, if you would like, albeit more expensive but at least you get the option.
Reviewed on Playstation 4 (also available on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One).
