It’s no secret that Dead or Alive 5: Last Round, and the Dead or Alive series as a whole, prides itself on tits and ass. Over the years, the sex appeal has become inseparable from the franchise, be it the mainline fighting game series or the XTREME spin-offs. Dead or Alive loves to show people tits and it makes no concessions to adhere to any politically correct sensibilities. 

Even after the controversy since the series’ inception in 1996, Dead or Alive has never been as sexualized as it is today with Last Round and XTREME 3 and there is nothing wrong with that. The developers have stuck to their guns and chosen to ignore the outcry from naysayers, pushing the sexiness as far as it can go without veering into full frontal nudity. Despite the bigger push for sex appeal, the Dead or Alive series has only gotten deeper, proving that tits and ass have no bearing on a game’s quality. Those that disagree are judgmental twats that are afraid of the human body. 

With the abundance of fighting games on the market today, one needs to find a niche in order to thrive. Considering the genre is so reliant on the competitive scene and fans to carry the torch, there are only so many fighting games that can remain “relevant”.Dead or Alive sets itself apart from other fighters in more ways than one…and I’m not just talking about the tits. 

Dead or Alive 5: Last Round is one of the best fighting games around to ease newcomers into the genre. It strikes a balance between accessibility and depth that other fighters don’t manage to the same degree. Most characters’ move lists are simple and require very limited directional inputs. Most characters will only ever require pressing a single direction and sometimes a quarter circle to pull off a move. The core mechanics are easy to understand with the fast paced nature of the combat lending to it a degree of entertainment and flash for players that just want to button mash.

Beyond that, the game is littered with mechanics that hardened fighting aficionados will want to dig into. While the competitive players are certainly the beating heart of any fighting game, Dead or Alive 5 is simple enough for anyone to pick up and have fun with. That above all is one of the most integral pillars to the Dead or Alive philosophy. It’s maintaining this ideal that a game can appeal to lower level players while equally suiting the higher level players. The interactive stages of the series also make Dead or Alive one of the most entertaining fighters to watch with a level of spectacle that goes unmatched. 

Typically speaking, the kind of person to watch a fighting game tournament is someone intimately familiar with that particular game’s set of rules and fighting games in general because fighting games are hard to understand. Fortunately, Dead or Alive 5, with its fast paced combat, fluid animations, and unsurpassed interactive stages is an enjoyable watch for both the casual and the pro alike. .

Dead or Alive 5: Last Round is far from one of the best or most technical fighting games of all time, but it has a lot to like and titties are only a small part of the equation. It is an accomplished fighting game that deserves more recognition, but likely won’t ever reach the popularity it deserves because contemporary society is afraid of sexuality. We live in an era in which publications actually deuces points from Last Round‘s score just because of the sexual content. What a ridiculous time for such a good game to be alive in.