‘Dead or Alive 5 Last Round’ Review: A Finale Worth Experiencing

honoka_09.0

Game: Dead or Alive 5 Last Round
Consoles: PC, Xbox One (Reviewed), PS4, Xbox 360, PS3
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Developer: Team Ninja

There’s a serious lack of fighting games available across the newest line of consoles. While quality fighters such as Guilty Gear and Killer Instinct have provided some fun fisticuffs on the PS4 and Xbox One respectively, the rest of the genre’s heaviest hitters have yet to land on these platforms. Team Ninja has decided to aid fighting game fans who are thirsty for some next-gen beatdowns by porting over its latest and final rendition of Dead or Alive 5 with Last Round.

Last Round brings around all of the notable features that were present in the original and Ultimate renditions of the game. The full suite of playable modes are back for another round and the solid online netcode allows players to hop into ranked/lobby battles on their new consoles. It’s pretty easy to see just how beautiful the visuals of this fighter looks now that it has landed on the PS4 and Xbox One. The varied cast of drop dead, gorgeous vixens appear to look even more amazing than their last-gen console renditions. The stages themselves also have received a next-gen clean-up job, plus the revamped edition of classic stages (“Crimson” and “Danger Zone”) are a cool nod to the series’ past.

DOA5 Last Round

For such a grand finale in the Dead or Alive 5 line of games, fans are treated to the largest roster of characters in series’ history. 34 fighters now make up the entirety of playable characters, which also includes the original roster, additional DLC fighters and guest Virtua Fighter characters. Last Round’s gifts to the overall roster comes in the form of two new characters, but they truly aren’t fresh enough to be considered new. The return of the 1st Dead or Alive’s boss Raidou is nice enough, but his cyborg transformation is just a cool little wrinkle to a character who truly isn’t that different from the other ninjas in the game. As for the truly new female fighter in the game (Honoka), her movelist is a mismatch of other fighters moves. Honoka’s innocent teen girl act and unoriginal moves aren’t terribly exciting, but its still nice to have two new faces on the Last Round roster.

Last Round is still as fun as ever. The fighters have been balanced to a comfortable level of play, the intense and explosive battles look amazing on next-gen hardware and the simple yet surprisingly deep gameplay is still enjoyable. Longtime fans of the series all know just how dedicated the game’s developers are to custom costume options for each character. This final edition of the game comes with a vast collection of outfits, most of which come from the daunting collection of DLC packs offered back on the last two versions of the game. The task of purchasing new costumes through digital stores is a task best left alone, though. The flood of Season Passes, DLC packs and character specific costume sets floating around for this game will drive anyone mad.

Bottom Line

Dead or Alive 5 Last Round

Dead or Alive 5 Last Round feels and looks as great as ever. Getting moved over to next-gen consoles allows it to reach its full graphical potential and the full suite of fighters, stages and costumes make this the edition all fans need to buy. The two newest additions to the roster aren’t exactly thrilling when it comes to their fresh factor and the costume DLC rundown is difficult to comprehend, though. All in all, this final version in the Dead or Alive 5 series is still one of the most enjoyable fighters there is.

Score: 8/10

Pros:

  • Improved visuals
  • Tons of DLC content
  • Nice addition of new characters and classic stages

Cons:

  • The new characters’ fighting styles aren’t fresh enough
  • DLC costume offerings are daunting to understand and costly

Buy Dead or Alive 5 Last Round here.

Heavy, Inc. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon. Our product recommendations are guided solely by our editors. We have no relationship with manufacturers.