Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate

[SolidSonic]

As far as guaranteed combos, supposedly this DoA is better about that than others. They reduced the number of places you can counter as well as the damage a counter does.

In general this DoA is smarter and more sophisticated than its forerunners. But that still doesn't mean I don't want my damn fanservice!

 

[JAGTHEGEMINI]

I played DOA4 a lot and I feel the counter system is kind of broken, similiar to how the SC4 system was kind of broken if abused properly, but to a greater extent. Counter-spamming provided little risk when the payoff was clearly great. Anyone who hasn't played DOA - think of being able to GI awhile being comboed/in a stun. In DOA4, a low counter even had a quicker recovery, so low countering into a guard was often a good way to escape some setups.

It was still a fun game I have tons of hours logged on. I'm excited to see what this installment brings!

SCIV was a much better game than DOA4 in almost every aspect except game-speed.

 

[Rekano]

So how does this game work? Compared to Tekken, or SCV. What's the fundamentals?

How's the movement? Is whiff/block punishment a big thing? Spacing still important?

I see a lot of strings. Canned chip lows seem to be on a few characters. How effective are these?

I hear a lot of things about the counter system, being able to counter out of hitstun. Are there still guaranteed combos in this game? What's the mindgames behind counters? If you think the other guy is going to counter, what do you do?

Throughout the series, how has the balance been? I hear ninjas are popular. Is that because they're ninjas, or are they the DOA version of our Alexandras/Greeks?.

At its core, DOA is a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Using Attacks, Throws, and Counter holds. The games main feature is that the basic counter hold system is universal for all characters. (example: 4F = Mid Punch and Kick Counter...F stands for Free which is the guard button.) at its simplest form it looks like so:
Attacks beat Throws
Throws Beat Holds
Holds beat Attacks

The movement of past DOA games was mainly used for positioning since moves tracked a little too well. Some attacks had evasive Step properties but that was about it. In this game, they seem to be borrowing a page from SC with a quickstep like mechanic. Not too many moves in the last game left you at much disadvantage so most punishment was off of whiff...

Which is where strings come into play. You have to mix them up as to not get counter held (most moves at the end of strings are slower allowing for easy hold attempts) alot of time baiting the counter and throwing the opponent OR using an attack that hits a different height (they use Mid Counter, you hit them with a high)

The Ninjas all play quite differently so they aren't like Alexandra type characters in SC. Kasumi typically has the fastest attacks, Hayabusa's Counter Holds are high damaging Izuna Drops, Ayane has a lot of mix up potiential, Not sure about Hayate

 

[HolyForce]

Hayate usually gets shafted. Or patched into being shafted. I hope he's jus' a little better this time. My fave char!

 

[jtdam09]

The Ninjas all play quite differently so they aren't like Alexandra type characters in SC. Kasumi typically has the fastest attacks, Hayabusa's Counter Holds are high damaging Izuna Drops, Ayane has a lot of mix up potiential, Not sure about Hayate

Franchise-wise, and compared to the other characters, they are.