Dead or Alive Shots

Tecmo's Dead or Alive was released in Japan this week for the Sega Saturn. The title is a port of the same-named 2D/3D polygonal arcade fighting game that was created using Sega's Model 2 system (Virtua Fighter 2 anyone?).

Though having a similar look to VF2, Dead or Alive has a few differences that set it apart from the title, such as a button dedicated to reversals, lower jumps, and a fairly dissimilar combo system. Characters include Kasumi (a high-kicking acrobat), Jann-Lee (a student of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kun Do), Lei-Fang (a female Chinese fighter), Bayman (a bulky Guardian Angel type), Tina (a woman wrestler), Ryu-Hayabusa (the hero of Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden series), Zack (a mix of Dennis Rodman and Simon Phoenix), Gen-Fu (a speedy old man), and lightning-god boss character Raidou (who looks like Akuma with facial hair and is about as tough to beat).

A PlayStation version of Dead or Alive is also planned. Both games should hit the States this January, with an English translation and several name changes in place.