Button mashers hate this game.
The game offers quick fighting action that demands lighting fast reflexes that few to no games have provided at the time. If you're up against a cheap button-masher, a simple aimed counter FORCES your oponent to change tactics. Now this would annoy your average casual gamer, so make sure casual fights casual...heh.
The graphics are pretty decent for a game so old and offers some great fighting places. The first game to have you knock your oponent off a ledge...and you FOLLOW that character down to the place where they fell.
A game that mastered the meaning of air combos and tags, DOA delivers. No matter where you are in a fight, as long as you're not on the rebound of the defense, you can switch your character with your tag partner INSTANTLY and continue what you were doing. If you thought Tekken Tag was fast, you obviously didn't see this game!
The music and story are pretty decent on their own merits. Just don't expect a Final Fantasy story out of it, alright?