I remember back in the day in the days of the dreamcast I played Dead or Alive 2. I never bought it, because I couldn't afford it. It made me think of many years earlier when I saw a video of Dead or Alive on saturn. The original Dead or Alive was never going to come to the US... at least at that point. It looked awesome. It was so much faster and intuitive than virtua fighter (my other favorite fighter).

If they were racing games Virtua Fighter would be Gran Tourismo and Dead or Alive would be Ridge Racer. Both are great games, but a completely different play $tyle.

After the dreamcast supposedly died, I was still an avid supporter. In fact, it was like a fire sale for me. I bought so many games it wasn't even funny. I bought a lot of US version game because they were cheap, but games were still being made for the dreamcast in japan. I ebayed quite a few japanese import games, one of them being Dead or Alive 2 Limited Edition. It was 70 dollars. That was the most I had paid for a game up until that point.

I thought that that was the greatest thing. It had extras that never madeit into the US version. I loved it. It was the ultimate fighting game for me. Then Dead or Alive 2 Hardcore was released for ps2, which built even further on the limited edition. It had extra levels and costumes whathaveyou. I was jealous, but wasn't goign to buy the ps2 just to get it. That is just dumb.

Fast forward to the xbox 360 (i skipped the xbox) and I have Dead or Alive 4. I like it, but I feel that the AI is just brutal. It's brutal to the point that its no fun anymore. It just overly hard. The difficulty level in Dead or Alive 2 was perfect. "Normal" in DOA2 was manageable, but still a challenge. Normal in DOA4 is eough to smash the controller through the tv screen five times over. Well, I should be more specific-- Alpha 154 is a [insert expiative]. She is way too powerful and fast. I can get through the main game without much trouble at all. The only reason why I need to leave it on normal is because she is [insert explative] CHEAP and a [insert explative] CHEAT! Team Ninja if you are listening-- "Normal" is not supposed to be that hard. Normal is supposed to be manageable for the average gamer. That is what the harder difficulty levels are for.

I was in ebgames many times and spotted Dead or Alive Ultimate just as mant times. We've had a secret flirting since my senior year of college. Finally, now, (well-- two weeks ago) I spy a deal. Dead or Alive Ultimate and Dead or Alive 3 for 15 dollars. I'm a grad student, so I've had a lot of my plate recently. I didn't get to play any of them until tonight. I played through DOA1 Ultimate. It was nostalgic. It was high-res with low polygon count with 2d backdrops. Pretty standard fair for an updated saturn game-- it was a direct port and still has all the saturn trademark credits. It was good for one playthough. It was actually very hard. Raidou is a d-bag.

I pop in DOA2 Ultimate next. My eyes go wild with the blossoming colors. The opening cinematic was amazing. The menu is updated to look almost exactly like DOA4's menu. The sweet goodness that is DOA2 is fully intact and the graphics are almost on par with DOA4! There are maybe a few more jaggies here and there. I'm in complete bliss. The updated visuals, especially on the final battle are so amazing! The final battle is truly something that needs to be seen to be understood.

I have not tried DOA3 yet, but I already like DOA2 Ultimate so much more than DOA4 that why should I bother?