Free Step Dodge

Arguably the best horror game ever made is coming back and Team NINJA is putting it on the map where it belongs.


I’ll have more on this title in a bit. I’m busy with a bunch of other things at the moment, but don’t dismiss this game if you haven’t played it.

Yohei Shimbori, legendary 3D fighting game developer, has announced that he is departing from Bandai Namco after several years of working on Tekken 8 making him one of the few wild cards within the 3D side of the FGC. You never know where he might go next, and T8 definitely proved that, but speculation within reason can break it down. Let’s look at what he could do.

There were definitely some missteps with Dead or Alive 6, but maybe this could be viewed as an opportunity of redemption between Koei Tecmo, Team NINJA, Shimbori and the players. Things have cooled off, and at this point, the strong majority of players just want another game.

Here is the direct quote from Shimbori:

I will be leaving Bandai Namco Studio at the end of this month. During my time here, I was involved in various projects, but I was particularly deeply engaged in Tekken 8, mainly without-game elements, and received support from many people, including our customers. I would...

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We are in the year 2025 and Dead or Alive 6 is still hanging on by a pretty strong thread in the offline tournament scene thanks to a great international effort from Japan representing DOA6 at EVO Japan and now North America representing the underrated fighter at EVO 2025. Our number one prerogative here at Free Step Dodge was to make sure that members in the community were willing to come out to Las Vegas whether the fighters are locals or are some distance away. You can see just by observing the official standings page that the mission was a success, and that Kwiggle came back for one of the biggest comebacks in his decorated Dead or Alive career.

There were some rumors of Team NINJA being involved which led to the idea of players thinking there would have been some kind of game announcement. That was definitely...

NINJA Gaiden: Ragebound is a masterclass 2D action side-scroller by Game Kitchen, and Published by Dotemu while being overseen by Koei Tecmo making it the first outsourced NINJA Gaiden game since the critically panned Yaiba: NINJA Gaiden Z. Yaiba left such a sour taste in Team NINJA's mouth that the thought of them ever outsourcing a full game again seemed dangerous to not only that division, but the most diehard player. Thankfully, Dotemu has stepped in with a pedigree for hardcore retro action utilizing Game Kitchen successfully while raising awareness for one of the best franchises of all time.

Game Kitchen has lifted a curse that has haunted Koei Tecmo for years as this is one of the best games in the franchise; certainly better than the classic 2D trilogy, but Ragebound doesn't disrespect their legacy in any way and honors the very nature that the old Tecmo...

The NEW and upcoming 'Hold That!' Tournament Series is quickly becoming one of the largest and most ambitious Dead or Alive online event projects that we have seen yet at Free Step Dodge. Johnny the Flash plans to pay tribute to DOA by hosting online tournaments for almost every game in the epic saga. This is a new era of tournament planning and coordination, and it all started with Dead or Alive 6.


While you can sign up for every single tournament free, spectators are encouraged to enjoy themselves and educate themselves to the stunning DOA franchise. Spectators can start the New Year right to our dedicated fighters by donating to the Overall Prize Pot. Major THANK YOU to the community for showing up to the first tournament and also for keeping our favorite fighter alive!

Review Shared with Free Step Dodge Socials/ Koei Tecmo Socials/ Review Key Provided by Koei Tecmo

Koei Tecmo, first and foremost, has had an incredible 2025 despite there being no new Dead or Alive announcements they have successfully changed the formula for not only Dynasty Warriors, but also the Atelier franchise (now with Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land) which has been surviving by small but considerable profit margins for more than two decades. Team NINJA has even become active with the franchise lending a hand with Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator.

Longtime players have always viewed this series as "underappreciated" and "looked over" for how much potential it has and for how good it has always been. Sound familiar? Despite being a totally different genre, the Atelier franchise...

It’s hard to be excited when DOA as a fighter has been MIA for so long, but Nioh 3 was officially announced at Sony’s State of Play after being leaked several years ago by what appeared to be an official source. There are no more leaked titles moving forward from that source other than a cancelled DOA project. Team NINJA held a limited beta (or playtest) for Nioh 3, and it appears to be a striking success at pleasing players while offering a perfected formula to Yasuda's award-winning franchise.

Firstly, the movement has been greatly improved over the prequel, and the original. You can drift down hills and use stealth more efficiently while feeling less stiff and more like a NINJA as the brand always likes to insinuate. Secondly, this is the most robust "souls-like" Team NINJA experience yet featuring wider-scoped levels, larger environments, a faster approach at combat in and out of stealth while retaining the...

Dragon NINJA has been one of the Dead or Alive 6 regulars that we have grown accustomed to since release and he has been working his ass off trying to put the game on the map, so here is a place reserved for his tournaments and exposing these tournaments to other players around the world. There are a lot of regulars at these Z-Axis events so you can anticipate incredible matches and efficient gameplay.


You can also watch these events live when they happen on Twitch! Please enjoy these tournaments and look forward to this topic being fleshed out in the future for this promotion. MCD and Dragon NINJA are the heavy hitters of these tournaments, and they've really improved their game and get better each time, but you can expect other talent to show up and give them a run for their money.

‘AAA Games’ is the name of Hayashi’s new video game development studio and as FSD predicted over a year ago the studio will be used for the creation of video game collaborations with AAA companies such as EA, Nintendo, Sony and Square Enix. The first game under the studio umbrella will be Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, and there is also a new edition of Wild Hearts coming out exclusively to the Nintendo Switch 2.

This announcement should be seen as good news for Team NINJA players as it clears their project table from the possibility of working with Nintendo, Square Enix and other companies that were taking up Team NINJA’s time. Should be considered great news for Omega Force fans as well seeing as how they were getting backed up by Dynasty Warrior-likes for the benefit of other game conglomerates promoting their active franchises while they work for years on inhouse productions.

Nobunaga's...

The Dead or Alive 6 tournament at 'Combo Breaker 2025' continues to grow with bigger numbers than previous years and is headed by the DOA6 World Champion, Hoodless. You can look over the bracket, standings plus competitors over at the official Start.GG, and you can NOW spectate the Top 4 VOD on YouTube (also provided here naturally). Witness the power of Deity & Raidou, the ambition of StevoMaru, Stopp's powerful Eliot tactics and the consistency of Hoodless in this EPIC Top 4 clash!


For this Combo Breaker there was a nice Tournament Prize Pot of 300 USD! Hoodless once again collects and demonstrates why he is the Dead or Alive 6 World Champion. Stay alert here at 'Free Step Dodge' for any additional news or writeup pertaining to this tournament. Hoodless is counting this...

This is Yesu's third consecutive EVO Japan side tournament for Dead or Alive 6 so come celebrate Flack's 2025 victory with Eliot by watching the archived replay and get ready for a throwdown of talented fighters by spectating the entire event! Check out exclusive event updates, tournament rules, the bracket, and the fighting roster at Yesu's Official Tonamel for the tournament.

Yesu also hosted a Dead or Alive 5 offline tournament that is not a part of the EVO Japan side tournaments, but it is still in conjunction with the recent Yesu event, and we've got to be as appreciative as possible for these organizers doing what they do and in such a short time frame from the planned DOA6 tournament. I'm not sure if Koei Tecmo supervised this DOA5 tournament, but they did supervise DOA6 at EVO Japan which does demonstrate some good faith for the franchise and...

'Johnny the Flash' has been putting on an online tournament series for most of the Dead or Alive games and what sets this series apart from others is that he's willing to organize for Dead or Alive 4, and that's exactly what we got today, and I think you're a little excited in a sadistic sort of way. This to my knowledge is the first Dead or Alive 4 tournament to happen since I started doing front-page content for Free Step Dodge (there may have been one other I can't remember), so we will go outside the normal rules of not doing full write-ups for online tournaments. That being said, we do document and promote online tournaments, and you can check out the entire 'Hold That' Archive via our Online Tournament Series Post.

This tournament was definitely worth watching despite there being a good number of squash...

(Notice: The DOAX/VV thread is getting extremely clogged with Prism's addition, and since Prism is being counted as the third DOA IP, it makes sense to grant Prism its own official thread. Please do not create any additional DOAX threads on Free Step Dodge as they will be locked. Please do not post any pornographic content as it is not officially included in any DOA game and violates are SFW policy. The initial post is a complete release program of Prism and is currently being perfected. Feel free to point out any corrections you may have related to Prism's complete release coverage.)

Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation: Prism has caught the attention of Team NINJA and Koei Tecmo players all over the world, and while it is not the next big mainstay Team NINJA title there are many factors to suggest that it will lead to bigger things in the future...

Koei Tecmo is partnering with Namco Bandai publicly for the first time in fighting game history that can only be colored as a controversial relationship between not only the competition of companies but also disdain between the Dead or Alive & Tekken player base. This partnership is between Atelier Yumia & Tekken 8 and while there are few details on what this collaboration will entail this could explain Dead or Alive 6's reused assets that were implemented into the Tekken 8 system. Surprised?

UPDATE NOTICE: THE DLC PACK WILL INCLUDE ACCESSORIES AND EXTRAS FOR TEKKEN 8 PLAYERS. THE PACK IS SET TO BE FREE TO ALL PLAYERS. WE WILL SHOWCASE THE ITEMS RELEASED IN OUR POPULAR TEKKEN THREAD. THANKS.


This unexpected partnership could change the game on many levels. It's more possible than ever before that we could see special...

Last year Team NINJA's Rise of the Ronin was released as a PlayStation 5 timed-exclusive by Koei Tecmo & Sony with trusted sources saying Team NINJA's first fully open-world game never would have happened if it wasn't for Sony, but the time period in which it came out has finally exceeded the contract deal making this stunning release possible on PC for Steam. When you look at both versions of the game side by side it's quite apparent that the range and scale of this game on PC goes above and beyond the original PS5 version if you have the machine to run it.

While I've glossed over some of the PC reviews on Metacritic (which started off stronger than the PS5 version) I can't help but notice that people are writing Rise of the Ronin reviews as they would a minimum graphics report, and at Free Step Dodge, we're going to review the game on good hardware that is certainly more powerful...

Last year, Rise of the Ronin launched as a timed-exclusive for the PlayStation 5 and was wildly considered to be the most underrated game of 2024. Fast forward one year later and we now have the long-awaited Steam version of the game, and it's already reviewing higher than original title. With the PC edition finally released, Free Step Dodge will provide some additional coverage for the game.

Rise of the Ronin just might be considered the red herring video game dirt sheets needed to claim they don't bow down to Sony for every overdone 250-million-dollar blockbuster third person reskin of Uncharted they make. Sadly, based on the information gathered; this is one of the better-timed exclusives to come to the PlayStation 5 and of course it ends up with a 76/100 on Metacritic. The PC version has started off a bit stronger with an 82/100 on the ranking conglomerate.

Consider this release post for Rise of the Ronin as an everything you need to know...

Team NINJA surprised us all at the beginning of the year with one of the best-looking games they've ever released NINJA Gaiden II Black. Even though NG is primarily known for its insane, speed induced gameplay, I think most would argue that this version of the game is all about the visual flair and creating past battles in glorious 4K with help from Unreal Engine 5. The combat continues to impress me after all of these years, and we have so many different takes on NG2 to choose from whether or not you like the OG 360 version on Series X, NINJA Gaiden Sigma 2 (which can even be played on the old PSP Vita) or this newly released beauty. Take your pick; Team NINJA has you covered.

This blood-soaked adventure continues to impress me with stunning obliteration techniques that will lop off the heads of your enemies, ending the lives of the Fiends...

Koei Tecmo's latest (and effective) business model has been to stealth drop video games, and this trend started in May of 2024 with Samurai Warriors 4 DX which received phenomenal reviews, NINJA Gaiden II Black in January, and now Warriors: Abyss (Koei Tecmo's first roguelike title) that released in February after a PlayStation State of Play.

Before I talk too much about Abyss, this stealth drop mechanic could be another great marketing tactic to usher Dead or Alive back into the market. Especially if Team NINJA decides to give the Unreal Engine 5 wrap to Dead or Alive 5 or Dead or Alive 6, maybe even Dead or Alive: Dimensions or a past legacy title. There are THREE other methods worth looking into that could bring Dead or Alive back in a big way, but most of these possibilities are indeed through Microsoft, who has made sure that Team NINJA stays relevant these past several years.

We will have big front-page stories...

Players have been asking for several years: "When are we going to get something new out of Koei Tecmo?" and "When will our classic IPs like NINJA Gaiden & Dead or Alive return?" After almost an entire console generation of worrying about the future, it is now starting to become crystal clear that Koei Tecmo is going all in and has returned with some of the best visual design, combat and animation in the video game market today.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is the Genesis or catalyst of a NEW era for Koei Tecmo, Omega Force, Team NINJA, Gust and of course the dedicated players of their games. You can see the beginning of this new era everywhere you look within the company profile. From an updated Team NINJA logo, to the announcement of NINJA Gaiden 4, players can smell something new in the air for the first time in years and Koei Tecmo is ready for a new company blueprint...

Frosty Faustings XVII is clearly for everyone that thought Dead or Alive 6 was just dead, but the community always comes back to make sure that it is alive. Dead or Alive 6 World Champion Hoodless has been an organizer and performer of this tournament for years now making sure that DOA6 gets its time in the spotlight. The tournament has averaged a fairly healthy 150-200 viewers which actually isn't too far behind what we've seen from Team Spooky's stream today. The overall roster proves that DOA6's player count needs improvement, but there are ALWAYS people interested in watching the gameplay even after five years have passed.

Thankfully a YouTube Replay will become available soon for everyone that missed it or some of it like myself! FSD will keep you posted on the release of that replay as soon it's out. Thank you for your patience and thanks to UGS for preserving the tournament with YouTube. Twitch is utterly...

After over a decade of silence, Team NINJA and Ryu Hayabusa return for another blood-soaked 3D adventure with the long-awaited NINJA Gaiden 4 being announced at the latest Microsoft Developer's Conference. Not only has this incredible franchise returned, but Team NINJA has also made adjustments to their beautiful and iconic opening logo video insinuating that a storm is coming and that serious changes are on the way.

For Team NINJA and Koei Tecmo's legendary boss, Fumihiko Yasuda this is not just another game in the franchise - this is a story of redemption and a narrative of writing past wrongs with everything he had learned since NINJA Gaiden 3; a game that failed to captivate an audience like the previous Tomonobu Itagaki entries of NINJA Gaiden, NINJA Gaiden Black and NINJA Gaiden 2 which were all incredible and critically acclaimed XBOX exclusives.

This time Yasuda is behind the press...