Free Step Dodge

Koei Tecmo will be making an appearance at TGS 2023 showing plenty of new games and content for current titles. The company will be at the public creator booth with Team NINJA demonstrating Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, they will be selling merchandise (including DOAX) at their booth(s) and will have three different live streams. The first two live streams are RPG titles: Fate/Samurai Remnant (which has some surprising hype behind it) and the latest Atelier title which will start off as a mobile game and work its way to PC later.


Following up those live streams will be a 1-hour Friday presentation from Koei Tecmo at TGS. While it's likely we will see Rise of Ronin as the ending to their program, it's completely unclear whether we will get a tease for Dead or Alive or NINJA Gaiden. Team NINJA will also be celebrating their Lies of P x Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty collaboration & a second big...

A small, but impactful Dead or Alive 3 ++ tournament was streamed live in a Brooklyn, New York video game store with the event entry being free to all players. Matt Ponton was there to teach and confide in all DOA fighters that decided to show up. This marks the second Dead or Alive 3 ++ tournament to happen this year (and also Ponton's second victory) after DOA3++ was a main event at Winter Brawl with potential to also show up at this year's NEC for a third outing.

Team NINJA has become more communicative with their future 2023 plans pertaining to Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty's Road Map and plans to release steady content updates each and every month, but one thing that is on everyone's mind would be the free Nioh collaboration. Sure, it could just be a simple costume for your character and maybe a skin of William to boot, but if this update comes to the XBOX, it points to the idea of the first two games in a compilation bundle or future games coming to XBOX as well.

For what feels like years, people have been begging for XBOX ports of Nioh & Nioh 2 - and rightfully so because regardless of if you like the games or not they have been critically acclaimed hits with huge followings of people that still actively play both titles today. Sadly, both titles were published by Sony worldwide and Koei Tecmo took care of publishing rights in Japan. Though if Team NINJA were to repackage the games into a compilation, they could be...

A Dead or Alive 5: Last Round community tournament was produced for CEO 2023 by dedicated players doing their very best to keep our game alive and well in the FGC's everchanging space. Free Step Dodge posted the results after the tournament concluded, but we also wanted to complete this tournament experience with a short and sweet write-up for Top 4 that includes the near-complete Top 4 VOD.


11Frames takes Leifang into combat against Nero's finely tuned Marie Rose. While his damage in this bout is not as maximized as Black Moon Rising's Leifang, 11Frames clearly understands her tools and has no problems commencing an attack on a back-turned foe.

Nero switches to Honoka for the second fight after a big loss with Marie Rose at the slope infested desert and is immediately showing better patience and skill against Leifang at the circus. That being said, Leifang is beginning to maximize damage like Black Moon Rising with no...

Koei Tecmo has a lot going on despite there being little to no Dead or Alive or NINJA Gaiden news available -- releases are continuing to flow from the company and Team NINJA appears to be hard at work with Rise of the Ronin while also continuing to fine-tune Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty to masocore perfection.

We'll kick off this business story with facts and the facts are Gust's Atelier franchise has been doing its best numbers ever with the Ryza saga selling over two million copies, and Ryza now has an anime to boot and a near perfect remake of Atelier Marie just recently released; the first game in the franchise released over two decades ago. If you are now just getting into this series 2023 is the best time to start with the original package and Gust's best works to date.


With Koei Tecmo now entering the...

Destruction Bomb is one of the better-known Virtua Fighter players in the DOA community and while his hiatus has not come without heartbreak it never meant he didn't have a project on ice waiting for the right opportunity to thaw. This time the 3D fighting veteran has come through with some insane Akira 2P setups when performed with water or on ice, expert wall shifts and maximized combo damage. Of course, the environment plays a vital factor in all Dead or Alive fights not taking place on Tatami; so, we at FSD strongly recommend you give this tech video a look.


While Destruction Bomb is typically in it for the laughs and the memes, his tech is where you see his inner Darth Vader as with practicing Akira will result in the student becoming a complete dominant force that only the dark side can be strong enough to wield. There is no questioning that Akira is one of the top characters in DOA5, but you will not get...

Microsoft & Team NINJA are celebrating the launch of the first Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty DLC by summoning craftsman, Andy Chi to create the first ever jade Xbox controller. This unique controller casing is made of real jade and is the first controller to ever be made of the mineral. To commemorate this special event a mini documentary was made to highlight the craftsmanship posted on Xbox's Official YouTube.


I've reached out to Xbox PR team pertaining to availability of this controller and they responded by telling me that the 'Power of Jade' along with its treasure box is not for sale and that there is currently only one in existence making it the rarest Team NINJA collectible of all time. I responded by asking if they would make a knock-off controller to no response.

Microsoft has remained very loyal and faithful to the relationship of Koei Tecmo & Team NINJA and we see that with their Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty...

Dead or Alive 5: Last Round & Dead or Alive 6 will both be playable at various tournaments this Summer and so far, five tournaments have been posted. Frame Kill Friday's DOA6 Double Elimination tournament will be happening June 2nd and Battle Arena Melbourne 13 DOA6 tournament will take place in Australia on the 8th of June so both of these tournaments are happening before you know it. Please check out the information for these tournaments if you are interested and register today!

There will be a Dead or Alive 5: Last Round...

Hishashi Koinuma has many roles at Koei Tecmo, but it's uncommon that he hints at anything or speaks to the public through big interviews, though the recent success at Koei Tecmo has caused him to acknowledge it; one of the best ways being extra compensation to salary-based workers in the various group companies that are located in Japan. While these raises have not yet been applied to the smaller companies in America or Europe, this is the 8th consecutive year there has been a raise within the realm of Koei Tecmo; which is very impressive and improves the quality of life for the developers crafting our games. Koei Tecmo has also announced a wage increase to workers just starting out with Koei Tecmo.

The lengthy Famitsu interview delved into sales and growth at Koei Tecmo games. Koinuma was quick to note the success of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (which is going to be seeing its first DLC at the end of June) & Wild Hearts as the key elements to their success, but he was...

KGP 2023 hosted the largest Dead or Alive tournament of the year in terms of numbers with 64 players showing up to participate. The Three-Part YESU Cup was won by Flack who has been a prominent & dedicated fighter in the Japanese offline scene for years with a disturbingly deadly Bass at his disposal. Bass Armstrong has been the winner of many Dead or Alive 6 events since the release of the game, and it's getting harder and harder to hear out the people that say "he's such a mid-character." Bass is dominating matches regularly and confusing his opponents whilst baiting them to hold. You don't need a 9-frame jab to win at DOA more than an overall understanding of the rules and the ability to play solid mind games.


For players that have been demanding more DOA action or questioning if it's still around, the Japanese players have been carrying Dead or Alive 6 on their backs in terms of offline...

Following up with our previous Koei Tecmo business write-up allows us to look beyond opening Japan physical sales and Steam performance from the official database now that we have some current figures from KT themselves. Things are looking up for the company in many ways, but there have been some financial upsets to go along with their latest business report. This write-up also touches base with the latest game release dates for upcoming titles as well as updates to their current games for the 2023 year.

Team NINJA announced that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty has shipped more than 1,000,000 copies across all platforms with 3,800,000 players in total for Wo Long. That ratio should give you a solid idea of how important of a role Game Pass for Windows & XBOX played with the success of the new game.

Comparing it to another big recent title within the company Nioh 2 was able to exceed over 2,000,000 units...

Koei Tecmo is made up of six fairly small, but talented divisions (Gust, Kou Shibusawa, Midas, Omega Force, Ruby Party, Team NINJA) and of the six Team NINJA appears to be taking firm control of the company's overall financial forecast going through 2023 pertaining to game sales revenue and overall player count. This business article aims to observe recent Koei Tecmo financials, the future, and should also decipher why Koei Tecmo's game sales have fallen in some areas specifically within different teams and have broken records in other areas; especially with their Golden Goose studio: Team NINJA.


Recent sales may signal to some that Team NINJA should expand as a company, but also plays with the idea that more Team NINJA properties should be crossing over into other Koei Tecmo divisions and products. The Marie Rose costume in the latest Fatal Frame release was a solid idea...

Koei Tecmo usually (but not always) conducts surveys after releasing games that they had serious expectations for and in this year's case two surveys are available for both PROJECT ZERO: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse & Wo Long: Final Dynasty. They are both great titles available from Koei Tecmo and they are asking for honest feedback while giving you an opportunity to discuss or essentially vote for your favorite titles within the Koei Tecmo family of games.

For instance, take a look at the Atelier Ryza 3 survey, PROJECT ZERO's survey & Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty's survey and check out the following:

3-1. Please check if you have played any of the following Koei Tecmo...​

Thanks to tournament organizers around the world the expansion of side tournaments at huge blockbuster events have normalized to a point where the only reason that some of these games aren't main games is due to the fact that there are so many games with thriving communities that want to compete at a showcase level. Not because a game is hated or unwanted at events. Dead or Alive 6 is one of these games, and the DOA6 side tournament is at full capacity this week (64/64 players) with a waiting list of dedicated players.


The Yamagata Esports Union (YouTube channel posted above) will be streaming this loaded single-elimination tournament Friday at 6PM PT depending on your Time Zone. The organizers have done a wonderful job at promoting the event and this experience should be an eye opener to a few players that believe DOA6 is finished. This...

Loot was considered a huge deal in Nioh, and while Yasuda has gone on record to say that there isn't as much loot in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, there is still actually quite a bit of it to collect between armor sets, a plethora of different weapon types and accessories.

There are five types of equipment rarities including:

✮ - Common
✮✮ - Rare
✮✮✮ - Epic
✮✮✮✮ - Legendary
✮✮✮✮✮ - Mythic

The two rarities you want to focus your time on will be Legendary & Mythics with the other rarities being salvaged and sold at the Blacksmith. The drop rate of Legendary & Mythic are not that high and if you are looking for every piece of high-spec equipment; it can take a good while to get a complete Legendary collection of...

Big E Gaming's Winter Brawl: 3D 2023 started at 12pm EST at the Double Tree Hotel located at Cherry Hill, NJ. This tournament is a small, comfortable and intimate environment for 3D fighting games of all types, including three different Dead or Alive games. The first title to be showcased at Bifuteki's Twitch stream is Dead or Alive 6, and you can observe the complete bracket for all three featured games at Big E Gaming's Start.GG for Winter Brawl: 3D 2023.


One of the star performers at this show was Scarlet Hurricane & Tina. While they may have lost to Jager in the opening fight, the movement, speed, reaction and timing has been nearly impeccable. Hurricane made a great tournament comeback after his loss to Jager by defeating Kambo with flash...

Winter Brawl 3D is less than two weeks away, and now is the time to plan your trip to Cherry Hill, New Jersey for a chance to compete in a tournament that is hosting three Dead or Alive main games on its roster. Big E Gaming has gone all out for DOA, and we appreciate just how much Big E has done for this franchise. If Dead or Alive 6 is not your favorite title you also have Dead or Alive 5: Last Round & Dead or Alive 3++ to choose from which has never been done before in our community history!

This is an intimate event with a COVID Policy attached, giving us a player capacity of 250 fighters. Big E isn't looking to create record numbers for this event, but he is honoring the offline scene and he is remembering DOA in the process. If you want to fight and showcase your skills, please consider registering today at Big E's organized and well-structured Start.GG. Some members from...

Lu Bu is one of those bosses that is extremely satisfying to fight but can also completely destroy you in one or two moves if you make a mistake with your deflects. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is not just about perfecting those deflects, but it's also about Wizardry and magic, which can you help you considerably in this fight. Some critics have stated that Wizardry does not serve a purpose in Wo Long, but that is far from the truth, and listening to that advice will likely not help you progress through the game.

The best tip that can be given to anybody struggling with Lu Bu is use the Frost Lance Water Phase Spell. This spell can be casted quickly and it will diffuse Lu Bu's fire when he uses the Flame Weapon Fire Phase Spell. Things can escalate really quickly if you allow Lu Bu to use his Fire Spells because the damage increase and spread is ridiculous.

You fight Lu Bu in Part 4 Episode 1, and I did not know I would be fighting him as the boss after playing arguably...

There is a new second update to Dead or Alive 6 ++ by @Rev_an and it's available now for PC players! Check out the Patch Notes for all of the serious gameplay changes, character tweaks and other various adjustments. If you like what you see download 6++ Beta Update 2 and get ready for action! Rev has some additional comments that he left in the forum as a type of summarization for this update:

There's an updated dll and config file this time, so make sure you replace those as well as the character data. This also breaks the base mod's compatibility with Vanilla 6 since we're using one of the [gameplay] section's toggles; so make a backup of and remove d3d11.dll if you need to turn the mod off. It will no longer be sufficient to empty out the replacements folder.

Update 2 is trying out a big...

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Team NINJA's Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty has not only received strong review scores, but it's also breaking company records despite being a Day 1 Game Pass title. If you're interested in seeing what the excitement is about, we implore you test out Wo Long for yourself on Day 1 Game Pass. If you've never signed up for Game Pass before, it's only one dollar to start, and the quality here completely dominates the old build of the Final Demo.

While Nioh 1 & 2 are extremely successful and fun games, the general audience of gamers appeared to find more appeal in Wo Long as its all-time peak currently sits at 75,373. This number is nearly double Nioh 2's 41,273 all-time peak. That being said, Wo Long has created interest for Nioh 2 among players with a 17% increase since Wo Long's release.


Since Fumihiko Yasuda has taken over as president of Team NINJA Studios; the company has been...