Dead or Alive (PS1) Prima's Official Strategy Guide

[Matt Ponton]

Below is a transcript of the American strategy guide for the Dead or Alive PlayStation game:

Project Editors: Jennifer Crotteau, Mario De Govia

All products and characters mentioned in this book are trademarks of their respective companies.

INTRODUCTION

Dead or Alive rivals some of the best fighting games out there! This game has a great range of moves, awesome gameplay, and superior graphics. An outstanding alternative to the Tekken and Virtua Fighter series, Dead or Alive will have you begging for more! The matches can get really intense: You'll have tons of fun with counters, throws, air juggles, and the innovative Danger Zone areas. You can choose from nine different characters or play with one of the two hidden characters! Also, each character has his or her own wardrobe of costumes. Dead or Alive gives you all this plus realistic sound effects and cool, original music. Tecmo has really outdone itself with the creation of this fighting classic! Dead or Alive made its debut in arcades, where it was very well received by novice and veteran fighting fans alike. When it finally hit the Saturn home system, people ran out to buy a copy. Finally, Dead or Alive is now available to PlayStation owners, like myself, who have been awaiting it anxiously. This book will be a valuable resource for those who want to know the scoop on Dead or Alive - including character bios, strategies, and general moves. Plus, I'll let you in on the game secrets such as how to get the extra options, hidden characters, and the many alternate costumes. You'll find everything you need to make your gaming experience even more fun! So, without further ado, let the fighting begin!​

GAME BASICS

Key Stroke conventions

This chapter explains the instructions used in this book to show character moves. [Description goes on to explain what their notation system for the book. The notation will be altered for the sake of this website.]​

Basic Moves

The following information applies to all characters. [Description continues explaining direction notation system. The notation will be altered for the sake of this website.]​

Falling Down

If your character falls down, toggle with the directional pad to get up. To get up quickly, press several times while [pressing any direction]. If you press [any direction] while you press :k, your character can attack as he or she stands up. Play around with this technique to find some of your favorite moves.​

Attacking

When your opponents are down, you can still damage them! Try these devastating - and fun - attacks on your enemy!

• If an opponent falls toward the background, press: h
• [If an opponent is trying to get up, press]: k
• If your opponent starts to fall toward the foreground, press: h
• To execute a mid-kick attack as your opponent gets up, press: :k
• To simply reduce the down time, press: :h

Throwing Your Opponent

Although each character has its own special throws, one that they all share is: +

Note: When you get thrown by your foe, pressing :8 may help you avoid falling.

If you throw an opponent, often they'll retaliate with a throw of their own. If you think this is about to happen, try pressing ++:k to defend yourself and, hopefully, rebound right back!​

Oh, That Danger Zone!

The Danger Zone is the area around the fighting area. It's colored differently than the safe fighting area. If you knock your opponent down in the Danger Zone an explosion will bounce him or her up. When that happens you can run in and do a quick juggle combo! Keep in mind that if you get knocked down in the Danger Zone, you should press ++:k before the explosion happens. If you do then you can avoid getting bounced up. You still suffer damage [from the Danger Zone] but can avoid being juggled.​

Blocking and Holding

When you want to block an opponent, hold :4 and retaliate as soon as you see an opening. If your opponent is attacking you at a mid or high level, simply stand and hold :4 to block.

If they attempt a low attack, [hold :1]. If you press :h, you can easily make an opening for your attack. Just remember that the same principles you used in blocking apply here. If your enemy attacks low, h. If he or she attacks at your middle or higher, stay in a standing position and press :h.​

Game Options
One of the great features of this game is that you can choose from several gaming options. For information on the hidden options, refer to the Secrets Chapter.

Game Config
In the Game Config menu, you can set the game difficulty, adjust each player's life gauge, set battle time, set how many matches to play, turn the Quick Select on or off, continue, and turn the "bouncing breasts" feature on or off (yes, believe it or not some people want it off).​

Key Config
This menu lets you choose what each of your controller buttons do. It assigns hold, punch, or kick (and [macros]) to whatever buttons you choose. You can also turn the Vibrate mode on or off from here.​

Audio Config
Using this menu, you can set the speaker to stereo or mono; set the battle music ; change the sound effect volume; and sample the available music options, voice samples, and sound effects.​

Records
This menu holds the history of your play. It lets you see the tournament mode and character ranking, Danger Zone mode ranking, normal time attack and character ranking, Danger Zone time attack and character ranking, normal survival mode ranking, Danger Zone survival mode ranking, normal kumite mode ranking, versus data, and each characters percentage of wins against the other characters.​

Game Modes
There are seven different modes that you can select:

Tournament
In this mode you can play against the computer (CPU). Another player can join in the battle, with the winner facing the CPU. Also, there's no limit on how many matches you can play.​

Time Attack
In this mode, you battle against time and the CPU.
Note: All settings return to default when you play this mode.​

Versus
In this mode, two players can compete against each other. There's no limit on the nmber of matches you can play. It's all about beating on each other!​

Survival
In this mode, you are battling the CPU again. You can fight until you completely run out of [life]. If you win a battle, then a percentage of your [life] is restored. The battle level and number of sets you can play are programmed in the default.​

Kumite
In this mode, you select either 30, 50 or 100 battles. You then fight, win or lose, the full number of battles. The CPU tracks your win percentage and awards points for a fast Clear Time. It's a long difficult mode, but very satisfying!​

Training
You can train like a true warrior here. You fight against a dummy CPU opponent with no time restrictions or knockouts. If you press the start button while in this mode, a menu will pop up to conveniently change the mode's general settings.​

Team Battle
Here, you can pick five of your favorite fighters and pit them against your friend's five favorite fighters to get some real adrenaline flowing. You eliminate the fights one by one until one team is defeated. Fight to see who will be the grand champion!​

BASIC STRATEGIES

• Many of the moves in Dead or Alive are difficult to execute. If you're having trouble with some of them, just remember practice and timing are essential.
• If you just "button mash" against an opponent and hope to find good moves that way, your game won't improve very quickly. Use the training mode to learn and master the moves; that's why it's there. When you've got the moves down, then you can confidently go kick some butt!
• A common mistake is to begin a new move before your character fully executes the previous one. Most people believe that you have to execute moves lightning fast in fighting games. Actually, too fast isn't good because you have to wait for the character's animation to return to standing position before starting another move, otherwise the button sequence you're entering won't fully register. But, that's not to say that you can be a slow poke either!
• To block your opponent's moves, you'll need to remember a couple important things. Block low attacks from a crouching position and high and mid attacks from a standing position.
• The characters' ability to execute [holds] as well as blocks adds a lot to gameplay. When you are attacked, you can [hold] your opponent's attack and, by doing so, leave them wide open for a counterattack. [The guide is referring to :h / h causing a default standing / crouching parry giving small frame advantage]
• If you're stuck in a "counter" struggle, you will need to pull away, push away, or punch and kick your way out. Using a low kick attack to get out of the struggle will often prove successful. [The guide is referring to methods to avoid a back-and-forth hold battle]
• Dashing is another useful tool to use against your opponent. If you knock your opponent on his/her back and have some distance between you two, then try to dash in and execute a combo as they get up. Be careful though, because once your opponent learns to anticipate your dash, you'll be vulnerable to attack!
• Try varying your dashing strategies. Instead of always dashing in for an attack, try tapping :4 to stop short and psyche out your opponent. They'll most likely attack - leaving themselves open to a devastating counterattack from you!
• Remember, if you knock down a character you can often pounce on them with an additional attack while they're still on the ground. Depending on the character, you can hit p or k - always a bonus!
• Always take advantage of throws because they cause a lot of damage and are just plain fun. Watch for the first opening to appear, and then run in and get 'em! Throws are best executed after [holding] an attack.
• Finally, we can't forget the Danger Zone in this game. Use this area to your utmost advantage. Try to bully your opponent out of the safety area by "pushing" him or her back with your attacks. Once you knock 'em down in the Danger Zone, they'll pop up in the air and you'll be able to juggle them to your heart's content. You can also cause a lot of damage this way!

THE COMBATANTS

Lei Fang

STATISTICS
Nationality: Chinese
DOB: April 23
Height/Weight: 5'5"/110 lbs.
Measurements: 34-21-33
Lethal Fighting Style: Tai Chi (Tai Kyoku Ken)
Occupation: Student
Favorite Food: Almond Jelly
Hobby: Karaoke​

Lei Fang is an incredibly determined and talented young individual who studies Tai Kyoku Ken. She has a sweet smile and angelic look...but is impulsive and has a die-hard determination to prove herself. Several years ago, she was challenged to a fight by a street gang. She was going to take 'em on, one by one, when a boy known as Gi suddenly jumped in to rescue her. She was infuriated by his gross assumption that she couldn't fend for herself. After this incident, she was determined to find Gi, who wears a dragon emblem, and show him what she's made of.​

Lei Fang's Moves

[The guide displays a move list of Lei Fang's Moves. In the future a link will be provided to our Wiki when a move list is added to there]​

Lei Fang Vs. CPU Strategies​

[The CPU strategies won't be posted here because, frankly, they are pointless and sometimes jokingly moronic]​