'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 matches. The TECH that came out of it from stronger players was enjoyable to observe seeing as how it's 2025 now and it's almost time to celebrate DOA4's 20th birthday. Seriously? Of course, Dead or Alive 4 is the equivalent to wanting to get back with your crazy ex-girlfriend of five years. She's hot, but oh my god is she a mess. Let's give Hoodless a round of applause for his victory today, and let's take a look at the gameplay of these old-timers.
For now, you can watch this exciting Dead or Alive 4 Tournament on Twitch, but Twitch does a horrible job of preserving videos and it will not be here forever. We will update you if the tournament is preserved by Johnny on YouTube. Otherwise, here is the writeup for the stream as permanent preservation of the tournament.
Darth Lotonic is a name that I remember seeing online years ago with Dead or Alive, and I always thought he was a pretty decent player and as soon this tournament starts prayers are answered with the appearance of the legendary Bankotsubo facing off against Xeno Marco's pesky but effective Kasumi.
Like every serious Tengu player should Lotonic starts the match with P+K and goes for the BNB combo after the launch at stun and ending with Tengu's special 8P+K. It's one of my personal favorite ground moves in DOA and feels like the sprinkles on an ice cream cone. As a Tengu player, you've absolutely got to throw that move in whenever you can.
P+K Is also a good way of seeing if you opponent knows the Tengu matchup. An experienced player will often times go for the reversal right away to make a statement and this trick is what was done to Xeno to open up multiple rounds. Lotonic used every important Tengu tool in Round 1, but Xeno was ready at the start of Round 2 blocking that initial P+K and going in more offensively.
Xeno showed that he did know that match up reversing the 7K backflip follow up of Tengu, and Xeno took things further by showing he could successfully use launch throw combos online. He swiftly took the second considering the beatdown of the first round.
Bankotsubo continues to open with the same move while getting away with it and releases some fresh mix-ups on this pressure-based Kasumi player. Lotonic knows his hit and hurt boxes; this shows in the later rounds as he dealing with closing space on the faster character, and he does so emphatically well. Lotonic completed the game considering these components. He also keeps the Tengu dive coming after every string because Alpha 152's stage consists of mind-blowing electric floor and wall damage.
Bankotsubo is a horrible character in DOA4 as said by many, but a good player can win if they take every lick of damage, and in my opinion he's one of the better characters because he's forced to take every opportunity of damage and must develop a sense of awareness to survive.
Their second and last match of this set was on the mountaintop and Bankotsubo can really shine here since he can create easy space and rush people off each individual environment including cases of stairs and a cliff with relative ease using his 7KP. This tool alone can cause chaos here if not avoided, and Lotonic completely succeeds at using some of the best Tengu tech quickly defeating Xeno here to win the set.
So, they start their set at the space station Halo 2 map and Omnisu's Kokoro starts using that annoying 2H+K that can change the outcome of any game in DOA4. It's an absurdly OP move; especially in DOA4 where using good lows is such a tempting calling card. Omnisu demonstrated some knowledge with that hard Back-Turned stun and followed up for more damage, but he went in too heavy with mid-punches and Kasumi's reads displayed that Kokoro's tactics weren't going to be successful any longer.
Their second match went in Kokoro's favor after making gameplay tweaks at Seaside Market. Omnisu did a better job watching his space and was more cautious about just letting go with 66 attacks. The problem could have been common latency with DOA4, but he wasn't nailing his reversal launch follow ups but still managed to win despite Kasumi's attempts at pressuring her near the wall.
Omnisu completed the set at the Experimental Playground bashing Kasumi into the thick trees and spacing her out enough to poke and stun. At this point Omnisu was comfortable and he was finally mixing up his inputs for optimal damage while taking advantage of the many different environments available on this controversial stage.
Amongst our community (if you are new here welcome) we like to see matchups like this one. Leon and La Mariposa may not be popular characters amongst the public, but they are popular characters at Free Step Dodge, and let's hope this match shows us why.
Fighting at the Circular Crash Club Lisa starts by teeing off on Leon with some super simple mix-ups and it works for the meantime. La Mariposa (OOps I said Lisa earlier) in all fairness has always been a great starter character. You can get winning results with inexperience, but there is also plenty of room to really grow with the character for ultra satisfying results and has been this way with all of the fighting games she is featured in (DOA4-DOA6) regardless of system changes.
This Leon applied enough pressure at a low health to secure round one, and his movement was surprisingly good after being released from the wall. He played the right stun game and chose the correct mix-ups without even using a ground throw.
Posa went on the offensive for the second and almost got a half-life combo throw on the electric floor. It was obvious after that stunt Leon wasn't going to win, but he did use his classic directional throw smashing Lisa through the electric wall before his second-round defeat.
Spector took things personal and started smashing his foe through the wall far more often while finally applying ground throws in the third round. Though it was the simple strings of La Mariposa that paved the way for victory throughout this match, and there was some flash and substance on top of it to show Spector she knows what she's doing, and this real female player is a force to be reckoned with in this tournament.
Ditzy & La Mariposa hit the lottery with their second match taking place at the DWA wrestling ring complete with nasty electric ring ropes. Spector tried to get in some offense, but Ditzy left him confused with back-flips, combo throws and superior holding making this one of the quickest matches of the tournament so far.
These two players had two quick matches at the safari and the tri-tower: both matches being complete squashes in Lotonic's favor. Lotonic was inputting those impressive FC mix-ups while also getting some serious damage combined with those impressive Ein HC combos. I was surprised that this set was short given that Omnisu showed a lot more awareness in his previous set.
This should be a close match, right? Sadly, not this time. Johnny the Flash is known for his tricks and antics within Dead or Alive 6, but Dead or Alive 4? Tina was decent, but on crutches compared to her amazing tool kits in Shimbori's future iterations.
Hoodless went insane with Nicole's powerful throw game, and considering that Johnny's defense was actually pretty good, it just wasn't enough to play mind-games with the DOA6 world champion. The NINJA Hideout was a complete dissection of Flash and the second match of the set at DWA's wrestling ring was no better. Hoodless knows the DOA4 meta better than I expected, or he was just living in Johnny's head.
Though it's worth mentioning that the Plasma Grenade throw on HC was done in this bout and with electric ring rope environment included the move did 75% life. Yowie Wowie!
While this match could have been entertainment gold, I'm not sure that Jawja got a lick of solid offense in this entire set! Though Posa's move set can be perplexing to keep up with, I recommend holding every now and then with Leifang as her reversals do insane damage, and holding in DOA4 isn't a problem even if your foe is fishing for them; it's an essential gameplay tactic.
I don't recall Ditzy ever leaving neutral because there was a complete difference in experience here. Was everyone reminded how effective the charge attacks could be in DOA4? They were game changers even if they were frequently held by veterans. Especially against Alpha-152 in Arcade Mode. You could make Alpha's life hell with chargeables.
Ditzy is proving to be one dominant lady and her gameplay is fun to watch as she tramples her opponents with some of the best DOA4 tech you can bring out.
Muted Knight was calling matches on commentary with Johnny the Flash, and you can tell through what they are saying on stream that they are learning, but that doesn't mean that the experience of spectating has been applied.
This was another super quick match revolving around the strengths of La Mariposa. These DOA5 and DOA6 players are finding out that not every system is the same. DOA is a very unique fighting franchise, and every game feels much different and in a plethora of different ways.
Notice: Muted Knight also fought Spector's Leon with the same exact outcome and was completely destroyed throughout the set putting in little to offense at all. It's hard to cover a match when the entire thing is a squash and they are commentating at the same time, but they wanted more numbers to make for a longer tournament, so I understand why it was done this way.
Now this here is an interesting matchup! Both of these characters share the same fighting style, but who is stronger? The apprentice or the conflicted master? These two advanced players compete on the Experimental Playground to begin their set.
From the beginning to the end Ein was applying excellent pressure on Hitomi, with both players using their heavy sweep to space each other out before going into big damage. Lotonic had the lead in the early going winning the first two rounds with little trouble.
Hoodless began to adapt to the immense power of Hitomi (within DOA4) and when he started hitting 6T the mind games turned on for Lotonic and the mix-ups started to hit. Hitomi caught up to her rival quickly and effectively putting the game into our first last round.
The first victory of Hoodless can be contributed to a few factors (including that annoying scurrying Dino) with the biggest being his throw and mix-up game. Hoodless also has this rare ability to adapt and apply on the spot... most players can adapt, but whether or not they can apply the tools is an entirely different story and nobody in the game can do it better than Hoodless.
Their last match was set at the Grand Hall and unfortunately neither of these two fighters fell down the stairs. The Hoodless spacing really came into play with the second fight and the download was complete. Hoodless reminded the entire FGC that at one point in time Hitomi was one of the most feared characters featuring some of the best tools that anyone with a brain could utilize. I mean did you see those launches? Pretty hard to miss a combo opportunity with liftoff like that.
How can you not enjoy the character diversity of Darth Lotonic? We get Bankotsubo, Ein and now Genfu! Genfu makes people sweat and swear and you will see why in this competitive fight. Hitomi gets a round win at the Waterfall after being fast and furious on the bridge.
After she knocked the Fu off the bridge that was the decisive moment where Lotonic begins to come out with his environment knowledge and tech. We see both characters smash each other's ankles with lows as they slip stun in the dangerous shallow waters. Xeno gets a second round before Lotonic decides to adapt.
Now the old man is taking things slowly, spacing out the vicious Hitomi methodically even avoiding wakeup kicks entirely with spacing options. He chooses his moves carefully as he ties Hitomi in rounds before completely unloading offense to win the first game of the set.
Xeno switches to Kasumi for the second, but it doesn't help much in comparison to what was done with Hitomi. He gets a few more holds, and structures some better pressure, but Lotonic is too experienced to fall for her tricks and his stun game is too strong for Xeno to successfully compete coherently this time.
These two patient fighters begin their bout at the Grand Hall, and we've got to like the exchanges we see early on. Spector knows he's going to have his hands full, so he goes to his BNBs and keeps the pressure on with solid OH performance and consistent grabs.
This strategy works until Lotonic adapts to this strategy and begins to fuzzy guard and duck out of Leon's best tools. Ein is a fantastic character in this system because he relies so heavily on waiting for damaging holds with the Mid Kick hold offering serious floor damage where it can be applied, and he stuns so damn hard on top of it.
We finally see a staircase tumble in play and Lotonic gets a Great to boot after showing us how impressive Ein's wall throw can be. Of course, the sit-down itself on the wall is WORTHLESS in DOA4 and he knew to dodge the wakeup kicks in these sad situations where the DOA4 mechanics just aren't any good (not to say things are always bad, but you get where I'm coming from if you've tried playing the game seriously).
Spector had his second chance at the Seaside Market, but ultimately Lotonic walked all over him at that point because the download was complete. This happens a lot more often with DOA4 because the game doesn't have balanced characters or mechanics. DOA5 was arguably the most balanced fighting game in the franchise and that is why you saw so many 'Last Round' matches.
We can talk down on DOA4's gameplay all we want, but the presentation of it is glorious. The beautiful stages, the character selection, the animation all combine and synergize to give you this beautiful fighting game that is pretty for everyone watching and Russian roulette for anyone playing it.
This is one of the most competitive sets of the tournament and it was a joy to see Ditzy get a few rounds over on Hoodless utilizing her damaging throws and reversals on Alpha's electric floor. DOA4 is all about electric environment damage whenever you can get it, and these two characters thrive on getting that it's almost shocking.
Hoodless has beautiful movement here and despite playing flawlessly Ditzy is still putting up a reluctant fight. I loved the finish where Hoodless gets the electric wall and the BNB combo. His recovery is absolutely spot on in every DOA he plays. There is no doubting that.
Their second fight at Gambler's Paradise is still giving an intense rush to the viewers, and Ditzy still manages to escape with a round, but she falls victim to the Hoodless No Hold Policy where he refuses to hold for the character that will drain his health on HC because of those ball busting throws. ONLY when he knows that he has that guaranteed mid-kick hold (with Ein) will he attempt it.
Probably my favorite match of the tournament was their third match that took place at the Crash Club. This was a very even fight, they both had similar strengths and weaknesses here, and both players took advantage of the insane environment damage.
There was one point where they were having a throw exchange with Ein's incredible 4T to the wall followed up by Lisa's chain throw. The exchange was a thing of beauty. I myself didn't know how fun this matchup could be with DOA4 and thankfully we are going to get some more of it because Ditzy managed to defeat Hoodless in a Last Round affair!
The last match was at the Halo 2 Space Station (I hate this level) and it was apparent right away that Hoodless had the advantage. He played with a lot more strikes and sitdown stuns and his sudden strategy change took Ditzy by surprise, and this was unfortunately a clean sweep in the favor of Hoodless.
Their first match takes place at the NINJA Hideout and Lotonic starts things off with Bankotsubo. Some players call this situation the "bird cage" as Tengu loses a lot of his mobility here. Regardless of that fact the opener was a close match with Ditzy barely securing the win.
Lotonic quickly switches characters after his defeat and composes himself with Ein once more this time at the Tri-Tower. These two have another back-and-forth fight and Ditzy comes out the stronger player once more and she's looking extremely powerful in this tournament and no doubt has put on the best sets.
This first to three set looked to be a wrap, but Lotonic makes yet another character switch to Hayabusa and it proves to be one of the best character swaps of the tournament. While Ditzy continued to fight hard nobody could forecast the character diversity and surprise level of Lotonic. He convincingly defeated Ditzy in all three games he needed to win with Hayabusa.
Darth Lotonic is a great player, but he was unable to get much offense within the Grand Final on Hoodless' seasoned Zack. He tried various characters, and an assortment of different tactics, but Zack's pressure was heavy, and his mix-up game is insane and hard to compete with in DOA4.
His best attempt was his last chance in this FT3 (that didn't reset) using Genfu. He had some close rounds, made some good guesses and was focused; but Hoodless once again had the download completed in the last set.
The effort was appreciated, but it's going to take Master's Hayabusa, Lopedo's Tengu, Rikuto's Leon or Sweet Revenge's Genfu to take on Hoodless in DOA4. Great games all around for the outdated lobby fighter. FSD would love to see this tournament happen again with a bigger roster of legends fighting for the prize. Congratulations again must go to Hoodless for showing us that it doesn't matter what DOA game it is; he's going to place high or flat-out win.
This tournament was definitely worth watching despite there being a good number of squash matches. The TECH that came out of it from stronger players was enjoyable to observe seeing as how it's 2025 now and it's almost time to celebrate DOA4's 20th birthday. Seriously? Of course, Dead or Alive 4 is the equivalent to wanting to get back with your crazy ex-girlfriend of five years. She's hot, but oh my god is she a mess. Let's give Hoodless a round of applause for his victory today, and let's take a look at the gameplay of these old-timers.
For now, you can watch this exciting Dead or Alive 4 Tournament on Twitch, but Twitch does a horrible job of preserving videos and it will not be here forever. We will update you if the tournament is preserved by Johnny on YouTube. Otherwise, here is the writeup for the stream as permanent preservation of the tournament.
Winner's Round 1
XenoMarcos vs Darth Lotonic
XenoMarcos vs Darth Lotonic Darth Lotonic is a name that I remember seeing online years ago with Dead or Alive, and I always thought he was a pretty decent player and as soon this tournament starts prayers are answered with the appearance of the legendary Bankotsubo facing off against Xeno Marco's pesky but effective Kasumi.
Like every serious Tengu player should Lotonic starts the match with P+K and goes for the BNB combo after the launch at stun and ending with Tengu's special 8P+K. It's one of my personal favorite ground moves in DOA and feels like the sprinkles on an ice cream cone. As a Tengu player, you've absolutely got to throw that move in whenever you can.
P+K Is also a good way of seeing if you opponent knows the Tengu matchup. An experienced player will often times go for the reversal right away to make a statement and this trick is what was done to Xeno to open up multiple rounds. Lotonic used every important Tengu tool in Round 1, but Xeno was ready at the start of Round 2 blocking that initial P+K and going in more offensively.
Xeno showed that he did know that match up reversing the 7K backflip follow up of Tengu, and Xeno took things further by showing he could successfully use launch throw combos online. He swiftly took the second considering the beatdown of the first round.
Bankotsubo continues to open with the same move while getting away with it and releases some fresh mix-ups on this pressure-based Kasumi player. Lotonic knows his hit and hurt boxes; this shows in the later rounds as he dealing with closing space on the faster character, and he does so emphatically well. Lotonic completed the game considering these components. He also keeps the Tengu dive coming after every string because Alpha 152's stage consists of mind-blowing electric floor and wall damage.
Bankotsubo is a horrible character in DOA4 as said by many, but a good player can win if they take every lick of damage, and in my opinion he's one of the better characters because he's forced to take every opportunity of damage and must develop a sense of awareness to survive.
Their second and last match of this set was on the mountaintop and Bankotsubo can really shine here since he can create easy space and rush people off each individual environment including cases of stairs and a cliff with relative ease using his 7KP. This tool alone can cause chaos here if not avoided, and Lotonic completely succeeds at using some of the best Tengu tech quickly defeating Xeno here to win the set.
Winner's Round 2
Omnisu vs Orzen
Omnisu vs OrzenSo, they start their set at the space station Halo 2 map and Omnisu's Kokoro starts using that annoying 2H+K that can change the outcome of any game in DOA4. It's an absurdly OP move; especially in DOA4 where using good lows is such a tempting calling card. Omnisu demonstrated some knowledge with that hard Back-Turned stun and followed up for more damage, but he went in too heavy with mid-punches and Kasumi's reads displayed that Kokoro's tactics weren't going to be successful any longer.
Their second match went in Kokoro's favor after making gameplay tweaks at Seaside Market. Omnisu did a better job watching his space and was more cautious about just letting go with 66 attacks. The problem could have been common latency with DOA4, but he wasn't nailing his reversal launch follow ups but still managed to win despite Kasumi's attempts at pressuring her near the wall.
Omnisu completed the set at the Experimental Playground bashing Kasumi into the thick trees and spacing her out enough to poke and stun. At this point Omnisu was comfortable and he was finally mixing up his inputs for optimal damage while taking advantage of the many different environments available on this controversial stage.
Winner's Round 3
SpectorShade vs Ditzy
SpectorShade vs DitzyAmongst our community (if you are new here welcome) we like to see matchups like this one. Leon and La Mariposa may not be popular characters amongst the public, but they are popular characters at Free Step Dodge, and let's hope this match shows us why.
Fighting at the Circular Crash Club Lisa starts by teeing off on Leon with some super simple mix-ups and it works for the meantime. La Mariposa (OOps I said Lisa earlier) in all fairness has always been a great starter character. You can get winning results with inexperience, but there is also plenty of room to really grow with the character for ultra satisfying results and has been this way with all of the fighting games she is featured in (DOA4-DOA6) regardless of system changes.
This Leon applied enough pressure at a low health to secure round one, and his movement was surprisingly good after being released from the wall. He played the right stun game and chose the correct mix-ups without even using a ground throw.
Posa went on the offensive for the second and almost got a half-life combo throw on the electric floor. It was obvious after that stunt Leon wasn't going to win, but he did use his classic directional throw smashing Lisa through the electric wall before his second-round defeat.
Spector took things personal and started smashing his foe through the wall far more often while finally applying ground throws in the third round. Though it was the simple strings of La Mariposa that paved the way for victory throughout this match, and there was some flash and substance on top of it to show Spector she knows what she's doing, and this real female player is a force to be reckoned with in this tournament.
Ditzy & La Mariposa hit the lottery with their second match taking place at the DWA wrestling ring complete with nasty electric ring ropes. Spector tried to get in some offense, but Ditzy left him confused with back-flips, combo throws and superior holding making this one of the quickest matches of the tournament so far.
Winner's Round 4
Omnisu vs Darth Lotonic
Omnisu vs Darth LotonicThese two players had two quick matches at the safari and the tri-tower: both matches being complete squashes in Lotonic's favor. Lotonic was inputting those impressive FC mix-ups while also getting some serious damage combined with those impressive Ein HC combos. I was surprised that this set was short given that Omnisu showed a lot more awareness in his previous set.
Winner's Round 5
Johnny the Flash vs Hoodless
Johnny the Flash vs HoodlessThis should be a close match, right? Sadly, not this time. Johnny the Flash is known for his tricks and antics within Dead or Alive 6, but Dead or Alive 4? Tina was decent, but on crutches compared to her amazing tool kits in Shimbori's future iterations.
Hoodless went insane with Nicole's powerful throw game, and considering that Johnny's defense was actually pretty good, it just wasn't enough to play mind-games with the DOA6 world champion. The NINJA Hideout was a complete dissection of Flash and the second match of the set at DWA's wrestling ring was no better. Hoodless knows the DOA4 meta better than I expected, or he was just living in Johnny's head.
Though it's worth mentioning that the Plasma Grenade throw on HC was done in this bout and with electric ring rope environment included the move did 75% life. Yowie Wowie!
Winner's Round 6
Ditzy vs Jawja
Ditzy vs JawjaWhile this match could have been entertainment gold, I'm not sure that Jawja got a lick of solid offense in this entire set! Though Posa's move set can be perplexing to keep up with, I recommend holding every now and then with Leifang as her reversals do insane damage, and holding in DOA4 isn't a problem even if your foe is fishing for them; it's an essential gameplay tactic.
I don't recall Ditzy ever leaving neutral because there was a complete difference in experience here. Was everyone reminded how effective the charge attacks could be in DOA4? They were game changers even if they were frequently held by veterans. Especially against Alpha-152 in Arcade Mode. You could make Alpha's life hell with chargeables.
Ditzy is proving to be one dominant lady and her gameplay is fun to watch as she tramples her opponents with some of the best DOA4 tech you can bring out.
Winner's Round 7
Ditzy vs Muted Knight
Ditzy vs Muted Knight Muted Knight was calling matches on commentary with Johnny the Flash, and you can tell through what they are saying on stream that they are learning, but that doesn't mean that the experience of spectating has been applied.
This was another super quick match revolving around the strengths of La Mariposa. These DOA5 and DOA6 players are finding out that not every system is the same. DOA is a very unique fighting franchise, and every game feels much different and in a plethora of different ways.
Notice: Muted Knight also fought Spector's Leon with the same exact outcome and was completely destroyed throughout the set putting in little to offense at all. It's hard to cover a match when the entire thing is a squash and they are commentating at the same time, but they wanted more numbers to make for a longer tournament, so I understand why it was done this way.
Winner's Semi-Final
Darth Lotonic vs Hoodless
Darth Lotonic vs HoodlessNow this here is an interesting matchup! Both of these characters share the same fighting style, but who is stronger? The apprentice or the conflicted master? These two advanced players compete on the Experimental Playground to begin their set.
From the beginning to the end Ein was applying excellent pressure on Hitomi, with both players using their heavy sweep to space each other out before going into big damage. Lotonic had the lead in the early going winning the first two rounds with little trouble.
Hoodless began to adapt to the immense power of Hitomi (within DOA4) and when he started hitting 6T the mind games turned on for Lotonic and the mix-ups started to hit. Hitomi caught up to her rival quickly and effectively putting the game into our first last round.
The first victory of Hoodless can be contributed to a few factors (including that annoying scurrying Dino) with the biggest being his throw and mix-up game. Hoodless also has this rare ability to adapt and apply on the spot... most players can adapt, but whether or not they can apply the tools is an entirely different story and nobody in the game can do it better than Hoodless.
Their last match was set at the Grand Hall and unfortunately neither of these two fighters fell down the stairs. The Hoodless spacing really came into play with the second fight and the download was complete. Hoodless reminded the entire FGC that at one point in time Hitomi was one of the most feared characters featuring some of the best tools that anyone with a brain could utilize. I mean did you see those launches? Pretty hard to miss a combo opportunity with liftoff like that.
Loser's Semi-Final
Darth Lotonic vs XenoMarcos
Darth Lotonic vs XenoMarcos How can you not enjoy the character diversity of Darth Lotonic? We get Bankotsubo, Ein and now Genfu! Genfu makes people sweat and swear and you will see why in this competitive fight. Hitomi gets a round win at the Waterfall after being fast and furious on the bridge.
After she knocked the Fu off the bridge that was the decisive moment where Lotonic begins to come out with his environment knowledge and tech. We see both characters smash each other's ankles with lows as they slip stun in the dangerous shallow waters. Xeno gets a second round before Lotonic decides to adapt.
Now the old man is taking things slowly, spacing out the vicious Hitomi methodically even avoiding wakeup kicks entirely with spacing options. He chooses his moves carefully as he ties Hitomi in rounds before completely unloading offense to win the first game of the set.
Xeno switches to Kasumi for the second, but it doesn't help much in comparison to what was done with Hitomi. He gets a few more holds, and structures some better pressure, but Lotonic is too experienced to fall for her tricks and his stun game is too strong for Xeno to successfully compete coherently this time.
Loser's Final
Darth Lotonic vs SpectorShade
Darth Lotonic vs SpectorShadeThese two patient fighters begin their bout at the Grand Hall, and we've got to like the exchanges we see early on. Spector knows he's going to have his hands full, so he goes to his BNBs and keeps the pressure on with solid OH performance and consistent grabs.
This strategy works until Lotonic adapts to this strategy and begins to fuzzy guard and duck out of Leon's best tools. Ein is a fantastic character in this system because he relies so heavily on waiting for damaging holds with the Mid Kick hold offering serious floor damage where it can be applied, and he stuns so damn hard on top of it.
We finally see a staircase tumble in play and Lotonic gets a Great to boot after showing us how impressive Ein's wall throw can be. Of course, the sit-down itself on the wall is WORTHLESS in DOA4 and he knew to dodge the wakeup kicks in these sad situations where the DOA4 mechanics just aren't any good (not to say things are always bad, but you get where I'm coming from if you've tried playing the game seriously).
Spector had his second chance at the Seaside Market, but ultimately Lotonic walked all over him at that point because the download was complete. This happens a lot more often with DOA4 because the game doesn't have balanced characters or mechanics. DOA5 was arguably the most balanced fighting game in the franchise and that is why you saw so many 'Last Round' matches.
We can talk down on DOA4's gameplay all we want, but the presentation of it is glorious. The beautiful stages, the character selection, the animation all combine and synergize to give you this beautiful fighting game that is pretty for everyone watching and Russian roulette for anyone playing it.
Winner's Final
Ditzy vs Hoodless
Ditzy vs HoodlessThis is one of the most competitive sets of the tournament and it was a joy to see Ditzy get a few rounds over on Hoodless utilizing her damaging throws and reversals on Alpha's electric floor. DOA4 is all about electric environment damage whenever you can get it, and these two characters thrive on getting that it's almost shocking.
Hoodless has beautiful movement here and despite playing flawlessly Ditzy is still putting up a reluctant fight. I loved the finish where Hoodless gets the electric wall and the BNB combo. His recovery is absolutely spot on in every DOA he plays. There is no doubting that.
Their second fight at Gambler's Paradise is still giving an intense rush to the viewers, and Ditzy still manages to escape with a round, but she falls victim to the Hoodless No Hold Policy where he refuses to hold for the character that will drain his health on HC because of those ball busting throws. ONLY when he knows that he has that guaranteed mid-kick hold (with Ein) will he attempt it.
Probably my favorite match of the tournament was their third match that took place at the Crash Club. This was a very even fight, they both had similar strengths and weaknesses here, and both players took advantage of the insane environment damage.
There was one point where they were having a throw exchange with Ein's incredible 4T to the wall followed up by Lisa's chain throw. The exchange was a thing of beauty. I myself didn't know how fun this matchup could be with DOA4 and thankfully we are going to get some more of it because Ditzy managed to defeat Hoodless in a Last Round affair!
The last match was at the Halo 2 Space Station (I hate this level) and it was apparent right away that Hoodless had the advantage. He played with a lot more strikes and sitdown stuns and his sudden strategy change took Ditzy by surprise, and this was unfortunately a clean sweep in the favor of Hoodless.
Semi-Final
Ditzy vs Darth Lotonic
Ditzy vs Darth Lotonic Their first match takes place at the NINJA Hideout and Lotonic starts things off with Bankotsubo. Some players call this situation the "bird cage" as Tengu loses a lot of his mobility here. Regardless of that fact the opener was a close match with Ditzy barely securing the win.
Lotonic quickly switches characters after his defeat and composes himself with Ein once more this time at the Tri-Tower. These two have another back-and-forth fight and Ditzy comes out the stronger player once more and she's looking extremely powerful in this tournament and no doubt has put on the best sets.
This first to three set looked to be a wrap, but Lotonic makes yet another character switch to Hayabusa and it proves to be one of the best character swaps of the tournament. While Ditzy continued to fight hard nobody could forecast the character diversity and surprise level of Lotonic. He convincingly defeated Ditzy in all three games he needed to win with Hayabusa.
Grand Final
Darth Lotonic vs Hoodless
Darth Lotonic vs HoodlessDarth Lotonic is a great player, but he was unable to get much offense within the Grand Final on Hoodless' seasoned Zack. He tried various characters, and an assortment of different tactics, but Zack's pressure was heavy, and his mix-up game is insane and hard to compete with in DOA4.
His best attempt was his last chance in this FT3 (that didn't reset) using Genfu. He had some close rounds, made some good guesses and was focused; but Hoodless once again had the download completed in the last set.
The effort was appreciated, but it's going to take Master's Hayabusa, Lopedo's Tengu, Rikuto's Leon or Sweet Revenge's Genfu to take on Hoodless in DOA4. Great games all around for the outdated lobby fighter. FSD would love to see this tournament happen again with a bigger roster of legends fighting for the prize. Congratulations again must go to Hoodless for showing us that it doesn't matter what DOA game it is; he's going to place high or flat-out win.
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