<s>
is	O
a	O
1996	O
fighting	O
game	O
by	O
Tecmo	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
entry	O
in	O
Team	O
Ninja	B-Application
's	O
long-running	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
first	O
in	O
arcades	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
home	O
ports	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
and	O
later	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
in	O
all	O
regions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Capitalizing	O
on	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
Sega	O
's	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
fighting	O
game	O
series	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
takes	O
influence	O
from	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
while	O
adding	O
unique	O
gameplay	O
elements	O
of	O
its	O
own	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
was	O
a	O
commercial	O
success	O
,	O
helping	O
Tecmo	O
overcome	O
their	O
financial	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
2	I-Application
in	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gameplay	O
of	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
borrows	O
from	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
,	O
but	O
makes	O
some	O
key	O
changes	O
that	O
changes	O
the	O
way	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
is	O
played	O
in	O
comparison	O
to	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
other	O
fighting	O
games	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
in	O
place	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
guard	O
"	O
button	O
,	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
uses	O
a	O
"	O
hold	O
"	O
button	O
,	O
which	O
causes	O
the	O
fighter	O
to	O
grab	O
their	O
opponent	O
's	O
limbs	O
if	O
they	O
are	O
attacking	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bayman	O
,	O
a	O
Russian	O
mercenary	O
and	O
commando	O
hired	O
to	O
kill	O
DOATEC	B-Application
's	O
founder	O
and	O
CEO	O
,	O
Fame	O
Douglas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
His	O
character	O
is	O
modeled	O
on	O
Bruce	B-Application
Lee	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kasumi	O
,	O
a	O
Japanese	O
kunoichi	B-Application
of	O
the	O
Mugen	O
Tenshin	O
Ninja	B-Application
Clan	O
,	O
who	O
abandons	O
her	O
village	O
to	O
search	O
for	O
Raidou	O
,	O
the	O
man	O
who	O
crippled	O
her	O
brother	O
,	O
Hayate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Raidou	O
(	O
unlockable	O
)	O
,	O
an	O
evil	O
ninja	B-Application
exiled	O
from	O
Kasumi	O
's	O
clan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ryu	O
Hayabusa	O
,	O
a	O
Japanese	O
ninja	B-Application
hero	O
of	O
the	O
Hayabusa	O
Ninja	B-Application
Clan	O
and	O
best	O
friend	O
of	O
Kasumi	O
's	O
brother	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
is	O
originally	O
from	O
Ninja	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Added	O
in	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
and	O
Arcade++	O
versions	O
are	O
Kasumi	O
's	O
half-sister	O
Ayane	O
and	O
Tina	O
's	O
father	O
Bass	O
Armstrong	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ayane	O
,	O
a	O
Japanese	O
kunoichi	B-Application
from	O
the	O
same	O
clan	O
as	O
Kasumi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
massive	O
corporation	O
known	O
as	O
DOATEC	B-Application
(	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
Tournament	O
Executive	O
Committee	O
)	O
host	O
a	O
fighting	O
competition	O
called	O
the	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
World	O
Combat	O
Championship	O
,	O
where	O
fighters	O
from	O
all	O
over	O
the	O
world	O
can	O
compete	O
for	O
the	O
title	O
as	O
world	O
champion	O
and	O
a	O
vast	O
amount	O
of	O
money	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
runaway	O
kunoichi	B-Application
known	O
as	O
Kasumi	O
enters	O
the	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
tournament	O
to	O
seek	O
revenge	O
against	O
her	O
uncle	O
Raidou	O
,	O
who	O
was	O
responsible	O
for	O
crippling	O
her	O
brother	O
,	O
Hayate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kasumi	O
's	O
brother	O
,	O
Hayate	O
,	O
was	O
next	O
in	O
line	O
to	O
succeed	O
their	O
father	O
,	O
Shiden	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
18th	O
leader	O
of	O
the	O
Mugen	O
Tenshin	O
Ninja	B-Application
Clan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Learning	O
that	O
her	O
evil	O
uncle	O
was	O
her	O
brother	O
's	O
attacker	O
,	O
Kasumi	O
tracks	O
him	O
down	O
to	O
the	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
tournament	O
where	O
she	O
enters	O
to	O
defeat	O
him	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kasumi	O
eventually	O
defeats	O
and	O
kills	O
Raidou	O
,	O
but	O
her	O
decision	O
to	O
leave	O
her	O
village	O
without	O
permission	O
violates	O
the	O
strict	O
laws	O
of	O
the	O
ninja	B-Application
society	O
and	O
is	O
punishable	O
by	O
death	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Seeing	O
how	O
popular	O
Sega	O
's	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
series	O
was	O
in	O
Japan	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
management	O
asked	O
Tomonobu	O
Itagaki	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
game	O
similar	O
to	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Itagaki	O
was	O
a	O
fan	O
of	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
,	O
but	O
he	O
wanted	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
to	O
stand	O
out	O
among	O
the	O
competition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
the	O
animations	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
were	O
created	O
using	O
motion	B-Application
capture	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
game	O
,	O
which	O
runs	O
on	O
the	O
Sega	O
Model	O
2	O
arcade	O
board	O
,	O
the	O
same	O
arcade	O
board	O
that	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
2	I-Application
ran	O
on	O
,	O
had	O
polygonal	O
modeled	O
backgrounds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
was	O
unveiled	O
alongside	O
Jaleco	O
's	O
Super	O
GT	O
24h	O
at	O
the	O
February	O
1996	O
AOU	O
show	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
Sega	O
's	O
announcement	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
licensing	O
their	O
Model	O
2	O
hardware	O
to	O
third-party	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
comparison	O
to	O
other	O
3D	O
fighters	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Tekken	B-Application
(	O
which	O
gained	O
a	O
substantial	O
market	O
base	O
in	O
Japan	O
and	O
North	O
America	O
)	O
,	O
DOA	O
introduced	O
a	O
countering	O
system	O
unique	O
to	O
the	O
genre	O
and	O
an	O
added	O
emphasis	O
on	O
speed	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
rich	O
graphics	O
engine	O
that	O
lacked	O
many	O
jaggies	B-Algorithm
and	O
incorporated	O
very	O
smooth	O
surfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
port	O
was	O
rumored	O
,	O
but	O
did	O
not	O
come	O
to	O
fruition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
was	O
instead	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
exclusively	O
for	O
the	O
Japanese	O
market	O
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acclaim	O
intended	O
to	O
bring	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
to	O
the	O
UK	O
by	O
Christmas	O
1997	O
,	O
but	O
plans	O
were	O
shelved	O
for	O
unknown	O
reasons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
,	O
the	O
developers	O
used	O
Gouraud	B-Algorithm
shading	I-Algorithm
(	O
a	O
feature	O
not	O
available	O
on	O
Model	O
2	O
)	O
for	O
the	O
character	O
models	O
to	O
compensate	O
for	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
not	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
generate	O
as	O
many	O
polygons	O
as	O
the	O
Model	O
2	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Saturn	B-Device
conversion	O
uses	O
bitmaps	O
and	O
parallax	O
scrolling	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
fashion	O
as	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
of	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
2	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1998	O
,	O
Tecmo	O
released	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
in	O
all	O
regions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
designed	O
for	O
Sega	O
arcade	O
hardware	O
to	O
be	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
's	O
development	O
team	O
had	O
worked	O
on	O
the	O
original	O
arcade	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tecmo	O
also	O
released	O
an	O
upgrade	O
titled	O
Dead	O
or	O
Alive++	O
for	O
the	O
arcades	O
in	O
Japan	O
which	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
version	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
with	O
a	O
slightly	O
updated	O
gameplay	O
that	O
was	O
later	O
expanded	O
for	O
the	O
sequel	O
,	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
2	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Japan	O
,	O
Game	O
Machine	O
listed	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
on	O
their	O
January	O
1	O
,	O
1997	O
issue	O
as	O
being	O
the	O
most-popular	O
arcade	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
previous	O
two	O
weeks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
widely	O
distributed	O
in	O
U.S.	O
arcades	O
,	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
was	O
a	O
commercial	O
success	O
,	O
helping	O
Tecmo	O
pull	O
in	O
a	O
profit	O
of	O
9.2	O
million	O
dollars	O
in	O
1996	O
and	O
saving	O
the	O
company	O
from	O
bankruptcy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
would	O
go	O
on	O
to	O
sell	O
more	O
than	O
161,000	O
copies	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
release	O
in	O
arcades	O
,	O
a	O
Next	O
Generation	O
reviewer	O
commented	O
,	O
"	O
A	O
fighting	O
game	O
that	O
mimics	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
2	I-Application
in	O
its	O
look	O
and	O
feel	O
to	O
a	O
frightening	O
degree	O
...	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
boasts	O
smooth	O
control	O
,	O
crisp	O
polygonal	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
attitude	O
that	O
may	O
enable	O
this	O
game	O
to	O
stand	O
on	O
its	O
own	O
despite	O
its	O
familiar	O
origins.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
's	O
planned	O
(	O
and	O
eventually	O
aborted	O
)	O
releases	O
in	O
the	O
U.S.	O
and	O
UK	O
,	O
it	O
saw	O
a	O
considerable	O
number	O
of	O
reviews	O
in	O
those	O
two	O
countries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
Magazine	O
described	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
as	O
"	O
An	O
incredible	O
beat	O
'	O
em	O
up	O
both	O
technically	O
and	O
visually	O
,	O
even	O
getting	O
close	O
to	O
beating	O
Sega	O
's	O
own-brand	O
VF	O
[	O
Virtua	O
Fighter ]	O
games.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
and	O
Video	O
Games	O
called	O
it	O
"	O
an	O
essential	O
buy	O
for	O
import	O
Saturn	B-Device
gamers	O
"	O
,	O
while	O
Next	O
Generation	O
commented	O
,	O
"	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
is	O
such	O
a	O
polished	O
game	O
that	O
it	O
's	O
surprising	O
to	O
realize	O
this	O
is	O
Tecmo	O
's	O
first	O
3D	O
fighter.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
Magazine	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
breasts	O
"	O
wobble	O
up	O
and	O
down	O
like	O
jellies	O
and	O
seem	O
to	O
operate	O
totally	O
independently	O
to	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
girl	O
's	O
body	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
Jeff	O
Gerstmann	O
similarly	O
remarked	O
in	O
GameSpot	O
that	O
"	O
They	O
bounce	O
around	O
like	O
gelatin	O
for	O
no	O
apparent	O
reason.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
reviewer	O
compared	O
it	O
unfavorably	O
to	O
the	O
more	O
realistic	O
breast	O
physics	O
in	O
Fighting	B-Application
Vipers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
reviewers	O
praised	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
arcade-to-Saturn	O
conversion	O
,	O
and	O
most	O
applauded	O
this	O
version	O
's	O
high-resolution	O
graphics	O
and	O
detail	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
reviews	O
for	O
the	O
later	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
hailed	O
it	O
as	O
even	O
better	O
,	O
with	O
enhanced	O
graphics	O
and	O
enjoyable	O
new	O
content	O
which	O
adds	O
to	O
the	O
replay	O
value	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
went	O
so	O
far	O
as	O
to	O
say	O
that	O
"	O
The	O
Model	O
2	O
graphics	O
have	O
ported	O
over	O
to	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
better	O
than	O
they	O
've	O
ever	O
been	O
on	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Many	O
of	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
's	O
killer	O
apps	O
were	O
Model	O
2	O
ports	O
,	O
including	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
2	I-Application
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
GamesRadar	O
included	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
at	O
number	O
28	O
in	O
their	O
list	O
of	O
best	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
games	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
high-speed	O
,	O
rock-paper-scissors	O
style	O
of	O
play	O
was	O
a	O
quick	O
hit	O
with	O
arcade	O
players	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2004	O
,	O
Tecmo	O
released	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
Ultimate	O
,	O
a	O
package	O
that	O
featured	O
revamps	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
two	O
DOA	O
games	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
remake	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
version	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
was	O
Itagaki	O
's	O
preferred	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
featured	O
smoother	O
graphics	O
,	O
sound	O
updated	O
from	O
stereo	O
to	O
surround	O
,	O
and	O
adds	O
Xbox	B-Application
Live	I-Application
online	O
gaming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
1	I-Application
Ultimate	O
and	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
2	I-Application
Ultimate	O
were	O
among	O
the	O
first	O
fighting	O
games	O
with	O
online	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
