List of characters in the Dead or Alive series
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of characters from the Dead or Alive video game series, created by Tecmo and Team Ninja.
who is also a member of the Mugen Tenshin ninja
clan, specializing in the style. She is the half-sister and cousin to Hayate and Kasumi, and is a ninja destined to live in the shadow of her older sister, bearing a deep-seated hatred against her as a result. Kasumi and Hayate's mother Ayame was raped by their blood uncle Raidou, thus making Ayane even more than a biological half-sister (3/4) to Kasumi and Hayate. Although she would never admit it, Ayane admires Hayate, her half-brother as well as her half-sister, Kasumi. An expert in ninjutsu
, her deadly Hajin Mon fighting style has given her the nickname "Female Tengu
". She joins in the Dead or Alive World Combat Championship as an assassin in pursuit of her traitor sister, Kasumi, who left the Mugen Tenshin clan behind. In the third DOA tournament, she fights Omega, who is revealed to be her foster father Genra, and kills him. Genra's defeat also marks Ayane the new leader of the Hajin Mon ninja. In the fourth DOA tournament, she joins Hayate and Ryu in the destruction of DOATEC by destroying the Tritower. Her hatred towards Kasumi seems to have lifted after the tournament, as she prevents Kasumi from entering the burning DOATEC Tritower before it explodes, saving her life in the process.
Ayane also appears in the Ninja Gaiden
series, serving as a support character for Ryu and later as a playable character in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
.
and Tina's overprotective father. He is also the widower of Alicia Armstrong, who died of a disease when Tina was only six years old. He disapproves of Tina's aspirations of wanting to be a model (DOA2), a Hollywood actress (DOA3) and (most recently) a rock star (DOA4), and enters the DOA tournaments to put an end to her fame-seeking, only to fail at each attempt. However in the fourth tournament, it is revealed that he intends to win so he would have enough money to enter the "Hyper Battle Grand Prix", which he then loses after seeing Tina in what appears to be an adult film in one of the screens and crashes into it after losing control of his bike. Like Tina in the English versions of the game, he, too, speaks with a Southern accent.
He has a strong resemblance to nWo
era Hollywood Hogan
. Despite this, in the live-action adaptation he is played by Kevin Nash
, another nWo founder member. In the movie, he tries to persuade Tina to return to wrestling. A repeated gag in the movie is Bass walking in and finding Tina in compromising positions with first Christie and just before their fight with Kasumi-at which point he comments "Does Christie know about this?". Bass' character is far more lighthearted in the movie-even applauding Tina when she beats him.
who specializes in the Combat Sambo fighting style. He first joins the DOA tournament to assassinate Fame Douglas, and later joins the DOA3 tournament to retaliate against Donovan for the attempt on his life by a sniper. Bayman was born and raised in the Soviet Union
. As a young boy, he saw his parents die in an arial bombing. He aspired to join the military and became one of the Soviet Union's highly-trained commandos. But before he saw any action, the Soviet Union collapsed. Realizing the new regime would have no use for him, Bayman slipped through the cracks of the reformation and took up the life of a mercenary, putting his skills to good use in all manner of lethal assignments. He found particular pleasure in assassinations, especially challenging or high-profile assignments.
His dream assignment came to him when he entered into the first Dead or Alive World Tournament under orders from Victor Donovan to assassinate its organizer, the renowned Fame Douglas, chairman of DOATEC. His task completed, Bayman fled, now branded an outlaw. In the second DOA tournament, Bayman caught word of one of the entrants, Leon. Bayman risked capture to enter the tournament again, hoping to find and challenge his old acquaintance. After surviving a failed attack on his life by an unknown sniper, Bayman decides to retaliate against his former client Donovan and shows up at the third tournament. Bayman later enters the fourth tournament seeking revenge on Donovan. During the tournament, he is confronted by Helena who offers to help him in his quest for revenge, in which he rejects the offer. Bayman later also fights Christie, supposedly to settle a score of the enmity that aroused between the two of them, in which is his final battle. At the end of the tournament, Bayman is held in captivity within the DOATEC Tritower and is being interrogated. However, during the chaos that erupts due to Ayane and Hayate's intervention, he frees himself, grabbing a pen and stabbing his hand wound (probably to stop the drug that has taken effect on him) while his interrogators flee, however getting themselves killed in the process with Ayane's spell effects. It is unknown of what happened to him afterwards as the interrogation room door closes and the last thing heard from him is his evil-like sneer. It is suggested that he is still alive because his ending video is titled "The Immortal".
fighting abilities. He is met at the tournament by Lei Fang, a girl he had saved some six years prior from a gang's attack. In the time since she had become an accomplished martial artist, vowing to prove herself not helpless by defeating Jann Lee in the DOA World Combat Championship. Not satisfied, Jann Lee enters later DOA tournaments to prove his fighting skills and looking to test himself against worthy opponents. His name, as well as his overall appearance and mannerisms, pays homage to legendary martial artist Bruce Lee
(the name "Jann Lee" is directly inspired by Bruce Lee's birth name ).
, Kasumi, also known as "the Kunoichi
of Destiny", is a female ninja belonging to the ninja clan, utilizing the style of ninjutsu
. She was to become the 18th master of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan and a secret warrior for all mankind, but ran away in order to enter the Dead or Alive tournament. There, she wanted to defeat Raidou, who crippled her brother Hayate. However, leaving the secretive ninja clan made her a nukenin (runaway shinobi), and she is obliged to live on the run from former comrades seeking to hunt her down and exact retribution for her traitorous action.
and a master of the T'ai chi ch'uan fighting style. Six years prior to the series, she was saved from a group of thugs by a martial artist, Jann Lee. Although she was very grateful for being saved, she felt that she could have handled the situation herself. After that incident, she mastered the art of T'ai chi ch'uan, being known as a genius to many, and sought to prove her strength to Jann Lee. As a result, she has entered every tournament to prove to him that she can handle herself and to prove herself to him that she, too, is a strong individual. Lei Fang had lost to Jann Lee in almost every tournament, although she finally managed to defeat him in the fourth tournament.
As a girl who grew up in a wealthy family, Lei Fang is a woman of justice and bears a very independent spirit, but is also a spunky, intelligent and cheerful. Practicing martial arts has given her a strong dedication to self-improvement, both mentally and physically. Lei Fang hopes that by honing her own skills, she can eventually help others to do the same. However, along with a strong motivation for self-improvement, Lei Fang is also somewhat arrogant. She has become angry at Jann Lee for helping in a time of need, rather than thanking him for his assistance: her young age and general inexperience with the world around her can sometimes cause her to not fully think things through. This is particularly evident in DOA4 where she fights with her friend Hitomi over a simple cabbage or when kicking an old man out of the train after he accidentally grabbed her breasts.
video game series, also created by Tecmo. Also known as the "Super Ninja", he is the lone surviving ninja of the Hayabusa clan, a lineage that traces its roots back to ancient times, and tales of his extraordinary exploits and incredible ability are well-known. Now, having heard reports of his dear friend Hayate's rise to arms, Hayabusa lends his sword to the destruction of DOATEC.
, but her father Bass forbids it. To ensure that she does not achieve her goal, he also joins Dead or Alive to put an end to her fame-seeking. After competing in the first tournament, Tina is apparently defeated by her father, and enters the second tournament to achieve her dream of becoming a model. During the transition between the two tournaments, Tina changes her hair color from brown to blonde. In her subsequent entries into the Dead or Alive tournament, she changes interests, from wanting to be a model to wanting to become an actress and finally a rock star. These actions had further disappointed her already-disgraced father, who only wanted one goal for her. Tina enters New Zack Island in Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 to escape the clutches of her overprotective father, whom she needed to stay away from to prevent any more conflicts between her and her father. In the English versions of the games, she speaks with a thick Southern accent
.
In DOA: Dead or Alive
, Tina (portrayed by Jaime Pressly
) is trying to escape her wrestling background and prove to be a real fighter. She is constantly bothered by Zack who has a crush on her. She is also bothered by Bass who wants her to return to wrestling. In the Tournament, she beats both Bass and Zack to advance to the semifinals, and is one of the four women to beat Donovan near the end.
Due to her sex appeal, Tina won G4
's Video Game Vixens
of the year award for 2005.
boxing style. After hearing about the tournament, Zack enters to increase his popularity and make a name for himself, and apparently succeeds in that endeavor to an extent. He also earns a high enough ranking in the tournament to gain a prize of significant monetary value. Zack enters the next tournament to please his fans and gain more money, in which he once again succeeds and then returns to his life of leisure. After exhausting all his financial reserves, Zack enters the third tournament to earn more money so that he can enjoy a Las Vegas
vacation. However, it is revealed he did not actually win the tournament, but Ayane, who defeated Omega (Genra). Due to Ayane's departure after the tournament, Zack claims the title by default. Shortly after his "triumphant victory", Zack goes to Las Vegas and using his earnings, bets it all in various casinos. He wins enough money to buy Zack Island
, an extravagant private beach resort. He then invites all the women of DOA under the false pretense of another tournament, who take the bait and arrive on the island where Zack "convinces" them to stay for a brief two-week vacation. He is accompanied by his girlfriend Niki. Unfortunately, the infamous Zack Island has sunk to the bottom of the ocean, and all that remains is a mountain of debt one hundred times the size of the original investment.
In the fourth tournament, Zack's sights are already set on his next conquest: the DOATEC Tritower, three enormous pillars stretching up to the sky. Unfortunately, the tower catches on fire (as a result of the Mugen Tenshin attack) as Zack is climbing it. He manages to escape the flames, saving Helena's life in the process. He is then made the winner of the fourth tournament due to his bravery (Helena was the original winner). After finding the treasure of an undead Egyptian pharaoh in DOA4, Zack and Niki use their newfound wealth to form an unexplained contract with extraterrestrials who use a tractor beam to raise Zack Island (now called "New Zack Island") from the ocean floor, allowing Zack and Niki to once again restore it into an island paradise for the ladies of Dead or Alive to come play in. After proposing to Niki, Zack is apparently killed in a fiery explosion after a series of flaming meteorites once again destroys the island. However, it is later revealed that he was saved by the ambiguous alien abduction ray in classic Deus Ex Machina
fashion.
Zack's appearance is based on former NBA star Dennis Rodman
, who provided his voice in Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.
During the first Dead or Alive Tournament, Hayate was captured by DOATEC and was made to undergo various experiments as part of "Project Epsilon". After Project Epsilon was deemed a failure, Hayate was abandoned and was later found in the Black Forest
of Germany
by Hitomi, whose family took him in. Suffering from amnesia
, he was named and studied karate under Hitomi's father, later mastering it. He then joined the second Dead or Alive tournament to seek out his forgotten past, encountering many who knew him, including Ayane, Kasumi, Ryu Hayabusa, and Helena Douglas. He was eventually bested by Hayabusa in the tournament. Soon after, he regained his memory as Hayate and returned home to his village. In Dead or Alive 3, Hayate was assigned as the new leader of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan, succeeding his father. He joined the third tournament to help Ayane and Ryu defeat DOATEC's new superhuman creation Omega, who was once Ayane's foster father and ninja master Genra. Although he felt it was his duty to defeat Omega as leader of the clan, Hayate was bested by Ayane, who then proceeded to the final round and killed her foster father, citing that it was a personal affair. He later returns in Dead or Alive 4 with Hayabusa and Ayane to defeat DOATEC and its latest creation, Alpha-152. He crosses paths with La Mariposa, who reveals that she manipuated them into attacking the Tritower. He appears as the final boss in Hitomi's story mode (as Ein), where he offers to help the latter rebuild her father's dojo is she could beat him in a fight.
In the live-action film DOA: Dead or Alive
, he is captured by DOATEC after winning that year's DOA competition rather than being captured by DOATEC in his home village. Also, he is meant to test Donovan's newest invention rather than being tested on Project Epsilon. He is also the reason for Kasumi's entrance in the tournament, much like the first game. Donovan states that Hayate is stronger than Kasumi and that he has a "perfect blend of skill, timing and strength". Hayate and Ayane are also shown as lovers rather than half-siblings. Instead of ninjutsu in the games, the fighting style he used was Eagle Claw
.
singer. Seemingly distant from her father and his work, when he was murdered, Helena was hardly affected. Helena followed in her mother's footsteps, becoming a famous opera singer in her own right. While performing at the Great Opera House, she was targeted by an unknown assassin (Christie) using a sniper rifle. Maria, who was present with her, spotted the rifle at the last second and dove in front of her daughter, killing her instantly. The assassin fled, leaving Helena alone and covered in her mother's blood. Helena set out for vengeance, utilizing the Pi Qua Quan fighting style.
While searching for the culprit, she discovered that the murders of her parents and attempt on her own life are somehow related to the Dead or Alive World Combat Championship, and entered the tournament to discover the truth. Although never explained in the series, Helena appears to have learned or known information pertaining to DOATEC, most notably the ill-fated Epsilon Project when she encountered Hayate suffering from amnesia. During the tournament, she also encounters Ayane; in the encounter she accuses Ayane of being her mother's murderer. Ayane neither confirms nor denies having killed Helena's mother, after which a fight breaks out between the two. Helena is later captured by Donovan and imprisoned. Although Helena, the reluctant heiress, states that she is not in any sort of connection with DOATEC, Donovan tells her that the only way to obtain her freedom and know the truth behind DOATEC is to win the third tournament. In the meantime, Donovan assigns Christie to keep an eye on Helena and, should the need arise, kill her if she discovers too much. Helena soon confronts Christie, who admits that she is an assassin sent to kill her.
In Dead or Alive 4, Helena takes control as the new chairman of DOATEC. She invites the assassin Bayman to the DOATEC Tritower in order to hire him to take out Donovan, but he declines. That night the Tritower comes under attack by the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan. Helena comes across Lisa, who admits she tricked the ninja into attacking to stop Donovan. She later crosses paths with Kokoro, and reveals they are blood-related, as Miyako (Kokoro's mother) was one of Fame's mistresses. Helena finally finds out that Christie killed her mother and confronts her. The end result to their fight is left unknown, except that they both survive. In her CG ending, Helena decides to go down together with DOATEC and subsequently sets the Tritower complex on self-destruct. Plagued by flashbacks of her deceased mother, she moves up to the helipad between the three towers that make up the complex. On her way, Helena finds Anna, a mistress of Fame Douglas who helped plan the assassination of Helena's mother, and consequently shoots her in the head. Meanwhile, Ayane, Hayate, and Hayabusa are using ninpo powers to destroy the towers and the DOATEC security forces while Kasumi battles her clone, Alpha-152. Helena, willingly giving up her life, was about to be consumed by the flames of the burning buildings when Zack suddenly saves her, flying in with a helicopter.
mercenary who, like Bayman, specializes in the Combat Sambo style of close-quarters combat. While he was on the Silk Road
, he met Lauren, a young thief, and fell in love with her. The two were in a loving relationship until Lauren's sudden, tragic death in the desert. As Lauren died in Leon's arms, her final words were: "The man I love is the strongest man in the world." To prove her worth, he enters the second DOA tournament, where he fights Zack, who he seemed to have recognized from the past (though Zack does not seem to remember or actually know him), and Gen Fu. He loses in the second tournament, but returns in the third tournament where he encounters Jann Lee. After the events of the third tournament, he returns to the desert oasis where he had buried Lauren, and sees the mirage of his lover who gives him a desert flower before disappearing, indicating that he has fulfilled her expectations. He no longer participates in the DOA tournaments, though he remains a playable character in DOA4.
assassin hired by Donovan to keep an eye on, and eventually kill, Helena Douglas. Christie's mission is to stop Helena from competing in the tournament and later to prevent her from discovering more about Donovan's plans and his anti-Douglas faction. She is disguised as a servant to Helena, though her specific occupation is not given. When Helena confronts Christie, Christie reveals to her that she is actually an assassin sent by Donovan. She specializes in the She Quan fighting style. In Dead or Alive 4, Christie seeks to prevent the Mugen Tenshin clan (Kasumi, Hayate and Ayane) and their ally Ryu Hayabusa
from destroying DOATEC. It is also revealed that she was the assassin who killed Helena's mother (earlier it had been implied that Ayane was the killer). She also fights Bayman (although not in her Story Mode), supposedly on seeking an evening of the score as being assassins. She later appears on Zack island in Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 to carry out a special assignment for her client.
In DOA: Dead or Alive
, Christie is portrayed as being a more approachable and social person then her game counterpart, as well as possessing platinum blond hair and the family name "Allen". In the film, Christie is known as a master thief (and an assassin, according to her "profile" image), with a character called Max as her partner-in-crime and on-off boyfriend.
skills against other martial artists and prove to her father, a karate master, that she is capable of her skills. She is the one who found Hayate following the events of the first game. During the tournament she crosses paths with Jann Lee, who also shares a keen passion for martial arts. In the later stages, she finally meets with Ein, although now he is Hayate. She tries to convince him to come back to her father's dojo in Germany, as well as prove to him her martial arts skill.
In Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, Hitomi was invited to Zack Island for the Dead or Alive 4 tournament. However, that was only a ruse concocted by Zack to lure the girls of DOA to a two week tropical vacation. Hitomi later returns in the sequel to the island to participate in the Dead or Alive 5 tournament after receiving a false invitation from Zack. Hitomi is the only one to fall for Zack's ruse a second time, as the rest of the girls had their own motives for coming. In Dead or Alive 4, Hitomi's father was struck with a sudden illness. Although he has recovered, the dojo's business is now in financial trouble. To save the dojo, Hitomi joined the DOA4 tournament to win the cash prize. During the tournament, she faced and defeats Lei Fang after a dispute over a cabbage, and again faced Jann Lee after he "rescues" her from a T-Rex (she found it "cruel" of him to attack the dinosaur despite its attempt to eat her).
Eliot makes a brief appearance in the DOA live-action film, losing in the first round to Hayabusa.
fighting style. Her mother, Miyako, was one of Fame Douglas' many mistresses (another being Helena's mother, Maria), and after Kokoro's birth, Miyako and her child moved to the country. Kokoro began training to be a geisha, but her heart was actually in both training to be a geisha and martial arts. She asked her mother if she could participate in the fourth Dead or Alive tournament, and she hesitantly accepted, but also says a statement indicating she could possibly meet someone of significance ("..blood is thicker than water"). After several rounds of the tournament, Kokoro meets Helena, who, unbeknownst to Kokoro, is her half-sister. However, Helena seems to recognize Kokoro and mentions Miyako before their fight. Kokoro's CG ending shows her returning home to pursue her geisha training once again, doing things like fan dancing and playing the shamisen
and taiko
drum.
Itagaki comments that Bājíquán was first used in Virtua Fighter series, which he calls the "origin of 3D fighting games." Virtua Fighter's main character, Akira Yuki, uses this fighting style, but Itagaki hopes to reproduce the martial art even more realistically in DOA4.
Lisa is shown to be a very sociable character, getting along with everyone, including Ayane and Christie. She also seems to be a bit of a workaholic, evident by her multiple jobs, and the fact that she is almost always seen doing some form of work. Her multiple careers and job-changing is a trait she shares with Tina, her best friend from her high school days.
In Dead or Alive 4, she appears as a masked luchadora named , entering the tournament to match her wrestling skills against Tina's. She also confronts Hayate, revealing to him that she had manipulated him into destroying DOATEC. Also, in a cutscene involving her talking to Helena, she has shown to have some form of resentment with the company, specifically with Donovan's motives. She finally teams up with Tina to defeat a rival wrestling team at the end of her story mode, revealing her true identity in the process.
In 2006, Lisa was named IGN
's "video game babe of the day".
him, taking his tokkosho. He appears in Dimensions as an unlockable character. His appearances in the games and movie adaptation are portrayed with his face obscured, usually with a wooden mask.
. First appearing in DOA2, he escaped to the human world from the Tengu world after murdering his leader, Kuramasan Maouson. He wants chaos to reign over the world, but is stopped by Hayabusa. He later appears as an unlockable character in Dead or Alive Ultimate, Dead or Alive 4, and Dead or Alive: Dimensions.
, though only mentioned in the first Dead or Alive game in Ryu's backstory. Irene makes her first physical appearance in Dead or Alive: Dimensions, acting as a support character for Ryu and the Mugen Tenshin ninjas during their mission to take down DOATEC. Irene previously appeared in Ninja Gaiden II as the character Sonia, which is revealed to be her alias.
. In her earlier years, Miyako fell in love with Fame Douglas, and the two of them had an affair which resulted in Kokoro's birth. Being the center of the seeding workings at DOATEC, Miyako feared for her daughter's safety. To protect her, Miyako returned to Japan and raised Kokoro as a single parent
, never telling her daughter about her father or her heritage to DOATEC, and started to oversee Kokoro's training to become a geisha. However, when Kokoro became more interested in martial arts than her geisha training and decided to enter the fourth DOA tournament, Miyako reluctantly allows her to go while warning her that she will not be satisfied in finding out the truth. Her affair with Fame was revealed by Helena.
's Bungie Studios. Team Ninja originally asked Bungie for permission to use the Master Chief
, which proved impossible due to storyline restrictions. But the staff at Bungie were intrigued with the idea and wanted to try something similar. As a result, Bungie developed the concept of a Spartan not entirely connected to the Halo storyline who could conveniently and somewhat plausibly be fit into the Dead or Alive universe. This concept evolved into the character of Nicole. Nearly all of the resources for her design came straight from Halo 2
game data. The data was modified to work in the Dead or Alive game engine as a female combatant, but kept to the traditional Spartan design; a feminine figure would have been implausible for such a heavily armored, cybernetically enhanced individual. According to Nicole's fictional backstory, she is born in the Martian city of Legaspi in 2531. This, however, seems unlikely as the SPARTAN-II program used children of the age of 6 and born in 2511. Members of the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) kidnap her at the age of six and enroll her in the SPARTAN-II Project, an initiative designed to develop the "Spartan" series of supersoldiers; this is the same program that the Master Chief
, and other Spartans from the Halo series undergo. Bungie explained Nicole's presence in the Dead or Alive setting of the 21st century in an article that revealed the character's background. The studio stated that the character, who has never appeared in any other Halo fiction, is sent to the 21st century when a partially stable "bubble" in the space-time continuum opens near Nassau Station, where she and her unit are preparing for a secret mission. This "bubble" is created when Apocalypso, an ONI stealth vehicle, interacts with real-space, as a result of an unusual slipspace
incident. This incident traps Nicole in the 21st century. While waiting for the bubble to collapse, which she hopes will enable her to return to the future, she battles any member of the DOA cast to arrive at the station, protecting its classified information. To keep the space-time continuum stable, she avoids lethal force in executing her current task.
Nicole's fighting style is very quick and powerful, a variation of standard military close quarters combat. Her move list contains moves of other characters in the game; her fighting style is a hybrid of Leon and Bayman's movesets to create a blend of striking combos and throws. Her style meant to incapacitate an armed opponent in a matter of seconds and take advantage of her enhanced strength, as well as to exploit any environmental advantages. She is described as having great speed despite her large size. Many of her moves allude to the Halo universe, with names such as "The Great Journey" and "The Grunt Punt"; the former is a powerful move that sends an opponent down stairs or off a ledge. Also in Nicole's repertoire are several technologies from Halo, including active camouflage
, represented by her taunt and rendering her nearly invisible, and the plasma grenade, represented by a command throw. Previews of Dead or Alive 4 showed a Spartan among the game's characters; this attracted attention and curiosity regarding whether such a character would appear fully functional in the final version of the game. The character's moves, all of which were homages to the Halo series, and the inclusion of a Halo-based level were positively described in pre-release reviews. Bungie returned the favor, and in the release of Halo 3
there is an armor type called Hayabusa, for which its design is based on Ryu Hayabusa's appearance.
Niki is Zack's lucky charm (Lady Luck) and he takes her everywhere with him, going as far as naming a beach on his island's eastern shore after her. Niki joined the cast of Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, but not in a player controlled role and appearing only in cut scenes with Zack as before.
In Dead or Alive 3 Donovan captures Helena, Fame Douglas' daughter, since she stands to inherit her father's position as chairman of DOATEC. He challenges Helena to win the DOA3 tournament in order to gain her freedom and learn the truth behind the company, and also employs the assassin Christie to keep an eye on her. Meanwhile, Bayman seeks revenge after Donovan plotted his assassination to tie up any loose ends. Donovan is thought to be behind experiments such as Project Epsilon, to which Hayate was subjected; Project Alpha, the cloning of Kasumi; and Project Omega, the augmentation of Ayane's foster father Genra into the ultimate DOA fighter Omega. In Helena's ending of Dead or Alive 4, Ryu is shown destroying a ship with a man who may or may not be Donovan. The same figure also appeared to have been assassinated by Christie in a gentlemen's club. In what may appear to be the canon telling of Donovan's fate, Dead or Alive: Dimensions shows the shadowy antagonist placing on his face the same mask that corrupted Genra. An aura of demonic energy then surrounds Donovan as he walks back into the shadows, laughing maniacally.
Donovan was portrayed by Eric Roberts
in the 2006 movie adaption. He was killed in the explosion of DOA Island after being paralyzed by an acupuncture dart thrown by Kasumi.
Ayane
is a kunoichiKunoichi
is the term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu .-Etymology:The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for ; said in the order they are written: ku - no - ichi...
who is also a member of the Mugen Tenshin ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
clan, specializing in the style. She is the half-sister and cousin to Hayate and Kasumi, and is a ninja destined to live in the shadow of her older sister, bearing a deep-seated hatred against her as a result. Kasumi and Hayate's mother Ayame was raped by their blood uncle Raidou, thus making Ayane even more than a biological half-sister (3/4) to Kasumi and Hayate. Although she would never admit it, Ayane admires Hayate, her half-brother as well as her half-sister, Kasumi. An expert in ninjutsu
Ninjutsu
or may be:*the arts associated with espionage and assassination in feudal Japan, see Ninja*modern schools of martial arts claiming to be based in these traditions, see Modern Schools of Ninjutsu*fictional depictions, see Ninja in popular culture...
, her deadly Hajin Mon fighting style has given her the nickname "Female Tengu
Tengu
are a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature. They are one of the best known yōkai and are sometimes worshipped as Shinto kami...
". She joins in the Dead or Alive World Combat Championship as an assassin in pursuit of her traitor sister, Kasumi, who left the Mugen Tenshin clan behind. In the third DOA tournament, she fights Omega, who is revealed to be her foster father Genra, and kills him. Genra's defeat also marks Ayane the new leader of the Hajin Mon ninja. In the fourth DOA tournament, she joins Hayate and Ryu in the destruction of DOATEC by destroying the Tritower. Her hatred towards Kasumi seems to have lifted after the tournament, as she prevents Kasumi from entering the burning DOATEC Tritower before it explodes, saving her life in the process.
Ayane also appears in the Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden
is a series of video games by Tecmo featuring the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as its protagonist. The series was originally known as in Japan. The word "gaiden" in the North American Ninja Gaiden title means "side-story" in Japanese, even though the Ninja Gaiden series is not a spinoff of a previous series...
series, serving as a support character for Ryu and later as a playable character in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, also known as Ninja Gaiden Σ 2, is an action-adventure game developed by Team Ninja for the PlayStation 3. It is an enhanced port of Ninja Gaiden II.-Plot:...
.
Bass Armstrong
ia a retired professional wrestlerProfessional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and Tina's overprotective father. He is also the widower of Alicia Armstrong, who died of a disease when Tina was only six years old. He disapproves of Tina's aspirations of wanting to be a model (DOA2), a Hollywood actress (DOA3) and (most recently) a rock star (DOA4), and enters the DOA tournaments to put an end to her fame-seeking, only to fail at each attempt. However in the fourth tournament, it is revealed that he intends to win so he would have enough money to enter the "Hyper Battle Grand Prix", which he then loses after seeing Tina in what appears to be an adult film in one of the screens and crashes into it after losing control of his bike. Like Tina in the English versions of the game, he, too, speaks with a Southern accent.
He has a strong resemblance to nWo
New World Order (professional wrestling)
The New World Order was a professional wrestling stable that originally wrestled for World Championship Wrestling . The group later appeared in the World Wrestling Federation after the purchase of WCW by the WWF...
era Hollywood Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
. Despite this, in the live-action adaptation he is played by Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
, another nWo founder member. In the movie, he tries to persuade Tina to return to wrestling. A repeated gag in the movie is Bass walking in and finding Tina in compromising positions with first Christie and just before their fight with Kasumi-at which point he comments "Does Christie know about this?". Bass' character is far more lighthearted in the movie-even applauding Tina when she beats him.
Bayman
is a former Russian commandoSpetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
who specializes in the Combat Sambo fighting style. He first joins the DOA tournament to assassinate Fame Douglas, and later joins the DOA3 tournament to retaliate against Donovan for the attempt on his life by a sniper. Bayman was born and raised in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. As a young boy, he saw his parents die in an arial bombing. He aspired to join the military and became one of the Soviet Union's highly-trained commandos. But before he saw any action, the Soviet Union collapsed. Realizing the new regime would have no use for him, Bayman slipped through the cracks of the reformation and took up the life of a mercenary, putting his skills to good use in all manner of lethal assignments. He found particular pleasure in assassinations, especially challenging or high-profile assignments.
His dream assignment came to him when he entered into the first Dead or Alive World Tournament under orders from Victor Donovan to assassinate its organizer, the renowned Fame Douglas, chairman of DOATEC. His task completed, Bayman fled, now branded an outlaw. In the second DOA tournament, Bayman caught word of one of the entrants, Leon. Bayman risked capture to enter the tournament again, hoping to find and challenge his old acquaintance. After surviving a failed attack on his life by an unknown sniper, Bayman decides to retaliate against his former client Donovan and shows up at the third tournament. Bayman later enters the fourth tournament seeking revenge on Donovan. During the tournament, he is confronted by Helena who offers to help him in his quest for revenge, in which he rejects the offer. Bayman later also fights Christie, supposedly to settle a score of the enmity that aroused between the two of them, in which is his final battle. At the end of the tournament, Bayman is held in captivity within the DOATEC Tritower and is being interrogated. However, during the chaos that erupts due to Ayane and Hayate's intervention, he frees himself, grabbing a pen and stabbing his hand wound (probably to stop the drug that has taken effect on him) while his interrogators flee, however getting themselves killed in the process with Ayane's spell effects. It is unknown of what happened to him afterwards as the interrogation room door closes and the last thing heard from him is his evil-like sneer. It is suggested that he is still alive because his ending video is titled "The Immortal".
Gen Fu
is an old martial arts master who specializes in the Xinyi Liuhe Quan fighting style. He fights in the DOA tournaments to obtain money to cure his sick granddaughter, Mei Lin. In the second tournament, he wanted to defeat Gohyakumine Bankotsubo because the nose of a Tengu can cure any disease. However, after the events of DOA2, he still needed money for the operation (the nose was only a temporary cure), so he joins again in DOA3. His task fulfilled at the end, he no longer joins the DOA tournaments, though he still remains a playable character in later games. In DOA4, he is revealed to be Eliot's teacher, and is the final boss for the latter's story mode.Jann Lee
is young martial arts expert who joins the Tournaments to show his superior Jeet Kune DoJeet Kune Do
Jeet Kune Do is a hybrid martial arts system and life philosophy founded by martial artist Bruce Lee with direct, non classical and straightforward movements. Due to the way his style works they believe in minimal movement with maximum effect and extreme speed. The system works on the use of...
fighting abilities. He is met at the tournament by Lei Fang, a girl he had saved some six years prior from a gang's attack. In the time since she had become an accomplished martial artist, vowing to prove herself not helpless by defeating Jann Lee in the DOA World Combat Championship. Not satisfied, Jann Lee enters later DOA tournaments to prove his fighting skills and looking to test himself against worthy opponents. His name, as well as his overall appearance and mannerisms, pays homage to legendary martial artist Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
(the name "Jann Lee" is directly inspired by Bruce Lee's birth name ).
Kasumi
is the main protagonist of the Dead or Alive series. According to the game canonCanon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
, Kasumi, also known as "the Kunoichi
Kunoichi
is the term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu .-Etymology:The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for ; said in the order they are written: ku - no - ichi...
of Destiny", is a female ninja belonging to the ninja clan, utilizing the style of ninjutsu
Ninjutsu
or may be:*the arts associated with espionage and assassination in feudal Japan, see Ninja*modern schools of martial arts claiming to be based in these traditions, see Modern Schools of Ninjutsu*fictional depictions, see Ninja in popular culture...
. She was to become the 18th master of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan and a secret warrior for all mankind, but ran away in order to enter the Dead or Alive tournament. There, she wanted to defeat Raidou, who crippled her brother Hayate. However, leaving the secretive ninja clan made her a nukenin (runaway shinobi), and she is obliged to live on the run from former comrades seeking to hunt her down and exact retribution for her traitorous action.
Lei Fang
is a 19 year-old college student from ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and a master of the T'ai chi ch'uan fighting style. Six years prior to the series, she was saved from a group of thugs by a martial artist, Jann Lee. Although she was very grateful for being saved, she felt that she could have handled the situation herself. After that incident, she mastered the art of T'ai chi ch'uan, being known as a genius to many, and sought to prove her strength to Jann Lee. As a result, she has entered every tournament to prove to him that she can handle herself and to prove herself to him that she, too, is a strong individual. Lei Fang had lost to Jann Lee in almost every tournament, although she finally managed to defeat him in the fourth tournament.
As a girl who grew up in a wealthy family, Lei Fang is a woman of justice and bears a very independent spirit, but is also a spunky, intelligent and cheerful. Practicing martial arts has given her a strong dedication to self-improvement, both mentally and physically. Lei Fang hopes that by honing her own skills, she can eventually help others to do the same. However, along with a strong motivation for self-improvement, Lei Fang is also somewhat arrogant. She has become angry at Jann Lee for helping in a time of need, rather than thanking him for his assistance: her young age and general inexperience with the world around her can sometimes cause her to not fully think things through. This is particularly evident in DOA4 where she fights with her friend Hitomi over a simple cabbage or when kicking an old man out of the train after he accidentally grabbed her breasts.
Ryu Hayabusa
is a character from the Ninja GaidenNinja Gaiden
is a series of video games by Tecmo featuring the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as its protagonist. The series was originally known as in Japan. The word "gaiden" in the North American Ninja Gaiden title means "side-story" in Japanese, even though the Ninja Gaiden series is not a spinoff of a previous series...
video game series, also created by Tecmo. Also known as the "Super Ninja", he is the lone surviving ninja of the Hayabusa clan, a lineage that traces its roots back to ancient times, and tales of his extraordinary exploits and incredible ability are well-known. Now, having heard reports of his dear friend Hayate's rise to arms, Hayabusa lends his sword to the destruction of DOATEC.
Tina Armstrong
is a wrestling star from the United States who dreams of even greater fame. She first joins the Dead or Alive tournament, hoping that she can use it as a vehicle for becoming discovered as a supermodelSupermodel
The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...
, but her father Bass forbids it. To ensure that she does not achieve her goal, he also joins Dead or Alive to put an end to her fame-seeking. After competing in the first tournament, Tina is apparently defeated by her father, and enters the second tournament to achieve her dream of becoming a model. During the transition between the two tournaments, Tina changes her hair color from brown to blonde. In her subsequent entries into the Dead or Alive tournament, she changes interests, from wanting to be a model to wanting to become an actress and finally a rock star. These actions had further disappointed her already-disgraced father, who only wanted one goal for her. Tina enters New Zack Island in Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 to escape the clutches of her overprotective father, whom she needed to stay away from to prevent any more conflicts between her and her father. In the English versions of the games, she speaks with a thick Southern accent
Southern accent
A southern accent, in general, is an accent characteristic of the southern part of any country or region. With reference to the English language, the term usually refers to either of:*Southern American English...
.
In DOA: Dead or Alive
DOA: Dead or Alive
DOA: Dead or Alive is a 2006 ensemble martial arts film loosely based on the Tecmo/Team Ninja fighting game series of the same name. Directed by Corey Yuen and written by J. F. Lawton, Adam and Seth Gross....
, Tina (portrayed by Jaime Pressly
Jaime Pressly
Jaime Elizabeth Pressly is an American actress and model. She is best known for playing Joy Turner on the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl, for which she was nominated for two Emmy Awards, winning one, as well as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award...
) is trying to escape her wrestling background and prove to be a real fighter. She is constantly bothered by Zack who has a crush on her. She is also bothered by Bass who wants her to return to wrestling. In the Tournament, she beats both Bass and Zack to advance to the semifinals, and is one of the four women to beat Donovan near the end.
Due to her sex appeal, Tina won G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
's Video Game Vixens
Video Game Vixens
Video Game Vixens was a special four-part TV show hosted by Hal Sparks on G4 that featured what the network considered to be "the sexiest female video game characters of the year." It debuted in June 2005...
of the year award for 2005.
Zack
is an African-American DJ who specializes in the Muay ThaiMuay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
boxing style. After hearing about the tournament, Zack enters to increase his popularity and make a name for himself, and apparently succeeds in that endeavor to an extent. He also earns a high enough ranking in the tournament to gain a prize of significant monetary value. Zack enters the next tournament to please his fans and gain more money, in which he once again succeeds and then returns to his life of leisure. After exhausting all his financial reserves, Zack enters the third tournament to earn more money so that he can enjoy a Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
vacation. However, it is revealed he did not actually win the tournament, but Ayane, who defeated Omega (Genra). Due to Ayane's departure after the tournament, Zack claims the title by default. Shortly after his "triumphant victory", Zack goes to Las Vegas and using his earnings, bets it all in various casinos. He wins enough money to buy Zack Island
Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball
is a beach volleyball game by Tecmo released in 2003 exclusively for the Xbox. The game is a departure from the rest of the Dead or Alive series which otherwise consists of fighting games and marks the first game in the series to have a Mature rating due to the very revealing swimsuits featured in...
, an extravagant private beach resort. He then invites all the women of DOA under the false pretense of another tournament, who take the bait and arrive on the island where Zack "convinces" them to stay for a brief two-week vacation. He is accompanied by his girlfriend Niki. Unfortunately, the infamous Zack Island has sunk to the bottom of the ocean, and all that remains is a mountain of debt one hundred times the size of the original investment.
In the fourth tournament, Zack's sights are already set on his next conquest: the DOATEC Tritower, three enormous pillars stretching up to the sky. Unfortunately, the tower catches on fire (as a result of the Mugen Tenshin attack) as Zack is climbing it. He manages to escape the flames, saving Helena's life in the process. He is then made the winner of the fourth tournament due to his bravery (Helena was the original winner). After finding the treasure of an undead Egyptian pharaoh in DOA4, Zack and Niki use their newfound wealth to form an unexplained contract with extraterrestrials who use a tractor beam to raise Zack Island (now called "New Zack Island") from the ocean floor, allowing Zack and Niki to once again restore it into an island paradise for the ladies of Dead or Alive to come play in. After proposing to Niki, Zack is apparently killed in a fiery explosion after a series of flaming meteorites once again destroys the island. However, it is later revealed that he was saved by the ambiguous alien abduction ray in classic Deus Ex Machina
Deus ex machina
A deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object.-Linguistic considerations:...
fashion.
Zack's appearance is based on former NBA star Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The...
, who provided his voice in Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.
Hayate/Ein
is the eldest child and only son of Shiden and Ayame, the leaders of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan, and was born to be the next leader of the clan. When Genra requested to Shiden for Ayane-the village's "cursed child"-to help him in his duties, Hayate treated the girl with kindness, which most of the clan did not give her. The two formed a strong bond, although Hayate did not know that Ayane was actually his half-sister, conceived when his uncle, the rogue ninja Raidou, raped Ayame when Hayate was only seven years old. Years later, Raidou attacked the Mugen Tenshin Village in an attempt to steal the clan's ninja technique, the Torn Sky Blast. Ayane attacked Raidou to defend Hayate and out of revenge for her birth, but was defeated. Hayate ran to her side, but when Raidou called him a "weakling" for hiding behind a woman, Hayate attacked him in rage. He used the Torn Sky Blast to fight Raidou, but was overcome by the ninja's superior fighting skill and the Torn Sky Blast was stolen from him. As both of their attacks collided, the resulting explosion threw Hayate into a tree, cracking his spine and sending him into a coma.During the first Dead or Alive Tournament, Hayate was captured by DOATEC and was made to undergo various experiments as part of "Project Epsilon". After Project Epsilon was deemed a failure, Hayate was abandoned and was later found in the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
by Hitomi, whose family took him in. Suffering from amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
, he was named and studied karate under Hitomi's father, later mastering it. He then joined the second Dead or Alive tournament to seek out his forgotten past, encountering many who knew him, including Ayane, Kasumi, Ryu Hayabusa, and Helena Douglas. He was eventually bested by Hayabusa in the tournament. Soon after, he regained his memory as Hayate and returned home to his village. In Dead or Alive 3, Hayate was assigned as the new leader of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan, succeeding his father. He joined the third tournament to help Ayane and Ryu defeat DOATEC's new superhuman creation Omega, who was once Ayane's foster father and ninja master Genra. Although he felt it was his duty to defeat Omega as leader of the clan, Hayate was bested by Ayane, who then proceeded to the final round and killed her foster father, citing that it was a personal affair. He later returns in Dead or Alive 4 with Hayabusa and Ayane to defeat DOATEC and its latest creation, Alpha-152. He crosses paths with La Mariposa, who reveals that she manipuated them into attacking the Tritower. He appears as the final boss in Hitomi's story mode (as Ein), where he offers to help the latter rebuild her father's dojo is she could beat him in a fight.
In the live-action film DOA: Dead or Alive
DOA: Dead or Alive
DOA: Dead or Alive is a 2006 ensemble martial arts film loosely based on the Tecmo/Team Ninja fighting game series of the same name. Directed by Corey Yuen and written by J. F. Lawton, Adam and Seth Gross....
, he is captured by DOATEC after winning that year's DOA competition rather than being captured by DOATEC in his home village. Also, he is meant to test Donovan's newest invention rather than being tested on Project Epsilon. He is also the reason for Kasumi's entrance in the tournament, much like the first game. Donovan states that Hayate is stronger than Kasumi and that he has a "perfect blend of skill, timing and strength". Hayate and Ayane are also shown as lovers rather than half-siblings. Instead of ninjutsu in the games, the fighting style he used was Eagle Claw
Eagle Claw
Eagle Claw is a style of Chinese martial arts known for its gripping techniques, system of joint locks, takedowns, and pressure point strikes, which is representative of Chinese grappling known as Chin Na. The style is normally attributed to the famous patriotic Song Dynasty General Yue Fei...
.
Helena Douglas
is the illegitimate daughter of Fame Douglas and his mistress , a world-class soprano operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer. Seemingly distant from her father and his work, when he was murdered, Helena was hardly affected. Helena followed in her mother's footsteps, becoming a famous opera singer in her own right. While performing at the Great Opera House, she was targeted by an unknown assassin (Christie) using a sniper rifle. Maria, who was present with her, spotted the rifle at the last second and dove in front of her daughter, killing her instantly. The assassin fled, leaving Helena alone and covered in her mother's blood. Helena set out for vengeance, utilizing the Pi Qua Quan fighting style.
While searching for the culprit, she discovered that the murders of her parents and attempt on her own life are somehow related to the Dead or Alive World Combat Championship, and entered the tournament to discover the truth. Although never explained in the series, Helena appears to have learned or known information pertaining to DOATEC, most notably the ill-fated Epsilon Project when she encountered Hayate suffering from amnesia. During the tournament, she also encounters Ayane; in the encounter she accuses Ayane of being her mother's murderer. Ayane neither confirms nor denies having killed Helena's mother, after which a fight breaks out between the two. Helena is later captured by Donovan and imprisoned. Although Helena, the reluctant heiress, states that she is not in any sort of connection with DOATEC, Donovan tells her that the only way to obtain her freedom and know the truth behind DOATEC is to win the third tournament. In the meantime, Donovan assigns Christie to keep an eye on Helena and, should the need arise, kill her if she discovers too much. Helena soon confronts Christie, who admits that she is an assassin sent to kill her.
In Dead or Alive 4, Helena takes control as the new chairman of DOATEC. She invites the assassin Bayman to the DOATEC Tritower in order to hire him to take out Donovan, but he declines. That night the Tritower comes under attack by the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan. Helena comes across Lisa, who admits she tricked the ninja into attacking to stop Donovan. She later crosses paths with Kokoro, and reveals they are blood-related, as Miyako (Kokoro's mother) was one of Fame's mistresses. Helena finally finds out that Christie killed her mother and confronts her. The end result to their fight is left unknown, except that they both survive. In her CG ending, Helena decides to go down together with DOATEC and subsequently sets the Tritower complex on self-destruct. Plagued by flashbacks of her deceased mother, she moves up to the helipad between the three towers that make up the complex. On her way, Helena finds Anna, a mistress of Fame Douglas who helped plan the assassination of Helena's mother, and consequently shoots her in the head. Meanwhile, Ayane, Hayate, and Hayabusa are using ninpo powers to destroy the towers and the DOATEC security forces while Kasumi battles her clone, Alpha-152. Helena, willingly giving up her life, was about to be consumed by the flames of the burning buildings when Zack suddenly saves her, flying in with a helicopter.
Leon
is an ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
mercenary who, like Bayman, specializes in the Combat Sambo style of close-quarters combat. While he was on the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
, he met Lauren, a young thief, and fell in love with her. The two were in a loving relationship until Lauren's sudden, tragic death in the desert. As Lauren died in Leon's arms, her final words were: "The man I love is the strongest man in the world." To prove her worth, he enters the second DOA tournament, where he fights Zack, who he seemed to have recognized from the past (though Zack does not seem to remember or actually know him), and Gen Fu. He loses in the second tournament, but returns in the third tournament where he encounters Jann Lee. After the events of the third tournament, he returns to the desert oasis where he had buried Lauren, and sees the mirage of his lover who gives him a desert flower before disappearing, indicating that he has fulfilled her expectations. He no longer participates in the DOA tournaments, though he remains a playable character in DOA4.
Brad Wong
is a drunken wanderer who specailizes in the Zui Ba Xian Quan fighting style. He embarks on a journey in search of a riddle from his old master Chen, who told him to "bring the legendary drink called Genra." After three years of wandering on his journey, he finds himself in the DOA fighting tournament.Christie
is a BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
assassin hired by Donovan to keep an eye on, and eventually kill, Helena Douglas. Christie's mission is to stop Helena from competing in the tournament and later to prevent her from discovering more about Donovan's plans and his anti-Douglas faction. She is disguised as a servant to Helena, though her specific occupation is not given. When Helena confronts Christie, Christie reveals to her that she is actually an assassin sent by Donovan. She specializes in the She Quan fighting style. In Dead or Alive 4, Christie seeks to prevent the Mugen Tenshin clan (Kasumi, Hayate and Ayane) and their ally Ryu Hayabusa
Ryu Hayabusa
is the protagonist of the Ninja Gaiden video game series as well as a player character in the Dead or Alive series, both published by Tecmo. According to the game canon, Ryu Hayabusa is a ninja and the leader of the that has spiritual, physical and magical ties to ancient dragons...
from destroying DOATEC. It is also revealed that she was the assassin who killed Helena's mother (earlier it had been implied that Ayane was the killer). She also fights Bayman (although not in her Story Mode), supposedly on seeking an evening of the score as being assassins. She later appears on Zack island in Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 to carry out a special assignment for her client.
In DOA: Dead or Alive
DOA: Dead or Alive
DOA: Dead or Alive is a 2006 ensemble martial arts film loosely based on the Tecmo/Team Ninja fighting game series of the same name. Directed by Corey Yuen and written by J. F. Lawton, Adam and Seth Gross....
, Christie is portrayed as being a more approachable and social person then her game counterpart, as well as possessing platinum blond hair and the family name "Allen". In the film, Christie is known as a master thief (and an assassin, according to her "profile" image), with a character called Max as her partner-in-crime and on-off boyfriend.
Hitomi
is a German girl who enters the DOA3 Tournament in order to test her karateKarate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
skills against other martial artists and prove to her father, a karate master, that she is capable of her skills. She is the one who found Hayate following the events of the first game. During the tournament she crosses paths with Jann Lee, who also shares a keen passion for martial arts. In the later stages, she finally meets with Ein, although now he is Hayate. She tries to convince him to come back to her father's dojo in Germany, as well as prove to him her martial arts skill.
In Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, Hitomi was invited to Zack Island for the Dead or Alive 4 tournament. However, that was only a ruse concocted by Zack to lure the girls of DOA to a two week tropical vacation. Hitomi later returns in the sequel to the island to participate in the Dead or Alive 5 tournament after receiving a false invitation from Zack. Hitomi is the only one to fall for Zack's ruse a second time, as the rest of the girls had their own motives for coming. In Dead or Alive 4, Hitomi's father was struck with a sudden illness. Although he has recovered, the dojo's business is now in financial trouble. To save the dojo, Hitomi joined the DOA4 tournament to win the cash prize. During the tournament, she faced and defeats Lei Fang after a dispute over a cabbage, and again faced Jann Lee after he "rescues" her from a T-Rex (she found it "cruel" of him to attack the dinosaur despite its attempt to eat her).
Eliot
is a 16 year-old high school boy from England and the sole apprentice to Gen Fu. He joins the fourth DOA tournament, very determined to prove to himself that he is worthy of being the successor. He is also revealed to be uncertain of why Gen Fu would choose him as his successor, seen while talking to Brad Wong. He later faces Gen Fu at the end of his story mode, and defeats him, proving his worth. Despite being English, most of his outfits are traditional Chinese outfits. His fighting style is Xing Yi Quan.Eliot makes a brief appearance in the DOA live-action film, losing in the first round to Hayabusa.
Kokoro
is a 17 year-old Japanese girl that uses the BājíquánBajíquán
Bājíquán is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short-range power and is famous for its elbow strikes. It originated in Hebei Province in Northern China, but is also well-known in other places today, especially Taiwan...
fighting style. Her mother, Miyako, was one of Fame Douglas' many mistresses (another being Helena's mother, Maria), and after Kokoro's birth, Miyako and her child moved to the country. Kokoro began training to be a geisha, but her heart was actually in both training to be a geisha and martial arts. She asked her mother if she could participate in the fourth Dead or Alive tournament, and she hesitantly accepted, but also says a statement indicating she could possibly meet someone of significance ("..blood is thicker than water"). After several rounds of the tournament, Kokoro meets Helena, who, unbeknownst to Kokoro, is her half-sister. However, Helena seems to recognize Kokoro and mentions Miyako before their fight. Kokoro's CG ending shows her returning home to pursue her geisha training once again, doing things like fan dancing and playing the shamisen
Shamisen
The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...
and taiko
Taiko
means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...
drum.
Itagaki comments that Bājíquán was first used in Virtua Fighter series, which he calls the "origin of 3D fighting games." Virtua Fighter's main character, Akira Yuki, uses this fighting style, but Itagaki hopes to reproduce the martial art even more realistically in DOA4.
Lisa Hamilton
is a young woman who first appears in Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, being hired by Zack as Zack Island's holiday representative. Prior to her appearance, she was once the lead scientist at DOATEC, being involved in the Epsilon Project. However, for an unknown reason, she released Hayate. She then left DOATEC for a job as a stockbroker, though she still remains affiliated to DOATEC as its lead scientist for Project Alpha.Lisa is shown to be a very sociable character, getting along with everyone, including Ayane and Christie. She also seems to be a bit of a workaholic, evident by her multiple jobs, and the fact that she is almost always seen doing some form of work. Her multiple careers and job-changing is a trait she shares with Tina, her best friend from her high school days.
In Dead or Alive 4, she appears as a masked luchadora named , entering the tournament to match her wrestling skills against Tina's. She also confronts Hayate, revealing to him that she had manipulated him into destroying DOATEC. Also, in a cutscene involving her talking to Helena, she has shown to have some form of resentment with the company, specifically with Donovan's motives. She finally teams up with Tina to defeat a rival wrestling team at the end of her story mode, revealing her true identity in the process.
In 2006, Lisa was named IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's "video game babe of the day".
Genra/Omega
was Ayane's foster father and the leader of Mugen Tenshin's Hajin Mon ninja. He was the one who sent Ayane after Kasumi after the latter left the clan in order to avenge Hayate. In Dead or Alive 3, he was used as a test subject by DOATEC for Project Omega, transforming him into the superhuman . As Omega, he appears as a hulking figure fully clad in dark samurai armor, and wields a tokkosho sword. Unlike most matches in the Dead or Alive series, his battles are fought at an obscure camera angle. He was finally defeated and killed by Ayane, who later crematesCremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
him, taking his tokkosho. He appears in Dimensions as an unlockable character. His appearances in the games and movie adaptation are portrayed with his face obscured, usually with a wooden mask.
Bankotsubo
is a Tengu, a mythological creature from Japanese folkloreJapanese folklore
The folklore of Japan is heavily influenced by both Shinto and Buddhism, the two primary religions in the country. It often involves humorous or bizarre characters and situations and also includes an assortment of supernatural beings, such as bodhisattva, kami , yōkai , yūrei ,...
. First appearing in DOA2, he escaped to the human world from the Tengu world after murdering his leader, Kuramasan Maouson. He wants chaos to reign over the world, but is stopped by Hayabusa. He later appears as an unlockable character in Dead or Alive Ultimate, Dead or Alive 4, and Dead or Alive: Dimensions.
Raidou
is Ayane's biological father, Kasumi and Hayate's uncle, and Shiden's older brother. A power-hungry shinobi, he seeks to master all of the Mugen Tenshin clans' techniques. He raped Ayame, Hayate and Kasumi's mother, who became pregnant with Ayane, and was later banished from his village as a result. He later returns to the village to gain the clan's signature technique, the Torn Sky Blast, and confronts Hayate after briefly defeating Ayane. Hayate uses the Torn Sky Blast to beat him, but Raidou counters with his own version of the technique after only seeing it once and defeats Hayate after a brief struggle, slipping him into a coma. He was killed by Kasumi in the first DOA tournament, thus deeming her its winner. He is playable in all console versions of the original Dead or Alive once unlocked. He also appears in Dead or Alive: Dimensions as an unlockable character.Alicia Armstrong
was Bass Armstrong's wife and Tina's mother. She died of a disease when Tina was six, forcing Bass to take care of her by himself. In one of Bass' cutscenes in DOA4, when Tina is thanking people to her interviewers, she thanks Alicia.Fame Douglas
was the chairman of DOATEC and Helena's biological father. He was assassinated by Bayman (who was hired by Donovan) after arguing with Donovan in DOA1, where it is thought that he was opposed to the human experimentation proposed by Donovan, which led to his assassination. His illegitimate daughter, Helena, stands to inherit his position as chairman of DOATEC, but in DOA3 Donovan makes attempts to stop this from happening by kidnapping her and forcing her to compete in the tournament for her freedom. She escapes her imprisonment and goes on to inherit Douglas' position as chairman of DOATEC in DOA4. He makes his first physical appearance in Dead or Alive Dimensions.Mei Lin
is Gen Fu's granddaughter. In the first DOA game, she suffered a terrible disease, resulting in Gen Fu entering three DOA tournaments for her operation. In the fourth DOA tournament, she is fully recovered, hence Gen Fu no longer enters the tournament. She can be seen at the end of Eliot's ending.Ayame
is the mother of Kasumi and Hayate and the wife of Shiden. She was raped by Raidou in the past, thus giving birth to Ayane.Chen
is Brad Wong's old drunken master and great teacher of Zui Ba Xian Quan. He sent Brad Wong to search for a drink named Genra. He can be seen in Brad's story mode in DOA3.Irene Lew
is Ryu Hayabusa's ally and love interest from the Ninja Gaiden series for the NESNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, though only mentioned in the first Dead or Alive game in Ryu's backstory. Irene makes her first physical appearance in Dead or Alive: Dimensions, acting as a support character for Ryu and the Mugen Tenshin ninjas during their mission to take down DOATEC. Irene previously appeared in Ninja Gaiden II as the character Sonia, which is revealed to be her alias.
Miyako
is Kokoro's overprotective mother and a geisha residing in KyotoKyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
. In her earlier years, Miyako fell in love with Fame Douglas, and the two of them had an affair which resulted in Kokoro's birth. Being the center of the seeding workings at DOATEC, Miyako feared for her daughter's safety. To protect her, Miyako returned to Japan and raised Kokoro as a single parent
Single parent
Single parent is a term that is mostly used to suggest that one parent has most of the day to day responsibilities in the raising of the child or children, which would categorize them as the dominant caregiver...
, never telling her daughter about her father or her heritage to DOATEC, and started to oversee Kokoro's training to become a geisha. However, when Kokoro became more interested in martial arts than her geisha training and decided to enter the fourth DOA tournament, Miyako reluctantly allows her to go while warning her that she will not be satisfied in finding out the truth. Her affair with Fame was revealed by Helena.
Muramasa
is a character from the Ninja Gaiden series. He made several appearances in DOA4 as the merchant who deals with Bass, Hitomi and Lei Fang in the Sea Side Market.Nicole-458
is the result of collaboration between Tecmo's Team Ninja and MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Bungie Studios. Team Ninja originally asked Bungie for permission to use the Master Chief
Master Chief (Halo)
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a fictional character and protagonist of the Halo fictional universe, created by Bungie. Master Chief is a player character in the trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 and will appear in the...
, which proved impossible due to storyline restrictions. But the staff at Bungie were intrigued with the idea and wanted to try something similar. As a result, Bungie developed the concept of a Spartan not entirely connected to the Halo storyline who could conveniently and somewhat plausibly be fit into the Dead or Alive universe. This concept evolved into the character of Nicole. Nearly all of the resources for her design came straight from Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
game data. The data was modified to work in the Dead or Alive game engine as a female combatant, but kept to the traditional Spartan design; a feminine figure would have been implausible for such a heavily armored, cybernetically enhanced individual. According to Nicole's fictional backstory, she is born in the Martian city of Legaspi in 2531. This, however, seems unlikely as the SPARTAN-II program used children of the age of 6 and born in 2511. Members of the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) kidnap her at the age of six and enroll her in the SPARTAN-II Project, an initiative designed to develop the "Spartan" series of supersoldiers; this is the same program that the Master Chief
Master Chief (Halo)
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a fictional character and protagonist of the Halo fictional universe, created by Bungie. Master Chief is a player character in the trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 and will appear in the...
, and other Spartans from the Halo series undergo. Bungie explained Nicole's presence in the Dead or Alive setting of the 21st century in an article that revealed the character's background. The studio stated that the character, who has never appeared in any other Halo fiction, is sent to the 21st century when a partially stable "bubble" in the space-time continuum opens near Nassau Station, where she and her unit are preparing for a secret mission. This "bubble" is created when Apocalypso, an ONI stealth vehicle, interacts with real-space, as a result of an unusual slipspace
Slipstream (science fiction)
"Slipstream" is a science fiction term for a fictional method of faster-than-light space travel, similar to hyperspace travel, warp drive, or "transfer points" from David Brin's Uplift series.-Usage in Star Trek:...
incident. This incident traps Nicole in the 21st century. While waiting for the bubble to collapse, which she hopes will enable her to return to the future, she battles any member of the DOA cast to arrive at the station, protecting its classified information. To keep the space-time continuum stable, she avoids lethal force in executing her current task.
Nicole's fighting style is very quick and powerful, a variation of standard military close quarters combat. Her move list contains moves of other characters in the game; her fighting style is a hybrid of Leon and Bayman's movesets to create a blend of striking combos and throws. Her style meant to incapacitate an armed opponent in a matter of seconds and take advantage of her enhanced strength, as well as to exploit any environmental advantages. She is described as having great speed despite her large size. Many of her moves allude to the Halo universe, with names such as "The Great Journey" and "The Grunt Punt"; the former is a powerful move that sends an opponent down stairs or off a ledge. Also in Nicole's repertoire are several technologies from Halo, including active camouflage
Active camouflage
Active camouflage or adaptive camouflage, is a group of camouflage technologies which allow an object to blend into its surroundings by use of panels or coatings capable of altering their appearance, color, luminance and reflective properties...
, represented by her taunt and rendering her nearly invisible, and the plasma grenade, represented by a command throw. Previews of Dead or Alive 4 showed a Spartan among the game's characters; this attracted attention and curiosity regarding whether such a character would appear fully functional in the final version of the game. The character's moves, all of which were homages to the Halo series, and the inclusion of a Halo-based level were positively described in pre-release reviews. Bungie returned the favor, and in the release of Halo 3
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
there is an armor type called Hayabusa, for which its design is based on Ryu Hayabusa's appearance.
Niki
is Zack's newest girlfriend. They met in a casino after the Dead or Alive 3 tournament, when Zack won a large sum of money that allowed him to buy an island which he named after himself. He invited most of the females he remembered from the last tournament to his island under the false pretense of holding another tournament. The women arrived and after finding out it was a hoax, they decided to nonetheless spend their vacation there, but Zack and Niki were eventually left alone on the island. However, a previously inactive volcano erupted, and Niki decided to escape using Zack's jet pack. Zack survived, but his island was completely destroyed. During Dead or Alive 4, they are seen robbing an ancient tomb and escaping in a truck filled with gold.Niki is Zack's lucky charm (Lady Luck) and he takes her everywhere with him, going as far as naming a beach on his island's eastern shore after her. Niki joined the cast of Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, but not in a player controlled role and appearing only in cut scenes with Zack as before.
Shiden
is Kasumi and Hayate's father, Ayame's husband and Raidou's younger brother, the biological uncle of Ayane, and the former leader of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan. When he was a member of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan, he was a stronger ninja than Raidou. In Dead or Alive 3, his position of leadership was ceded to Hayate. He made his first physical appearance in Dead or Alive Ultimate, and as a playable character in Dead or Alive: Dimensions.Victor Donovan
is the leader of DOATEC's anti-Douglas faction and is head of the Development Department, a state-of-the-art military fortress where Projects Alpha and Omega were developed. In the first Dead or Alive game, Donovan employed the Russian assassin Bayman to kill DOATEC's chairman, Fame Douglas. This attempt is thought to have been successful, as Douglas died shortly after the event. The nature of Donovan's rebellion is thought to be controversy over experiments to be carried out to create an ultimate DOA fighter.In Dead or Alive 3 Donovan captures Helena, Fame Douglas' daughter, since she stands to inherit her father's position as chairman of DOATEC. He challenges Helena to win the DOA3 tournament in order to gain her freedom and learn the truth behind the company, and also employs the assassin Christie to keep an eye on her. Meanwhile, Bayman seeks revenge after Donovan plotted his assassination to tie up any loose ends. Donovan is thought to be behind experiments such as Project Epsilon, to which Hayate was subjected; Project Alpha, the cloning of Kasumi; and Project Omega, the augmentation of Ayane's foster father Genra into the ultimate DOA fighter Omega. In Helena's ending of Dead or Alive 4, Ryu is shown destroying a ship with a man who may or may not be Donovan. The same figure also appeared to have been assassinated by Christie in a gentlemen's club. In what may appear to be the canon telling of Donovan's fate, Dead or Alive: Dimensions shows the shadowy antagonist placing on his face the same mask that corrupted Genra. An aura of demonic energy then surrounds Donovan as he walks back into the shadows, laughing maniacally.
Donovan was portrayed by Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
in the 2006 movie adaption. He was killed in the explosion of DOA Island after being paralyzed by an acupuncture dart thrown by Kasumi.