The Dead or Alive series focuses on fast-paced gameplay in a three-dimensional playing field. In comparison to others in the fighting game genre, such as Virtua Fighter, the series places emphasis on striking characters quickly and efficiently. There is an emphasis on juggling since countering and fast recovery times prevent slow, technical sets of moves in most instances.
One of the series' most innovative additions to the genre is its countering system. Beginning with the original Dead or Alive, players could tap the guard button and a direction corresponding with the anticipated attack, which would do a powerful counter attack. Counter holds must be timed correctly and match the direction of the attack being countered.
In Dead or Alive 2, the series implemented its tag fighting system, allowing characters to switch back and forth for combo attacks and even attack simultaneously when timed correctly. The tag mode also included special throws unique to certain pairs of characters and allows for the participation of four players, something not common in the genre.
Because of the wager, Itagaki named the series Dead or Alive to demonstrate the series' fail or succeed status and proceeded to form a division in the company named Team Ninja . Itagaki's inspiration for the series derived from the Fatal Fury series in Japan and the Mortal Kombat series in America, with DOA's fast gameplay and sexual appeal drawn from the former series, and the ability to knock opponents off landscapes from the latter.
