WAS DEAD OR ALIVE 2 BETTER ON DREAMCAST OR PLAYSTATION 2?
If we really want to start with a cruel answer, in reality neither of the two consoles was able to offer Dead or Alive 2 to the best of its possibilities. However, let's proceed step by step. Dead or alive 2 is the direct sequel to the first Dead or Alive which originally landed in arcades on Sega's fantastic Model 2 platform. Released in 1996, Dead or Alive was proposed as a light alternative to the more serious and set Virtua Fighter.
In Tecmo's fighting game, speed and reflexes mattered more and everything translated into a more arcade-like gameplay. The title, especially on Model 2, had a notable success thanks to 3D graphics that were crazy for the time, through fun gameplay and obviously also thanks to certain female forms that were perhaps a little too accentuated. Tecmo's title deserved various conversions and around 1999 also a fantastic sequel, Dead or Alive 2, which once again left its mark in the arcade on the amazing new generation platform Sega Naomi.
Compared to the past, the gap between cabinets and home consoles had narrowed considerably and Dead or Alive 2 was there to prove it. Stunning anime-style characters, fully 3D arenas, free movement on three axes, interactive environments spread across multiple levels and lots of dynamism represented a revolution in the world of fighting games. All this was easily transposed onto the sixth generation consoles with different but still satisfactory results.
The challenge was initially fought by Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, later overtaken by Microsoft's powerful Xbox. Everyone believed that the conversion of Dead or Alive to PlayStation 2 would be a success compared to the porting for Dreamcast but this was not the case: Dead or Alive 2 remains the most authentic demonstration of how Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 could easily compete on equal terms , with different strengths and weaknesses.
From a graphic point of view, Dead or Alive 2 wins hands down on the Dreamcast presenting exceptional image clarity with defined textures and vivid colors. On PlayStation 2 there are some more interesting graphic effects, but the image is jagged and dirty like never before. Furthermore, the general impression is of being faced with a washed-out and messy rendering of the images. In some situations it even seems to be dealing with polygonal structures of lower quality than the Sega counterpart.
From an audio point of view there are no particular differences other than a slightly higher frequency spectrum on PlayStation 2. In terms of controls, the Dreamcast pad seems slightly more precise and effective than the classic analog joystick of the PlayStation 2. As for the contents, on the Sony console you can find some arenas and costumes not present in the version dedicated to the Sega platform which thus increases replayability.
The Microsoft factor
It must certainly also be said that the Dreamcast was designed to scale the Naomi titles in an excellent way and that the version dedicated to the Sony machine was written in a hurry, but it matters little: Dead or Alive 2 was the definitive confirmation that the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 they were both capable of running highly complex titles, at least for the time. Unfortunately for them in 2001 the third wheel arrived, namely the very powerful Xbox from Microsoft which not only buried the work done by Dead or Alive 2 on the other consoles with an audiovisually crazy Dead or Alive 3, but which re-proposed in 2004 an Ultimate version of Dead or Alive 2 that felt more like an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 title than a current generation game.
It was a remake on steroids that pushed the graphics and sounds of the sixth generation of consoles to levels touched only by Half Life 2, Doom 3, The Chronicles of Riddick and Outrun 2. Clean and refined characters like never before, vast, rich and clear environments, disproportionate effects, HD resolutions, very clean sound, in short, a joy for the senses, even today. The gameplay essentially remained that of the second original episode, with the addition of a certain number of elements taken from the third episode, such as a freer and more dynamic character movement style.
The contents, on the other hand, were numerous and extremely convincing with new or completely rebuilt arenas, an infinite number of costumes and unlockables and many modes to play and replay. The famous saying is right: between the two litigants, the third one enjoys. However, Dead or Alive 2, in all its editions, still remains a masterpiece to play for hours and hours without ever getting tired, absorbed by dynamic combat and high-level design.
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