Dead or Alive 5 – Unlocking Secret Characters [Guide]

Dead or Alive 5 is the most recent installment in the hugely popular DOA series of fighting games. The franchise has spawned spin-off series and even a film adaptation, and fans of the fighting games seem to never tire of the intense combat and detailed graphics that each installment seems to improve on with every incarnation. Of course, having sexy babes in skimpy outfits and bathing suits battling each other as the main premise of the game isn’t all that bad, either!

With Dead or Alive 5, there are a total of nineteen playable characters to choose from, consisting of DOA staples such as Kasumi, Ayane, Hayate, Tina and Bass Armstrong, and many others. Two new characters, Mila and Rig, will also be making their appearances in the franchise for the first time. Of course, as with most fighting games, there are various characters that can be unlocked within Dead or Alive 5. Currently, five hidden characters have been confirmed, while Tecmo, the developer behind the series, have hinted that more unlockable characters can be made accessible in the coming future via DLCs. Even better news is that Tecmo, as of the current day, will not be making players pay for additional character DLC packages as this would seem unfair for other players who could not afford the purchase.

Players who have been confirmed to be unlockable are Alpha-152 and Gen Fu, while three other unlockable characters are visitors from another popular gaming franchise. Characters Akira Yuki, Pai Chan, and Sarah Bryant from Virtua Fighter will also be making their appearances within the game. this marks the first time that the DOA franchise has opened its doors for guest characters from other fighting games, and this will surely excite both DOA and VF fans as they would finally be able to see who will dominate in combat in the ultimate “What IF” scenario.

To unlock Alpha-152, players must get 300 titles out of the 524 titles within the game. This will require players to play the various modes within DOA for about 15 to 20 hours, depending on how fast you gain titles. For Pai Chan to become accessible, the player’s objectives are much simpler, as they are required to get only 100 titles in order for her to be unlocked. Thus, Pai Chan, who is the prototypical female with great speed, agility, and powerful kicks, would be unlocked much earlier than Alpha-152, whose style is much more supernatural but extremely powerful in nature, as the former requires much less titles to be accessed.

In order to unlock Gen Fu, players must simply Finish Eliot’s Story Mode. After finishing Eliot’s story, you will be able to play as Gen Fu and access his wide array of powerful close-quarter attacks that can deal a great amount of damage once you’ve gotten his devastating combos down pat.

Akira Yuki, the Ryu or Kazuya/Jin of the Virtua Fighter franchise, can be unlocked by defeating him during Story Mode. Players who would get to unlock Akira would get the chance to play as the Hakkyoku-Ken master that can deal damage either when up close or when at a considerable distance.

Lastly, Sarah Bryant can be unlocked by also defeating her in Story Mode. Sarah brings to the table very powerful kick attacks that can be strung together to devastate her opponents. This Virtua Fighter icon can definitely hold her own against the best DOA fighters, and only through unlocking her will you be able to justify that bold statement.

Aside from these five characters, rumors of two additional characters being playable are also up in the air. DOA veteran Leo and Shenmue character Ryo Hazuki have been seen in the game’s alpha demo, and while finishing the game under Story mode using any of the characters available does not seem to unlock these characters, it would be most likely that they could be accessed via DLCs.

With the partnership of Tecmo and Sega, players can expect more Sega based characters to make cameo appearances within Dead or Alive 5. And with Tecmo’s announcement that they would not be asking for payment for DLC packages containing additional characters, players can rejoice as they can play as their favorite DOA, Virtua Fighter, and potentially other Sega characters with no additional costs. While no official announcements have been made as of yet in terms of Leon’s and Ryo’s availability within the game, the wide selection of characters within the game, comprising of 19 regular characters and 5 unlockable characters, would surely tide you over until the rumors are put to rest and the final list of unlockable characters would be finally released.

Dead or Alive 5 is available for the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. It was developed by Team Ninja and was published by Tecmo Koei. It was released worldwide in late September 2012.