Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review – Bringing Sexy Back

There’s something quite empowering about fan-service-focused games that kinda makes me want to collect them all. It really pains me to see comments in gaming forums from individuals from modern, developed societies who would rather see women shut up, cover-up and stay at home. So, when we have games that highlight the strength, skill and exceptional beauty of talented groups of young ladies, I really want to show them off, if only to annoy the sexist haters out there.

The old phrase ‘if you’ve got it, flaunt it’ still holds true. Beauty and confidence have always been a solid route to success, so anyone with the confidence to pull off the regular bikini-bod look, after decades of societal body-shaming, gets my respect and admiration. ‘Sex sells’, as they say, but maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration in the gaming world where almost every character is lazily written as asexual. Let’s just say ‘sexy’ sells instead.

Introduction

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 is a ‘virtual vacation’ game featuring a collection of sports and mini-games to be enjoyed during fixed time periods. It is the third entry of its kind in the Dead or Alive series developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo in the ‘Xtreme’ series of spin-off games of the Dead or Alive fighting game franchise, itself a spin-off of the intertwined Ninja Gaiden series.

It was originally released in 2016 under two titles for two different platforms, as Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Fortune for PlayStation 4 and Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Venus for PlayStation Vita. A free-to-play gacha game version titled Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation was released on various platforms from 2017 to 2019.

The game was controversially sold only in Asian territories, where it does contain an English language option, along with Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean language options. An enhanced re-release for PlayStation 4, featuring some gameplay re-balancing and two additional characters, entitled Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet was released on March 20th, 2019, after the limited quantities of the original versions sold out at various retailers. Import specialist retailer Play-Asia reported that they had their highest pre-order record yet with the release of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3.

Surprisingly, the original full versions of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 were released to Asian markets for PlayStation only after the sub-series had been previously Xbox console exclusives. Following protests from fans, Hayashi said a version of the game “adjusted for North America” might come to the West if the demand is high enough. However, on November 24th, 2015, Team Ninja posted on the franchise’s Facebook page stating that they will not release the game in Western territories. The Asian version will include an English language option and is region-free.

A public debate arose whether this was decided to avoid criticism of the sexualised portrayal of women in the games, or the comparatively low North American and European sales of the previous game in the Dead or Alive Xtreme series. Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment at the time, said in regard to Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 that Europe and North America have their cultural differences about how to depict women in video games and other media.

Outraged fans would call the limited release “cowardly”, “a missed opportunity”, and “oppressive of strong female leads in media”. In response to the decision not to distribute, the developer behind the adult puzzle game and dating sim HuniePop offered Koei Tecmo a million dollars for distribution rights in North America, however the team was sadly unsuccessful.

The original game’s nine playable female characters were selected from the fifteen candidates from the roster of Dead or Alive 5 Last Round by the ones whose paid character themes had been downloaded most by fans on the PlayStation Store, but only the downloads from Japan count due to the game’s limited territory release. The top two characters would also be featured on the cover art. The results were announced during Tokyo Game Show 2015.

Originally, no additional characters were planned to be added through DLC, however they were added in the enhanced version of the game, Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet, which would be our focus today. Runner-up character Leifang and brand new character Misaki join the roster, alongside Marie Rose, Honoka, Kasumi, Ayane, Kokoro, Nyotengu, Hitomi, Momiji and Helena.

Story

Like its predecessor, I’m sorry to say Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 drops the storyline featured in the original Xtreme Beach Volleyball game. Though, on reflection, it was a rather flimsy, thinly-spread mini-story about Dead or Alive’s Zack using his tournament winnings to invest in an island to fulfil his fantasy of building a harem of beautiful ladies.

There’s something quite awkward about teaming up girls to play doubles volleyball together when canonically months earlier, some of them literally tried to kill each other. Even so, having an underlying agenda in the creation of this third island resort and a mystery to uncover would undeniably bring more motivation to stick around.

There is ‘Owner Mode’ where you play as an unnamed hotel manager from a first-person perspective who can attempt to charm the girls with gifts and take them on dates, yet this never really goes anywhere. In short, there is no noteworthy plot to speak of.

Gameplay

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 is a collection of simple sports, mini-games and other activities. Most are played from a third-person perspective while menus are navigated with more of a first-person view. You start by selecting your character and getting the option of having an automatic partner for volleyball games. Once you either accept or reject the girl who proposes the partnership, you then get to decide how you want to spend your day.

Traditional doubles Beach Volleyball is one option, alongside Pool Hopping, Tug-of-War, Butt Battles, and Flag Racing, however Wave Races and Pool Slides have now been dropped from the itinerary, unfortunately. Rock Climbing is a fun new mini-game which has you time your button presses by pressing the buttons as soon as you see the corresponding button prompt appear on screen. If you press the button too early or press the wrong button, your character will slow their ascent.

When playing with a partner, there is an affinity mechanic where you have to maintain a reasonable relationship with your partner. You can do this by gifting items. If you give a gift your partner appreciates, you can help fill her Satisfaction rate. The higher the Satisfaction rate, the more likely your partner will be to accept gifts she doesn’t like, including the most revealing swimsuits. You can also increase closeness by winning volleyball games together and playing certain activities such as Butt Battles and Pool Hopping which slightly increase Satisfaction rates.

By playing the game in ‘Owner Mode’, the player is able raise the Satisfaction rate of the playable girl by also controlling an unnamed manager character. The ‘owner’ is able to romance the girls somewhat and take them on dates. ‘Photo Paradise’ allows owners to take gravure pictures of the heroines in a variety of poses and swimsuits. Virtual Reality functionality was later added too.

Graphics/Sound

Building on the engine used in Dead or Alive 5: Last Round with multiple enhancements means the Dead or Alive girls and their surrounding environments have never looked more detailed. The impressive facial details return and superb light and shadow effects are always present. Extra attention has been made to ensure each swimsuit is unique and available in a variety of different colours. The game actually features an improved breast physics engine called Soft Engine 2.0 which places emphasis on realistic movement rather than exaggerated jiggling.

The engine also allows the developers to implement greater realism towards object interactions, such as clothing wetness and minor swimsuit damage. A feature which displays tan lines and swimsuit malfunctions is a quirky new addition exclusive to the PlayStation 4 versions of the game. It works in addition to the new suntanning system which will see all girls gradually tan throughout the vacation unless they utilise sunblock items.

The girls are voiced with a Japanese-only dub returning which seems to happen with several other games throughout the Dead or Alive series, so it won’t come as a total surprise. The music, however, seems like the weakest effort yet. Sure, we have some licenced tracks again, but they’re all from relatively unknown artists. Mostly, the soundtrack is comprised of flat, generic, soft pop music which is a bit bland and spoils that fun-filled holiday mood, with the theme being better suited for upbeat beach punk-rock or catchy club anthems.

Replayability/Trophies

With a largely player-controlled agenda, self-set targets and a relatively short runtime per playthrough, the game does have some replay value for those looking the experience the vacation from the perspective of each character. Doing so will allow you to grab character-related trophies, while mastering mini-games during playthroughs will bring cash rewards which you’ll need grind to purchase swimsuits which are the game’s most important collectible.

Each character has their own trophies linked to playing through Vacation Mode, getting 20 swimsuits and a ‘Special Vacation!’ Trophy for satisfying their needs completely to earn a S+ rank at the final assessment screen after the 14 days of their vacation. To earn this rank, you must increase the girl’s enjoyment level to the maximum of 100 and also complete each of the seven unique character missions linked to that character when they appear.

Character missions for each girl stack, so if you don’t complete everything in one vacation run, you will be able to continue on from the last mission reached during the next playthrough with that character. The easiest way to earn cash and gain Satisfaction is by focusing on playing Rock Climbing and Beach Volleyball, though the latter, as always, is a lot more skill-dependent. Complete easy missions or ones related to those activities and give the character gifts they like when back at the hotel at night to raise their Satisfaction.

The Scarlet version of the game allows you to earn Satisfaction, Owner XP and Zack Dollars at a far greater rate, meaning it’s entirely possible to get an S+ Rank and complete all 7 personal missions in a first run. Unlike the previous version, you will carry over a portion of your girl’s Satisfaction rate over to the next vacation when you next play with her, so if you didn’t get it the first time around you’re in for an easier run.

Unlike Fortune, there’s no need for a lengthy grind to unlock everything since you can easily reach Owner Level 50 after getting all the S+ ranks. All that leaves is snagging 20 different swimsuits from the Beach Shop. Be aware, however, that the Beach Shop randomly restocks every swimsuit for sale each day, including ones your girl already owns, so you kinda need to memorise your collection if you don’t want to accidentally waste precious cash.

Conclusion

There’s a very basic yet brave brilliance to Dead or Alive Xtreme 3. Its dedication to showing off its collection of beautiful young ladies is quite admirable, enough so that even groups like Operation Rainfall pushed for the game’s international release. The problem is, it doesn’t do a whole lot with that cast. We aren’t getting to know each girl with any particular detail. We aren’t learning their strengths, weaknesses, fears and fetishes, and this largely comes down to the dating sim components of the game being something of an afterthought.

Instead, we’re left with a collection of increasingly mundane activities which might entertain for a playthrough or two, but after that we’re doing little more than repetitively grinding for money. The lack of a storyline and character-specific growth mean there’s simply nothing left to keep the player interested after a few hours. It feels like we’re playing a Mario Party game, over and over again, in single player mode.

It all feels a bit silly that we’re shelling out full price, plus import fees, for a game that only really offers pretty girls in bikinis when you can see this at your nearest beach for free. There’s also a dedicated animation studio out there that makes unofficial but high-end Dead or Alive erotica videos for free which still manage to put in a bit of story in between all the sex scenes. We aren’t getting either with the games themselves.

With Team Ninja regularly returning to the stagnating franchise, it’s easy to imagine the passion the creators have for their characters, and by extension, the settings and games that they want to make, yet never really do. The game is simple, yes, but it’s also so very ‘safe’, with a mild dating mechanic without the resulting growth and intimacy that should come with it.

There is another little detail that I thought was worth mentioning and that’s a lack of ethnic diversity since the majority of the girls are Asian. Europe doesn’t do too badly with Helena and Marie Rose making the roster, but American characters like Tina, Zack and Lisa (who was even created for the Xtreme franchise) have all been cut. Still, with most complaints about the nature of the series coming from the Americas which played a significant role in the limited release, I’m happy to let it slide this time. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

I also noticed that as the girls have aged a couple of years since the start of the series, the character select screen seems to want to highlight that everyone is over 18 now. Odd, I wasn’t aware fictional vacations came with age restrictions. I know, it’s far more likely a taunt at those who thought the adorably petite Marie Rose was a child. Terribly sorry not everyone was blessed with natural D-cups, guys. Body shaming isn’t cool. Knock it off.