When we launched Dead or Alive 6 Last Round back in June, we promised that the game’s launch was just the beginning. Tomorrow, the next evolution of the title begins as we introduce the highly anticipated new character, Minato, into the mix. We can’t wait to see what everyone thinks of the new character once they get the chance to play as her, but first, let me give a quick introduction on who Minato is and what she’s all about.
Who is Minato?
Minato is a seemingly ordinary female student attending school in Tokyo. She’s a cheerful and outgoing girl who could be found anywhere, yet there’s an air of otherworldliness about her. While it’s known that she lives on her own away from her parents, much of her private life remains a mystery, and although she’s well-liked by her friends, they also view her as a mysterious person.
That said, Minato occasionally displays astonishing physical abilities. She began dancing as a casual hobby, with the simple goal of making both dancers and spectators feel cheerful and positive. She then went on to make her debut at a world-class dance competition and won first place on her very first try, earning her the nickname Tokyo JK.
Around that time, Minato began disappearing somewhere in a hurry after school and on weekends. She claims it’s part-time work, but the true nature of her activities remains unclear. Occasionally, she is seen chatting amiably on her smartphone with someone named NiCO.
Meanwhile, M.I.S.T.’s cyberneticist NiCO has just hired a part-time worker (who goes by a strange codename) for a certain experiment. The experiment seems to be progressing smoothly for the most part, but she cannot understand why this part-timer calls NiCO her best friend, worries about her, and acts so close toward her.
To this day, Minato’s true identity and real purpose remain shrouded in mystery.
Minato’s fighting style
Behind Minato’s gentle appearance lies extraordinary physical ability. Having already won a world-class dance competition, she applies her sense of rhythm, athleticism, and empathy to combat as well.
Minato uses a contact lens-type device currently under development by NiCO that converts the movements of other fighters into signals her body can physically replicate, allowing her to freely master the techniques used by DOA tournament participants.
As a dance enthusiast, she favors flashy, visually striking moves and fights with the same joy as if she were dancing. With a wide range of attacks, including vertical and horizontal spins, she is a character that’s easy for beginners to use.
One of her signature moves is the Minato Shuffle. This is a unique dance step that can be performed directly from specific attacks. From this dance, she can unleash multiple powerful follow-up attacks.
Follow-up attacks from the Minato Shuffle are technical and require the player’s creativity, making her a character that offers a satisfying challenge even for advanced players.
Minato’s backstory
To make her approachable even for those new to the Dead or Alive series, we focused on creating a positive and relatable character image without being overly fixated on typical fighting game tropes or Dead or Alive specific elements.
Dead or Alive features an expansive narrative filled with various factions and the distinctive characters that belong to them. To ensure that Minato can move freely and vibrantly, we’ve positioned her as a mysterious figure who belongs to no specific faction — revealing only that she is NiCO’s friend.
We chose a Japanese student as the visual concept because we believed it could embody an image that is free, approachable, and positive — one without pretense or political maneuvering—and that conveys a sense of the future and growth. Above all, we determined it was the most suitable motif for expressing both cute and beautiful — elements that Team Ninja excels at — in perfect harmony.
We hope you’ll enjoy this game through Minato, the newest addition to the DOA world…but not the last!