Dead or Alive 6 Producer Explains The Inspirations Behind New Characters Diego And NiCO

Dead or Alive 6 Director and Producer Yohei Shimbori recently went to Taiwan for an interview, where he talked about the extent of clothing damage, whether Misaki from Venus Vacation might join the game later on, and the inspiration for new characters NiCO and Diego. [Thanks, Bahamut!]

Check out the highlights below:

• Shimbori apologized once again for the delay, saying that while he can’t reveal specifics, the gist is that they needed to improve balance and expressivity.

• Regarding clothing damage, Shimbori states that is has been adjusted to not go overboard, for their female audience. He feels this aspect might be better left to the Xtreme series instead.

• Regarding how the different versions on the game will differ in terms of presentation, Shimbori stated that there will be official announcements soon, including differences in specs and content.

• When asked if there will be any crossover with Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet, Shimbori answered that there are currently no plans, but did not rule out anything in the future. He further joked that Misaki, the new character being added to Xtreme 3: Scarlet, is not a fighter, and might even get knocked out with one punch. That said, he does have some ideas.

• Because the Dead or Alive series is popular in the US, it directly inspired the making of new character Diego. Shimbori did research beforehand and incorporated opinions from various age groups to create Diego, who’s themed after a street brawler. While he’s powerful, he’s also a simple character to pick up.

• As for NiCO, she was made for the Japanese and Asian audience. Because her concept was influenced by anime and light novels, she feels a bit more “anime” than characters before. Originally, they got together internal staff who liked anime to come up with the concept, and went with a design which exuberated coolness. Compared to Marie Rose and Honoka, who were also designed with anime and manga inspirations, Marie Rose is small and cute, Honoka is all about her childish face and boobs, and NiCO’s charm lies in her cool but “chuuni” atmosphere.

• The reason why Sumire Uesaka was chosen as NiCO’s voice actress is because in the original concepts, NiCO was from Russia, and so they chose a voice actress who was familiar with the language. However, halfway through they changed NiCO to being from Finland, so sadly her language skills didn’t end up being put to use.

• Finally, who is the protagonist of Dead or Alive 6? Shimbori feels every character is a main character, and it all depends on who the player chooses. That said, some characters have a larger role in the story, such as Honoka and her mysterious power, which is being targeted by NiCO. If he had to pick one, as the core of the series revolves around the Mugen Tenshin clan, he would choose Kasumi.

Dead or Alive 6 will be released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on March 1, 2019. We recently reported on the online beta test that is still ongoing here.