Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation seems to be the gift that keeps on giving for Koei Tecmo. The free-to-play game was released years ago at this point, but it’s obviously still got a strong fanbase, as Koei Tecmo has just added a brand new character to it.
Her name is Amy, and I very much like Amy. Mostly because she has twintails (but don’t worry, fellow Marie Rose fans, she’s got an entirely different physique so there’s no stepping on our favourite girl’s toes here).
Based on the introductory video clip/trailer, she seems to like the same thing as all the other Dead or Alive girls (i.e. relaxing by the beach, playing volleyball, and stretching into some rather eye-opening poses), but she also does it with a pair of cool headphones around her neck or over her ears. Amy likes music and chillin’ out, it seems.
Naturally, you shouldn’t expect to see Amy show up via DLC in Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 on consoles – at this point, Venus Vacation has an absolutely massive roster of characters that haven’t shown up anywhere else. Not in other versions of DoAX3, nor in the fighting game series proper.
What this does show, however, is that there continues to be such a market for this series. Yes, these games are particularly voyeuristic and the objectification commentary around them is appropriate and accurate (and Venus Vacation takes things well beyond what the console titles do), but at the same time, it’s okay to enjoy things that you can be critical of. There’s a lot of merit to Xtreme. The gravure pin-up aesthetic is gorgeous, and when coupled with the laid-back music and presentation, Xtreme is, simply, a fun and casual, no-pressure way to relax.
The Switch title’s actually one of my most played games ever, and I still regularly turn back to it. It’s not because I think it’s a particularly brilliant masterpiece in game design. It’s just easy to pick up and enjoy. I do hope that at some point Koei produces another one of these for console… and ideally gets some of these new characters into the next iteration of the fighting game too. I’d love to learn more about Amy.
