The long-running joke among fighting game fans is that if you want to see the same game get rehashed multiple times, you go to Capcom. This reputation isn't unwarranted, since the developer has done it multiple times with six versions of Street Fighter II and again with four versions of Street Fighter IV. Koei Tecmo seems to have gotten the idea that it, too, can milk one fighting game for as long as possible with Dead or Alive 5. After the vanilla version, there was Plus for the PS Vita, which threw in a few new modes and backgrounds. Then came Ultimate for the PS3 and Xbox 360, which did the same and added one new character and background via DLC. Then there was Ultimate Arcade, which added two more characters but never saw a home release. Dead or Alive 5: Last Round, the fifth incarnation of the game, is being billed as the last and definitive version and the first one to reach the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It also makes an appearance on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Obtaining the game on the older consoles is an interesting and multi-routed endeavor. The game is a digital-only release, whereas the newer consoles also get a physical iteration. You can buy the full game that comes with most of the DLC costumes up to the point of Last Round's release. You can also buy the add-on DLC pack that gives you all five new characters or buy each character separately. That last part is important because there is a free-to-play Core Fighters version of Last Round available. Additionally, Ultimate is immediately patched with the Last Round updates, though the four previously unavailable characters are locked. This means that the community, which is small but still active, isn't fragmented between the last two versions of the game. It also acts as a boon to Trophy hunters, since it gives them a new set of digital baubles to collect. It prevents Trophies in Unlimited from being unlocked concurrently, while still maintaining parity with it.

For the most part, Last Round is the same game. Story mode, Training, and Tutorials are all present. Games can be played in standard one-on-one versus format or in tag teams. The same rules apply for Survival mode, and you can choose whether you want online interruptions from other players — similar to playing this at an arcade. Online performance is still solid, and the ranking system remains unchanged, though you get a new leaderboard to climb. The mechanics also haven't received any tweaks, so there's nothing new to learn when it comes to firing up your old fighters. If the title screen didn't tell you, you'd be hard-pressed to realize that you're playing an updated version of the game.

The additions come in the form of new fighters, though only two of them can be considered new. Raidou was the boss of the first game but appears in a new cyborg form. Just like the original game, he has a multitude of moves from other fighters that do exactly the same damage but are executed at a slightly faster pace. Honoka feels like a slight contrast to Raidou in that she has a medley of moves from other fighters that are different from Raidou's repertoire. The major difference is that she hits with less strength, but she's so fast that you'll barely notice the strength deficit, making her a fun fighter for all skill levels.

The other three fighters originally came to Ultimate as DLC after their appearances in Ultimate Arcade. Marie Rose is all about combos and juggling, but her limited strength means she can't hit hard. It also doesn't help that her small stature makes her vulnerable to high juggles from opponents, and her lack of speed relative to everyone else on the roster means she can be countered quickly by many fighters. Phase 4 feels pretty much like a Kasumi clone in her fighting, but she relies heavily on teleporting to get the jump on opponents. Compared to everyone else, there's more dedication needed to make those teleports chain into unstoppable attacks. Meanwhile, Nyotengu plays pretty much like the boss from Dead or Alive 2. Her attacks are powerful, and her wings give her good defensive maneuvers if you need to create some space. However, she's rather slow in her delivery compared to everyone else, so her character is more about stick-and-move tactics rather than a full-on assault.

It would be fine if the new characters were the only new addition. The truth is that there are also new levels, and both are remakes of levels that had been featured in older titles. The first is Danger Zone from the first game, and by all appearances, it looks rather tame since it's just a flat elevator platform. The gimmick is that every part of the floor — with the exception of the center — is explosive, so falling gives you an extra shot of damage. The second stage is Crimson, a remake of the dirty Hong Kong rooftop and alleyway from the second game. It was one of the first stages in the series that showcased the multilevel nature of the battlefields, and the highlight is the neon sign you crash through as you fall from the roof to the street. These remade stages aren't included in the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions because the developer said that the stages are too complex for the older consoles to handle.  However, these stages were originally conceived over 10 years ago, and similarly complex stages are available in the previous-generation version, so the rationale seems flimsy at best.

The DLC is slightly baffling. As mentioned earlier, buying the game outright gets you the DLC that was released for the original game and Ultimate, but you don't get everything. There's still a bunch of DLC costumes for Ultimate that is kept separate from this entry in addition to new costumes that were made specifically for Last Round but weren't included outright. Furthermore, the costume damage feature for the Senran Kagura pack is only available for the newer platforms. Although all of this missing material is cosmetic, it undermines the fact that you'll never find a complete version of the game unless you make the leap to the newer consoles, buy the game there, and buy all of the costumes at a price that is at least triple of what the game costs.

Dead or Alive 5: Last Round for the older generation of consoles is still a solid fighting game, but it is certainly not as definitive as Koei Tecmo would like you to believe. The addition of the new characters is great, and they don't seem to upset the game's balance. The various options to acquire the game mean that anyone can customize it to their liking, and the upgrade from the previous versions means that the community stays in sync. The constant pumping of DLC costumes feels rather ridiculous when you realize that you don't have all of the previously released ones to begin with, and the removal of new stages feels disingenuous. For fans with no intention to upgrade to the newer platforms anytime soon and for those who still haven't gotten to this entry yet, Last Round is definitely a good option.

Score: 7.5/10