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Leaping rather majestically from Samurai Warriors 4, Naotora Ii has arrived in Dead or Alive 5: Last Round, and the truth is that she's actually a pretty good fit. In a game that's stuffed with downloadable costumes and crazy expensive season passes, Naotora comes as a breath of fresh air - a playable character that's fun to use, eye-catching, and well worth the asking price if you're a fan of Team Ninja's fighter.

As Samurai Warriors enthusiasts will already know, Naotora has a penchant for literally kicking her enemies to death, and her fighting style makes the transition wholeheartedly here. Much like Rig, Naotora's moveset involves a lot of varied kicks that can be chained into one another with the correct inputs. In that sense, she can very much be viewed as a momentum based character, keeping up the pressure on her opponents with flurries of dangerous leg waving.

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She's pretty quick, too, with many of her basic kicks coming out swiftly enough to catch her foes off guard. However, it's after the initial assault that Naotora arguably comes into her own. As mentioned, she has numerous kicks that can chain into one another, which is great for keeping her enemies guessing. What's more, she's also got a good mix of low, mid, and high moves that she can alternate between with relative ease.

If our time with her is anything to go by, then less experienced Dead or Alive players may find that Naotora is one of the easier characters to get to grips with - mostly due to a slew of combos that are reasonably simple to execute. Heck, just mashing circle can yield some surprisingly competent results during casual play, and the fact that Naotora's techniques look so stylish is a nice bonus.

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As far as crossovers go, Naotora is a fine example. She's been placed into Dead or Alive 5 with care, and, as we've already said, she's enjoyable to play as and entertaining to watch. It's also worth noting that the she sports both English and Japanese voice work - the former being something that isn't even available in her own game.


Have you tried Naotora Ii out in Dead or Alive 5? What do you think of her? Kick your way into the comments section below.