Dead or Alive 6 Producer Yohei Shimbori Talked About Why Tamaki Uses Aikido

Apart from Famitsu‘s review of new Dead or Alive 6 playable fighter Tamaki yesterday, they also interviewed Producer Yohei Shimbori on why Tamaki was the woman chosen out of Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation‘s original character roster to join the main fighting game series, why they designed her to use Aikido martial arts, and more. [Thanks, Dr. Gulabjamuns!]

Here are the highlights below:

Famitsu: Why did you choose Tamaki from DOAXVV?

Yohei Shimbori, Producer: “In the first place, we didn’t think of choosing a crossover fighter from Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation, but after hearing a countless amount of requests from players both in and outside Japan, we decided to do it.

When we were choosing the character, we narrowed the candidates down from the perspective of “girls who look like they’d be able to fight”. Furthermore, because all of DOA6‘s additional characters are all the kind who have abilities that exceed that of a regular human’s, we wanted to go with something different.

From the remaining candidates, Tamaki was chosen as her adult-like composure shone amongst the rest. All of the girls are quite charming, so we felt some pressure from the act of picking a character itself, but looking at everyone’s reactions when she was announced, we were able to relax after seeing that we managed to meet everyone’s expectations.

By the way, Tamaki says that this tournament is a “festival of Venuses”, but this is just Tamaki’s misconception due to Zack’s flashy way of writing the invitation. This is the same way Zack manages to invite all the girls onto his island in the DOAX series.”

Famitsu: Why did you make her Aikido her battle style?

Shimbori: “As she’s a former model and fashion designer, she has beautiful grace and posture; we also considered her nationality and interest in yoga, logically piecing together her skills and physical abilities. As we wanted to have her use Japan’s traditional martial arts, based on graceful body movements without overexertion, we chose Aikido.

The name sounds similar to Momiji’s Hayabusa-style Aikijutsu, but it’s something completely different. They’re both based on actual Aikido, and we arranged forms for atemi and throws to better fit Tamaki in DOA6.”

Famitsu: DOA6 will reach its first anniversary in March. Please share a message to all the players.

Shimbori: “Thanks to everyone, we’ve managed to reach the first anniversary after DOA6‘s release. Although we implemented various strategies, there are quite a few that did not go well. I’m thankful that we’ve come this far, and it’s all because we’ve received support despite all the trouble caused.

I’ve been deeply involved with Tamaki’s outfit design, moveset creation, etc. down to the finest details. Thanks to putting in all our effort, I believe that she’ll be very well-made as a DOA character, and that players will be able to enjoy a different “flavor” of action from characters up until now. For those who are fans of Tamaki, and those who aren’t, I hope you’ll enjoy playing as her.”

Dead or Alive 6 is available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. In case you missed it, this weekend Koei Tecmo responded to complaints about needing to pay for hair color changes. Additionally, you can find more screenshots of Tamaki and a look at her gameplay style in our previous article here.