Dead or Alive 5

Tecmo Koei’s latest addition to the popular Dead or Alive franchise will be hitting Vitas next March, and new details about Dead or Alive 5 Plus have now hit.

Dead or Alive 5 provided some level of conflict for me. On one hand, the game just wasn’t the advancement over previous chapters of the series that I had been hoping for—or that Team Ninja had promised. And yet, at the same time, I have still had a decent amount of fun with it over the last few months.

Moving fighting games to the Vita has also been a case of mixed results, and I’ve seen a number of them where I just prefer playing them on home consoles—mainly for the benefit of using my arcade sticks. DOA5, however, seems like a fighter that’ll work pretty darn well on Sony’s handheld.

For that Vita version—titled Dead or Alive 5 Plus—Teamn Ninja have announced a few additional details. One of the best is that the Vita version will be cross-platform compatible with the PS3 version, meaning competitors on one system can battle those on the other. Costumes can also be shared across the two platforms—though exacts for how that’ll be done have yet to be announced.

One of the biggest additions to DOA5+ will be the Touch Play Mode, where you’ll be able to hold the Vita vertically, and then engage in battle via a first-person perspective. “In Mode 1, tap the opponent to attack them in that spot,” Tecmo Koei’s released announced reads. “In Mode 2, touch, flick, and pinch the screen to attack your opponent with more finesse and options.”

I’ll be honest—given the nature of Dead or Alive and its female characters, thinking about some players out there interacting with the game via the Vita’s touch screen brings images to mind that I’m not exactly sure I want.

Dead or Alive 5 Plus will see release in North America on March 19th, 2013.