{"id":91076,"date":"2019-03-29T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/nintendo-switch\/dead_or_alive_xtreme_3_scarlet"},"modified":"2019-03-29T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-03-29T18:00:00","slug":"review-dead-or-alive-xtreme-3-scarlet-a-sun-soaked-romp-that-loses-its-appeal-too-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/03\/29\/review-dead-or-alive-xtreme-3-scarlet-a-sun-soaked-romp-that-loses-its-appeal-too-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet &#8211; A Sun-Soaked Romp That Loses Its Appeal Too Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/fc94d7aebf4c5\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/fc94d7aebf4c5\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 1 of 7\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95644\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95644\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 1 of 7\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Welcome, one and all, to this beautiful tropical retreat \u2013 a place where weary people come to unwind with a host of activities including ball sports, endurance races, knocking opponents off platforms or simply relaxing on the beach. Oh yes, you can do all this and <em>more<\/em> on wonderful Wuhu Island&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Hang on, that\u2019s not right. No, <em>this<\/em> tropical paradise and its inhabitants are decidedly more curvaceous than the vacationing Miis from <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/wii\/wii_sports_resort\">Wii Sports Resort<\/a><\/strong>. Welcome to New Zack Island, the setting for an endless cycle of 14-day holidays that you\u2019ll be trapped in for the duration of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/dead_or_alive_xtreme_3_scarlet\">Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet<\/a><\/strong>. An update of the original 2016 game that released in slightly different forms on PS4 and PS Vita, it isn\u2019t getting a western release despite interest from a devoted fanbase, although the region-free nature of Switch (and the inclusion of an English language option) makes importing an easy, if expensive, option.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 2 of 7\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95636\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95636\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 2 of 7\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>That\u2019s right \u2013 menus are all available in English, with all dialogue subtitled, except mid-activity yelps and exclamations. You\u2019ll be joining a very multicultural line up of eleven ladies from the infamously saucy fighting series <strong>Dead Or Alive<\/strong>. All your potential waifus are aged between 18 and 23 (except millennia-old tengu princess Nyotengu), between 4\u00b410\u201d to 5\u00b48\u201d in height with hobbies as diverse as knitting, fortune telling and taking baths. Other vital statistics are present and correct, including their favourite food and colours \u2013 vital info if you want to impress them with gifts during their stay.<\/p>\n<p>Culled from the DOA property, they\u2019re not the most <em>diverse<\/em> bunch in terms of size, shape and ethnicity; Europe and Asia are apparently the only earthly continents. A bespoke cutscene introduces your chosen girl as she arrives for a fortnight of frolicking. Zack, the island\u2019s owner and <em>also<\/em> of DOA fame, has urgent business elsewhere and therefore appoints you as interim caretaker to this bevy of beat-em-up beauties. It\u2019s a hard job, but someone has got to do it.<\/p>\n<p>The game is split between two modes: Girl Mode, where you control your holiday-maker directly as she participates in the available activities, and Owner Mode, where you (<em>ahem<\/em>) \u2018observe\u2019 the girls and try to win them over with gifts, ensuring they have a memorable, invigorating time.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 3 of 7\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95637\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95637\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 3 of 7\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Split into several areas that you access from a menu, the island offers a primary set of six activities, including several in the swimming pool: a good old-fashioned \u2018Tug-of-War\u2019 atop floating platforms, jumping across floating blocks in \u2018Pool Hopping\u2019, and the classic \u2018Butt Battle\u2019, where two girls stand back-to-back on a small platform and try to bounce their opponent off using only their tanned derri\u00e8res.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving the resort complex, you can race an opponent to grab a little flag in \u2018Beach Flags\u2019, go rock climbing at Tranquil Beach or play volleyball. Before playing the game, we assumed it would involve an awful lot <em>more<\/em> volleyball, but during our first vacation the option sometimes wasn\u2019t available, much to our frustration.<\/p>\n<p>Once we\u2019d accepted that the scope of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet is much broader (if shallower), we started having a little more fun. The games are all quite simple. Pool Hopping and Rock Climbing are essentially Quick Time Events, while Tug-of-War and Butt Battle get the analogue stick involved. Beach Flags has you hammering on the \u2018B\u2019 button as if you were playing <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/new_international_track_and_field\">Track &amp; Field<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 4 of 7\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95635\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95635\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 4 of 7\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Volleyball is by far the meatiest of the activities, although it\u2019s still pretty barebones. The last beach volleyball game we recall playing is Sega&#8217;s <strong>Beach Spikers<\/strong> on GameCube, but Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet is nothing like as in-depth. That said, there was a certain satisfaction in the flow of the matches. We\u2019d have preferred some view options \u2013 Team Ninja\u2019s primary goal is to give you a good look at the competitors rather than the court \u2013 but we\u2019d be lying if we said we didn\u2019t have fun timing our spikes.<\/p>\n<p>The girls\u2019 flowing hair tends to clip through their bodies and the little skirts and sarongs they sometimes wear in lieu of minuscule bikini bottoms exhibit very primitive collision detection, but the animation is generally strong. The crisp, clean visuals look great on Switch, although you might expect more environmental flourishes. Sand, for example, doesn\u2019t deform under foot, and the water in the pool looks distinctly last-gen. In places the island feels like it\u2019s been ripped from a Sega arcade game from the early 2000s \u2013 not necessarily a bad thing, but we expected more.<\/p>\n<p>Then again, admiring the backgrounds is hardly the point. More than 600 \u2018swimsuits\u2019 (few of them genuinely fall under that definition, mind) are available to purchase for the ladies, with limited time offers and time-dependent sets available in the owner shop. If you can access the eShop overseas (the Hong Kong one in our case), you can buy premium tickets as an alternative form of currency. Standard costumes can be bought by the girls themselves or by the owner (you switch between modes by pressing the \u2018-\u2018 button at any time) and then presented as a gift. It may be refused if a) it\u2019s not immaculately wrapped in paper that the girl finds pleasing, or b) she simply isn\u2019t interested in the item. You can pay for \u201cPremium Wrapping\u201d, in which case she\u2019ll accept any old thing, for some reason.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 5 of 7\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95647\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95647\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 5 of 7\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Shopping aside, every activity you do \u2013 from sporty pursuits to relaxing poolside \u2013 takes up a chunk of the day. After three sessions you\u2019re returned to your bedroom and have the option to send out gifts (developing relationships with other girls \u2013 you can partner up with one for most of the activities) and arrange your wardrobe and assorted wares before heading to the casino. Blackjack, Roulette or Poker are excellent ways to supplement the Zack Dollars you earn from activities, provided you don\u2019t lose it all. These DOA girls are a high-maintenance bunch, and those tiny costumes <em>are<\/em> pricey.<\/p>\n<p>Oddly for a game that fetishises its protagonists as this one does, the girls are presented in the casino games only by face icons while the bland 3D casino stands empty in the background. Call us crazy, but surely this would have been the <em>perfect<\/em> opportunity to slip the ladies into some chic little dresses, although perhaps that would entail far too much fabric for Team Ninja\u2019s liking. The playing cards which float in the air are emblazoned with pictures, but it\u2019s all a bit static after the vigours of the daytime activities. Still, we\u2019ve played worse digital renditions of card games and we spent quite a while at the tables.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 6 of 7\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95639\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95639\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 6 of 7\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Participating (and winning) activities elevates the girls\u2019 satisfaction and excitement levels, although yours will probably start to wane after a few hours. \u2018Missions\u2019 guide you through the game and provide some structure to an extent; the owner or your girl will instruct you to play a certain game or buy a specific drink for dollar and XP bonuses. Your ever-increasing Owner Level XP carries over with every fortnight vacation you complete. When the holiday is over you\u2019re graded depending on the satisfaction levels of all the girls on the island. New costumes and items unlock as you repeat the cycle, but even with all the bouncing encouragement in the world, the limited number of things to do makes your vacation feel a little too much like busywork after a while.<\/p>\n<p>You can take photos (saved to your Switch as captures) as the girls scramble up a rock face or do any of the other activities, but snapping shots soon gets dull. Over days the ladies steadily tan, something you\u2019ll notice when you change them into a different costume. A fun detail, but not something to get too excited about.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of excitement, you\u2019ll notice that many of the costumes have the word \u2018Malfunction\u2019 next to them on the menu, denoting their ability to &#8216;fail&#8217; in some small way. Calm down, though; far from indicating the potential for a Janet Jackson-style Superbowl slip, it simply means a strap may fall a little or a knot might loosen. Fear not! \u2013 you\u2019ll never see anything you shouldn\u2019t, however <em>improbably<\/em> the garments remain attached. Eventually you\u2019ll unlock a fan that allows you to cause these malfunctions at will with a gust of air, but there\u2019s an awful lot of grinding to get there (and not the kind you might have been hoping for).<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 7 of 7\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95646\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95646\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Review - Screenshot 7 of 7\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Finally, we should mention the softening and hardening ointments you can purchase and apply to the girls. Their excitement levels must be elevated for the oils, liquids and gels to have their maximum effect, but \u2018shape\u2019 and \u00b4jiggliness\u2019 can be affected by these peculiar liquids that come in appropriately-shaped bottles. These were excluded from the PS4 version, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pushsquare.com\/news\/2018\/11\/sony_censorship_policy_removes_crude_items_from_dead_or_alive_xtreme_3_scarlet\">causing quite a stir<\/a>, but they\u2019re present and correct on Switch. Also included is \u2018Soft 4D\u2019 which apparently uses the HD rumble in novel ways, although try as we might, we couldn\u2019t get this to work in <em>any<\/em> of the normal modes. A little detective work revealed that this must be unlocked and purchased but &#8211; we\u2019ll be brutally honest here &#8211; after over 12 hours of the same repetitive lady-oggling gameplay, we really couldn\u2019t muster the enthusiasm for any more butt-battles just to have the HD rumble motors go crazy while the ladies pout at us.<\/p>\n<p>As we\u2019ve said, we came to this expecting a volleyball game in the vein of the original DOA spin off, with plenty of jiggle and some peripheral outfit purchases, but volleyball is peripheral here, with a focus on items and attending the girls that arguably feels better suited to a mobile experience. That\u2019s fine, there\u2019s plenty of room for all sorts of experiences on Switch and once you get into the rhythm of it, it\u2019s not unenjoyable, but the internet is full of salacious material \u2013 the sort to make this look laughably tame. If you\u2019re coming to this for titillation, there are much cheaper, less grind-y ways to get it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s fun to be had on New Zack Island, although we wish it drilled down on two or three things rather than the assortment of slighter activities it offers. Ultimately, Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet is a minigame compilation that you play repeatedly to earn money to buy costumes for busty supermodels. Opportunities to photograph them in ever more leery ways unlock as you go, and that\u2019ll have to be enough to satisfy you for the long term because the games themselves pall after a few hours. Like most beach holidays, they\u2019re fantastic in theory, but once you\u2019re there and twiddling your thumbs for things to do, it can get a bit dull.<\/p>\n<p>Should you bother importing it? For us, there\u2019s simply not enough meat on the bone to be worth it, but each to their own. There\u2019s enjoyment to be had \u2013 and not just from the toned digital bodies on show \u2013 but on balance we\u2019d rather spend a fortnight back on Wuhu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">Please note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale which helps support the site. Please read our <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/ftc-disclosure\">FTC Disclosure<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-products article-products-list\">\n<div class=\"items\">\n<div class=\"item\">\n<div class=\"image\"><a class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/nintendolife.com\/p\/9736\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/products\/9736\/100x100?v=fab3bd4688cdcb94e6092baa9842f095\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" alt><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome, one and all, to this beautiful tropical retreat \u2013 a place where weary people come to unwind with a host of activities including ball sports, endurance races, knocking opponents off platforms or simply relaxing on the beach. Oh yes, you can do all this and more on wonderful Wuhu Island&#8230; Hang on, that\u2019s not [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91076\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}