I honestly bought this as a novelty. Early 3DS games are a weird breed, with a bunch of third-party titles that simply existed to make the system look like a good investment while Nintendo scrambled to make some 1st party games that were worth a damn. I will give credit where it's due though; The ads for this game put the DOA franchise in the back of my middle-schooler mind, which lead to me picking up a copy several years later. Honestly? It's pretty good.
The story mode is a retelling of the plot that takes place over the course of DOA1-4. It's barely comprehensible to me (something about experiments to create superhumans, and a very angry ninja clan), but it was still a fun experience. The presentation in the cutscenes varies wildly, however. Some of them are FMVs, some are fully animated in-engine, and most of them are just watching the camera pan around inanimate character models. The bottom screen also sometimes gives extra details on certain topics when they come up in the cutscenes. It's useful for catching up on lore, but some of them are just descriptions of basic concepts (why are you telling me what "commodities" are?).
The real reason I enjoyed the story mode was its integrated tutorials. Every few missions or so, the game will give you a hands-on tutorial that teaches you one of the many dense mechanics of DOA. The battles that follow often pit you against opponents who will use tactics that favor using the tech you just learned, which is really cool. The game will also rarely slow time in the middle of battle, and give you a QTE command that can help turn the tide against your opponent. I think elements like these go a long way towards easing new players into the frantic pace of DOA's combat.
The combat itself is standard DOA fare, just condensed onto the 3DS. I will say that you SHOULD NOT play this game in 3D. The game runs at amostly smooth 60 FPS when the 3D is off, but caps at 30 when the 3D is on. It really isn't worth it. This game also happens to contain the one redeeming quality of Metroid: Other M within it. The area where you fight Ridley makes for a pretty sick fighting arena.
Overall, DOA: Dimensions makes for a good anniversary title, and the only portable rendition of pre-DOA5 combat. I personally think that the accessibility of the story mode could make this game a very appealing entry point for the DOA franchise as a whole, but I don't think it holds much value overall. Still a good time though.
The story mode is a retelling of the plot that takes place over the course of DOA1-4. It's barely comprehensible to me (something about experiments to create superhumans, and a very angry ninja clan), but it was still a fun experience. The presentation in the cutscenes varies wildly, however. Some of them are FMVs, some are fully animated in-engine, and most of them are just watching the camera pan around inanimate character models. The bottom screen also sometimes gives extra details on certain topics when they come up in the cutscenes. It's useful for catching up on lore, but some of them are just descriptions of basic concepts (why are you telling me what "commodities" are?).
The real reason I enjoyed the story mode was its integrated tutorials. Every few missions or so, the game will give you a hands-on tutorial that teaches you one of the many dense mechanics of DOA. The battles that follow often pit you against opponents who will use tactics that favor using the tech you just learned, which is really cool. The game will also rarely slow time in the middle of battle, and give you a QTE command that can help turn the tide against your opponent. I think elements like these go a long way towards easing new players into the frantic pace of DOA's combat.
The combat itself is standard DOA fare, just condensed onto the 3DS. I will say that you SHOULD NOT play this game in 3D. The game runs at a
Overall, DOA: Dimensions makes for a good anniversary title, and the only portable rendition of pre-DOA5 combat. I personally think that the accessibility of the story mode could make this game a very appealing entry point for the DOA franchise as a whole, but I don't think it holds much value overall. Still a good time though.