This September the Dead or Alive series is coming back to consoles with a fifth entry in the main series. After portable excursions and volleyball vacations, Dead or Alive 5 wants to get serious again with a renewed emphasis on action, though we can’t help but notice the women in the game aren’t dressing all that differently. If this is your first DoA game or your long-awaited return to the series, this list should help you get up to date with all the characters announced for the roster to date, including guest characters from Virtua Fighter. Follow along with us alphabetically as we start with…

First appeared: Virtua Fighter

One of the first three-dimensional fighters ever conceived for gaming, Akira is bringing his lineage to Dead or Alive for the first time in DoA5. A serious fighter from rival series Virtua Fighter, Akira is known for his complicated move set and dedication to improving as a fighter. Basically VF’s equivalent of Street Fighter’s Ryu, Akira is a tad more impetuous than Ryu, but just as dedicated to honing his technique while relegating the rest of the world to mere distractions.

First appeared: Dead or Alive (PlayStation version)

A child born out of violence, Ayane had a rough childhood. She turned her jealousy of her half-sister Kasumi into conviction, training to become the greatest practitioner of ninjitsu the Hajin Mon clan had ever seen. Her noble beginnings are reflected in the actual gameplay of the DoA series. In the Sega Saturn version of the first DoA game, she took plenty of beatings as a mere training dummy. However, she got a place on the roster as an unlockable character when the game was ported to the PlayStation. Thanks to her distinctive purple hair, she’s become one of the series’ most well-known characters. In the end of DoA 4, she took part in the attack that lead to the fall of DOATEC. The blast from her powerful Art of the Raging Mountain God spell destroyed the complex, and allowed her and Hayate to escape.

First appeared: Dead or Alive (PlayStation version)

A hulking American wrestler, Bass retired from the ring years ago, but trying to control his daughter Tina always angries up his blood for a fight. For some reason, he’s dead set on getting her to follow in his footsteps as a wrestling champion, and it’s not like she hasn’t taken a crack at it. Tina is a skilled wrestler in her own right, but has always been more interested in acting than pinning foes to a mat. Still, seeing his daughter on the big screen always upsets Bass. Maybe it was a promise he made to his late wife, but now the motorcycle riding man-mountain is back, and would you look at that, we think he’s lost some weight.

First appeared: Dead or Alive (arcade edition)

Bayman is a deadly combination of professional assassin and Sambo martial artist. Basically, he’s not a fighter to be trifled with. Generally a killer for whoever writes the biggest check, things have become personal for Bayman, since Victor Donovan failed to pay him for a hit. Who was the target, you ask? Oh nobody special, just Fame Douglas, the late head of the DoA tournament committee. In his quest for revenge, Bayman infiltrated DoA headquarters, got captured, then escaped his interrogators. With the base under attack by shinobi, his fate was left hanging, but apparently he made it out of there since he’s back for DoA 5.

First appeared: Dead or Alive 3

Lovingly known as the drunken master of the Dead or Alive series, Brad’s pursuit of the mystical beverage Genra is what brought him to the tournament. His unpredictable maneuvers and multiple fighting stances made him a slippery contender, but his Genra goal still alluded him. Finally, at end of the fourth tournament, Brad obtained his much-sought after drink. He takes a sip, and immediately goes on the trip of his life. One trip down the rabbit hole of kaleidoscoping visuals would have been enough for most people, but not Brad, who immediately takes an even bigger sip. Let’s hope all that Genra hasn’t fried his brains, he’s scheduled to fight in Dead or Alive 5!

First appeared: Dead or Alive 3

Christie is neck and neck with Bayman for DoA’s most cold-blooded character. A professional assassin and skilled practitioner of She Quan, she originally entered the tournament working as a double agent for the nefarious Victor Donovan. Years ago, Donovan hired her to murder Helena Douglas, the legitimate heir to the DOATEC empire. Christie still hasn’t completed her mission yet, but not for lack of trying. Christie ended up assassinating Helena’s mother Maria, so to say that those two have a past is understating it a bit.

First appeared: Dead or Alive 4

Eliot is the youngest fighter on the Dead or Alive 5 roster. A high school age martial artist, he trained under the master Gen Fu, a man he’s learned a lot from, but doesn’t really understand. He seems to get along better with the drunken master Brad Wong. Still, Eliot’s repertoire is full of fast strikes and powerful combos, making him a dangerous practitioner of Xing Yi Quan. In fact, he’s grown strong enough to outpace Gen Fu, finally besting the old man in a duel at the end of Dead or Alive 4. Now that he’s been announced for Dead or Alive 5, should we expect an older, more mature Eliot?

First appeared: Dead or Alive 2

Hayate entered the Dead or Alive tournament as a Karate master named Ein with a case of amnesia. Once he recovered his memories, we discovered he was rather intimately connected with much of the DoA cast. The son of Shiden and Ayame, Hayate is Kasumi’s older brother, and therefore Ayane’s half-brother. In the end of DoA 4, he joined forces with his half-sister and the two were integral in destroying DOATEC headquarters. Before they could escape the collapsing base, they had two face off against Alpha—152, an enhanced clone of their sister Kasumi. How’s that for sibling rivalry?

First appeared: Dead or Alive 2

Helena Douglas, also known as “Fortune's Heiress,” is the current leader of the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee (DOATEC) and the daughter of Fame Douglas, founder of DOATEC. As a famous opera singer and Pi Gua Quan martial artist, Helena’s refined elegance translates into a quick yet graceful fighting style that allows her to pull off smooth windmill-like combinations that overwhelm her opponents. After the apparent destruction of DOATEC after the last tournament, Helena has re-emerged to announce the reformed DOATEC and issue an open invitation to all potential competitors to the fifth Dead or Alive Tournament.

First appeared: Dead or Alive 3

Trained by her father to be a black belt in Karate, Hitomi entered the DoA tournament to prove her skills and seek out her friend Ein, aka Hayate. However, since Hayate had recovered his memories, he could not return with Hitomi to her father’s dojo, and the two had to part ways. At least Hitomi placed well in the tournament, proving to her father that she was ready to move out and begin an independent adult life.

First appeared: Dead or Alive

This Jeet Kune Do warrior is often portrayed with a dragon symbol on his pants and clutching a pair of Nunchaku, which makes him a bit of a Bruce Lee look-alike. When he’s not competing in the DoA tournament, he often works as a bouncer, or rescues female characters like Leifang and Hitomi from trouble with gangs or dinosaurs. His efforts aren’t always appreciated, however, and often result in new rivalries. In one of the most shocking turns of the last DoA game, Jann Lee lost to his long-time rival Leifang. He was graceful about it, of course, and even ended up rescuing her once again from the super-powered clone Alpha—152. Does that make the two even? We doubt it; surely they’ll be back at it in DoA 5.

First appeared: Dead or Alive

Trained in the ninja arts by the Mugen Tenshin clan, Kasumi broke her sacred oath when she swore vengeance against her uncle Raidou for the murder of her brother. Abandoning her oath she became an enemy of the clan that trained her. Still, she is not without ninja allies. Ryu Hayabusa considers her a close friend, and respects her ninjitsu skills. And how could he not? Kasumi can teleport, letting her get the drop on foes in a style well beyond your average ninja.

First appeared: Dead or Alive 4

The illegitimate daughter of Fame Douglas, the late head of the DoA Tournament committee, and Miyako the Geisha, Kokoro has a lot to prove. Her mother took her away from the tournament and kept the identity of her father a secret, hoping to protect her from shame and those who might hurt her as a means to manipulate her powerful father. However, after her father’s assassination, her half-sister Helena took over the DoA committee, further motivating Kokoro to set out for notoriety and fortune using her Ba Ji Quan fighting skills.

First appeared: Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball

Lisa Hamilton, who wrestles under the name La Mariposa, is a big bundle of contradictions. She’s an American luchadora, and a former scientist for DOATEC. She made her debut in Zack’s volleyball tournament, but became a playable fighter in DoA 4. As a wrestler, she and Tina have a past. They were once rivals, but now seem to be allies, since Lisa helped her out in a tag-team match against three opponents. She now seems to have entirely abandoned her scientific pursuits and chosen to embrace her luchadora career, entering the tournament for DoA 5.

First appeared: Dead or Alive

A T’ai Chi Quan wunderkind from way back in the first DoA game, Leifang’s petite demeanor masks a hot temper. After being saved by fellow fighter Jan Lee from a gang of thugs, she vowed to prove she could have defended herself, and a friendly rivalry began. Not until the fourth tournament did she finally best him, only to suffer an embarrassing incident at the hands of a fellow train passenger, right after the tournament. Now Leifang is surely eager to win the respect of her peers, and perhaps defeat Jann Lee one more time.

A brand new character for DoA5, here's how Team Ninja describes Mila:

"Mila is an up-and-coming MMA champion who has scored spectacular victories all over the world. She spends her days training at the gym in between shifts at her part-time job, honing her skills as a lightning fast, orthodox striker with a strong follow-up ground game. Mila also feels intense admiration for a certain fighter, and she has entered the fifth Dead or Alive Tournament to follow her dream of taking on her idol in the ring."

First appeared: Dead or Alive 5

A new character debuting on the roster for DoA 5, Rig is in the oil business. As his name would suggest, he works on an oil rig. All that time pumping crude at sea must give him plenty of opportunity to practice his kicks, the man is an expert in the sport (and art) of Taekwondo. Rig’s rig will also be available as a location in the game. Called Fuel, it features three levels for fighters to face off on, and plenty of danger zones. Let’s hope everyone’s getting hazard pay!

First appeared: Ninja Gaiden

Probably the most famous member of the DoA roster, Ryu’s history goes all the way back to the NES, the system that first featured the Ninja Gaiden games he stars in. An expert in ninjitsu and most bladed weapons, when Ryu isn’t globe-trotting and killing ninjas in his games, he competes in the Dead or Alive tournaments, often teaming with fellow ninja Kasumi and battling his rival Hayate. Though a tough competitor, Ryu always fights on the side of justice.

First appeared: Virtua Fighter

Another member of the original, core VF roster appearing in DoA5, Sarah is a tough expert in multiple forms of martial arts. The sister of VF regular Jacky, Sarah had the bad luck of being kidnapped and brainwashed to kill her brother in the first VF game, though she ultimately overcame her programming before she was forced to kill her brother. Now that she knows who used her, she’s out to exact revenge against the organization that did it, crippling the criminal collective for good.

First appeared: Dead or Alive

The daughter of legendary wrestler Bass Armstrong, Tina has professional ambitions beyond simply stepping out of her father’s shadow. She wants to become a Hollywood starlet, and is well on her way, having been a supermodel, a rock star, an actress and an on-air personality. This always invokes the ire of Bass, whose idea of protecting his daughter is getting her to follow in his footsteps. Their father-daughter arguments often end up in the ring, where Tina’s combination of wrestling holds and precise strikes give her old man something to be proud of – and look out for.

First appeared: Dead or Alive

This flamboyant, fast-kicking fighter has once again entered the tournament for his two usual reasons: fame and fortune. When he’s not boxing, Muay Thai-style, he’s chasing after money with his girlfriend Niki, or pumping out the jams as a DJ. At the end of the last tournament, he and his lady found incredible riches, and gave us the most insane and incredible DOA ending we’ve ever seen. Additionally, he’s twice hosted the Dead or Alive Xtreme volleyball championships on his own private island, and twice he’s had his haven destroyed by a disaster. The first Zack Island was destroyed by a volcano, and then the creatively named New Zack Island was sunk by a meteor shower.