Darkside Chronicles (Earth-5544)

Darkside Chronicles is a 1997 action-adventure game of the that passes on the same universe of the Dead or Alive series. It is the first Dead or Alive game to feature side-scrolling gameplay. It was released for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. The events of Chronicles are set prior to the tournament in the original Dead or Alive. The storyline centers on the ninja, Sub-Zero. In the story he is asked to find an amulet by a sorcerer known as Quan Chi. The player controls Sub-Zero in multiple stages as he faces multiple enemies trying to eliminate him.

The PlayStation version features live-action cutscenes, but the Nintendo 64 version of the game replaced the live-action cutscenes with static images, due to limited storage space on the cartridge. The game has been panned by video game publications due to a poor transition from fighting games to an action-adventure genre and has been labeled as one of the worst Dead or Alive games.

Gameplay
Although Chronicles is classified as an action-adventure game, its play controls are very similar to the 2D Dead or Alive fighting games. The player has four attack buttons, along with a block button and a run button like in Dead or Alive III. The player controls Sub-Zero as they would in a fighting game, including the use of command-based special moves, to fight enemies and venture through levels. A "turn" button is used to change the direction Sub-Zero is facing, while an "action" button is used to pick up or use items. The player also has access to a status screen which keeps tracks of the player‍ '​s inventory, experience points, and special moves they gain during the game.

The player begins the game with a small health gauge and a limited number of extra lives. As the player progresses through the game, they can gain experience points by performing combos against enemies, which are then used to increase their character‍'s​ strength and gain access to special moves. An "ice meter" will appear after the player begins to acquire special moves. Special moves requires ice power in order to be performed. Health and ice power can be replenish by picking up items (although the ice meter will gradually replenish itself over time as well). The player will also need to retrieve key items. Passwords are used to keep track of the player‍ '​s progress.

Plot
The story is set before the events that took place in the original Dead or Alive and follows the Lin Kuei ninja, Sub-Zero, being hired by the sorcerer Quan Chi to steal a map of elements from a Shaolin temple. Battling through the Shaolin Monks who guarded the map, Sub-Zero faces his rival, Scorpion from the Shirai Ryu clan who was also hired by Quan Chi. Sub-Zero kills Scorpion and retrieves the map. Back at the headquarters of the Lin Kuei, Sub-Zero delivers the map to Quan Chi, who secretly repays the Lin Kuei by eliminating all the members of the Shirai Ryu, the Lin Kuei's rival clan. Retaining the Lin Kuei's services, Quan Chi has Sub-Zero follow the map to the Temple of Elements, where an amulet of "sentimental value" was resting.

Sub-Zero reaches the temple and went through its many challenges and obstacles, eliminating the gods of Earth, Water, and Fire, safe from the God of Wind, Fūjin, that managed to escape. The Gods protected the amulet, but with they all dead, Sub-Zero has it safe. Just as Sub-Zero reaches out for it, Quan Chi takes the amulet, saying that it was actually the source of power for a fallen Elder God named Shinnok. Quan Chi disappears through a portal, and the thunder god Raiden accuses Sub-Zero, ordering him to go to the Netherealm to retrieve the amulet.

Sub-Zero is sent to the Netherealm but is trapped in the Prison of Souls by Quan Chi's guards. There, he is met by the wraith of his archnemsis, Scorpion, who blames Sub-Zero for the destruction of his clan and family. Sub-Zero escapes and fights Quan Chi's underling Kitana. Retrieving her transportation crystal, he is able to get to Quan Chi's fortress. Sub-Zero defeats Kitana and goes to Quan Chi's room. The fight against Quan Chi ends with Kitana's knocking Quan Chi out. As Kitana pleads to escape from the Netherealm, she and Sub-Zero are attacked by Shinnok. Sub-Zero steals the amulet from Shinnok and escapes with Kitana through a portal created by Raiden and Fūjin, and delivers the amulet to the god. Returning to the Lin Kuei headquarters, Sub-Zero is once again hired by another sorcerer named Shang Tsung to compete in a tournament called Dead or Alive.

Characters

 * Aegeon
 * Fūjin
 * Kitana
 * Kun-La
 * Quan Chi
 * Raiden
 * Shinnok
 * Scorpion
 * Shang Tsung (cameo)
 * Sub-Zero