Bass Armstrong

Bass Armstrong
Dead or Alive character
225 px Bass Armstrong in Dead or Alive 3
First game	Dead or Alive (PlayStation version) (1998)
Created by	Tomonobu Itagaki
Voiced by (English)	Terence McGovern (DOA2: Hardcore), Joe J. Thomas (Dimensions), Patrick Seitz (DOA5-present)
Voiced by (Japanese)	Daisuke Gōri (DOA–DOA4), Kenta Miyake (Dimensions–present)
Portrayed by	Kevin Nash
Fictional profile
Nationality	American
Fighting style	Wrestling
Occupation	Pro wrestler

Bass Armstrong (バース・アームストロング Bāsu Āmusutorongu?) is a character from the Dead or Alive video game series. He is a retired professional wrestler and the overprotective father of Tina Armstrong. The character is heavily influenced by the wrestler Hulk Hogan both in his look and moves (in his win pose in Dead or Alive++, Bass holds his hand up to his ear just like Hogan does and in a Dead or Alive 2 win pose, Bass slaps his rear end like Hogan has in the past). Later on in the series, he was distanced further from his similarities with the wrestler, but was given a beard similar to nWo era Hulk Hogan. Ironically, one of Hogan's members of the nWo, Kevin Nash, plays Bass in the live action film based on the game series. Bass has been voiced in English by Terence McGovern, Joe J. Thomas and Patrick Seitz. He was originally voiced in Japanese by Daisuke Gori (who also voiced Heihachi Mishima in the Tekken series from Tekken 3 to Tekken 6) until his death from an apparent suicide on January 17, 2010.

He is also the widower of Alicia Armstrong, who died of a disease when Tina was only six years old. He disapproves of Tina's aspirations of wanting to be a model (DOA2), a Hollywood actress (DOA3) and a rock star (DOA4). Consequently, he enters the DOA tournaments to put an end to her fame-seeking, only to fail at each attempt. In the fourth tournament, it is revealed that he intends to win so he would have enough money to enter the "Hyper Battle Grand Prix", which he then loses after seeing Tina's picture on a billboard and crashes into it after losing control of his bike. Like Tina in the English versions of the game, he, too, speaks with a Southern accent.

He has a strong resemblance to New World Order (nWo) wrestlers Hollywood Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage. In the movie, he tries to persuade Tina to return to wrestling. A repeated gag in the movie is Bass walking in and finding Tina in compromising positions, first with Christie and just before their fight with Kasumi, at which point he comments "Does Christie know about this?". Bass' character is far more lighthearted in the movie, even applauding Tina when she beats him.

History

Before Dead or Alive

Bass was an undefeated Pro Wrestler and undisputed world champion. Somewhere along the line in his career, he met and married Alicia, Tina's mother. However, when Tina was 6, Alicia died of a disease, leaving Bass to care for his daughter by himself. Bass, driven by his own dream of having his child follow in his footsteps, began to push Tina through a rigorous training regimen. By the time Tina reached high school, she was an expert wrestler. She then goes on to become one of the world's most feared pro-wrestling competitors.

Dead or Alive

Tina begins to tire of her life as a wrestler, (apparently) wanting to enter more glamorous professions. However, Bass convinces her to rekindle her competitive sprit and enter the DOA tournament. Bass thinks that Tina is in it for the glory of winning the DOA tournament, but her real aim is to become a model.

Dead or Alive 2

Bass enters the second DOA tournament to stop his daughter's cheap and lofty ambitions. However, she succeeds, defeating Bass in the finals of the tournament in the process.

Dead or Alive 3

Hearing Tina now wants to be an actress, Bass is extremely upset; he always had expected Tina to become a pro wrestler. So, Bass enters once again to stop Tina's fame seeking. However, judging from the CG opening of Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, he fails again, as Tina has become a pop star of sorts.

Dead or Alive 4

Bass is watching Tina on TV after she has just won another wrestling tournament. He is pleased as she announces she will partake in the fourth Dead or Alive tournament, but he flies into a fury when Tina mentions that after winning the tournament she wants to become a rock star. Bass joins the Dead or Alive tournament to prevent Tina from winning, and also to earn some cash to be able to race in the Hyper Battle Grand Prix, a motorbike race.

Side note: Bass is significantly faster, and seems to have lost a great deal of weight in DOA4.

Dead or Alive 5

Two years after the fourth tournament, Bass is a worker at an oil rig and has befriended Rig. He decides to re-enter the ring after the next tournament is announced, mainly after hearing that Tina will participate. After defeating Tina in the quarterfinals, he places third after losing to Jann Lee in the semifinals. It is unknown if he knows about Rig's true motives.

Movie Appearance

Bass appears in DOA: Dead or Alive, played by Kevin Nash. He enters the tournament and loses his first fight against Tina.

Personality

Bass is the strongest man in the world and he knows it. He also wants others to know it, and will not hesitate to prove his superiority in or out of the ring. He is not so arrogant that he cannot accept others as equals, and will easily befriend anyone who can live up to his personal standards of strength and might. Bass feels that he should be very protective of his daughter and, like any other father, dislikes her using her sex appeal in various situations. He doesn't hesitate to mingle in her affairs when he thinks they concern him. However, Bass loves his daughter very much and tries to keep an eye on her at all times. ( In fact his caring nature for Tina is what causes him to lose the bike race during his ending in DOA 4, in which he sees Tina on one of the many big screens that litters, the raceway in what he thinks is an "adult" film, in his shock/rage he loses control of his bike and crashes into the big screen.)

Gameplay

Bass is a power/grappler character, as is reflected by his large size and execution timeframe. His throw attacks are combo based but are easily escaped from by experienced players. However they can result in over 60% damage (i.e. his Manhattan Driver Combo throw), and thanks to his strength Bass's counters can inflict massive damage. His Tiger Knee game is quite competent as well, with attacks such as the Rising Palm and One Hand Hammer. Bass's slow speed results in him having to play aggressively and take advantage of missed counters and blocking. In DOA3, his grappling prowess was increased due to the implemetantion of air throws (DR, F+P) and ground "lifts" to open up offensive opportunities (Lift Up). In DOA3, he is considered to be one of the best characters in the game. In earlier games, Bass was considered to be one of the most difficult characters to use, and as such was not recommended for beginners. However, what with the series's gameplay mechanics having evolved significantly over the years, as well as the introduction of more advanced and technical characters such as Eliot, Honoka, Lisa and Brad Wong, Bass is now considered to be one of the more beginner-friendly characters in Dead or Alive 6. He is also one of the four characters available for free with the Core Fighters package for DOA6.

See also

• Hulk Hogan
• List of Dead or Alive characters
• Tina Armstrong