Def harder than DOA2. Hell, I remember more than a few occasions where a bunch of us would be completely shit-faced and still pull off the most amazing combos and reversals. Only people that were any trouble were Leon/Bayman (good god, the counters that just kept chaining

) and Tengu. DOA4 is a right bitch tho. AI can be relentless, especially when dealing with the ninja characters.