Since the series began back in 2012, the One Piece Pirate Warriors titles have enjoyed huge success – for example, the third instalment topped a Million worldwide, and it’s this level of success that assures more titles are surely to come. Publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment partnered up with Koei Tecmo Games to form a collaboration with their popular “Dynasty Warriors” style games, and the rest is history. The genre lends itself very well to the One Piece IP.
The last time around, the story was covered comprehensively – from East Blue right up to Dressrosa (which was the ongoing Arc at the time, so they had a game exclusive ending) oddly, this time around they decided to not start from the new world Arcs, but from the very start. Interestingly, they skip straight to Alabasta, then onto Enies Lobby, and follow that up with Marineford. There is a brief summary of major events between the aforementioned arcs – however, if you aren’t familiar with the story, this may completely confuse you.
With Marineford signalling the end of the first half of the overall story, you then make your way straight to Dressrosa, skipping over Fishman Island and Punk Hazard. With there being less Arcs this time around, they do put a much larger focus on those they have covered – Dressrosa introduces 2 new playable characters to the series: Cavendish and Bartolomeo. Whole Cake Island is given a big focus though: Katakuri, Big Mom and Germa 66 (The Vinsmoke Brothers) are the main additions to the roster.
The game finishes up in Wano, which is still in serialisation, so they have opted for an original story for this Arc. The Captain of the Beasts Pirates, Emperor Kaido is playable! I admit, I was rather excited about this.
In addition to the main Story Mode titled “Dramatic Log” there is also a secondary mode – “Treasure Log” (this mode is unlocked after completing the tutorial – it changes characters and scenarios each time you play) & an online co-op mode which allows you to play with up to 4 players online. Finally, there is the Dynasty Warriors staple “Free Log” which essentially lets you play through the story with whatever characters you like.
Sadly, the Pirate Warriors series has never had an English dub. A real shame, as I’m a big fan of the cast over at Funimation. Bandai Namco Entertainment make a point of dubbing every single Dragon Ball title, though that series is much more popular here in the West than One Piece, it is disappointing – especially when you consider One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows did get a dub. Of course, the Japanese acting here is great, I do enjoy One Piece subbed weekly, and am up to date, the reason being that the dub is way too far back. That aside, the soundtrack is an original one produced for the game, though there are reused tracks from the previous 3. I’m a big fan of using the official BGM/Soundtrack from the anime, as I feel it really gives you a way better experience whilst playing, and I feel the same way about any title based on a TV show/movie.
Gameplay is very formulaic, and is what you’d expect from a “musou” series title. Square is normal attack, triangle is charge attack (keep it pressed for a longer attack) you can use X with your combos to jump, and you can perform moves in the air, and combat is seamless. Special moves are a little different this time around: holding the R2 button will open up a range of options. Dependent on character, for example, Luffy starts with 4 moves and holding down R2 gives you the choice of pressing Triangle, circle, Square or X. You can simply turn on the easy special move where simply pressing R2 will automatically execute the default.
You can also sprint by pressing L2. Giant boss battles are somewhat interesting, as you can only inflict damage on them when they are vulnerable – mid attack, so dodge and unleash your combos. There is also a charge attack, and when you are locked onto an enemy, pressing charge will take you straight for them. There are 4 skill slots per character and upon unlocking each one, they can be changed freely. You can set your preferences if you wish to host a Co-Op session, or even join one, choosing the latter will prompt the game to search for another host’s settings that match yours.
Time to drop the anchor. One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 is the biggest and best title in the series up to now. If you can look past the characters from 3 that haven’t returned, and in my opinion it is disappointing as they have character models and move sets, it just seems like a waste to me. I understand why they did it, as they are focusing on more recent events, but again, it is a shame. The addition of online Co-Op is most welcome, as the days of playing locally with a friend is sadly a relic of days gone by. Luffy and his crew of Straw hats are back, and better than ever, the story is a little messy admittedly, but if you’re a fan of the series as I am, you’ll love it, as what’s not to love? All four members of the Yonkou are playable for the first time ever, and there are even more new combos to let loose on your enemies. It’s not perfect, but hey, it is One Piece, and that is enough for me.