REVIEW

One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 Review

by Jake Stewart, April 21st, 2020

There are many niches to be filled in the gaming market, no matter who you are or what you like, there is always something to hit that certain mark that you’re looking for. The particularly niche genre of Anime games seems to have grown rapidly over the years, and the quality of such titles has grown with it. One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 is one of those games that only a certain audience will fall within, but there is plenty to love for those who fall into that target audience.

Pirate Warriors 4 follows the story of the titular One Piece, starting from the very beginning of the series to the most recent arc in the ongoing storyline. Therefore, the other three Pirate Warriors games are not necessary for enjoying this title, however, there are a few marks that may drive away players who are not yet acquainted with One Piece. While the story certainly follows the timeline of the anime/manga, it is much more condensed as the developers are forced to fit a 900+ episode storyline into a regular length video game with a much stronger emphasis on action than story. With this in mind, the vital story beats are gorgeous and voiced perfectly in its original Japanese language, so while the fine details of the greater series aren’t present (such as the tame, character-oriented moments) the plot is still engaging and easy to follow.

If you’re a fan of Koei Temco, you know what you’re getting into when you see the word “Warriors” in the title of one of their games. As with other entries in the Warriors franchises, Pirate Warriors 4 places you in control of the colorful cast of One Piece characters each with a great variety of weapons and move sets in the roster of over 40+ playable characters. The true joy of this game is taking this huge roster of characters and fighting thousands and thousands of enemies across wide-scale battlegrounds. Mixed in with these armies are the bosses of named characters from the series that are a much higher threat that require a good deal of strategy and combat ability to add them to the pile of bodies.

The gameplay loop covers, explore a large area, mow through thousands of weak enemies, fight a named big baddy, rinse and repeat. There isn’t much to the game beyond the combat, making this a nearly entirely action-oriented title that can become a tad bit repetitive but great for blowing off steam.

The fighting styles, abilities, and animations have a great amount of variety despite supporting such a large roster, making each character a treat to control in their own right. Unfortunately, when playing through the storyline or “Dramatic Log” you are obviously restrained to the fighters that are present in that fight. This means that you’ll be taking control of Luffy and his crew more than anything which can be a bit repetitive. After beating a mission you can return via “Free Log” which allows you to take control of any character of your liking to replay the battle.

For those acquainted with previous Warriors games, there have been some much-appreciated improvements made in Pirate Warriors 4 to help spice up the age-old formula. The most notable aspect being the amount of aerial combat present in this game. While most other Warriors titles keep your fighter planted firmly on the ground for the most part, Pirate Warriors 4 will send your character sky-high as they launch hundreds of enemies into the air and perform awesome aerial combos. The amount of focus placed on aerial movement and combat makes each fight feel significantly more engaging as you soar from fight to fight, taking down thousands of enemies in your wake.

To continue mixing up the formula, every playable character has their own skill tree along with a universal skill tree across the lot of them. For completionists this adds a hefty amount of content as you max out each of your fighter’s stats and abilities. Along with a massive amount of unlockable characters, locked behind performance on certain missions, and the co-op features, there is plenty of content to keep you coming back.

In terms of presentation, there is a fair number of Pros and Cons to discuss. The usual pitfalls of a Warriors title are here, namely being a somewhat bland visual style, as most of the assets and enemies are reused from mission to mission, meaning that while some backdrops can look fantastic like Whole Cake island, you’ll be spending much more time in generic-looking forests and deserts. It doesn’t help much that the environments are generally rather empty as well, with the occasional destructible building here or there but otherwise just flat and bland.

Additionally, while this may not be a complaint for all players, as with most One Piece games the English dub is entirely not present. Luckily, there is still voice acting with the great majority of the Japanese voice cast of the anime reprising their roles. For those like myself who have enjoyed the series with the English cast, it can be a little bit disappointing, but it is no deal-breaker. On the Pros side, the game runs very smoothly due to the lack of clutter in the environments, making even the most intense battles run smoothly.

One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 is another great entry in both the Pirate Warriors and the larger “Warriors” franchise. Fans of One Piece and Musou games will find plenty to love here, with a fair amount of new combat additions to mix up the formula for veterans.