One Piece: Pirate Warriors Review

Ever since Koei released Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, anime fans have been wishing their favorite series would also receive a Dynasty Warriors game. Among the most requested series was One Piece, which would work perfectly as a DW type game. After seeing this obvious potential, Omega Force was fast at work to make this dream a reality. Years later, One Piece: Pirate Warriors was announced and fans were excited with all the possibilities. However, with such high expectations, can One Piece: Pirate Warriors stand out or could it use a little more content?

Lets see what’s HOT and what’s NOT in our review of One Piece: Pirate Warriors.

Editors Note: This review may contain spoilers and might reveal something you don’t know. Most if not all “spoilers” mentioned are part of the game and would have been revealed by playing the game anyway. If you would like to avoid this, then please skip to the verdict.

HOT

Attention to Detail
When it comes to anime games, it feels like companies/developers just read the wiki and make the game. Sure the characters usually look, feel and act right, but the game lacks the subtle charm that shows they “care”. Surprisingly, this is not the case with One Piece: Pirate Warriors.

As you walk around the world of Pirate Warriors, you will spot a number of little touches that make the game stand out. These are minor things you might not notice at first, but once you do it makes the game shine. My personal favorite detail was on the Impel Down stage, which was located in the warden’s office. This is because you will see a huge picture of Magellan behind his desk, but instead of seeing his face, you will see a poorly plastered picture of Hannyabal’s face. This is just one of many little details you can find and are sure to make One Piece fans happy.

Varied Combat
After you finish the game’s story, you will unlock a number of different playable characters. Every character has his or her own gameplay style; so don’t expect Luffy to play like Zoro or Zoro to play like Whitebeard. This is a welcome change from the typical Dynasty Warriors style of same shit, different weapon gameplay. With this being said, some characters are far more enjoyable than others. To give you an idea, Tony Chopper is practically useless and Zoro feels extremely overpowered. Considering that isn’t much different from the manga, it at least makes sense, although it would have been nice to make every character fun to play as.

More than Just Fighting
As you progress through the game’s main story, there will be a few stages/parts that break the Dynasty Warrior mold. For instance on Drum Island, you will have to keep Nami warm and get her to a doctor in time. This stage is almost completely puzzle based and completely different from the typical Dynasty Warriors style. Sadly there are very few times when this happens, but it’s great to see Omega Force trying new and different things.

Fantastic Cutscenes
Whether you’re a One Piece fan or not, you will enjoy the game’s cutscenes. Just about every memorable scene (from an included arc) is included and they all look fantastic. This is especially impressive, because it is hands down the best-looking Dynasty Warriors game I’ve played. However, keep in mind that the game lacks blood, which can make some more important scenes less impactful. Sure it sounds minor, but defeating Rob Lucci for example, is quite an underwhelming scene due to it.