Buy One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4

One Piece is probably the biggest anime/manga franchise (that's not named Dragon Ball) to come out of Japan, so it shouldn't be a surprise that it has a plethora of games. Among the best were the Dynasty Warriors crossover Pirate Warriors titles, which have been steadily getting better with each release. Pirate Warriors 3 had a lot of strengths, and One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 improves upon the original in pretty much every way.

PW4 is a standard Warriors game with the same basic design, so you know what to expect. You control a super-powered hero and must battle your way across massive battlefields (packed with disposable soldiers, naturally) to defeat your foes. PW4 retains the "capture territory" mechanic that so many recent Warriors titles have used, where you can capture a specific area in the game and use it to your advantage.

There are a few things that set apart PW4 from other Warriors titles, but the most significant feature is the combo system. PW4 has incredibly smooth-flowing combos. There are basic attacks, charge attacks, and a mid-combo launcher. This lets you bash enemies on the ground, launch them into the air to continue the attack, and cancel out of the combo by using your dash button to start anew. Enemies have an armor gauge that is broken through repeated attacks, and once it is down, they take more damage and are stunned. Engaging in lengthy air combos allows you to get the most out of every enemy weak point, and figuring out how to string together combos for optimal damage gives the game a Warriors depth that is only comparable to Hyrule Warriors.

The Musou gauge is replaced by the ability to equip skills, each of which functions as a super move, such as massive AoE attacks, grabbing enemies, inflicting status effects, and more. Every character has multiple special moves that grants you a lot of flexibility in how you want to build them. Usopp can be built to use massive explosions or with a variety of debuffs, including a damage-reflecting shield. Some characters have more flexibility than others due to constraints in the canon.

This flexibility also includes different forms for characters who canonically transform. These different forms, such as Luffy's Gear Second, not only power up the character but also changes their battle type and unlocks new moves for as long as the form lasts. For example, the aforementioned Gear Second changes Luffy from a power fighter to a speed fighter, which means he can do more dashes and stay in the air longer — ideal for air combos. Pretty much any character who has a canonical transformation can further buff up, offering a lot more variety in a single character.

Another neat aspect of combat that feels amazing is the environmental destruction system. Some strong attacks can damage or destroy the environment around you, but more to the point, they add a sense of genuine power that a lot of Warriors titles lack. Hitting an enemy with the Gum Gum Bazooka and watching them fly through two buildings sells the idea of an epic superbrawl between immensely powerful protagonists.

It also helps that the characters in the game are delightfully varied. The main protagonist Luffy has about five different play styles, but other characters are not to be outdone. Ussop has ranged and tricky damage, Zoro has sword-focused combat, Smoker can transform into smoke, and Law can create a room in which all his enemies take damage. There are a few dozen characters to play, and the vast majority of them are fun to play once you invest some time in them.

As with every Warriors title where they appear, I'm iffy on the Giants, which are extremely large boss characters that are strong but heavily resist damage. You need to break their shields with air combos to inflict any reasonable damage. As far as Giants go, PW4's version is the least painful in normal play. You have to unleash combos while avoiding attacks, but it never quite feels right. We've come a long way from Dynasty Warrior Gundam's awful giant battles, though.

As with any Warriors title, PW4 is packed with content. The main story lets you adventure with a large cast of characters through the anime story. Free mode lets you take any hero to any stage. Perhaps the most appealing to anime fans are the Treasure Logs, which are bonus missions with ridiculous concepts, but as you unlock more, they become increasingly difficult. Those who want a challenge can find them in the Treasure Log bonus missions.

PW4 is a strong contender for the best-looking Warriors title. The cel-shaded animation looks amazing, and the recreation of both attacks and scenes from the animated series is done as lovingly as any Naruto Ultimate title. The game also runs incredibly smooth, and the only time I noticed serious slowdown was when I punched people through several buildings at once. (Even then, it was minor.) The voice acting is Japanese-only but contains all of the franchise favorites, and the music is the usual excellent Omega Force metal-focused battle songs.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 has the unusual honor of being both one of the best anime-based games and best Warriors games I've ever played. It has its flaws, including the tiresome return of Giant foes and the usual Warriors repetitiveness, but it's a great example of how to reinvigorate something that seems like a tired formula. If you're a One Piece fan or a fan of the Warriors franchise, PW4 is absolutely worth a go. Once you've taken a bite of gum-gum, you won't be able to resist more.

Score: 9.0/10