A closer look at One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3

Omega Force and Koei Tecmo Games latest One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 is quite different from its predecessor. For example it now focuses more on appealing to fans of the One Piece manga by including the original canon storyline and adding a Dynasty Warriors style hack-and-slash gameplay to it.

The game begins at the Fushia Village where the anime’s protagonist Luffy sets out on his journey to become the Pirate King. Players will now have the opportunity to recruit every member of the Strawhat Crew including major characters like Sabo, Trafalgar Law and Fujitora.

Bandai Namco’s producer Koji Nakajima told IGN the following:

“In Pirate Warriors 1, we did go through the stories but there were a lot of skipped parts, so that obviously means skipped characters. But in Pirate Warriors 3 we are going to fill in those skipped parts, so there is going to be more characters in there. There will be a huge variety of characters in the game. The latest characters, as well as characters appearing in the first 10 volumes, will also be in the game.”

The game allows you to play as either Luffy, Fujitora or Law. Each character will give players a different goal. For example choosing Law will have players navigate through a canyon like map with teammates while defeating hordes of very similar enemies and mini-bosses and a final boss.

The games visual effects after a special attack are pretty cool and looks even better after taking down a horde of enemies. The game allows players to take down large number of enemies with strong combo attacks and the challenge seems to involve figuring out a way to kill as many enemies as possible.

The Kizuna Rush feature lets you summon different characters

Nakajima has stated the new Kuzuna Rush encourages players to change attacks, instead of spamming the same one over and over. The ability now allows players to take down a horde of enemies with stylish combo attacks using multiple characters, which is great for fans of the manga.

“The Kizuna Rush is the biggest change from the previous title. In Pirate Warriors 1 and 2 you were only able to play as one or maybe two characters, but in this game you will be able to play as more than one character fighting in the field together.

In Pirate Warriors 2, we wanted to be able to make any player do any stylish attack. But in Pirate Warriors 3 we're trying to make them do another step, so if they get better they'll be able to do even more stylish attacks and even more combos.”

“For One Piece fans, there will be many characters they'll like, and use as many characters as possible at once,” he stated. “So using the Kizuna Rush you can summon different characters and that’ll be the incentive.”

The games frame rate does not slow down even when there are a multiple enemies on the screen. Nakajima has stated that they have taken full advantage of the PS4’s power to deliver smooth gameplay even when there is a lot going on on screen.

“Using the power of the PS4, we are able to have more than 200 enemy characters at once in the battlefield, that will probably change a lot of the gameplay and battle system.”

The game will include numerous locations from the manga

The game also includes an online multiplayer mode where up to two players can now share their experiences with fans from across the globe.

The game is definitely a must buy for any Dynasty Warriors or One Piece fans, given its focus on the original canon and character development. But those not particular interested or familiar with One Piece or Dynasty Warriors might not find the game too appealing. But Nakajima is hopeful that the game will get more people interested in the manga series.

“We are really caring for the fans who have read the manga. The story will begin from the beginning up to the latest stories, so players will be able to experience the mag series even without knowing them,” he says. “Our dream is that a person who doesn't know One Piece will play the game and actually get interested in the manga, and go and read it.”

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 will be launching in the summer of 2015 in western regions for the PS3, PS4, PS Vita and PC platform. Gamers will be able to purchase a copy of the game via Steam. The game will feature numerous locations from the manga such as Marineford, Punk Hazard, Fishman Island and the kingdom of Dressrosa (the island dominated by the “Heavenly Demon” Donquixote Doflamingo).