Luffy and company are back once again.
I have reviewed all the One Piece: Pirate Warriors games up to this point, and each review has always mentioned that I know nothing of the anime or manga. This still holds true, and the fact that I can enjoy these games just shows how much fun they can be. The Straw Hat Pirates and other characters from the series make a crazy Musou game even more insane with their wild attacks and flashy combos.
Pirate Warriors 3 starts off at the very beginning of Luffy’s adventure. Starting off with no crew and no boat, he must travel the seas in search for others that want to become part of his ragtag group of pirates. I’m guessing when I say it follows the original manga. I could very well be wrong.
Platforms: PC, PS4, Vita
MSRP: $49.99
Price I’d Pay: $49.99
Teaming up to kick some butt.
Much like the other games and other Musou games by Omega Force, Pirate Warriors 3 has players controlling a character while running around a battlefield, utilizing fast attacks and heavy attacks for combos, and completing objectives on the map. Players can have assist partners that can come in during a combo or special attack that can add even more to the combat. Switching assists on the fly is really cool, and adds a bit more to it rather than just button mashing (which there is a lot of.) They can also charge up assist characters to unleash the ultimate team up attack that can clear out almost everyone on screen.
Missions offer both money and character coins. The coins are used to permanently upgrade characters’ stats. Collecting enough of a certain type of coin will progress the chosen stat and make the character that much stronger, and certain coins can only be found in certain missions, so replaying missions is recommended at times to get those coins.
Just get the PS4 version.
I played the PC version of Pirate Warriors 3, and I have to say, I’m a bit disappointed. It seems like the optimization has been skipped out on a bit in this version. The camera controls are slow as molasses while using the Xbox 360 controller, and there is no camera sensitivity option in the menus. I ended up just tapping the left bumper constantly to re-center the camera. That said, the biggest let down for me is omission of the co-op in the PC version. This was one of the highlights for me in Pirate Warriors 2 on PS3 and the fact that it is completely absent from the PC version of Pirate Warriors 3 really stung.
Visually, the look is colorful and what one would come to expect from an anime themed game. The action is fast, and the combat works. It has a really interesting comic/manga style to it all, especially when doling out special attacks.
While I had my issues with the game, Pirate Warriors 3 was still a fun ride. The style and the action are both fun and look great, and any Warriors fan should take a look at it. While the PC version is inferior to the others, I would suggest going with the PS4 version if you have the means to do so, even to just experience the multiplayer. If there is no other way, Pirate Warriors 3 is still a blast to play even if it is short changed on the PC.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
