One Piece: Pirate Warriors continues the repetitive formula of the musou genre in a mediocre game that does little to innovate this age old formula.
The real shining feature of One Piece is in its source material and anime fans or fans of the show especially should applaud Tecmo-Koei for how they managed to capture the essence of it. Voice work is outstanding although there is no English dub but the characters are all unique and quirky in their own ways which really boosted the games appeal. Although having not followed the anime or manga myself I found some parts confusing but the developers did a good job of keeping the basics of the story there to still make it enjoyable and understandable.
In the end, One Piece still feels like the same game in a different skin; the campaign and free play modes are all replayable to level your characters and collect coins which boost stats and specific combos/techniques. Although it starts off simple, it eventually allows you to combine them for added effects which add some depth to the gameplay but hardly a significant change.
Despite its fresh and polished design style which really captures the feel of the anime/manga, the game is brought down by too much similarity and monotony to really update this tired genre. If you’re a fan of the genre or just a really big fan of the show then there is plenty of fun to be had in One Piece: Pirate Warriors, but just don’t expect it to redefine anything and take it for what it is: a mindless beat-em up with some great characters.
Score: 6.5 / 10
