Few genres have proved to be as resistant to changes in the gaming landscape as Koei Tecmo's hack and slash games. The template for Dynasty Warriors that Omega Force built with 2000's Dynasty Warriors 2 has had tweaks over the years, but the vast majority of the gameplay in the countless games that fit the musou genre remains the same. Even its spinoffs are well on their way through the sequels, like the newly released One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4.
Based on the One Piece manga, as well as its anime adaptation, One Piece: Pirate Warriors has become a beloved and long-standing spin-off for the series. One Piece is no stranger to video games, with the Straw Hat Pirates proving to be a malleable bunch of scoundrels to fit to a variety of genres, but the Pirate Warriors games are perhaps the most well-rounded of the lot, particularly in comparison to some less than stellar recent outings for One Piece's crew.
With five years since the last Pirate Warriors game, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 needed to hit home successfully. This is especially important given the missteps of the core franchise, with Dynasty Warriors 9 disappointing many with its buggy, awkward gameplay and failed open world experiment. It's no surprise to see One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 return to the usual fare, although a little more ambition would have been nice.
Those who have never played a musou title should expect the video game equivalent of a power trip. Large game maps host the player and other heroes, who act as all-powerful warriors capable of defeating the thousands of normal enemies who are effectively just there to give the player a nice ego boost as their kill count racks up. The only real challenge then comes from taking on the other hero characters, and fulfilling the various objectives that come with each mission.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 provides this sense of strength with ease. The modus operandi is to take control of one of the many beloved characters of the series and wreak havoc, and the game certainly doesn't fail in this respect. Blasting through hordes of pirate mooks while accidentally smashing up the destructible environments is a lot of fun, while the variety of playable characters should keep One Piece fans happy.
Where One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 comes into its own is with its boss battles. Taking cues more from fellow musou spinoffs like Hyrule Warriors as well as learning from what worked about the previous Pirate Warriors games, these boss fights square the player's focus on a primary combatant, which breaks up the rampant destruction nicely. These are great, and in some ways a level above what the main Dynasty Warriors series has sometimes been able to provide.
In part that's down to the slight tweak of mechanic that gives bosses armor to get through before their health can be quickly depleted. This means the player can't just rely on the same button mashing that they use to turn over the main armies, adding a bit of strategy and dodging to these fights. It's not reinventing the wheel and even in comparison to games like Assassin's Creed it's mindless, but it's a decent enough change to the formula to keep veterans engaged.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 covers off a few of the arcs of the main story, albeit in a compressed format punctuated with cut scenes. Starting with Alabasta, the game does take a few liberties to allow for the musou gameplay, but overall it's a faithful adaptation that steers clear of those worries fans may have over that upcoming Netflix adaptation. In particular Omega Force captures the tone of One Piece well - and it's just as well given the studio has had plenty of practice by now.
Not every aspect of One Piece translates over easily, though. Pirate Warriors 4 still doesn't quite know how to animate or truly showcase the emotion of One Piece's cast, which is at its most obvious when it comes to mimicking the quirky feel of the manga. This can lead to some awkward moments in Pirate Warriors 4's plentiful cut scenes.
This is thankfully less of an issue in gameplay, where the animations and character movements are much more fluid. Luffy's various attacks are particularly impressive, with Omega Force making the would-be Pirate King a joy to play with. Pulling off a special-filled combo attack and taking out big chunks of the opposing army are extremely satisfying, even if it's not the most complex experience.
Unfortunately One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 struggles with the same issues that many of the better musou games have seen of late. There's a lack of progression in Omega Force's design, and it's hard to distinguish much overall improvement even when compared to 2013's Dynasty Warriors 8. This means that although Dynasty Warriors or Samurai Warriors fans will most likely love Pirate Warriors 4, it could become repetitive or frustrating to those less enamored with the style, and a reason why fans of other franchises could be hesitant to get on board with their own musou spin-offs.
Nevertheless One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is an awful lot of fun, and its conservative design is still a step above what Dynasty Warriors tried to achieve with its last, cursed outing. Those who get a kick out of the mindless action of other musou games should pick this up, particularly if they are already fans of One Piece. It's not a revolution, but a competent and enjoyable hack and slash that will prove more than a worthy distraction.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is available for PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One. Screen Rant was provided with a PS4 download code for the purposes of this review.