There are a lot of anime out there that many find quite intimidating to keep up with due to the enormous number of episodes. One, in particular, often conjures up the image of, “my goodness this is just too much to keep up with!”, and that’s the renowned One Piece. Eiichiro Oda knew what he was doing when he created the series, creating an expansive story that surpasses even some of Japan’s most revered iconic figures such as Doraemon. The emotion you feel while being immersed in the compelling and magnificent story is unlike any other, and pair that with over the top action to get a truly mesmerizing experience.

This brings us to ONE PIECE Pirate Warrior 3: Deluxe Edition for the Nintendo Switch, a direct port of the PlayStation 4 version, but this time, it comes packaged with all the DLCs among other bonuses! Anyone who loves ONE PIECE will definitely find the game to be action packed, as each arc introduces new characters into the fray but also, it’s a great way for newcomers to the series to catch up to the most recent arcs in the anime! It’s not as close as the current manga arc, but it’s certainly enough that you don’t need to watch 800+ episodes to be satisfied. There’s hours and hours of gameplay to dive into and with the help from Omega Force, the team responsible for all your Dynasty Warriors titles behind the wheel, this is one ONE PIECE experience you don’t want to miss out on!

As a reminder, ONE PIECE Pirate Warrior 3: Deluxe Edition is a direct port of the PlayStation 4 version, which launched back in 2015. The only perk is that you get updated features along with all the DLC that came along with the prior version, giving you a complete package to play on the go. Despite its age, as we said this game is the quintessential ONE PIECE experience as it feels like you’re reading the manga, but also watching things unfold with you controlling all the action. Choose from the popular cast of ONE PIECE characters and take them into battle to conquer the enemy, but most importantly, to become the pirate king of the sea! With intuitive controls, incredibly detailed visuals that are taken directly from the manga itself, along with an incredibly crazy storyline that goes on for ages, expect to learn a lot about the ONE PIECE world and soon become so addicted you’ll wish you had started watching sooner!

The DLCs that you’ll be getting consists of extra costumes and missions which add even more gameplay and richness to the title. The benefit of the Switch when compared to its PS4 brethren is that you can have local co-op with your friends but more so, since the game allows you to catch up to the more recent arc Dressrosa, you’ll have characters like Sabo, Donquixote Doflamingo, Fujitora to have fun with!

Anyone who’s familiar with any of the ‘Warriors’ titles from Koei Tecmo and Omega Force such as the iconic Dynasty Warriors or Nintendo’s Hyrule Warriors, will find ONE PIECE Pirate Warrior 3: Deluxe Edition to be a cake walk. The control scheme and mechanics are on par with those titles and so, much of your time will be mashing buttons and landing cool looking combos on the enemy. As you cruise through the game, you’re of course taken through the story as well, with every arc bringing you more action than the next. Each character you come across has their own unique persona which adds even more depth to the entire game, but more so it really allows you to really get a feel for them. Some of these characters are so outlandish and brash in their attitude, while others are fearless but maintain a warm heart towards others, Luffy for example. This creates a nice dynamic between you and the characters since they start to feel a bit more ‘human’, thus allowing you to establish a bond with them. Be it the villain or the hero’s, there’s an abundance of characters to fall in love with, and everything is constantly evolving.

The objective is quite simple, meet the mission objectives requirements and you’ll earn Beli, the currency that’s used within the ONE PIECE world. As you acquire more Beli, you’ll be able to purchase bonus items via the Beli Store, but also, you’ll be able to level up your characters should you feel the need to use them over time. Naturally characters will level up as you progress with them but if you’re looking to level up specific ones like let’s say Sanji or Robin, then having enough Beli is important.

Another important collectible in the game are coins since they allow you to level up certain abilities/traits such as overall HP, special attack power, support power, etc. You obtain these coins through completing missions and can have them automatically delegated, or you can manually adjust them in the coin menu. Everything pertaining to how to execute special combo attacks along with support based attacks are all explained in game, making things feel very seamless to therefore giving you all the time to focus on pummeling you foes.

As stated earlier in the review, ONE PIECE Pirate Warrior 3: Deluxe Edition is the complete package which means you’ll never miss a beat as you course through the game. The cutscenes in the game are definitely dated due the games age but it still remains true to the manga, even going as far as taking pages from the manga itself! All the characters are voiced by their original voice actors which provides an even more authentic experience, and never skips a beat when it comes to putting you in the shoes of everyone you encounter.

If you simply aren’t patient enough to sit through 800+ episodes of the anime, or the 80+ volumes in the manga, then ONE PIECE Pirate Warrior 3: Deluxe Edition will definitely suffice. It’s by no means the perfect game, but there’s nothing close to remaining true to the anime/manga like this game does. It’s abundant in content and so even if you need a break from all the action, it’s easy to dive right back into just as if you were watching or reading it. Take your time with this one because there’s a lot to swallow in terms of canon and for the most part, there aren’t many fillers to worry about. If you’re into fillers there’s the anime for that but this game just sticks to the script superbly and does a solid job of keeping the action consistent, even through the many cutscenes.

You can certainly do no wrong here by investing in ONE PIECE Pirate Warriors 3: Deluxe Edition because you’re essentially getting an all-in-one package that keeps you caught up to the series. So if you ever had any doubts of wanting to catch up now you can and have an absolute blast playing through it all! We hope you found this review to be insightful and provide you with the information you need to make your purchase decision all the more easier. Be sure to like, share and retweet our articles on Twitter, follow us on Twitch for live action, but also hit us up in our Discord community to talk about all sorts of otaku related things!

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