One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4[a] is an action-adventure video game developed by Omega Force and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4,[2] Windows, and Xbox One. It is the fourth installment in Pirate Warriors video-game series, based on the One Piece franchise. It is a sequel to the 2015 game One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3. It was released on March 27, 2020.[3]

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4
Japanese cover art
Developer(s)Omega Force
Publisher(s)Bandai Namco Entertainment
Director(s)Hideo Suzuki
Producer(s)Katsuaki Tsuzuki
Akihiro Suzuki
Hisashi Koinuma
Composer(s)Satoshi Seki[1]
SeriesOne Piece: Pirate Warriors (One Piece)
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
Windows
Xbox One
Release
  • WW: March 27, 2020
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Beat 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay edit

The game features game play similar to the previous installments.[4] The game has its own original story that takes the Wano arc from One Piece and changes it.[5] It also features four new multiplayer modes called Giant Boss Battle, Total Bounty Battle, Timed Defense Battle, and Territory Battle.[6]

Original story edit

This story takes the unfinished Wano arc and modifies the plot, with Cavendish, Bartolomeo, Sabo, Smoker, Tashigi and Kuzan appearing in the arc to help the Straw Hats to free Luffy from his cell. As the battle intensifies between Big Mom and Kaido, a new enemy appears in the form of Blackbeard and his crew. Fighting Blackbeard, Big Mom, and Kaido's crew, players are met with a final battle against Kaido who turns into a dragon after defeating Big Mom, Blackbeard, and Kaido's underlings. Luffy must defeat Kaido at the end and end the suffering of Wano that Kaido brings. The story has one ending, so winning is the only option, which plays a cut scene of everyone cheering and celebrating the freedom that Luffy gave to the Wano people. This arc has an original ending while the manga Wano arc was still on going at the time of its release.[7]

Characters edit

61 characters are playable in the game, 43 of which are base-game characters, while 18 additional characters were added later via DLC.[8] Previously playable characters Bartholomew Kuma, Caesar Clown, Enel, Gecko Moria, Magellan and Perona were cut, while Monkey D. Garp was demoted to a NPC role, only to return as a DLC character.

* Denotes new characters

Development edit

On July 5, 2019, the game was announced at Anime Expo 2019 with a reveal trailer.[9][10]

On November 27, 2019 an interview was done with a brand manager for Bandai Namco Entertainment who knew how the game was being developed. The interview was conducted by Bleeding Cool, a news site that mostly covers games, comics, TV, and films. Randy Le talks about how the game returning to the series is something they wanted to bring back for awhile. Randy Le goes on to talk about combat and the different enemies in the game: giant enemies, fast, and even more character battles than the past Pirate Warriors game. Randy Le does not answer any of the other questions asked to prevent spoilers.[11]

Reception edit

Critical response edit

IGN's Mitchell Saltzman gave the game a score of 8 out of 10, saying "Pirate Warriors 4 is a great One Piece-flavored spin on the Musou genre with a deep roster and simple but fun combat".[16]

Sales edit

The PlayStation 4 version of One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 was the second best-selling retail game during its first week on sale in Japan, with 75,998 copies being sold. The Switch version was the third bestselling retail game during the same week, selling 61,571 copies.[20] By December 2020, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 has sold over 1 million copies, becoming the fastest entry in the Pirate Warriors series to achieve that milestone.[21] By August 2022, it has sold over 2 million copies.[22] By August 2023, it has sold 3 million copies.[23]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (ONE PIECE(ワンピース) 海賊無双4, Wan Pīsu: Kaizoku Musou 4)

References edit

  1. ^ 聡, 関 (August 30, 2019). "2020年発売のPS4/Nintendo Switch用ソフト『ONE PIECE 海賊無双4(ワンピース 海賊無双4)』のレコーディングでした!居残りダビング。". @sekki_satoshi (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  2. ^ "ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4". PlayStation. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  3. ^ "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 launches March 26, 2020 in Japan, March 27 in the west". Gematsu. November 25, 2019. Archived from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  4. ^ "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 announced for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. July 6, 2019. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  5. ^ "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 TGS 2019 trailer". Gematsu. September 11, 2019. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  6. ^ "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 has four online co-op mission modes". Gematsu. January 16, 2020. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  7. ^ Artur, NewWorld- (March 28, 2020). "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 – In-depth Review". The Library of Ohara. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  8. ^ "ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4 Characters". ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4 | BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Official Website. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  9. ^ ONE PIECE Pirate Warriors 4 – Reveal Trailer | PS4, X1, NSW, PC, archived from the original on July 10, 2019, retrieved August 5, 2019
  10. ^ Vazquez, Suriel. "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Announced". Game Informer. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  11. ^ Lunning, Just (November 27, 2019). "Interview: What To Expect From "One Piece Pirate Warriors 4"". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  12. ^ "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  13. ^ "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  14. ^ "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  15. ^ "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1635". Gematsu. March 31, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  16. ^ a b One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Review – IGN, March 27, 2020, archived from the original on March 27, 2020, retrieved March 27, 2020
  17. ^ One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Review – NLife, April 2, 2020, archived from the original on December 31, 2020, retrieved July 14, 2020
  18. ^ "One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 – Game Review – PSQ". April 26, 2020. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  19. ^ Erskine, Donovan (April 2, 2020). "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Review - Stranger tides". Shacknews. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  20. ^ Romano, Sal (April 1, 2020). "Famitsu Sales: 3/23/20 – 3/29/20". Gematsu. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  21. ^ Romano, Sal (December 10, 2020). "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 sales top one million, DLC character Kozuki Oden announced". Gematsu. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  22. ^ "Nintendo Switch /PlayStation 4 / XboxOne「ONE PIECE 海賊無双4」全世界累計出荷数200万本突破!セール実施中!". プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1|PR TIMES. August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  23. ^ "ONE PIECE 海賊無双4 | バンダイナムコエンターテインメント公式サイト". ONE PIECE 海賊無双4 | バンダイナムコエンターテインメント公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved February 27, 2024.

External links edit