This review contains spoilers
So, my only knowledge with One Piece is from my time with Pirate Warriors 3 a long while back. There's a whole lot of details I don't really remember about that game as a result, but I do recall it being a fun time. Since this game is its sequel (and the version with all the DLC was on sale for like 8 dollars on Steam), I figured I'd go ahead and grab it. I was looking for a new Musou game to sink my teeth into, anyway, and I did remember enjoying Pirate Warriors 3. Took me about 18 hours to blitz through the campaign, known as "Dramatic Log" in this game, and I only played two of the Treasure Log (basically a bunch of bonus missions) levels so far. I've enjoyed my time with it.
I'll start with gameplay. Well, for the most part its pretty standard Musou affair, but I've already talked about how I love these kinds of games despite them rarely changing things up, so I'll try not to repeat myself too much. The main unique things about Pirate Warriors 4 seem to be the giant characters (this might've been a thing in other Musou games but I've never seen it in one before), destructible buildings, and the glorified skill trees called the Growth system. This is where you increase your health, increase your attack, and all that jazz. You also get four Skills, which are kind of like supers in that they have a cooldown and pack a wallop. Most are just for unleashing a bunch of damage, but others power you up temporarily (they're called Focus Bursts) and there are a few that are more utility like how Brook has a Skill that heals him. You can upgrade Skills and get different kinds to cycle between through the Growth system. Interestingly, this game does not have the iconic Musou bar that the genre is known for, so these Skills seem to have taken the place of it entirely...which isn't too surprising when you see just how powerful they can be. I think the Skills are sort of a double-edge sword when it comes to this game's Musou style gameplay: on one hand, they're great boss destroyers and are pretty fun to use, but on the other hand their existence makes it to where a lot of combat is just waiting on them to go off cooldown so you can smoke your enemies easily. People that miss having to do the old fashioned strings Musou is known for may not appreciate this big focus on "press RT + Y to destroy your enemies". Also, Pirate Warriors 4 takes the Warriors Orochi approach by having each character categorized under a certain archetype: Power, Speed, Fly, and Technique. Each have unique attributes, but, in all honesty, they aren't THAT different from each other (though Fly characters become invincible in their Focus Burst and that's pretty insane). Speaking of characters, I enjoyed most characters the game saddled me with for Drama Log missions, but I'm still experimenting with them to see who my absolute favorite is. I know my favorite Straw Hat to play was Brook, but that's also partly because he's my favorite of the crew as well. In Pirate Warriors 3, my favorites were Brook and Kizaru, though unfortunately I don't have Kizaru unlocked in Pirate Warriors 4 since his requirement is a little hard to reach. Right now, I think my absolute favorite is leaning towards Akainu; I've been playing him through the Treasure Logs and its fun melting my enemies with hot lava. Still, though, I hope I can eventually play all the characters at least once, and my favorite will likely change once I do that.
The story...I don't feel like I can fairly comment on it, since my knowledge on this series is really limited and this game's story feels like it was intended for people more familiar with the series, especially since the final arc is original to this game (which is thankfully pointed out in-game). Nonetheless, the most notable thing about the story to me is just how much seems to be skipped in Pirate Warriors 4, even compared to Pirate Warriors 3. From what I can tell, they kinda just speedrun through a lot of the story by telling good chunks of it all in cutscene form, which was entertaining but left me wondering why we didn't play through some of it. I remember the previous game had us playing through the arcs that introduced characters like Chopper and Brook, but instead those essentially just get abridged retellings so the game can quickly move on to the stuff it wants you to play through. Hell I remember Pirate Warriors 3 made a big deal out of that guy with the big ears that I don't remember the name of, but in this game he doesn't even get so much as a passing mention. I know One Piece is a huge series and I shouldn't expect a game to be the definitive experience, but it was still a little jarring to me, especially since the last three Mission Log arcs feel much less rushed. Nonetheless, I enjoyed what was on display here and I think it was enough to at least get a good grasp on the characters, their motivations, and a general idea of what each of these arcs were about. Again I can't say much since I'm not a One Piece fan, but still I think this was serviceable.
Overall, Pirate Warriors 4 is pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Its a fun time and it is indeed another Musou game, but it doesn't feel all that remarkable, especially since I'm not already a One Piece fan. Gets a perfectly fine 3.5 stars from me.
I'll start with gameplay. Well, for the most part its pretty standard Musou affair, but I've already talked about how I love these kinds of games despite them rarely changing things up, so I'll try not to repeat myself too much. The main unique things about Pirate Warriors 4 seem to be the giant characters (this might've been a thing in other Musou games but I've never seen it in one before), destructible buildings, and the glorified skill trees called the Growth system. This is where you increase your health, increase your attack, and all that jazz. You also get four Skills, which are kind of like supers in that they have a cooldown and pack a wallop. Most are just for unleashing a bunch of damage, but others power you up temporarily (they're called Focus Bursts) and there are a few that are more utility like how Brook has a Skill that heals him. You can upgrade Skills and get different kinds to cycle between through the Growth system. Interestingly, this game does not have the iconic Musou bar that the genre is known for, so these Skills seem to have taken the place of it entirely...which isn't too surprising when you see just how powerful they can be. I think the Skills are sort of a double-edge sword when it comes to this game's Musou style gameplay: on one hand, they're great boss destroyers and are pretty fun to use, but on the other hand their existence makes it to where a lot of combat is just waiting on them to go off cooldown so you can smoke your enemies easily. People that miss having to do the old fashioned strings Musou is known for may not appreciate this big focus on "press RT + Y to destroy your enemies". Also, Pirate Warriors 4 takes the Warriors Orochi approach by having each character categorized under a certain archetype: Power, Speed, Fly, and Technique. Each have unique attributes, but, in all honesty, they aren't THAT different from each other (though Fly characters become invincible in their Focus Burst and that's pretty insane). Speaking of characters, I enjoyed most characters the game saddled me with for Drama Log missions, but I'm still experimenting with them to see who my absolute favorite is. I know my favorite Straw Hat to play was Brook, but that's also partly because he's my favorite of the crew as well. In Pirate Warriors 3, my favorites were Brook and Kizaru, though unfortunately I don't have Kizaru unlocked in Pirate Warriors 4 since his requirement is a little hard to reach. Right now, I think my absolute favorite is leaning towards Akainu; I've been playing him through the Treasure Logs and its fun melting my enemies with hot lava. Still, though, I hope I can eventually play all the characters at least once, and my favorite will likely change once I do that.
The story...I don't feel like I can fairly comment on it, since my knowledge on this series is really limited and this game's story feels like it was intended for people more familiar with the series, especially since the final arc is original to this game (which is thankfully pointed out in-game). Nonetheless, the most notable thing about the story to me is just how much seems to be skipped in Pirate Warriors 4, even compared to Pirate Warriors 3. From what I can tell, they kinda just speedrun through a lot of the story by telling good chunks of it all in cutscene form, which was entertaining but left me wondering why we didn't play through some of it. I remember the previous game had us playing through the arcs that introduced characters like Chopper and Brook, but instead those essentially just get abridged retellings so the game can quickly move on to the stuff it wants you to play through. Hell I remember Pirate Warriors 3 made a big deal out of that guy with the big ears that I don't remember the name of, but in this game he doesn't even get so much as a passing mention. I know One Piece is a huge series and I shouldn't expect a game to be the definitive experience, but it was still a little jarring to me, especially since the last three Mission Log arcs feel much less rushed. Nonetheless, I enjoyed what was on display here and I think it was enough to at least get a good grasp on the characters, their motivations, and a general idea of what each of these arcs were about. Again I can't say much since I'm not a One Piece fan, but still I think this was serviceable.
Overall, Pirate Warriors 4 is pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Its a fun time and it is indeed another Musou game, but it doesn't feel all that remarkable, especially since I'm not already a One Piece fan. Gets a perfectly fine 3.5 stars from me.