[b] One Piece fans & Warriors players: [/b] 9.0/10
[b] Casual players & non-fans: [/b] 7.5/10
[h3] What OPPW4 does best is, ironically, built to a significant extent around the assumption that you already know One Piece. [/h3]
If [b] OPPW3 [/b] feels more like a [i] “One Piece museum” [/i]—or perhaps a [i] “One Piece chronicle” [/i]—then [b] OPPW4 [/b] feels much more like a [i] “One Piece power-fantasy action game.” [/i] It clearly shifts its focus toward combat, characters, spectacle, and the sheer fun of beating the hell out of everything in your path. In my opinion, it does all of these things better than any other game in the series, without question.
The trade-off, of course, is that the story is told in a very compressed manner.
This is something I want to emphasize: [b] if you're a newcomer who simply wants to get a general understanding of the One Piece story through a game, or if you're already a One Piece fan but care more about the quality of the narrative experience, I would recommend playing the previous game, OPPW3, without hesitation. [/b] It offers a relatively comprehensive retelling of the story up through the Dressrosa arc.
OPPW4, meanwhile, is the game in the series that, in my opinion, most clearly demonstrates the gap between the perspectives of a One Piece fan and a newcomer. Different groups of players can have radically different reactions depending on what they value:
How satisfying is the combat?
How distinct are the characters from one another?
How good is the new aerial combat system?
How many playable characters are there?
How good is the presentation?
How faithfully does it recreate the original?
How well does it capture iconic moments?
How is the story?
How fresh does it feel?
And so on...
Across these categories, I naturally rate the game much higher as a [b] One Piece fan + Warriors player [/b] than I would as a [b] non-fan + average player [/b].
I think OPPW4 is best described as a [b] fan-oriented game [/b]. Or, more precisely, it's a game that understands how to make the most of the [i] One Piece [/i] IP and, more importantly, knows exactly which aspects of the series translate best into a fun video game experience—and then goes all-in on them.
It does this extremely well. [b] It understands what we, as One Piece fans, actually want to see and play [/b].
That said, I also tried to look at the game from the perspective of someone who has no emotional attachment to One Piece: [i] If you strip away the appeal of the IP itself, how good is the game on its own [/i]?
My answer is still: [b] it's not bad, but it's nowhere near as good [/b].
If an average newcomer can reasonably give it a 7.5, while the same game can provide a 9.0 experience to fans because of its connection to a specific IP, I don't see that as a flaw. [b] That's precisely where the value of an IP-based game adaptation lies [/b].
As a result, the experience can be completely different depending on what kind of player you are.
If you're a newcomer and you see a particular scene from the game, you might simply think:
“[i] Oh, that's pretty cool. [/i]”
But if you're a One Piece fan, all it takes is seeing that same scene—even if the game itself renders it somewhat crudely—and your brain can automatically fill in an entire history of experiences:
[b] the game footage → memories of the original → the emotions you felt back then → the character's journey → iconic moments → the continuity of all the time you've spent following One Piece [/b]...
All of those emotions become compressed into a single, incredibly concentrated moment.
Combine that with OPPW4's satisfying, over-the-top gameplay, and the emotional value you get out of the experience is something a newcomer simply [b] cannot replicate [/b].
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[h3] Conclusion [/h3]
For newcomers, there are certainly plenty of problems to point out: repetitive missions, a lack of strategic depth, heavily compressed storytelling, and relatively monotonous level design.
As I mentioned above, [b] if you're primarily interested in the story, I'd recommend playing OPPW3 instead [/b].
For One Piece fans, however, the question we actually care about is much simpler:
[b] Did this game succeed in turning the One Piece we love into something we can actually experience for ourselves [/b]?
If that's the question, then my answer is an unequivocal [b] yes [/b].
Not only does it accomplish that goal—it does it [b] beautifully [/b].
And honestly, that's already enough for me to wholeheartedly recommend this game to every One Piece fan.
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[i] [b] A little side note [/b]
I've always hoped that, once One Piece is finally completed, we'll eventually get a game that tells the entire story from beginning to end in one continuous experience.
Unfortunately, that day may still be a very, very long way off.
As I'm writing this review, the original manga is still in the [b] Elbaf Arc. [/b] Speaking of which, perhaps, if OPPW5 ever happens, we'll even get to see [b] Imu [/b] make an appearance.
If there is a fifth game, that is. [/i]
