Bandai Namco Games have announced at Jump Festa 2015 that One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 is currently in development and will be releasing outside of Japan in North America and Europe for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in Summer 2015. The game will also be making its franchise debut on PC, releasing on Steam in Summer 2015 as well.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 will continue off where the second game in the series left off, from the Straw Hat Pirate’s departure from Fuschia Village to the anime’s recent focus on Dressrosa. The pirates will have to face the Heavenly Demon, Donquixote Doflamingo, and his pirates. The game will explore many of the new locations featured in the series, such as Marineford, Fishman Island, Punk Hazard and of course, Dressrosa. And with that, new characters to the series including Sabo and Fujitora.
The game will be making its franchise debut on PC and Steam, following the release of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 making its franchise PC debut in 2013. Many other Japanese developers have also started porting the game over to PC, with Final Fantasy XIII, Valkyria Chronicles and Metal Gear Solid V. One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 will also be the first game on the new generation of consoles, the PlayStation 4. With the Steam release, the game will take full advantage of the new power of the systems allowing more enemies, faster paced action and a higher resolution than before. The game will also have many new gameplay improvements and co-op capabilities
The first screenshots of the game have released showcasing the new stunning visuals in the game:
And the game will look even better in motion especially with the release of the game’s debut trailer:
The box art for the PlayStation versions of the game was also released:
One last set of images that was released were the character models of the game’s main characters:
One Piece is a manga series created by Eiichiro Oda that started in 1997 in Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine. To date, it has a total of 76 volumes and has taken the record for highest selling manga of all time, with over 345 million copies in circulation. The franchise is one of the world’s most well known series, with an anime adaptation that began in 1999, produced by Toei Animation (Dragon Ball Z, Toriko) that is still ongoing. In addition, many light novels, spin-off manga, merchandise and video games. One such series is the Pirate Warriors series developed by Koei Tecmo and published by Namco Bandai Games. The first game in the series released in 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and sold over 1.2 million copies to date. The gameplay itself is similar to the Dynasty Warriors series of games, being developed by Koei Tecmo who developed the Warriors series, set in the One Piece world. You will be able to use all of the pirates’ signature abilities to devastate waves and waves of pirate enemies and bosses.
Here is a synopsis of the anime from MAL:
Gol D. Roger was known as the Pirate King, the strongest and most infamous being to have sailed the Grand Line. The capture and death of Roger by the World Government brought a change throughout the world. His last words before his death revealed the location of the greatest treasure in the world, One Piece. It was this revelation that brought about the Grand Age of Pirates, men who dreamed of finding One Piece (which promises an unlimited amount of riches and fame), and quite possibly the most coveted of titles for the person who found it, the title of the Pirate King.
Enter Monkey D. Luffy, a 17-year-old boy that defies your standard definition of a pirate. Rather than the popular persona of a wicked, hardened, toothless pirate who ransacks villages for fun, Luffy’s reason for being a pirate is one of pure wonder; the thought of an exciting adventure and meeting new and intriguing people, along with finding One Piece, are his reasons of becoming a pirate. Following in the footsteps of his childhood hero, Luffy and his crew travel across the Grand Line, experiencing crazy adventures, unveiling dark mysteries and battling strong enemies, all in order to reach One Piece.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 will be releasing on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and PC in Summer 2015 in North America and Europe. The game will be releasing in Japan on PS3, PS4, and Vita only, and will cost ¥7,800 (~ $78.00 USD) on console and ¥6,800 (~ $68.00 USD) on the Vita. More information will soon follow.
You can visit the game’s international website here: http://www.onepiece-game.com/
The Japanese website here: http://www.bandaigames.channel.or.jp/list/opm/pc/
And follow Bandai Namco Games: @BandaiNamcoUS, @BandaiNamcoUK