Japanese publisher and developer Bandai Namco Games has released a slew of new images and videos for the upcoming release of Koei Tecmo’s One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, including new characters, gameplay screenshots and gameplay videos.
The publisher has revealed lots of new visual content for classic characters and events from the One Piece anime and manga. Whilst the previous reveal had screenshots of the more recent events, this batch focuses on the beginnings of Luffy and the Straw Hat crew. Joining the roster of playable characters include the villains: Arlong, Buggy, Krieg, Kuro, Wapol, Alvida, Smoker and Tashigi. There will also be playable versions of the Straw Hat Pirate’s younger self before the timeskip and near the beginning of the series. These events will also be playable in the game.
Here are the models of the newly announced characters:
In addition to that, over 30 new screenshots of One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3‘s gameplay and cutscenes were also revealed:
Furthermore, the recent issue of Shonen Weekly Jump has revealed that the notorious Gekko Moriah will be playable in the upcoming game:
And finally some new gameplay videos of the game’s characters in action, in both pre and post timeskip, were also revealed. Also visit the previously revealed character gameplay videos.
Nami Gameplay:
Zoro Gameplay:
Enel Gameplay:
Sir Crocodile Gameplay:
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.
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 this Summer North America and Europe. The game will be releasing in Japan on PS3, PS4, and Vita only on March 26, 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/
Follow the game on Twitter: @OP_musou
And follow Bandai Namco Games: @BandaiNamcoUS, @BandaiNamcoUK
“One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3”, “One Piece”, images and all associated brands and titles © 2013 Eiichiro Oda, Toei Animation, Koei Tecmo, Bandai Namco Games