The story itself takes us back right back to the very beginning of the swashbuckling anime adventure. It’s the perfect type of game to bash out on days when the world is against you and when all you want to do is feel like a winner. The result is a button mashing medley of epic proportions as you shamelessly comatose massive groups of punch-drunk enemies in one fell swoop. There are a few side objectives thrown at you here or there, but the overall structure stays very similar throughout. You basically run around a series of maps like an overpowered lunatic while bullying thousands of brain-dead enemies in order to occupy bases and show off new aggressive perks as you level up each character. If you have never played a Musou game, or even Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition for that matter, the gameplay premise is very straightforward. One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition is no exception, ramming in more nods to the series than a fill-it-yourself plastic container at a Morrisons salad bar.
Whether you love it or hate it, the Musou genre has, for quite some time now, faithfully catered to fans by stuffing as many references to the source material as possible while maintaining the underpinning gameplay structure that the series is so well known for. With an ever-growing catalogue of intellectual properties from such a broad range of franchises, it’s fair to say that the Warriors series is steadily becoming the Funko Pop of the gaming world.
