One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 is a great Musou game. It does a good job of introducing the series’ story and characters. It has some fun situations and maps. There are lots of modes. But, it has been three years since the game appeared on other platforms. Nintendo Switch owners might be curious how different characters handle and who might be good choices to use. So as people head back into the game with One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition, let’s go over some characters people should definitely try using.
Now, the great thing about One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition is that pretty much every character has the potential to be great and useful. As you collect Buff Coins from playing the game with certain characters, you can apply them to people you like to improve their stats and unlock abilities. So while I’ll be talking about some solid characters to use, everyone can be fun to use and powerful! If there is a member of a crew you like, use them in Dream Log and Free Log modes to level them up and collect coins. Let’s say Chopper is your favorite character. Use him enough in these areas, and he’ll be a valuable asset!
A lot of the One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition characters are great, in that they’re all-around characters who are fantastic in pretty much every situation. A lot of the Straw Hats are this. Monkey is incredibly versatile against a single enemy or a crowd. Nami, with enough investment, can become one of the strongest characters in the game. Zoro, with his swords, is great at balancing in battles. Brook’s movements with his combos shock me with how fast he can be. If you are just getting started, you have to go through the story mode to start unlocking things. You’ll be forced into using these folks, and doing so is a fantastic learning experience that establishes you with people who will work in many situations.
But while most of the Straw Hats are really versatile, one has a rather notable limitation. If you like Sanji, then you may want to have a back-up character. In One Piece, he refuses to hurt women. This carries over to One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition. He will not attack female characters. While you can work around this in the Legend and Free modes, the Dream mode will pit you against women and require you to defeat these characters in battle to proceed.
There are also plenty of characters who work well in pairs. I always feel like Musou games are more fun with a friend, and a lot of these pirates have attacks and skill sets that complement working with someone else. That way, one person could focus on a specific named character or objective, while the other focuses on clearing out foes to capture bases. Robin, with her Hana Hana no Mi abilities, is good at taking out hordes with her extra limbs. So is Trafalgar Law, with his ability to create “Rooms” with enemies inside of them and unleash specific attacks on everyone inside of them. Franky has so many ranged and melee attacks designed to hit everyone around him. Marco the Phoenix, with his ability to take flight and charge, is a fantastic option for clearing and capturing.
The thing is, there are also a lot of One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition characters that are incredibly over-powered. They are also the people you would expect to be godlike and require quite a bit of effort to earn. (So by that point, you probably would not need someone that strong since your other characters would be leveled and improved.) Shanks is absolutely incredible. If you rely on his special, you can slow time and charge his sword. His standard attacks have great power and reach as well. Sabo is fantastic for his movement options. When you perform combos, he sends out fiery spots that he can either use as traps, by making them explode after creating a new one, or use his special to teleport to. Doflamingo is wonderful in crowds, since the Ito Ito no Mi ability lets him use his strings to capture foes and use them as weapons. (Or, he can just attack with the strings too.)
All of One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition’s characters can be useful. Everyone can become a powerhouse, if you are willing to spend time playing as and investing Buff Coins into them. Some characters are better at certain tasks than others. Like if you need to focus on capturing bases, having someone like Marco or Robin might be smart! Should you spend enough time with the game to unlock someone legendary like Shanks, he is going to be worth that wait. People have lots of options and opportunities to see what works.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition is available for the Nintendo Switch. One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 is available for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and PC.
