If you’ve ever seen the related anime show of which this game was based upon, then you’ll know what to expect. If you haven’t, then you’re in for one surreal experience that will be hard to shake. Prepare for stretchy antics.
This sequel to the Namco Bandai Games original does not follow on from the previous in terms of plot, instead it takes it’s swashbuckling cast and crew on an all new adventure involving the perils and tribulations of the New World. Whilst I’m sure the narrative makes some semblance of sense to the anime fans, for everyone else, you’re in for a particularly rough time. Not only with the dialog, but with the in-game hints and information too; whilst it’s great to see a game such as this presented in it’s default language and not pandering to the audience, it doesn’t help when you can’t speak Japanese. Trawling through the menus to find a battle log every time something potentially important happens will hinder your progress at the start.
That’s not quite the only stepping stone to navigate at the start either. Much akin to the similarly fashioned Dynasty Warriors franchise, there are certain button combinations that just perform better at dispatching the legions of foes that come charging at you. Whilst at the start, it’s entertaining to swathe through hundreds of generic goons via manipulating the pad with the efficiency of a rum soaked parrot, it doesn’t take long to get bored of that. Repetitiveness is the curse here, each stage takes the same form but in a slightly different guise. First, you’ll battle the hordes and capture areas of the map, in what you might expect would be a constant back and forth between factions, losing ground at the expense to taking more influential land. But no, that doesn’t really happen. Instead, you gad about like a headless chicken mopping up the few tiny enemy squadrons your AI allies apparently deem far too dangerous to tackle on their own. After this, it’s mini-boss/normal-boss time, where you take on, you guessed it, lots and lots of little enemies, whilst also fending off a presumably, integral to the plot, character.
To keep you coming back for more, there are several characters to unlock and level up. By far the most satisfying aspect of the game is upgrading your squad and equipping them with more powerful items. Unlocked at a fairly steady rate, these tokens can be combined with others to synergise your party, effectively making you more devastating in combat. Levelling up grants you extra moves, more damage, more health, the usual affair. Different characters also have alternate skillsets; you often get a recommendation of which fighter to use in each specific stage, these of course can be ignored, but you’ll generally have an easier time if you follow their guidance.
If you feel your freakishly stretchy arms aren’t quite pulling their weight in the flailing department, once the support gauge is full you can initiate Haki mode. Depending on your character, it initiates a ‘super mode’ where you can wreak untold havoc. Whilst active, you can switch character and gain the benefit of a different move set and profession. Your character will either fall into the ‘Observation’ or ‘Armament’ camp, the former will enter you into an almost Zen like state where time stands dangerously close to still, leaving you free to go nuts. The ‘Armament’ style is a little less imaginative, essentially letting you deal more, largely unnecessary, damage whilst it’s active.
If you can stomach the potentially thumb destroying combat for a while, you’ll certainly get some time out of Pirate Warriors 2, it’ll take a good ten hours to complete; much more if you fancy collecting all there is to collect and sampling the other modes. There is an online multiplayer component too where you can request help if you’re stuck on a particular stage; likewise you can set it up in the options so that you can also be contacted for assistance. If successful, you both receive the coins earned and experience. The only issue being that, you have no idea of what difficulty your struggling comrade is playing on, making it quite the gamble as to whether or not you’ll be any help in the first place. Of course another thing to bear in mind is that should your internet connection drop, you’ll lose any and all progress in that session.
Graphically, Pirate Warriors 2 is fairly impressive, the manga styling’s are close to the anime source material and cutscenes look great. The amount of enemies on screen can get fairly hectic with little to no slowdown which, again is great. The areas themselves are the largest disappointments however, often appearing bland, uninteresting and only distinguishable due to a basic theme such as a ship or a forest. In terms of audio, it’s fairly faithful and the original voice work is welcome, yet also slightly infuriating. Oh, and if you decide on a favourite combo early on, prepare to hear the accompanying character quote a lot.
If you’re a fan of either the anime show or the Dynasty Warriors games and fancy a manga twist, then by all means give it a whirl. For everyone else, be prepared for confusion, a lack of comprehension and sore thumbs.
Reviewed on PS3.
