When One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4’s next-generation upgrades were announced for PS5 and Xbox Series, I was curious to see if Bandai Namco would do something for the Nintendo Switch version on Nintendo Switch 2. At this point, I had only played it on Switch and Xbox One. We finally had it revealed for Switch 2, and it has now launched as a free upgrade for existing owners in addition to having a new Legendary Edition that is currently discounted. Instead of just doing a review of the One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition compared to the Switch version, I’ve been revisiting the game on multiple platforms with the DLC. I’m going to include visual comparisons, performance impressions, load time differences, and more with a focus on One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition here.
Before we had the official One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition announcement, I actually bought One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4’s Ultimate Edition on Switch when it was discounted, despite owning it in another region’s Nintendo eShop. If you’ve been paying attention to how the DLC is handled in these games, it usually is cheaper to buy a game with DLC through a discounted bundle rather than the DLC on its own. I decided to forfeit my old save and started fresh on Switch 2 via backwards compatibility. Experiencing One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 in this way is brilliant, with a massive performance boost over the abysmal Switch version played on the original hybrid console. I wondered what we’d see in the native Switch 2 version, and having now spent a weekend with the upgrade on my original save and testing it on PS5 and Steam, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is three steps forward and two steps back.
I say that because One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a notable upgrade over the original Switch version when looking at enemy count, draw distance, texture quality, and load times, but it is a step back in performance and also in how it renders menus and text. Areas that ran at a locked 60 frames per second via backward compatibility when playing the Switch version on Switch 2 can now drop into the 50s. In-game menus and text also have a visual bug when playing docked, where it looks weird compared to how it scales handheld.
Despite the improvements (that also apply to the PS5 version), One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4’s next-gen version leaves a lot to be desired. Foliage and shadows still have flickering and shimmering issues. I even tried playing the PC version at maximum settings and saw similar issues, so this is likely just a game problem, but I was hoping this next-gen upgrade would address it to some degree. While there is more foliage, it took me a few stages to get used to the shimmering.
When playing handheld on Switch 2, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition provides the biggest improvement as far as I’m concerned. The original Switch version handheld on Switch 2 ran well through backward compatibility, but it was a blurry and ugly mess. The Switch 2 Edition delivers a worthwhile upgrade despite some performance issues now present. I hope these can be addressed in patches since the game is still getting DLC, but I would still upgrade for some performance penalties rather than playing the Switch version on Switch 2.
As for One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 itself, five years later, I still think it is fantastic, but I really only recommend buying it when you can get the Ultimate or Legendary Edition bundle. I assume both will be discounted regularly, like the Legendary Edition is right now, and One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 shines with all the characters. It will cost you more if you buy just the base game now and want the DLC later, so keep that in mind.
When it comes to load times, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition loads quite a bit faster than the original Switch version, even when you play it on Switch 2 via backward compatibility. The PS5 version is the fastest to load the game, but battles load quickest on PC. The Switch and PS4 versions played on the old consoles take too long to even be considered worthwhile in 2025. I’m happy with the load time improvements on Switch 2, with it taking 12 seconds to load the battle I tested with, compared to 50 on Switch, 17 for Switch on Switch 2, and 15 on PS5. The Steam version took about 3 seconds here as a comparison.
If you already own One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4, the One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Pack is worth it for handheld play, but docked, I’m a bit conflicted right now since you do get visual improvements and an increased enemy count, but the performance is not as good as it was via backward compatibility. For newcomers, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition with DLC is worth getting, even if you aren’t a fan of One Piece. Just don’t bother with the standalone base game right now.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review copy provided by Bandai Namco Entertainment
