As one of many pioneering forces of manga and anime, One Piece is one thing meant to encourage pleasure, creativity, and a way of journey in followers, regardless of the place they’re. Following alongside Monkey D. Luffy and his band of Straw Hat Pirates, this quest has been within the making for over 25 years. Nevertheless, it appears that evidently the creator of the franchise, Eiichiro Oda, nonetheless has loads of tips up his sleeve, even delving into the world of unique tales for his created crew of bandits.
One Piece Odyssey is a wholly unique story that retreads some not-so-original concepts. Whereas the sum of its components equals as much as a great recreation and a good time throughout, does it do sufficient to carve out a spot within the hearts of JRPG lovers all over the world?
Washed Ashore In A New World
One Piece Odyssey brings the characters created inside to life in a brand new dimension, with high-quality fashions that may have followers hooked from the second they see them. Luffy and the gang have by no means appeared higher, with detailed character fashions that look as in the event that they have been peeled straight from the pages of the most recent chapter. Alongside these detailed fashions, environments spring to life across the participant, with a powerful draw distance that enables gamers to admire the view, regardless of the place they’re.
With a novel sketchbook look that’s strewn throughout lots of the textures of the land, I couldn’t look away. Enemy designs are eye-catching, and whereas among the characters might have a bit an excessive amount of fan service occurring, everyone appears one of the best they ever have undoubtedly. Getting an opportunity to revisit favourite areas, equivalent to Dressarosa as soon as extra in 4K decision gave me the possibility to admire the world that has been crafted round these pirates.
As I made my method by the brand new world of Waford, there are a stunning quantity of little particulars that caught out to me. Most of the time, I’ve discovered myself breezing by anime/manga-inspired video games with out paying a lot consideration to the overworld, because it’s pretty static, plain, and simply general boring. Nevertheless, every of the worlds visited in One Piece Odyssey provided branching paths to make the most of the abilities of particular characters and helped these retreaded worlds pop to life as soon as extra.
There are just a few bits of competition that do convey this full of life world down from a top-class RPG title, nevertheless. As I pressed ahead all through the wartorn metropolis of Alabasta, for instance, I used to be anticipating to see battles being waged between the Insurgent Forces and the Guards of town, however it as an alternative boiled down to a couple static NPC characters standing at guard, which was disappointing. Characters are combating behind boundaries additional into town, however seeing the bigger a part of this metropolis underutilized was disappointing, to say the least.
The One Piece Is Actual
The entire Japanese Voice Actors reprise their roles inside One Piece Odyssey, bringing top-notch vitality and witty banter that feels extraordinarily genuine to the supply materials. It’s enjoyable to discover these worlds and have an opportunity to hearken to Sanji and Zoro bicker backwards and forwards in petty arguments, or Luffy whine for meals as soon as once more, moments after consuming. It helps Odyssey really feel like an genuine product, quite than one thing compelled and stiff.
Sound design is one other general excessive level for this journey. I made a decision to play by the vast majority of this title with headphones on and was handled to a superb soundtrack, in addition to stunning consideration to element relating to the way in which sounds work together with the world surrounding you.
Listening to the grunts and groans of battle, alongside the small particulars of water speeding beneath your toes or sizzling sand towards your footwear is a superb little element. Most anime titles don’t pay this sort of consideration to element, which is why I believed that it deserved a callout right here.
A Complicated Battle System With A Twist
The true meat and potatoes of this expertise isn’t even the grand journey that lies earlier than the participant. Relatively, it’s the battle system that One Piece Odyssey brings to the desk. Sure, it could be a rehashed model of Rock, Paper, Scissors in the long term, however there’s extra to it than what initially meets the attention.
There are three forms of powers that characters use inside this world, Velocity, Energy, and Approach. Every of those characters have their respective Energy and Weak spot, so using that to your benefit may be the distinction between life and dying on the battlefield. Or quite, it will be if the battles on this recreation weren’t numbingly simple at occasions.
Up till Chapter 2, battles can primarily be gained with any character within the social gathering, that are swappable at any time. Even on the sphere, gamers can have Sanji retreat to the again of the road, swapping him out with Tony Tony Chopper, or anyone else, making battles easy to grasp. There’s even the choice to allow an auto-battle system, so you’ll be able to proceed to grind whereas specializing in extra urgent issues. Nevertheless, on the finish of the Alabasta Warfare arc, gamers are put towards their first actual menace.
When tougher battles come up, the true power of this battle system is put entrance and heart. Needing to make use of respectable technique towards the boss of this chapter showcases how enjoyable and dynamic battles can actually be, and it’s a disgrace that almost all of the fights may be accomplished with out a lot thought. The addition of a problem slider by way of an replace sooner or later may actually assist elevate One Piece Odyssey to the subsequent stage, quite than leaving the problem to just some battles.
Irrespective of how easy the vast majority of battles could also be, there’s something exhilarating about seeing their Final Expertise come to life, as they’re animated superbly and assist showcase the persona and expertise of every of the combatants on the battlefield. Irrespective of what number of occasions I used Usopp’s Rubber Band Of Doom, I may really feel a smile creeping from the corners of my mouth.
The World Is At Your Fingertips…
One of many greatest strengths, and likewise weaknesses of One Piece Odyssey occurs to lie inside its method to exploration and traversal. Whereas making my method by the rigorously crafted worlds, getting the possibility to see each nook and cranny of the cities, deserts, and ruins that lie inside, it’s enjoyable to see small particulars that will usually go unnoticed in different One Piece video games.
After I wasn’t battling towards numerous enemies that litter the plains, I used to be taking my time and exploring. Alongside taking management of Luffy, you’re capable of swap between any social gathering member at any time, and so they all have their makes use of. Together with his Gum-Gum powers, Luffy can cross gaps by grabbing onto hooks and grapple factors, Zoro can slice by doorways and packing containers, and Chopper makes use of his dimension to his benefit, making each character really feel helpful whereas exploring.
Each world is meticulously detailed, and with loads of objects to search out by way of particular person characters, it gave me an opportunity to comprehend how helpful each member of the workforce is. Whereas followers of the collection might already plan on operating by the world with their favourite crew member, don’t neglect anybody within the social gathering, as all of them have loads of makes use of. Common traversal instruments are useable by all members, however using Sanji to search out elements for meals at camp is extra necessary than zooming by the desert with Luffy.
Worlds are cut up into separate zones, and I used to be capable of finding numerous goodies as I explored these lands. Exploring excessive, low, and each bit in between may be fairly thrilling and gave me the sensation that I used to be really on the planet that these characters reside and thrive in. Till I began operating into some points with the general traversal that began to bitter the expertise.
…Aside from Over There.
One Piece Odyssey commits one of many greatest sins of any open-world recreation, and it does so with an alarming frequency. Whereas I used to be exploring and plundering inside ruins and caverns, there have been numerous occasions that I wanted to get from a excessive level to a decrease level, however my progress was blocked by an invisible wall.
Whereas the battle system could also be barely simple, figuring out the place an invisible wall might be isn’t. However, on this specific recreation, a rule of thumb is: if there’s a small probability that you may lower a while out of traversal by leaping over a railing or taking a small shortcut by going over an edge, there’s probably an invisible wall. It’s a disgrace as a result of with a totally open world, Odyssey gave me the closest feeling to being a Straw Hat Pirate, however the fixed blocking of progress felt extra infuriating than anything.
There are particular areas the place an invisible wall would make sense, however when they’re positioned in numerous places, the phantasm of freedom is rapidly stripped away from anybody enjoying this recreation. It’s a disgrace to see so many components of the world blocked off, particularly when it’s virtually pointless in most conditions. Sure, it doesn’t harm to have an invisible option to stop gamers from dropping right into a bottomless pit, however let me soar over the railing to avoid wasting just a few seconds.
I Wanna Maintain Your Hand
The sheer quantity of handholding throughout the opening hours of the sport turns it from a grand journey in a brand new world to an outright slog throughout among the most necessary hours. One Piece Odyssey isn’t an excessively complicated recreation, so the quantity of hints, suggestions, and tips gamers obtain when beginning the journey virtually seems like a slap within the face from Gear 4 Luffy.
Whereas gamers could also be to study what the sport has to supply, discovering a greater option to implement it than repeatedly popping fine details of knowledge on the display for the primary few hours may assist gamers get their toes moist sooner and get the gears shifting rapidly. With the quantity of creativity that the world of One Piece has to supply, it feels convoluted and counterintuitive to clarify how issues work by way of textual content, quite than making the characters expertise it themselves.
The ultimate criticism that this recreation deserves is the quantity of stop-and-start actions in the beginning that convey the motion to an entire halt. It’s comprehensible to wish to progress the story, particularly in a world that’s as lore-rich as One Piece itself is, however when gamers will take 3 to 4 steps earlier than leaping into one other piece of the story can really feel cumbersome and clumsy. Inside the first chapter, I spent extra time taking child steps, quite than leaping into the thrilling and well-thought-out journey that comes into play shortly after.
Closing Ideas
Whereas some components of One Piece Odyssey really feel unusually novice, the general bundle is nicely price your time. It’s not going to be deemed an all-time traditional by any means, however even people who aren’t the most important followers of the supply materials will discover greater than sufficient to like with this title. With a enjoyable forged of supporting characters, wonderful dialogue, and music that retains the adrenaline pumping all through its 30+ hour runtime, One Piece Odyssey gives a worthy journey to these prepared to leap in.
Whereas One Piece Odyssey is a wholly unique story that retreads some not-so-original grounds, the sum of its components equals as much as a great recreation and a good time throughout. Does it do sufficient to carve out a spot within the hearts of JRPG lovers all over the world? Not totally, however people who love One Piece will discover a competent and delightful RPG that’s crafted with care. One Piece Odyssey may have simply been a cash-in title, however gamers will discover that there’s loads of coronary heart and soul within the general bundle.
This recreation was reviewed utilizing a replica of the sport offered by the sport’s writer,public relations firm, developer or different for the specific function of a evaluate.
– This text was up to date on January seventeenth, 2023