One Piece is a daunting series even for the most hardcore anime and manga fans. That’s because the manga has been going since 1997 and there is so much to catch up on. Thankfully, it's fairly easy to break the series down for RPG fans who are interested in One Piece Odyssey but don't know the story of the anime.
Luffy D. Monkey is the captain of a group of pirates sailing around the world looking for the titular One Piece treasure. Luffy, part of his crew, and most villains of the series have eaten magical fruit that gives them powers. Luffy can stretch like a rubber man and Nico Robin can duplicate her body parts. That’s all one needs to know and the game overall isn’t connected to any main arc. With the basic premise out of the way, these beginner tips for One Piece Odyssey should make the early hours easier.
1 There Are No Difficulty Levels
One Piece Odyssey is and is not an RPG for beginners. It does not have difficulty options, which may turn potential players away from the start. The balance is favored toward the player though with battles not being that challenging if players pay attention.
The best idea is to fight every monster one comes across, which may seem tedious at first. However, being up to a normal level in any RPG is the key to surviving. A grind is part of the genre, as most fans know by now. Being over-leveled is even better, although that can rob players of experiencing a sense of challenge.
2 You Will Get Samus-ed
The first hour of the game will give players a good amount of time to test out most of the Straw Hat Pirates’ patented techniques from the anime. Players may realize they are too strong for the beginning of an epic RPG and those instincts would be correct.
Eventually, the party will run into the Fire Colossus who is the guardian of the island. It will sap the crew’s powers away like how Samus gets her upgrades taken away in every Metroid game. One Piece Odyssey does have some Metroidvania elements, so this twist is not that surprising. Certain characters can remove obstacles such as Zoro, who can cut through metal bars.
3 Get Used To Enemy Types
Enemies and the pirate crew all have coordinating alignments for battle. For example, Luffy is a Power type while Nami is a Speed type. These types act like the weapon wheel system from the Fire Emblem series, with swords beating lances as one example.
In One Piece Odyssey, Power is strong against Speed, Speed is strong against Technique, and Technique is strong against Power. Characters can be switched in and out of battle after the tutorial phase, so players should learn the ropes fast. To succeed, they'll need to switch out characters or use abilities that will eliminate enemies faster.
4 How Ability Upgrades Work
Characters will not regain their abilities by leveling up like in most RPGs. They are instead returned once players find certain cube clusters that are green in the world. Players can also get cubes that can be used to upgrade these abilities.
The nice thing players may not realize is that these upgrade cubes can be removed and reassigned as much as one pleases. This allows for more experimentation in One Piece Odyssey, which is encouraged. Putting all cubes on an area attack ability like Nami’s various area-based lightning abilities will help battles go by quicker, as one example.
5 Defeat Weaker Enemies During Boss Fights
Boss fights are some of the most fun battles in the game. That’s because they will test players on how well they are adapting to the game’s mechanics. Every boss has a different strategy that can be utilized for beating them but there is one overall tip that will help in most RPGs, especially in One Piece Odyssey.
If a boss has minions around, players should be sure to eliminate them first. With canon fodder around, enemies will have more turns to do damage to the party which is why killing them quickly is a solid strategy. So, it’s a good idea to boost area attacks before battle just in case the boss is accompanied by minions.
6 Explore Away From Red Exclamations
The map will guide players on where to go in the game. Story sections will be marked with a red exclamation point, so it’s hard to get lost. Players shouldn't always go directly toward these story points though, as exploring the island or the other locations that open up can be very fruitful.
It’s not a massive open-world game to explore, but there are plenty of secrets off the beaten path. Also, for another exploratory recommendation, players should turn on the auto dash in the options so that they don’t have to constantly hold the triggers to run.
7 Save Often
One Piece Odyssey allows players to manually save in twenty open slots, which is great for RPG fans. It gives them the opportunity to save in their favorite spots so that they may return to them at a later date without having to replay the whole game again.
That’s a bonus to the overall tip that players should save whenever they see a save point pop up. Also, they should spread out saves just in case a file gets corrupted or players need to revert to an earlier save for whatever reason. It’s best to be prepared and over-saving is never something that should be looked down upon.
One Piece Odyssey was released on January 13, 2023, and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.