One Piece Odyssey is sending ripples of excitement through the fan base of One Piece, one of the most popular anime of all time. With the JRPG on its way as part of the 25th-anniversary celebrations of One Piece, the developer, ILCA, has revealed what gamers should expect from One Piece Odyssey through trailers and gameplay reveals. Eiichiro Oda -- the creator of the One Piece universe -- is a direct contributor to the project, so fans are optimistic their favorite characters will be properly represented due to his presence. The early reveals have been promising, and One Piece Odyssey's storytelling and turn-based combative approach is garnering support.
As expected, One Piece Odyssey will focus on Monkey D. Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates, and players will begin their journey in the game after the pirates are blown off course by a powerful storm, landing on the mysterious Waford Island. The pirate crew finds themselves stranded on the island, and players will take control of Luffy and his nakama on an exploratory mission to find an escape route. There are also iconic locations from the anime that appear as fully explorable worlds in One Piece Odyssey, each featuring unique storylines.
One Piece Odyssey's Mix of Familiar and New Elements Holds Promise
With material as mainstream as One Piece, developers often struggle to find a balance in producing enough originality to distinguish the game from the main series. Sometimes, in a conscious effort to be different from the source material, characters can get muted or strangely overpowered in a manner that doesn't fit the original story. On the flip side, playing it safe and sticking with what fans are familiar with might not produce as much excitement in the fan base. Eiichiro Oda gives fans hope that One Piece Odyssey won't have any such struggles, as the Dramatic Scene system promises to put players in different scenarios that require strategy.
The variety of combat moves in a player's selected fighting party is usually a determinant of how far a player can progress in traditional JRPGs, and One Piece Odyssey came prepared on that front. The turn-based combat system in One Piece Odyssey differs in some ways compared to more popular games like those from JRPG powerhouse Atlus, as it allows players to choose the order of characters they want in a fight. Taking inspiration from the divide-and-conquer battle mode seen in the One Piece anime, selected members of a player's party can attack weaker enemies while one character battles the main boss before rejoining the battle later.
Each member of the Straw Hats has a specific combat type, and the UI informs players of an opponent's level of resistance to these types. Players can select their fighting party of three pirates to participate in these battles based on the UI's recommendation. In addition to the combat types, characters have skills they can activate with TP, One Piece Odyssey's form of skill points. The TP meter fills up with each attack a character carries out, and once they attain enough, stronger attacks are unlocked. Fan favorite moves like Luffy's Gum Gum Gatling make an appearance in the game through the TP meter, an attacking move capable of knocking out multiple enemies. One Piece Odyssey also gives playable characters unique exploration skills to navigate through Waford Island.
With all the confirmed features and trailers, One Piece Odyssey seems to be getting its formula just right. Every character in the game has unique powers and skills that are familiar to fans through anime and manga, and the exploration feature is an exciting one for players to get a feel for the abilities of the Straw Hat Pirates. The storyline of gamers wandering across Waford Island to find the missing members of the crew and Luffy's distinctive straw hat promises to be engaging, and if One Piece Odyssey is done right, it could be one of the best licensed RPGs to emanate from an anime.
One Piece Odyssey releases on January 13, 2023, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.