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This is what anime video games should be like - One Piece Odyssey Review

23K View2023-01-26

Let’s face it: When an anime is adapted to a video game, it usually sucks. Nine times out of ten, any game based off a popular anime feels like a cheap, quick cash-in, squeezing dedicated fans for as much money as possible while offering the bare minimum in terms of gameplay experience.

One Piece Odyssey breaks with this tradition, delivering a game that is worthy of the over-the-top, adventurous antics of Monkey D. Luffy and friends. What’s here may not be a perfect game, and it’s probably not going to appeal to gamers who aren’t already One Piece fans. But it is a huge step in the right direction and just about the best experience those established fans could hope for.

The first sign that One Piece Odyssey is a game for those who are already franchise devotees is its setting in the greater One Piece timeline. Odyssey begins at a point where Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirates crew have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with on the open seas. The game is a little vague on its precise placement for its original story in the timeline, but it appears to be set about 800-some episodes deep into the anime (or 800 to 900 chapters deep into the manga, if you prefer).

Whatever its place in the expansive series, Odyssey finds the Straw Hats shipwrecked on a strange island and in a greatly weakened state after an encounter with a mysterious young woman. In order to reclaim their power and escape from the island, they must gather a bunch of cubes and face down memories of some of the most dramatic moments from their adventures thus far.

While the story isn’t going to shock anyone with its uniqueness, it provides the perfect excuse to drop our heroes back down to level one, as well as to let gamers play through key moments from the history of One Piece while still telling a technically new story. And as is the case with One Piece as a whole, the overall journey isn’t really the point; this game’s plot is all about the moment-to-moment interactions between lovable characters like Usopp, Robin, Sanji, Zoro, and Nami. If those names don’t already mean something to you, you’re probably going to have trouble getting pulled in by Odyssey.

Even as a casual One Piece fan, though, I was immediately impressed by how well One PIece Odyssey captures the most entertaining elements of each of these characters in their dialogue. Luffy constantly looks for his next meal; Sanji and Zoro are at each other’s throats; Chopper alternates between terror at each enemy encounter and a strong-willed desire to keep his friends safe and healthy; and so on. These truly feel like the same characters I fell in love with throughout the course of the show and manga.

Those great personalities and the sense of friendship and teamwork shared by the crew also comes across in One Piece Odyssey’s excellent turn-based battle system. The easiest point of comparison here is Dragon Quest XI. Odyssey walks a similar balance, with combat that is undeniably old-school and perhaps a little slow-paced, but also strategic and satisfying to master. It also performs the most necessary task for any modern-day turn-based RPG: The fights deliver on spectacle, with absurd, fun special moves and abilities that are a joy to watch.

Although the battles are turn-based and relatively lethargic, the pacing of character progression is downright blazing compared to most RPGs. Some players might roll their eyes at the cliche manner in which One Piece Odyssey lets you play as powered-up, high-level versions of the characters for the first few hours before suddenly draining your abilities and setting the party back to level one. But from that point, I found myself gaining levels at a ridiculous rate, especially when I succeeded in pulling off the bonus objectives that pop up regularly during fights. I went from level one to well into my thirties in less than ten hours.

Outside of combat, One Piece Odyssey offers some large zones to explore (though it is definitely not open-world). The narrative eventually takes the crew into modified versions of their own memories, which means players get to spend time in areas they’ll recognize from some of their favorite story arcs, such as Arabasta, Water 7, and Marineford. While the outcome of these stories may already be known, Odyssey freshens things up a little bit by letting these more seasoned versions of the Straw Hats give a new perspective to what happened. In other words, it’s more than just a clip show.

But again, the nature of One Piece Odyssey as a story that’s revisiting past events from the series drives home how very for-the-fans this project is. And isn’t that what an anime adaptation should be? The point of these games is not to win over newcomers to the show; it’s to give people who already love it something they can enjoy, something that celebrates that love.

Could One Piece Odyssey be a better game? Sure. The story could be tighter, with less running back and forth across maps, and the combat is fun but not the most compelling turn-based fare I’ve seen. But compared to the slop that’s usually presented for games based on popular anime, this absolutely does its job of making fans happy and not just ripping them off with some low-effort trash. That’s more than enough reason to give it a chance if you’re into the source material.

SCORE: 3 STARS OUT OF 5

PLAY IF YOU LIKE:

• Dragon Quest or other old-school turn-based JRPGs. One Piece Odyssey has flash, but it’s not an action-packed game when it comes to combat. If you can’t get down with the slower battles of classic turn-based Japanese role-playing games, you may struggle to stay interested.

• One Piece. This should go without saying, but enjoying One Piece is pretty much a necessity to enjoying One Piece Odyssey. This is not a newcomer-friendly experience at all, and it fully expects you to know who these characters are, how they relate to each other, and what events they’re discussing and revisiting.

💬 One piece fans, sound off! Are you planning to play One Piece Odyssey, or are you going to skip this one even if you love the show? Share your feelings below.

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