One Piece Odyssey Review
One Piece Odyssey is the latest in a long line of Bandai Namco games to explore the One Piece characters and world created by Eiichiro Oda. Previous efforts to bring the manga and anime to life date back to the start of the millennium and span a variety of genres. One Piece Odyssey, a JRPG from developer ILCA, offers a grand new adventure for longtime fans and newcomers alike, but it takes a while to realize its potential.
As One Piece Odyssey begins, Luffy and friends are sailing on their loyal ship when they find themselves caught up in a spectacular storm. The vessel and its crew wash ashore on an island, where a mysterious woman drains everyone’s powers. To regain their strength, the heroes must defeat four guardians, a project that amounts to suicide unless they first delve into their memories of past adventures. While navigating distorted versions of prior events, they meet old allies and familiar enemies (luckily, they don’t meet a lot of the more underwhelming One Piece characters), and work to strengthen their bonds. They hope their activity will eventually allow them to return to their regularly scheduled pirating adventures.
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Its story has some inspired moments, but One Piece Odyssey’s most interesting developments don’t occur until well into the campaign. Players start by battling disposable foes and acquainting themselves with the abilities characters can use outside combat. Luffy, made of rubber and immune to electrical damage, extends his arms to latch onto distant grapple points. The hilariously meme-worthy Chopper, small and nimble, enters narrow passageways bulkier characters cannot. The various other party members have important secondary skills that allow them to fuse accessories, break down gates, locate precious loot, and so forth. Those abilities bring the worlds they explore to life and, along with various side quests and plot…
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