One Piece Odyssey Preview – A Promising Maiden Voyage Through Well-Charted Seas

I completed the Arlong Park arc of the One Piece anime this yr and took a break to observe another exhibits on my lists and play by means of some video games I’ve been that means to complete. That’s to say, I went right into a hands-on preview session with One Piece Odyssey with only a sprint of One Piece data, understanding there are nonetheless 1000-plus episodes for me to observe to make amends for the sequence. After roughly two hours of taking part in Odyssey, I’m rearing to leap again into the anime, and that’s one of the best praise I can provide the sport. It doesn’t harm that Odyssey is shaping as much as be an incredible JRPG with some distinctive methods that can make taking part in simpler for newcomers to the style and extra dynamic for followers of those video games. 

I used to be anxious about my lack of awareness heading into this preview, but it surely’s clear in One Piece Odyssey that it was vital for the crew to design an RPG that appeals to all gamers, not simply One Piece followers. 

Logs inside Odyssey fill within the areas for gamers like me, too. Once I attain Nanohana in Alabasta, these logs assist me perceive the placement’s significance. They don’t present the complete story of Alabasta, although, which I believe is nice. I don’t even really feel spoiled of that arc; Odyssey provides me simply sufficient data to know the significance of reaching this place within the recreation. Video games based mostly on widespread anime generally fall into the entice of retelling tales from stated anime, however not practically as effectively. That’s not the case with Odyssey, although, and I believe it’s an incredible basis upon which this story builds in-game. That’s as a result of as a substitute of retreading basic tales followers already adore, Odyssey makes use of these arcs to inform new tales in acquainted locations. 

For instance, upon reaching the sandy desert metropolis of Alabasta, the Straw Hat crew – captain Monkey D. Luffy, Brook, Franky, Roronoa Zoro, Vinsmoke Sanji, Nami, Nico Robin, Usopp, and Tony Tony Chopper – is conscious of their adventures right here. They discuss previous experiences, Luffy remarks about his love for the Spice Bean Restaurant, and extra. It displays what One Piece has accomplished up to now, and the brand new journey builds on that. 

Earlier than reaching Alabasta, although, Odyssey units up fairly a disastrous scenario for the Straw Hats crew and the Thousand Sunny ship it sails aboard. A cinematic reveals a mighty storm has knocked the Thousand Sunny off track, crashing it into the shores of a mysterious island. The shipwreck splits the Straw Hats up, and I management Luffy whereas looking for everybody. It’s right here that Odyssey introduces its distinctive, flashy, enjoyable, and surprisingly in-depth fight system to me. 

At this level, all the crew is stage 40, meant to display their prowess as pirates. And every member has practically a dozen expertise at their disposal, too, like Luffy’s numerous Gum strikes. At its core, Odyssey as a turn-based RPG, and folks aware of the style will rapidly decide up on how the sport’s fight works. However wanting deeper at its methods, I discover mechanics impressed by Pokemon and dynamic scenes and menus impressed by the Persona sequence. 

You encounter every enemy in a Scramble Space Battle, a system that spreads enemies out based mostly on area placement. Luffy is likely to be coping with two enemies immediately in entrance of him, and Sanji may not have an enemy in his zone, however his long-range strikes enable him to assault these by Luffy. Nami can ignore the enemies closest to her to assist Luffy as effectively, or she will be able to deal with these in entrance of her. I take note of each enemy on the sector not simply because they will strike at me from any place however as a result of every has weaknesses and strengths dictated by a Pokémon-esque, rock-paper-scissors-like system. 

Energy-type characters and enemies, and subsequent Energy assaults, are sturdy towards Velocity, and Velocity is powerful towards Method, with Method being only towards Energy. The sport demonstrates effectiveness through the use of crimson arrows pointing up when aiming for an enemy with a selected transfer kind or blue arrows pointing right down to let you already know that transfer isn’t efficient. Some actions carry standing results, too, like paralysis, bleed, and faint, which renders foes quickly unconscious. Abilities, which make the most of the strikes followers of the manga and anime will possible acknowledge, dissipate Rigidity Factors, however a brilliant efficient transfer can simply rating you sufficient TP for an additional ability if you happen to run out faster than anticipated. 

The fight is taken a step additional with Dynamic Scenes, that are targets that battles can introduce in the beginning of an encounter. In a single story occasion, enemies paralyze Usopp with a shock assault, and the Dynamic Scene duties me with defeating the enemies earlier than they defeat the paralyzed Usopp, who can’t do something to battle again or defend himself. The enemies focus nearly completely on him, that means I’ve to behave quick to defeat his attackers. Finishing a Dynamic Scene comes with additional expertise and rewards, too, and it appears value making an attempt to attain with every occasion. 

All of this interprets to a extremely energetic fight system that hooked me simply midway by means of my first encounter. It’s fast-paced, straightforward to know, and options minor tweaks like having the ability to swap occasion members on the fly and not using a price that makes fight frantic and thrilling in a manner that I believe will preserve style newcomers enticed. The UI and menus, particularly in presentation, are seemingly impressed by Persona, too, making Odyssey’s fight a feast for the eyes. Every transfer carries impressed animation that appears nice and dynamic, and the menus pop with colour and elegance. Even the post-battle abstract display screen is harking back to Persona 5, with characters showing on display screen in a trendy manner whereas a catchy tune performs to indicate success. 

On the notice of music, it’s implausible; even perhaps the stand-out characteristic of this complete preview for me. It’s adventurous, piratical, and exactly what you’d count on from One Piece. It’s no shock, although, contemplating Darkish Souls composer Motoi Sakuraba, who additionally has credit throughout the Tales and Tremendous Smash Bros. sequence, is composing Odyssey’s rating. Sakuraba’s rating that I’ve heard so far in Odyssey is a big departure from what I do know of him finest – the Darkish Souls sequence – but it surely wraps up every part occurring within the recreation in the identical sense of journey the anime’s rating does. I’m excited to listen to different tracks throughout the recreation. 

The sport’s opening moments are about educating you its fight system, however shortly after, you’re free to discover the beginning areas of this mysterious island, which Robin determines is Waford, a location new to this universe. It’s shrouded in thriller, naturally, as a result of the crew has by no means been there, and solely Robin has heard of it, but it surely’s dwelling to unusual relics and artifacts coated in ancient-looking symbols. 

I quickly be taught that these are hooked up to a brand new character created by One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda named Lim. This character is launched simply earlier than the introduction of Adio, one other new Oda creation. Lim determines the Straw Hats to be pirates and, earlier than introductions, makes use of her unusual energy to take the crew’s expertise and energy and switch them into cubes that she mysteriously scatters world wide. At this level, the comfortable stage 40 characters I used to crush enemies are actually stage 2, and their highly effective expertise are gone, too. All I can do now’s use my commonplace assaults, and I chuckle, watching enemies beforehand take a whole lot of harm factors now take possibly just a few dozen. 

It’s a enjoyable spin on the standard “how will we make this sturdy occasion now not sturdy” method seen in RPGs, and I like that it’s woven immediately into the story. It additionally makes accumulating these cubes, which is on the story’s core, enjoyable as a result of with every profitable mission may come the prospect of a brand new dice and, subsequently, a few of my earlier expertise and energy. I’ve to discover the World of Recollections to search out extra of those cubes. Whereas I don’t get to see how this world works, it appears to be a portal of types that transports me to famed locations from One Piece historical past, just like the aforementioned Alabasta. 

Lim takes the Straw Hats’ powers as a result of she fears they’re prison pirates, the type she has issues with, however she quickly discovers that they’re “good” pirates and regrets what she’s accomplished, informing them of what they should do to return to their former selves. Enter the World of Recollections. 

In Alabasta, I do some commonplace questing – defeat an enemy holding a mission merchandise, return it to this particular person, accumulate some substances so crew cook dinner Sanji can whip up a tasty soup for a neighborhood, and extra. The person targets aren’t probably the most thrilling, however wanting on the beautifully-rendered world of Odyssey makes it straightforward. With the ability to management numerous crew members at completely different occasions retains issues thrilling, too. Some gamers possible gained’t agree with the 3D side of the sport, but it surely works for me, as does the odd however quaint painterly visible type. It runs effectively, too.

Facet content material in Odyssey isn’t doing something groundbreaking, though I admittedly solely dabbled in it throughout my hands-on time. However I don’t essentially want it to be groundbreaking, and the identical goes for even the golden path. Odyssey is the primary One Piece turn-based RPG of this caliber, breaking the mildew of typical anime video games that both go the route of 2D or 3D combating, or motion, and that alone is refreshing.

Even with my comparatively little One Piece data, it’s straightforward to see how a lot care developer ILCA has put into taking this franchise into RPG territory. Whether or not it finally ends up being a success within the fandom stays to be seen, and the identical goes for the way genuine to One Piece as a franchise Odyssey is. But when my two hours of hands-on time display something, it’s that Odyssey is shaping as much as be a singular and thrilling JRPG, and one gamers ought to keep watch over, One Piece followers or not.