One Piece Odyssey is Bandai Namco’s first major game of 2023 and a title that fans of Eiichiro Oda’s work have placed great trust in, and overall (spoiler alert) I think they won’t be disappointed. . At the helm of this new adventure for Luffy and his friends is the hand of ILCA, who had already done a great job with Dragon Quest 11, a game that draws a lot from it in all the good aspects.
In One Piece Odyssey, we’ll see the Straw Hat Pirates in a completely original adventure that, it seems, will find its way into the canon of the story. In it we will have Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Brook, Robin and Franky navigating the dangerous waters of a very strange island called Waford. In the vicinity of this place, very intense storms of dubious origin occur which cause the sinking of the pirates and the subsequent exploration of the island.
After some clashes with minor enemies on the island that act as mini-tutorials, the first boss of the title will appear and immediately after defeating him, the character of Lim appears, which just by touching the characters their causes their abilities to be forgotten, something they will of course need to recover as the story progresses and the island is explored.
This completely new and very well constructed plot will be nuanced with moments from the characters’ past, such as the narrative arc of Alabasta or Water 7, something that was already little known before. In fact, as the game progresses, we will be able to go back in time in a kind of mental journey to fight other antagonists of the past, a direct thunderbolt for the hearts of fans who will be able to relive epic moments, like Ace’s rescue attempt. . , the fight against Crocodile, etc., with small differences.
Prepare your map of the Grand Line, because in this analysis we are going to explore the waters of One Piece Odyssey and only fate will tell if after these lines a great treasure or a great misfortune awaits us. Come with me, my boy.
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technical part
Let’s start with the strong point of the title at first sight: the graphics. I think of the games based on the Bandai Namco licenses that I have had the chance to play, this is the most successful of all. Each of the characters is depicted in exquisite 3D with all of their main details and features in stained glass. For their part, the scenarios are very well done, and even if they can be a little empty in some cases, let’s agree that the same thing happens throughout the more than 1000 chapters of the manga and that makes complete sense being given that the characters spend a lot of time exploring semi-deserted islands and fighting in the seas.
The character animations during fights or cutscenes have nothing to envy to any of the anime chapters. The colors and details seem to be taken from an animated film rather than a video game, it’s a shame that with all this there was not a photo mode which could have become a constant producer of backgrounds wallpapers for fans.
As for the sound, those who have watched the series with the original Japanese audio (thanks for that, Crunchyroll!) will notice that the character voices are the same as those found in the anime, which fans will be infinitely grateful for. grateful. which is a detail that denotes the care of the developers for the production, and the power of the licenses.
The music that accompanies our favorite pirates is also one of the highlights of the game, with orchestral soundtracks and other rhythms combined to create the perfect effect for each instance of the adventure. It may not be one of those OSTs that over time will be considered “memorable” but, without a doubt, One Piece Odyssey’s musical work is worth mentioning.
In terms of localization, the game is in our language in its Spanish and Latin American variant. In my analysis I was in contact with the second and although the work was good at the translation level, I think that there is a lot of work to be done from the point of view of the edition due to the number of ‘typing errors and other details of this style which were They count by several.
gameplay
If you’re a regular at JRPGs, the One Piece Odyssey combat formula doesn’t stray too far from the traditional, almost strictly following the turn-based battle system of a lifetime with a heavy emphasis on positioning your party, whose members you can change according to your needs in combat. One feature that I think is very good but perhaps genre purists may consider a lack is that random matches have been removed and replaced with more thoughtful clashes, where one can even surprise enemies from behind, increasing the chance of getting a critical hit early in the fight.
As in any role-playing game, the characters can be equipped with different elements that improve certain offensive and defensive characteristics and we can even obtain additional experience by completing certain mini-objectives in battles.
It is important to take into account that each character represents a characteristic, in this case divided into speed, technique and power, each being stronger against the other. Thus, strategy plays a fundamental role in the fight to establish which character is the best.
Special techniques also have strengths and resistances depending on certain specific enemies and particular enemy types, for example, not all of Nami’s seduction-related abilities work on machines.
That being said, and while there are tougher fights, this feeling of progression is not very present despite the fact that characters will regain their “forgotten” abilities as the game progresses. The fights may be advanced but seeing the characters special moves is like sitting down to enjoy an episode of the anime and a condition that I don’t think any fan wants to miss.
In addition to fighting, Luffy’s crew will also have to explore. The map interface, located in the lower left corner of the screen, is very easy to use in flat levels, although it fails a lot in scenarios that have different upper and lower levels.
At first it’s a little frustrating not being able to explore the areas you want because you have to follow the main story, but that changes later and it’s one of the strong points of the game, since for this particular one can switch between different members of the crew and use their main characteristics for different purposes, whether it is to obtain objects in distant points without moving using Luffy, to cross small spaces with Chopper or destroy objects with Zoro’s swords. Rewards for explorers come in the form of cubes with better abilities, cosmetic items, and upgrade items of different calibers.
Duration
Without advancing the fights and with a minimum of exploration, the main story can take more than 30 hours without hesitation, because completing the side missions and doing a more intense sweep of the scenarios, we are talking about almost double the time, and I think I fell short. If you’ve been waiting for an adventure that demands your schedule, congratulations, you’ve found it.
conclusion
One Piece Odyssey is, for me, the best game of the saga made to date; with a very good story that brings many new elements and characters to an IP that seems to have a machine for constantly generating creativity. In its narrative innovations, it does not leave out some of the band’s most iconic plot arcs as a nod to fans so that they can relive with certain and interesting differences some of the stories that have marked the life of these pirates.
It should be emphasized that the title is clearly aimed at One Piece fansy aunque no veo la razón por la cual alguien querría meterse en la historia a través de este juego, no está diseñado para las personas que no sepan de que va esta saga ya que se perderían de infinidad de elements que hacen a la narrativa de la production.
If you are a One Piece fan, treasure this game because it was made for you. Don’t expect an ode to originality in terms of combat, exploration, or general JRPG structure, but get ready to experience an adventure as you read about in the manga or saw in the anime with all the right seasonings for it. you with this definitive representation of The Straw Hat Pirates and all of their great world.
Gabriel Ignacio Fuentes
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One Piece Odyssey is the dream adventure for fans of Luffy and his crew, one of the best adaptations of Eiichiro Oda’s work in video games.
A real visual and playable pleasure reserved exclusively for One Piece fans.
Good
- The incredible graphic representation of the characters
- Includes original Japanese voices
- the story is great
The bad
- The lack of freedom at the start when exploring
- Those who are not fans of the saga are very excluded
- You have no sense of progression
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