One Piece is unquestionably one of the most successful anime and manga franchises of all time, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2022. To mark the occasion, Bandai Namco has announced an ambitious new game, One Piece Odyssey. But while a trailer released on March 28 caused a lot of talk, fans of the straw hat pirate were quick to share their expectations. Today, we invite you to see together what we know and what we can expect from this new video game.
Gameplay
The greatest unknown of One Piece Odyssey is currently its gameplay. While we know you’ll be able to control the entire Straw Hat Crew, it’s not entirely clear if the fight will be based on real-time or turn-based action. The trailer shows a few very short scenes of special attacks during the fight, which gives the impression of being turn-based, but it’s hard to be sure at this point.
Beyond that, there seems to be a lot of exploration, as the trailer shows Luffy exploring huge open-world areas, climbing vines, opening treasure chests, and more. Still, fans will have to wait a bit longer to get a full idea of what the gameplay of One Piece Odyssey will involve.
A JRPG video game
In an interview translated by Gematsu, the game’s producer, Katsuaki Tsuzuki, said:
I thought one of the most fascinating points of One Piece was ‘adventure’, so I thought a ‘JRPG project providing an adventure experience One Piece like never before’ would be very interesting. So with the question ‘What should an adventure offer One Piece ?’ and the concept of an ‘epic adventure to discover the world One Piece‘ in mind, we collaborated with a development team that had the know-how to create a complete RPG game. The result of this long-standing collaboration is One Piece Odyssey.
Thus, with the confirmation of the producer that it is indeed a JRPG, we would expect classic turn-based, but we cannot exclude the possibility of integrating a novelty in the gameplay with a mix between turn-based and real-time action. Indeed, JRPG enthusiasts surely remember a similar approach taken by the famous game Final Fantasy 7 who later will completely change his fighting style with the “remake” in real-time action Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
A bonus system?
Among the elements on which we can speculate, a bounty system could indeed exist and would most likely be appreciated. It is true that in the world of One Piece, bounties are issued with the annotation “Dead or Alive”, which means that the reward will be paid out if the individual is captured, dead or alive, by someone outside the “World Government”. Therefore, integrating this feature into the game could bring even more dynamism and excitement for gamers. Rather than having a pre-determined target located on a map, players could explore the island on their own and find the person they are looking for to earn rewards and level up their character, as well players will feel even more immersed in the shoes of the crew of Luffy and his friends !
A REPUTATION SYSTEM?
If there is a topical game that is unanimous with international success, it is Elden Ring. If by some miracle you’ve never heard of this game, it’s over here! Runes are at the heart of all systems ofElden Ring. From level ups, to purchases, to your stats and battles; it’s all about the runes! When you die in-game, your character drops all their runes and respawns at the last checkpoint. This is also what makes players of this game so careful and passionate about boss battles! And why not have a similar system in this game One Piece ?
Indeed, one could think of a premium concept around our character which, as the game progresses, would increase according to our level and the power acquired during the fights. This bonus would reflect our reputation and it could give us privileges the higher it is like the ability to explore exclusive and hidden areas of the map, trade items and skills at a better price, get more information about our enemy during battles, etc. The parallel with the used system ofElden Ring would be all the more real if defeat against a member of the World Government caused us to lose all or part of our reputation, status, privileges.
play with your own character?
Some Internet users are already asking themselves the question which seems quite legitimate: will we be able to create and play our own character? In effect, the idea of being able to embody your own character and explore the world with your crew while having interactions with Luffy’s crew and friends would be pretty exciting for the community ! Additionally, this option could also open other doors as to the possibility of developing your character making it stronger with potentially the presence of different Devil fruits, the ability to unlock his “haki”, etc. Thus, this feature would give us a multitude of epic scenarios, unique and personalized according to your choices and your personality ! However, if this option seems particularly attractive, the first images seem to indicate the opposite. Unless it is possible to create a new Mugiwara or to have a multiplayer mode including the creation of customizable characters at will?
We hope you enjoyed this article and if you are a fan of the saga One Piecewe invite you to read our article which deals with the release of the film One Piece Red where we discover the story of the daughter of Shanks le Roux, just that!