Some people are simply driven to succeed in certain vocational paths regardless of what physical limitations they have which may suggest doing so is unwise. Take Monkey D. Luffy for instance. This is someone who due to his rubber body has no buoyant properties, meaning he'll sink like a rock if someone were to drop him in water. This inability to stay afloat seems like a career in piracy is ill advised, but he's had a lengthy tenure in the Straw Hat Pirates. Being a rubber man at sea has its occupational hazards, but Luffy and crew show no signs of slowing down as they embark in a new adventure in One Piece Odyssey.

The tale begins with the Straw Hat Pirates sailing into a storm which leaves them stranded on the mysterious island of Waford. They encounter two new characters, Lim and Adio, both of whom have a healthy distrust of pirates. The previously-overpowered Luffy and his companions are knocked down from level 40 to a more appropriate level for the beginning of an RPG with all their powers sealed in memory cubes that are scattered about the island. After getting to know the Straw Hat Pirates, Lim comes to the conclusion that they aren't the worst group of people she's ever encountered and agrees to help them get their powers back. Seems a nicer gesture would be to just undo her stripping them of their powers, but then there would be no island exploration and this would be the shortest RPG ever.

One Piece has been running since the turn of the century and the anime has over a thousand episodes. The time commitment to get caught up is substantial and could be intimidating for those interested in checking it out. One Piece Odyssey has an interesting way of handing the story development to appeal to longtime fans while making it accessible to newcomers. The plot picks up after the Dressrosa story arc which is well past the 700 episode mark. The events that occur on Waford are a new story, but Lim has a power where she can send the crew to a world of her creation called Memoria. Entering Memoria revisits past adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates, allowing longtime fans to replay adventures from the manga and anime while providing historical context for newcomers.

One of the strengths of One Piece Odyssey is how it incorporates each character's uniqueness into the gameplay. Most of the time will be spent exploring Waford as main protagonist Luffy and his stretchy rubber arms are great for grabbing out-of-reach items or rubber banding himself to otherwise inaccessible places, but other characters fulfill vital roles as well. There are some places that are too tight of a squeeze for Luffy to get into, but this is no problem for the diminutive Chopper. Other characters have special talents that are useful in support roles such as Robin who can craft useful accessories for the party and master chef Sanji can whip up gourmet dishes to help keep the crew shipshape while hitting on anything that moves.

Having each of the characters play a different utilitarian role is an important aspect of building a good RPG party that encourages players to spend time which each character, but for a game based on an established property, nailing the personalities is an important aspect. This is an area where One Piece Odyssey succeeds. Whether it be through the dialogue, exaggerated facial expressions or other silly animations, the characters' personalities shine through the game, adding the needed familiarity to established fans while helping newcomers get a sense of who these characters really are.

With the Straw Hate Pirates being stripped of their powers, much of the game is spent trying to find the cubes to get them back. It works as a narrative device to give context of character development and level advancement even if Luffy not remembering how to do his stretchy arm punch is hard to swallow. Battles are typical turn-based affairs where there's a rock paper scissor mechanic at play. Everyone is designated as a certain attack type and each type has a specific weakness: technique is strong against power, power is strong against speed and speed is strong against technique. Once the player internalizes this system it's easy to put together a party that can demolish anything that stands in their way even before they haven't fully recovered all their powers. An element that makes battle more interesting is that not all party will be in the same area at the start of all battles. They can move over to where their companions are after enemies are cleared in their own area.

One of the more dreaded aspects in starting a JRPG is the tutorial slog that is the first few hours of a new game. This is no exception and the tutorial aspect encompasses several hours of the early game. This is compounded by the fact that players are probably itching to venture out and explore Waford on their own, but should they try to stray from the predetermined path, will be forcibly redirected back in the general pathway of the objective. Guidance and quest markers are great, but completely restricting exploration is a buzzkill when the open landscape of a place like Waford is calling your name.

One Piece Odyssey is one of the better attempts at turning a popular anime into a video game. The character personalities are true to their source material counterparts and have some of the funniest attacks to be found within an RPG. The satisfaction a player will likely get from One Piece Odyssey has a lot to do with how big of a fan they are of the source material. It's an enjoyable RPG even with the caveats listed above and the attention to detail in creating an authentic One Pieceexperience in commendable. While this remains one of the better anime to video game adaptations, it may fall short for JRPG fans who are simply looking for a JRPG to play and don't care about the source material. The roshambo system makes it easy to make an overpowered party for a game that isn't incredibly challenging to begin with and the excessive hand holding can feel constraining when the player just wants to explore Waford, where veteran RPG players may find this odyssey too easy.

The fully-3D world of One Piece Odyssey does a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life. The in-game models are accurate realizations of the 2D animations which are just are expressive as they are in the source material. The highly-entertaining visuals are accompanied by a epic soundtrack that's fitting for plundering the seven seas and exploring the island where they're shipwrecked. This probably isn't an issue for most fans, but the dialogue is spoken in Japanese with English subtitles. The story may drag in the second half of the game, but ultimately picks up again to deliver a satisfying conclusion.

Closing Comments:

One Piece Odyssey delivers a great One Piece adventure, but without regard to the source material, is simply a good but unremarkable RPG. Hardcore One Piece fans will eat this up like a smorgasbord of Sanji's cooking, but even with the Memoria sections, it's a lot for newcomers to take in. The overly-simplistic gameplay and excessive handholding would likely be off putting for RPG fans who are in search of a good game but don't care about the source material. Those who are not already familiar with the exploits of the Straw Hat Pirates are probably better off sailing past Waford, but this is the ideal game for established One Piece fans.