One Piece: Odyssey Review

Monkey D. Dragon Quest

Boom!  HA HA NAILED IT!  Woooooooooooooooo!

/sigh  As an above average One Piece fan, it is always fun to see a brand new adventure in that world especially one looking like a "What if..." for the Straw Hat crew.  What we got is a beautiful albeit basic RPG that never quite reaches the potential it initially lays out.  The game does an excellent recreation of the major locations of the manga and the character/creature designs all work within the artstyle.

Sorrel has a wonderful write up about the game's battle system, but I argue that auto battle will get you through 90% of the game especially in all non boss fights.  The AI does a decent enough job to complete the special objectives that come up and is mindful of healing when it deems necessary.  After having your "full" strength removed at the start of the game, you slowly relearn your abilities and skills as you progress through the memories of adventures past.  They are later powered up by finding character specific cubes spread throughout the game.

During your travels, you will come across memory frays which are special side quests where a select combination of you party are tasked to complete a task resulting in a new Bond Attack.  These attacks draw from a team meter that increases as you complete goals in a battle like supporting an ally or attacking all enemies.  Provided all of the characters in the bond are available, any one of them can use the attack which usually ends a normal battle or does significant damage to a boss.

There are moments where Odyssey shows a kernel of a much more interesting game, but they are few and far between to make this any more than a mediocre affair.  What I was hoping to get was a fun way for newer crewmates like Franky and Brook (and Jimbei grumblegrumblegrumble) to experience the adventures they missed out on, but what I got was another cliff notes retelling of major arcs past.  Omitting Skypeia is an unfortunate choice as you learn more about the island of Waford and JUDAS H PRIEST did they drop the ball with Marineford.  Clever in-jokes and accessories can be found for the diehard fans, but I can't recommend as a full price product.

Score 5/10

   (Psst…Oda…hear me out…Lego One Piece)

LOOK WHO CAME:

Isay Isay