JRPG One Piece Odyssey is a major letdown for One Piece fans

one piece Monolith. The branding of the pirate-centric manga and anime series movie, bath bomb, deodorantand commercial Indeed.comThe disadvantages include: one peace odyssey, developer ILCA’s new JRPG seeks to capitalize on its ubiquitousness by appealing to everyone. As is often the case with this approach, it’s not for everyone.It’s made up of moments tailored to both casual and longtime fans, but the end result is a garbled adventure. One Piece Odysseybut it is hampered by many puzzling choices.

one piece It focuses on Monkey D. Luffy’s journey to become Pirate King. To achieve this goal, Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, scour the oceans for the legendary treasure known as One Piece.

of One Piece OdysseyThe Straw Hat Pirates were abandoned on Waford Island. Only two people live on the island, adventurer Addio and his surrogate daughter Lim. Like most reasonable people, Lim doesn’t trust pirates. Upon discovering her crew, Lim preemptively uses her abilities to remove her group’s memories of how they fought.In order to regain her skills, the Straw Hat Pirates travel to the mysterious “World of Memories.” ” should be explored. It acts as an excuse to guide players through the replay of iconic moments. one piece25 years of history.

therefore, Odyssey It tells an original story, borrowing haphazardly from source material without being fully fleshed out. When a cartoon is adapted via “memories” it’s like watching the worst clip show in the world. All the famous beats are there, but the accumulation is minimal. Despite this shorthand, the Straw Hats are just as emotionally charged when the event first happens, causing a rift between the writing and the emotions it seeks to extract. It’s hard to feel invested when none of it matters.

I don’t know what the audience was thinking Odysseydevelopment of.this is at the same time a horrible way to live one piece And jump into that world for the first time. These stories are old hats for longtime fans.Dressrosa — the latest arc contained in Odyssey – was originally published from 2013 to 2015 and has been featured in numerous recap specials. Outdated. vice versa, Odyssey There’s just too little information about each arc for potential fans to be drawn to without prior context.

Odyssey It doesn’t respect the player’s time either in a design sense. Levels are boring and filled with mundane and mandatory fetch quests like finding desert bandits who stole the crew’s food or claiming bounties by defeating nameless outlaws. , enhanced by poor optimization. Short 1-2 second loading screens often block progress at critical points. They are especially common in puzzle sections where you need to move quickly between multiple areas.they stop OdysseyThe momentum of almost every turn.

Image: ILCA/Bandai Namco

Odyssey It also fails to guide the player effectively and makes navigating its world unnecessarily difficult. The map won’t tell you where to go unless you’re in the same zone as your goal. If you reach your destination in Zone A and your next target is in Zone A, a bright red exclamation point indicates your final destination. However, if you’ve accomplished your objective in Zone A and need to move to Zone B, it doesn’t tell you how to get to Zone B. Additionally, the almost complete lack of tracking in Side His quests forces the player to rely on verbal cues. Check the next step.

On the bright side, OdysseyThe art direction of does a great job mimicking the source material.The environment and characters are the best I’ve seen so far one piece Dressrosa and Marineford Town stand out in the game. The animal design cleverly combines camp and villainous elements. There is a giant squirrel enemy with a malicious grin who sticks his tongue out at his own pace. The side quests are also filled with silly scenes, such as one in which Sanji, the series’ resident flirt, gets affection from a horse. It’s great. Odysseya vivid take on one piece In contrast, the world makes navigation and pacing issues even more tiring.

For all its mechanical stumbling blocks, the game excels in combat. OdysseyThe developers of one pieceThere are many brawls, and it is demonstrated in the scramble area battle. Characters play roles in a turn-based system of rock-paper-scissors. Your party is spread out over several different areas of the combat zone, and you’ll need to consider how you’ll match your crew with your enemies. It is up to you to decide whether to Like the original series, every skirmish here feels like a strategic team effort.

Image: ILCA/Bandai Namco

However, please note the following: OdysseyThe combat in is not designed for challenge seekers — your team will likely be overwhelmed in the middle to late game. Unlocks beautiful attack animations for the Straw Hat’s most powerful techniques, including Zoro’s Charming Demon Sleepless Night Onigiri. Combat is refreshing, engaging rather than intimidating. This speaks to Canon— Luffy and his friends often cut their enemies to pieces — but it doesn’t cause much trouble. It’s more about spectacle than depth, and it works.

it is clear that both Odyssey‘s thrilling combat and colorful art direction, that ILCA has a lot of love for its source material. But these fleeting moments of joy make their counterparts – miserable storytelling, terrible pacing, and lofty navigation – all the more tiring by comparison. OdysseyIt is the skeleton of, but it is surrounded by mud so that it is not transparent.One Piece has a long history, but I doubt Odyssey Instantly forgettable.

One Piece Odyssey It was released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X on January 12th. The game was reviewed on PS5 with a pre-release download code provided by Bandai Namco, Vox Media has an affiliate his partnership. These do not affect editorial content, but Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased via affiliate links.discoverable Additional information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy can be found here.