Despite what people say about turn based style or difficulty, this is a very solid One Piece game and a decent JRPG.
Do not be put off by the first chapter. The first chapter is essentially a tutorial, all of the enemies are extremely easy and you level up quite fast to introduce you to the combat, bonus EXP mechanics and the like. In similar JRPG fashion, the game gets a lot more difficult after Chapter 1, and beyond chapter 2 the combat and character building starts to get a lot more lush with the introduction of the crafting system.
The party member rotation mechanic mixed with the Rock-Paper-Scissors weakness and field quadrant systems makes combat smooth and fun. Each character has their niches and uses without any Straw Hat being lackluster.
My main complaints with the game are minor to me, but could be major to some. I wasn't a fan of the needless backtracking in the main story and lack of fulfilling sidequests and NPC interactions. The movement speed for sprint is also far too slow for a game with maps this large.
Side quests themselves are typically fetch quests, bounty hunts, or backtracking related, and rewards aren't incredible. Admittedly I skipped most of them after the beginning so they likely get better, at least in the reward department.
NPC dialogue is usually pretty bland but there are a few references and easter eggs super fans will like. The main story itself is really good, akin to the quality of a One Piece Movie in my opinion. Seeing how the crew interacts in situations theyve never been in (like the entire crew being with Luffy for Marineford and the half of the crew that was absent being present for Dressrosa, Etc), and getting to relive each arc with twists and alterations to canon is interesting. It's a nice deviation from the standard formula of just making the manga/anime's story into a game directly.
Overall a 7/10 game, coming from a major One Piece fan. The game is worth playing to dip your toes into the One Piece universe and to get loosely acquainted with a few of its main story beats, and great for super fans like myself to have a nice 40 hour experience within the series.
Do not be put off by the first chapter. The first chapter is essentially a tutorial, all of the enemies are extremely easy and you level up quite fast to introduce you to the combat, bonus EXP mechanics and the like. In similar JRPG fashion, the game gets a lot more difficult after Chapter 1, and beyond chapter 2 the combat and character building starts to get a lot more lush with the introduction of the crafting system.
The party member rotation mechanic mixed with the Rock-Paper-Scissors weakness and field quadrant systems makes combat smooth and fun. Each character has their niches and uses without any Straw Hat being lackluster.
My main complaints with the game are minor to me, but could be major to some. I wasn't a fan of the needless backtracking in the main story and lack of fulfilling sidequests and NPC interactions. The movement speed for sprint is also far too slow for a game with maps this large.
Side quests themselves are typically fetch quests, bounty hunts, or backtracking related, and rewards aren't incredible. Admittedly I skipped most of them after the beginning so they likely get better, at least in the reward department.
NPC dialogue is usually pretty bland but there are a few references and easter eggs super fans will like. The main story itself is really good, akin to the quality of a One Piece Movie in my opinion. Seeing how the crew interacts in situations theyve never been in (like the entire crew being with Luffy for Marineford and the half of the crew that was absent being present for Dressrosa, Etc), and getting to relive each arc with twists and alterations to canon is interesting. It's a nice deviation from the standard formula of just making the manga/anime's story into a game directly.
Overall a 7/10 game, coming from a major One Piece fan. The game is worth playing to dip your toes into the One Piece universe and to get loosely acquainted with a few of its main story beats, and great for super fans like myself to have a nice 40 hour experience within the series.
3 Comments
The difficulty definitely progressively raises. By chapter 3 and onward it feels like your equipment builds and type advantages really matter, endgame chapters are actually pretty difficult too. I was out of at first as well but it picks up great.
Franky and brook did get a little left out but once you get them they're so good it makes up for it :)
Franky and brook did get a little left out but once you get them they're so good it makes up for it :)
Glad to hear! Yeah the chapter 3 boss was quite a challenge it was surprising, I was actually super close to game overing and using all my different kinds of food, it was fun! I'll probably keep playing equipmentless but I wouldn't be shocked if the later chapters eventually make me cave, maybe even the chapter 4 boss haha.
Also saw someone made a mod to make the game a little more challenging, which is really cool, but I didn't want to try it until I finished the game and it gets a little more proper tweaking, a mod after only 4 days is a little suspect for the actual quality/balancing.
Glad to hear Franky and Brook are really good!
Also saw someone made a mod to make the game a little more challenging, which is really cool, but I didn't want to try it until I finished the game and it gets a little more proper tweaking, a mod after only 4 days is a little suspect for the actual quality/balancing.
Glad to hear Franky and Brook are really good!
RedTheFunnyLad
1 year ago
Though I decided to self challenge myself by not using any of the accessories that boost my stats, it's made a lot of the fights a challenge but I'm curious how the experience was for a normal player. Did you feel as if the game got harder throughout it's run or mostly stayed around the same once you hit Chapter 2 and the difficulty rose pretty substantially?
Also big L for Franky and Brook.. so mad my boys have barely got any screentime so far : (