One Piece is a pop-culture behemoth that, unaccountably, never gained traction outside of Japan. Officially the biggest-selling manga comic series ever, it is now celebrating its 25th anniversary, and One Piece Odyssey honours that milestone. Previous attempts to expand this fun-loving pirate crew’s story beyond comic books have lacked credibility, but with this game, Bandai Namco goes a long way towards redressing the balance.
It is, simply, the One Piece game that fans have been crying out for all this time: a classic, 40-hour-plus Japanese RPG that brings in all the genre’s best-loved elements (and some lesser-loved ones). It has turn-based battles, embellished with retina-frazzling special moves that emphasise each characters’ style and abilities; bizarre, often baffling terminology; layers of side-quests and sub-quests sprinkled with puzzle sequences; and an obsession with cooking and food. The only thing it lacks is a fishing mini-game.
