One Pieceis and continues to be one of the biggest media franchises in the world, with its original manga alone being the best-selling manga series of all time. Despite this, the series' video game spin-offs have never received the same praise as other manga franchises such asDragon BallandNaruto. While games like thePirate Warriorsfranchise have seen success and been regarded by fans,One Piecegames generally do not meet the level of attention as games from other manga franchises despite the series' worldwide popularity. But that could be about to change, asOne Piece Odyssey, a new RPG based on the manga series, has just been announced.
The lastOne Piecegame to release was 2020’sOne Piece: Pirate Warriors 4from Koei Tecmo, a spin-off of theDynasty Warriors/Musouseries.Before it was 2019’sOne Piece: World Seeker, a semi open-world action-adventure game developed by Ganbarion that received mixed reviews. Following these, updates on console titles in theOne Piecefranchise have been quiet for two years until today, where during aOne Piecenews broadcast, publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment and developer Ilca revealedOne Piece Odyssey, a game that looks to be a big step up for the series.
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Ilca recently handled development duties onPokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, however the studio has also assisted development on titles such asYakuza 0,NieR: Automata, and interestinglyDragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age, which seems to be an inspiration for this newOne Piecegame as this will be the first ever home consoleOne PieceRPG. The game is set to be a full JRPG with a story written by none other than series creator Eiichiro Oda, and a soundtrack composed byTalesandStar Oceanseries' composer Motoi Sakuraba.
This appears to be the first entry in theOne Piecevideo game series that Bandai Namco Entertainment is throwing its full JRPG backing behind, especially in how the publisher is bringing in talent like Sakuraba to work on the game. It’s evident from the trailers thatOne Piece Odysseyis set to be one of the most ambitious anime licensed games in a while,likely sinceDragon Ball Z: Kakarot.
It’s not known yet whether the game will include a turn-based combat system or a more real-time action focused one, but the game doesappear to be taking inspiration from franchises such asDragon Questin its approach to world design and combat.
One Piece Odysseywill release for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2022.
