LogFAQs > #971367895

I think I forgot this because it was drawn out.
One Piece Odyssey (PS5)
A Pirate Oddity
You all know One Piece, I assume. There have been many, many adaptations of this hit manga since its debut, with my favorite being the Pirate Warriors games from Omega Force. There have been various types of pseudo-fighter, platformers, action-adventures, and at least one baseball sim, but the last time they tried for a turn-based RPG, we got the infamously dreary Romance Dawn. Odyssey means to take a mulligan on that one.

The plot starts like many of the adaptations since Unlimited Adventure for Wii, with the Straw Hat Pirates stranded on an island containing mysterious forces that affect and conjure up memories by way of some form of artifact (Here, it's cubes). This provides wa power reset as well as an excuse to redo some famous plotlines from the series. Being a JRPG, its gets a little twistier than that, with the memories acting as more of what-if scenarios tied into the overarching plot than retreads of canon.

Story aside, what you really want to know about a turn-based JRPG is gameplay, right? The battle system here is pretty solid, with enough depth to demand more than repetition of the same moves, if not much difficulty. Outside of battle there are 3D explorable dungeons, with character-switching to use different abilities, although Luffy pulls by far the most weight with his ability to sling himself toward specific points. Being able to grab items from a distance is nice as well.

One standout of the game can be found in the writing. The Dragon Quest style is a natural fit for One Piece's humor, and the main crew have as much charm in their interactions as ever. The story is a bit by-the-numbers but still contains some interesting mysteries.

I recommend One Piece Odyssey to fans of the series with any interest in JRPGs. Non-fans needn't bother. They'll be lost at sea trying to get anything out of the many plot references and callbacks, unfortunately.