On March 28, aOne PieceNews: News COO Online stream appeared to clue fans in on the immediate future ofOne Piece. While the anime is on hiatus right now due to a cyber-attack on Toei Animation, there are still plenty of goings-on in the franchise. The Wano arc has reached what may be its ultimate climax in the manga, with plenty of reveals rushing to meet eager readers. A new movie calledOne Piece Film: Redis in development, with a slow drip of designs and details coming out. The Netflix live-actionOne Pieceseries has begun filming, and appears to be adapting the very beginning of the series with Shanks.
There were a couple other products featured during the stream. One was theOne Piece Card Game, with five decks revealed alongside a few individual cards. Of much greater interest to the gaming crowd, however, wasOne Piece Odyssey. This is the nextOne Piecetitle coming to consoles and PC, and it istakingOne Piecegames in a brand-new direction. While there will still be exploration due to the Straw Hat Pirates being stranded on a new island, the gameplay will be that of a traditional JRPG. The information released so far implies that this will be a turn-basedOne Piecegame, which is a massive departure for not only the sea-faring franchise, but licensed Shonen Jump games as a whole.
RELATED:The 15 Best One Piece Video Games, Ranked According To Metacritic
Why Becoming a JRPG is a Big Deal for One Piece
When one thinks of a licensed anime game, certain genres come to mind. Historically, games created from Shonen Jump or comparable shonen franchises have tended to be action games or fighting games. There is a fair amount of variety in these, but they tend to be budget titles. Flashy visuals and faithful recreations are prioritized over deep and satisfying gameplay, withonly a few likeDragon Ball FighterZmanaging to buck the trend.
Arena fighters have become particularly prevalent due to lacking the design, and thus budget, expectations of a traditional fighter. There are definitely gems in this rough, including the last fewNaruto Ultimate Ninja Storminstallments andDragon Ball Xenoversetitles, but that doesn’t matter much when fans are tired of seeing them.
Traditional RPGs are not unheard of, but they are very rare. Most shonen RPGs are made for handhelds, and in more recent years they are few and far between.One PieceandDragon Ballwere two of the earlier Shonen Jump franchises to adopt RPG gameplay, though not to great success.Dragon Ball Z Side Story: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyansand several of theFrom TV Animation — One Piecegames incorporated RPG mechanics, but were forgettable compared to major JRPGs likeDragon QuestorFinal Fantasy. Successful JRPG adaptations are rare, thoughBleach: The 3rd Phantomis a noteworthy example on the DS.One Piece Odysseyis of a rare breed, though not an unwelcome one.
RELATED:5 Best Dragon Ball Handheld Games (& 5 Worst)
How The JRPG Pivot Could Work for One Piece Odyssey
Details are scarce at the moment, but it seems likeOne Piece Odysseyis distinct from other turn-based anime games primarily due to its scope. Players will be able to control most of the known Straw Hats in and out of battle, and can explore thenew corner ofOne Piece’s worldthey find themselves in. Unlike the recentFairy TailJRPG by Atelier studio Gust,Odysseyhas no need to adapt any events from its home series, and may have a bigger budget to boot. It could end up feeling similar toDragon Quest 11, being a standard but solid JRPG. In a sea of mediocreOne Piecegames, with noFighterZequivalent in sight, fans can celebrate that.
This wraps back around to the game’s scope, which may be larger than that of the standard licensed JRPG. IfOne Pieceis treated to a AAA budget and made comparable to aDragon Quest, then its genre shift may do it even more good than a decent combat system.One Pieceand RPGs share many traits, such as large worlds, relatively large casts, and plentiful treasure and danger around every turn.
While the kinetic actionOne Pieceis known for may be tucked away into certain cutscenes and battle animations, the characters and setting will both have room to breathe. The chance tothoroughly exploreOne Piece Odyssey’s islandand its inhabitants could leave a much-longer lasting impression on fans than another arena fighter.
One Piece Odyssey Should Be Just The Beginning
The success ofOne Piece Odysseywouldn’t just benefitOne Piecefans. While a lot of the licensed Shonen Jump games released over the years are rough, there’s still some value in their uniqueness. In a modern era full of arena fighters and other action games, there should be at least some additional variety in the space. It feels like Bandai Namco is starting to realize this, greenlighting non-standard gameslikeDragon Ball: The BreakersandOne Piece Odysseyin place of the standard fighting games.Odyssey’s success as a AAA JRPG would send a strong message to Bandai and other companies that such games are still capable of turning a profit.
While it’s unrealistic to expect a Shonen Jump game output with diverse experiencessimilar toNaruto: Rise of a Ninja, more RPGs will mix things up and appeal to a different cross-section of audiences. There is plenty of space in the market right now for more big-name JRPGs, especially turn-based ones. While traditional fans might be hesitant, they could find an attachment to licenses used in quality JRPGs like some fighting game fans did withDragon Ball FighterZ. All-in-all, it’s refreshing to see a majorOne Piecetitle take a crack at the RPG genre, and getting more anime licenses to hop on-board the genre would be the ideal outcome.
One Piece Odysseywill be released in 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE:The Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Style Would Work Even Better With A Different Anime
