One Piece’s manga might be going on a month-long hiatus, but that didn’t stop Game Pope and Muppet enthusiast Geoff Keighley from giving fans a new look at its upcoming JRPG during Summer Game Fest.
We first got an eye-full of One Piece Odyssey via its announcement trailer back in March. In ILCA, Inc. and Bandai Namco’s JRPG you play as the jettisoned Straw Hat pirates: Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Nico Robin, Franky, and Brook (sorry again, Jinbei) as they explore various dungeons and battle the freakish monsters that inhabit Waffle Island.
Following its announcement trailer, producer Katsuaki Tsuzuki revealed to fans that One Piece Odyssey wouldn’t have the musou crowd control battle system seen in previous games. Instead it would be a “full-blown” roleplaying game with all the exploration and cooperative battles One Piece is known for.
One Piece Odyssey’s gameplay features a mix of sandbox exploration and classic turn-based command battle system. You can traverse the flora of Waffle Island using the unique powers of the Straw Hat crew, like Luffy’s stretchy arms and Franky’s eye for craftsmanship.
Battles with the fauna (and humanoid enemies) in One Piece Odyssey utilize a command battle system, a staple in JRPGs, with an emphasis on the positioning of party members. By directing the attack range of the crew, like having Luffy take point (something he’s wont to do) while Zoro and Sanji back him up from behind, you can maximize the synergy of their attacks during battles. To spice things up, battles also have random events called Dramatic Scenes where upon completion, your crew receives a huge bonus. Battles also have conditions that, if met, leads to the crew unleashing a powerful group attack called Kizuna Arts.
One Piece Odyssey is slated to release later this year on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X.