Announced in March 2022, One Piece Odyssey will be the next game based on Eiichiro Oda's beloved manga and Toei's anime adaptation. The upcoming release is set to be an RPG, a genre the franchise has rarely dappled in beyond some handheld projects. At the moment, little about One Piece Odyssey has been revealed, although Bandai Namco has confirmed that the story is by Oda and the game will strand the Straw Hats on an original island. The RPG's trailer might bring back flashes of 2019's World Seeker, the franchise's most recent action-adventure game that also introduced a new island, story, and characters. It was also open-world, which appears to also be the case with Odyssey.
One Piece has an uneven track record when it comes to games, particularly whenever the series ventures away from Musou-style gameplay, and World Seeker garnered an especially underwhelming reception. While by no means terrible, the game had too many flaws to be worth recommending to anyone besides the most die-hard One Piece fans. Here are some areas One Piece Odyssey needs to improve upon.
Multiple Fleshed Out Playable Characters
A big criticism of One Piece: World Seeker was the fact that only Luffy was playable. Now, considering traversal was heavily tied to the Straw Hat Captain's Gomu Gomu no Mi's fruit, this creative decision did make some sense; however, this greatly limited the game's replayability and potential.
One Piece has one of the most iconic character rosters in shonen anime history, a strength that is lost when a game restricts its combat to a single figure. This was arguably World Seeker's weakest component, and Odyssey has already confirmed that Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Sanji, Robin, Brook, and Frankie will be playable. Now, hopefully, they are all properly fleshed out and are not treated like bit-part players by the combat system.
Keep The Straw Hats Together
The fact most of the Straw Hats are playable in One Piece Odyssey is a big deal, however, each of these characters should also feel important outside of combat. The game's trailer focuses almost exclusively on Luffy, and Bandai Namco's description suggests that the adventure will likely start with the Captain having to go out in search of the rest of his crew. Hopefully, it does not take too long to reunite the gang.
Along with turning them into NPCs, World Seeker reduces the Straw Hats to minor characters who stand around doing nothing while being far away from the action. One Piece is at its best when these characters are presented as a unit, allowing their personalities to bounce off each other. Odyssey would do well to keep the Straw Hats together as much as possible.
Less Shallow Combat
One Piece: World Seeker's combat is not half-bad; Luffy's attacks are well-animated and hits have a decent sense of impact. The lock-on is finicky and battles could flow a bit better, but World Seeker has solid foundations. Unfortunately, the combat is too static to prop up a campaign that lasts over 10 hours; by the end, the system's repetitive nature really begins to hurt the game's entertainment value.
Bandai Namco has yet to confirm what style of combat One Piece Odyssey will use, but the trailer suggests it could be turn-based. If that proves to be the case, then the RPG needs to get its progression system right on the money. The characters should be constantly acquiring new abilities, or the battle system should gradually introduce new mechanics to keep things fresh. Luffy should not be using the same moves in the first and 15th hours of the campaign.
More Rewarding Battles
Although not especially lengthy, One Piece: World Seeker feels longer than it actually is since the game is frugal when it comes to handing out experience points. Casual battles barely reward anything, which makes them quickly feel like a waste of time and effort.
One Piece Odyssey has to deal with the fact that its main playable characters, the Straw Hats, are already known to be extremely powerful. It wouldn't make sense for Luffy to struggle to damage this RPG's equivalent of a Slime. Assuming the story does not neuter the heroes so that players can build them back up, Odyssey will need to find a way to make the combat rewarding.
More Consistent Voice Acting
One Piece: World Seeker has sporadic voice acting. While the most important cutscenes are voiced, the vast majority of the game consists of just dialogue boxes. Obviously, voicing every line of dialogue is expensive and, ultimately, less important than most other elements of an RPG.
That said, One Piece's characters tend to have such big personalities that they lose a lot when they are stripped of their voices. Also, non-voiced characters come across as inconsequential since they were deemed not important enough to justify this addition.
Less Repetitive Side Quests
One Piece Odyssey will most certainly have side quests since it is an RPG. Bandai Namco has even specified that the game will have dungeons, although it remains to be seen whether these are limited to the main missions or there will also be areas tied to the optional content. If done right, these quests could emphasize the story's world-building, permitting the Straw Hats to truly get to know the island's locales beyond just a handful of key characters.
One Piece: World Seeker has quite a few side quests, but most are bland and by-the-numbers. There are a couple of exceptions, mainly quests revolving around the Straw Hats and other characters from the manga, but they are few and far in between. Odyssey needs to do better.
An Island Worthy Of The Grand Line
One Piece: World Seeker takes place on Jail Island, and the map has a few towns, points of interest, and three prisons. Exciting as the thought of exploring a new One Piece setting sounds, Jail Island feels like it was ripped right out of a filler arc. Except for a few spots, most of the island consists of greenery and repetitive buildings. There is very little that feels special about Jail Island.
One Piece's best arcs envision imaginative islands that have their own rules, cultures, and aesthetics. Dressrosa, Alabasta, Totto Land, Wano Country, and Zou are worlds that demand to be explored because there is nothing else like them on the Grand Line. In this area, Odyssey could benefit from being a bit more creative than World Seeker.
One Piece Odyssey is in development for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Series X/S.