On March 28, 2022, the special YouTube program "ONE PIECE NEWS -NEWS COO ONLINE-" revealed various pieces of information on the popular manga by Eiichiro Oda, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, most notably the new game One Piece Odyssey, coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Steam in 2022.
The One Piece Odyssey reveal was so sudden and unexpected that many fans must have missed some of the details on the game's reveal, so we're here to help. The trailer had several hints on the game's playable characters, gameplay gimmicks, and battle system most notably.
Recruiting party members in the main story
If you take a close look at the various scenes in the trailer, you'll see there are several scenes where some members of the Straw Hat pirates are missing. There's a scene with only Luffy, Nami and Usopp, then another scene when everyone is present except Franky and Brook. Later on, there's a boss battle, and Franky is now present. Another scene shows Brook too.
This is hinting that just like in a typical JRPG, the members of the Straw Hat pirates will gradually join our party as we progress in the main scenario. It would fit with how the Thousand Sunny is shown to be partially destroyed at the beginning of the trailer, and it's likely all the characters have been separated during this unknown event.
The Straw Hats besides Luffy are playable in Odyssey
One of the biggest complaints about the previous One Piece RPG game, One Piece World Seeker, is that only Luffy was playable in the base game, with DLC scenarios focusing on other characters. Now, the reveal trailer confirms that One Piece Odyssey will let us play as the other Straw Hat pirates.
Furthermore, it looks like each character will have their own gameplay-related gimmicks too. For example, we see Chopper running in a narrow cave where only he could fit, and Nami about to interact with an electrified device. Maybe we will also play each straw hat separately before they rejoin with Luffy.
The One Piece Odyssey battle system is turn-based
Judging by the presentation of the trailer, and how the game was described as an "JRPG" by Bandai Namco, meaning that One Piece Odyssey should use a turn-based battle system. The way each character's techniques and attacks are showcased in the second part of the trailer makes it look like a typical 3D turn-based RPG, like Dragon Quest XI. The game features team attacks too, and you can see Luffy, Zorro and Usopp launching a trio super move straight out of Chrono Trigger.
If the game was an action RPG, Bandai Namco would have announced it as such. Of course, we'll know for sure when further info is revealed, but it's all but officially confirmed the game is turn-based. Keep in mind it could mix in action elements though.
We already have a developer interview
If you missed the live stream with the reveal, it included an interview with Katsuaki Tsuzuki, the producer of the game at Bandai Namco. Note that the game is developed by Ilca, who already developed with Bandai Namco on the excellent Idolmaster Starlit Season. Ilca is also behind the Diamond and Pearl Pokemon remakes.
In the interview, Katsuaki Tsuzuki most notably explained Eiichiro Oda gave the development team advice to design the locations, original characters, and monsters of the game. They had to make many new locations to give the game its feeling of adventure, and wanted to make sure everything fits with the One Piece authentic feel the anime and manga retain.
The new original character is named Adio Suerte
You couldn't have missed the brand new, tattooed character in the trailer. While his name is not revealed in the trailer, the Japanese materials in the interview above revealed he is named アディオ＝スエルテ Adio Suerte. The interview also reveal several other original characters.
That's all for our trailer analysis of One Piece Odyssey, let us know your thoughts in the comments below! One Piece Odyssey has been in development since at least 2019, the game has no specific release date yet besides "2022". One Piece also has a Netflix live-action series in the works, and a new anime movie, One Piece Film Red.
