With the rise in popularity of anime video games, there are many games out there that are only meant to be for the fans while there are games that can appeal to anybody. Naturally, there is a bit of a fanbase of One Piece here in the United States and video games are then translated over and released over here. One Piece Grand Adventure isn’t a mere port. In fact, this game was never released in Japan . Grand Adventure uses the same formula found in Grand Battle (Grand Battle Rush! in Japan ) but it offers new modes, new characters never before used in a One Piece game and other goodies.

In case you do not know, One Piece follows the story of Monkey D Luffy as he explores the greatest sea in the world, The Grand Line in order to become the Pirate King. Luffy is not alone however, as he has his friends along with him for the ride. Luffy as the captain of the Straw Hat pirates travels with his fellow crewmates and friends wherever adventure may come up.

Seeing as how the original release of Grand Battle Rush, or Grand Battle as it is called over here, didn’t exactly receive a fair port, (characters and stages cut out, editing of names etc.) the game was made better, and if you don’t know how the game is, read on, if not feel free to skip the next paragraph.

The game plays very similar to games like Power Stone, where you are put into a 3D arena and duke it out with your various combos and super attacks, as will as throwable objects and power ups to be able to help you out during your brawl. The game still has its button combinations, albeit very simple. Button presses such as A -> A-> A-> plague the game, but with variation with the B button. A single, double, or triple combination can occur, each ending with one of various signature attacks such as Luffys Gum Gum Rapid Fire (Gumo Gumo no Gatling Gun) or Zoros Onigiri. There are of course throws in there that are also based on signature moves. The game also has its share of super moves which consumes your super move gauge. These moves, again, are based on signature moves found in the show such as Luffy’s Gum Gum Axe (Gomu Gomu no Ono) or Usopps Impact Dial. Then there are Super Secret Attacks that can deal massive damage to a character. When starting on of these attacks, you will be asked press a button based on 3 attributes that works like a Rock Paper Scissors game. Wisdom beats Technique, Strength beats Wisdom, and Technique beats Strength, and of course whatever beats the other attacks. You can also summon a extra character on the field to fight (or basically annoy) the character you are fighting against. These characters are also based on One Piece characters, such as Usopps father Yassop or Chopper’s mentor Dr. Kureha.

The games single player mode, or Grand Adventure mode is fairly robust. You start with picking your captain, when you start the only on is Luffy so you choose him. You are then introduced to the Sea Map Menu where you are to choose your destination on where to go next. You don’t control your boat, but you can choose where to go. The game then goes along the story line of One Piece, starting with Buggy the Clown and ending at the Skypeia arc. Along the way you will enlist crewmates, which not surprisingly, are the Straw Hat pirates when starting out. After you are done with Grand Adventure mode, new captains are selectable and you are able to unlock even more characters. With each mission, some have special requirements in order for you to unlock new features such as new costumes or artwork. There is even a RPG feel to the game as you can level up. Every time you level up you can pick what stats you want to improve on, whether it be health, attack, strength with items, etc.

In terms of graphics, the visuals hold up nicely, but it isn’t something spectacular. The game is running on a similar, but slightly more advanced engine from the Grand Battle game and it is a cel shaded look reflecting on the anime. For the fans of the One Piece sub, you will be disappointed as all of the voices here are from the 4 Kids version and there is no option to change voiceovers. Fans will however, appreciate the more uncut storyline (references of death, Smoker’s cigars on his jacket) as well as artwork, that is also uncut. There are however cuts in the actual game such as Mihawks cross edited, but the artwork is still unchanged.

The game also has its own mini games that can be unlocked during the single player mode. Games that include Rumble Battle, where you can fight multiple enemies, the Spotbilled Duck Race, where you can race those ducks from the Arabasta arc, and Battle Bowl where you have to get Gaimon (a man trapped in a treasure chest with a huge green afro) into the goal as well as fighting your enemy off. There are others, but I will lead that to you to unlock those.

Even though the game is very fun, every game isn’t without its faults. For one, many will call the game to simple and might be bored with the game. Because in the end, one might just button mash their way to victory. Also, because of the fact that the continuity of the series was messed up by 4 Kids, some content might seem unfamiliar such as the Davy Back Fight stage, which actually doesn’t appear until after the Skypeia arc. There is also the criticism of not allowing up to 4 players in a game. Even though the game gets very hectic in certain stages, I felt that the addition of 4 players would add more life to the game.

With 24 characters, 20 stages, 51 support characters in total, there is a decent amount of things to do in the game. Not to mention extras like artwork, bios on the characters and sound samplings that will please those One Piece fanatics. Nevertheless this is a game that everyone will enjoy and that is easy to get into. And for those One Piece fans who haven’t bought the game yet, shame on you.

Bottom Line 8.2/10