One Piece: Unlimited World Red - Deluxe Edition remasters the classic One Piece game from 2014 with modern graphics, packaging it with all of the DLC. It’s an original story with new characters from series creator Eiichiro Oda, taking the gang to a new island where they encounter a pirate boss created especially for the game. After playing through the story, that the game has some significant issues, but overall it’s one of Bandai Namco’s better licensed franchise games.
Before playing One Piece: Unlimited World Red Deluxe Edition, I knew next to nothing about the world of Luffy and his pirate gang. When I was in middle school, I watched the dubbed version on Toonami, not realizing how terrible the port was. Sanji sucked on a lollipop stick instead of a cigarette, and the rest of Luffy’s crew sounded like rejects from a casting call for “interesting youth.” Still, I had a fondness for the show and watched until it was cancelled three years later. Even with a tiny bit of knowledge, I was able to immerse myself into the game, even if I wasn’t sure what was happening with the plot most of the time.
I can honestly say I had no idea how funny One Piece was. The old dub butchered the characters and punchlines, but playing through this game, I laughed a ton. I’m not sure when a Jimi Hendrix skeleton joined the crew, but I’m really glad he did. I thought Pato (the racoon / tanooki) would get annoying, but he proves to be a useful ally and more than just a cute face. By the end, I had a sense of why One Piece is the longest running manga of all time.
The hub world of Trans Town (awkward name, by the way) is vibrant and alive. Launching Luffy across the map, leaping from building to building, you’re able to traverse the landscape with relative ease. It’s also really fun: I spent most of my first hour propelling myself across the rooftops, unaware that it was a super tiny part of the game. Luffy’s elasticity made me feel like Spider-Man, which is something I can’t say about most Spider-Man games.
One Piece: Unlimited World Red Deluxe Edition has everything you’d expect out of a traditional Japanese RPG. Taking control of three out of a potential nine heroes, you wander through past battles in One Piece’s history. There’s a lava world, a cloud level, an icy mountain and so many more I wouldn’t dare spoil. The combat is simple, you use a combination of two buttons and super abilities that can deal insane damage, buff or heal your teammates.
For most of the game, I chose to use Luffy as my tank, Zaro as my DPS and Chopper because he’s adorable. Unlike other Bandai Namco fighters I’ve tried, like ACCEL World vs. Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight , the combat feels fluid and like there’s actual weight to the characters. The boss fights are also top notch, requiring strategy, a quick hand and a finger on the block button at all times.
The game does have some major flaws though.
It’s a remaster of a game from three years ago, without any new content developed especially for the new edition. Meaning that, if you’ve already played through it, there’s no reason to do it again.
Playing on a controller is the only way to go. I nearly broke my fingers trying to use all the necessary buttons on a keyboard. On the other hand, the bug catching mini game requires you to use every button (up to 30), which you won’t be able to do on an Xbox controller. I haven’t caught a single bug and I doubt I ever will.
The camera angles can be a serious nightmare. Trying to fight hordes of enemies can be outright frustrating when you can’t see what’s coming. Some of the boss fights took me multiple tries because I couldn’t predict where their attacks would be coming from.
The word equipment system is fun as an idea, but as a concept it just gets very confusing. Strong Words give you abilities and item words give you buffs. Both are necessary to move forward, but figuring out which is which isn’t always straightforward. Equipping “I’m a real pirate now..” when you wanted “Luffy will be a Pirate King!” can be outright annoying. It can easily be fixed by taking the time to read everything when you’re picking your team members, but it’s still quite the nuisance.
Every mission follows the exact same formula: you fight some enemies, find a mystery word which unlocks your path, move onto the next stage, rinse and repeat. You’re on a linear track for every mission, meaning you can’t explore most of this gorgeous world.
Overall, One Piece: Unlimited World Red - Deluxe Edition is a great game, even if you’re not a fan of the anime. I can’t compare it with the original, but this version managed to keep my attention the entire time with its colorful world, fun characters and a surprise or two. If you want a solid RPG where a moose can transform, a skeleton sings and a man with metal fists can summon a barrel turret from nowhere, this could be your game.
