One Piece has arrived in yet another video game, with World Seeker attempting to truly make players feel how it is to be Luffy. Will it succeed, or will the devil fruit powers fail to save the title?

Story

Luffy and the Straw Hats have broken into a facility in order to acquire a treasure. It turns out, however, that the rumored treasure was, in actuality, a ploy to lure them to the island. They manage to escape capture, but are split up in the process, with Luffy even being knocked into the ocean, which, as fans of the series know, would result in him drowning, due to his devil fruit powers making him unable to swim.

Luckily, however, he is saved and decides to try to help the citizens reclaim their homes. As he attempts to reunite with his crew and help out the citizens, he’ll encounter some familiar faces, such as Captain Smoker, and new faces alike. This, of course, really doesn’t mean anything to the crew, as they are long used to standing up for people in need.

Overall, the story honestly feels like it could pass for a canon arc to the larger One Piece storyline.

Gameplay

The world of One Piece: World Seeker is rather diverse, but it also, unfortunately, feels rather deserted. Even with the patrols of pirates and navy soldiers that you may run into at any point -especially if you get caught up in using the Gum Gum Rocket to fly through the map without paying attention to what may be lurking below, as I did on a few occasions- are plentiful, the number of citizens you can speak with tends to be on the small side. The smaller number of people to chat with does allow you to get to know everybody, which can have some benefits, but perhaps a better balance could have been struck to keep the world feeling more alive.

There are a few ways for you to get around, including a fast travel system. I only used this system when the objective I wanted to head towards was on the opposite side of the map, personally. When it wasn’t, I had quickly spent points in upgrading Luffy’s Gum Gum Rocket ability so I could quickly fly around by boosting off of trees and the like. Before you have access to this, however, you simply run, jump, and walk as normal.

On the note of abilities, there are quite a few that you can unlock as you gain more experience. World Seeker features a variety of skills, such as the mentioned Gum Gum Rocket, an ability that allows you to float for a bit by spinning your feet around like a helicopter, health boosts, and special attacks, such as the Gum Gum Gatling and Gum Gum Bazooka attacks fans know so well. There are plenty of others as well, such as decreasing the amount of time that it takes to open a chest, and while there are some skills that feel useless, there are plenty of skills to keep one entertained in collecting.

You can also undertake side quests for different citizens, which typically involves locating and delivering a variety of materials. This tends to grant you additional equipment, which can be rather helpful, at least on the hardest difficulties, as well as recipes. The materials you collect can also be utilized to create new items and costumes, and, if you don’t want to try all of the collection yourself, you can actually send your crew out to do so while you take on the main storyline.

As you interact with the main characters in the game, your relationship can improve, which is kept track via a Karma system. This makes it quite easy to double check your relationship with somebody if you forget.

World Seeker also features combat, which is rather simple for the most part. If you wish to avoid combat, you can mark out enemies from a distance and sneak by, either in a barrel or on foot. If you prefer to take on your opponents, however, you can utilize a myriad of Luffy’s Gum Gum moves to defeat your opponents, as well as swap between two different styles as the situation demands. If you are greatly outnumbered, you may prefer to stay in the mode that allows you to move more quickly. If you are taking on a difficult opponent, however, you may want to go with the mode that allows Luffy to hit far harder. You can swap between these modes on the fly with a simple press of the button, and combat can feel rather speedy for the most part (there were times I had to run around the zone, avoiding attacks, as I tried to get my health back up as one single assault would have killed me, which can become tedious).

Graphics and Audio

The world of World Seeker looks rather nice, graphically, and I didn’t encounter any glitches. One thing some people may hate, and others may like, is that there is no English dub option, so you will have to play with the original Japanese voices.

Final Thoughts

World Seeker borrows quite a bit from the standard open world template, but typically does so quite well. While players who are unfamiliar with the franchise may be rather bored and find it lackluster, at least at first (it does pick up a bit further in), fans of the series should find quite a bit to enjoy within the game.

Final Score: 7.5/10