One Piece: Grand Cruise isn’t a good game, but it’s a fantastic experience. It is a way for One Piece fans to feel like they’re part of the One Piece universe. The gameplay is essentially nonexistent, but for fans, nothing will prepare you for how amazing your first step on the Thousand Sunny will feel.
One Piece: Grand Cruise
Developer: Bandai Namco
Price: $9.99
Platforms: PS4 (reviewed)
MonsterVine was provided with a PS4 code for review
Fans of One Piece will get quite a lot out of Grand Cruise because of their love for the series, while people looking for an objectively good game will likely not be pleased with the experience. Like many franchise-based VR titles, Grand Cruise is focused entirely on letting players step into the world of the series they love, making it entirely hit-or-miss.
One Piece: Grand Cruise puts you (literally) into the shoes of a nameless and faceless fledgling pirate in the world of One Piece. The entire Strawhat crew is hanging out with you for the day to give you the full pirate experience, which is made up of naval battles, a Kraken battle, and an encounter with the infamous villain of the Dressrosa arc, Donquixote Doflamingo. While doing everything will only take a couple hours at most, simply being on the Thousand Sunny is breathtaking. I’ve followed One Piece since I was a kid in the early 2000’s, so stepping onto the crew’s iconic second ship while interacting with the characters was remarkable.
Players are given the ability to hang out in different parts of the ship with different members of the Strawhat crew. Each crew member talks about themselves and what they do on the ship while asking the player a variety of “yes or no” questions. It’s nothing too deep, but bonding with Zoro over sword-fighting, or with Chopper over medicine will make any fan’s day. There’s something truly surreal about looking around while talking to these characters from a first-person perspective, a feeling that can be attributed to just how exciting virtual reality can be.
The cannon minigames that make up the majority of actual gameplay are pretty dull, as you simply mash one button while aiming your controller at the sky. Shooting at the Kraken from the Fishman Island story arc is neat in concept, but boring in execution. There’s no real gameplay hook in One Piece: Grand Cruise, meaning the title is carried by fanservice alone. This isn’t a bad thing for fans, as the $10 price-point is entirely worth it for the One Piece VR experience I received; just know that there’s no exciting or even interesting gameplay to be had.
There are plenty of small details for dedicated fans to notice as well, from Sogeking’s mask and Brook guitar on display to Usopp’s Dressrosa face occasionally shooting out of your cannon. It’s clear to see that Grand Cruise was made by developers who are familiar with and passionate about the world and story of One Piece, which is incredibly important in an experience which lives or dies by how it pleases One Piece fans. The Japanese voice actors and actresses for the Strawhat crew all reprise their roles alongside Doflamingo’s actor, which definitely helps in this regard.
The Final Word
Though it’s not a good game, One Piece: Grand Cruise is a fantastic VR experience for fans of the franchise. Despite its minimal gameplay and short runtime, One Piece: Grand Cruise succeeds in making you feel like a member of the Strawhat pirates for a solid couple of hours. Hanging out with Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and the rest of the crew on the Thousand Sunny is an absolute dream come true for One Piece fans, though anyone unfamiliar with the manga or anime won’t get much out of the experience.
MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
