One Piece: World Seeker is a great action game that perfectly encapsulates the feeling of adventure that its source material so lovingly presents. There are some minor technical flaws and somewhat imbalanced combat, but World Seeker is so fun that you’ll hardly notice these issues. It took a while, but World Seeker is the ultimate One Piece game.
One Piece: World Seeker
Developer: Bandai Namco
Price: $59.99
Platforms: PS4 (reviewed), Xbox One, and PC
MonsterVine was provided with a PS4 code for review
Anime games are typically pretty average, with some good to great titles mixed in. One Piece is no exception to this rule, as the series has had games of wildly varied quality throughout its two decades of publication. World Seeker sets out to change that, and it succeeds with flying colors. It’s not a perfect game by any means, but World Seeker is an incredibly fun action game that could easily be called the best One Piece game yet.
The story of World Seeker seems to take place after the Whole Cake Island arc of One Piece. When Luffy and his crew try to steal a priceless treasure from the famed “Prison Island”, they end up getting entangled in the secrets of the island and its residents, including the strong-willed leader Jeanne and her estranged brother Isaac, who also happens to be the island’s warden. Lots of famous One Piece characters show up, like Crocodile and most of Germa 66, but it doesn’t feel forced or out of place. World Seeker’s plot feels like that of one of the better One Piece films, and it’s interesting throughout the entirety of its story.
The gameplay of World Seeker is heavily focused on mobility, which definitely works in the game’s favour. Though you start out a bit slow and heavy, you’ll quickly end up soaring through the skies by flinging yourself off trees and buildings in an immensely satisfying way. Climbing things can be a bit buggy thanks to oddly rounded-off edges here and there, but the vast majority of your time exploring in World Seeker is a lot of fun. It helps that there’s a lot to see and discover on the island, from alternate costumes to rare crafting materials.
“Conqueror’s Haki is especially fun to use, as it looks just as cool as it does in the show.“
Combat is fun, but the long-range Gum-Gum Pistol move becomes quite overpowered as time goes on. As the attack becomes stronger and easier to use, you’ll start to rely on it over any other attack simply out of convenience. There are lots of abilities available to Luffy, however, with two different fighting styles that can be swapped at will: Observation and Armament.
I found Armament to be far more useful throughout the majority of the game, as you do far more damage overall. Swapping between the two styles can be a lot of fun though, just as transforming into the ridiculously strong Gear Fourth mode is. Upgrading your abilities and unlocking new moves gives you extra reason to fight and complete side-missions, as these improvements and upgrades make noticeable differences in your stats, and give you lots of new options in combat. Conqueror’s Haki is especially fun to use, as it looks just as cool as it does in the show. Fighting is just fun overall, even if it’s fairly imbalanced in your favour.
“…it’s odd to have optional conversations with people who hate Luffy as much as Rob Lucci or Crocodile.”
There’s a lot to do in World Seeker, with side-missions of all sorts and a karma system that gives you some face-to-face time with a number of One Piece’s famous characters. The characters all have a reason to be on Prison Island, which is a nice change from the way a lot of anime games force recognizable characters into their stories, though it’s odd to have optional conversations with people who hate Luffy as much as Rob Lucci or Crocodile.
It’s fun to have these interactions though, so I’m willing to look past this minor discrepancy. It’s also an excuse to see Luffy and Sabo talk to one another for the first time since Dressrosa, which is all good in my (and many other One Piece fans’) book.
The visuals in World Seeker are completely fine. The cel-shaded style compliments Eiichiro Oda’s iconic artstyle quite well, and the special attacks and super moves all look as flashy as they do in One Piece. The orchestral music is great as well, as is the always-stellar voice-acting. I do wish there was more voice acting, as a fair amount of cutscenes are text-only with a couple words played over it to express the character’s mood.
The Final Word
One Piece: World Seeker is an incredibly fun action game that does its source material justice. It has some minor technical issues and a somewhat imbalanced combat system, but the enjoyable story, excellent mobility options, and breadth of content make World Seeker the ultimate One Piece game.
MonsterVine Review Score: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
