One Piece Grand Battle

"I could not stomach two minutes of the show, but I love this game!"

Let me get something cleared up from the jump: I loathe,(or used to) LOATHE Onepiece. From the moment I turned to 4Kids and heard "GEICO! GEICO GEICO!" I changed the channel, vowing never to even so much as glance at it again. A few months later, I would try to watch it and watch one episode, but it just didn't have that "it" factor to keep me watching. Then before long, it became a joke to watch for 5 minutes on Saturday nights just to crack jokes about. Why am I saying all this? Because I went to the messageboards and heard how it was like Power Stone(the definition of chaos in a fighting game), and I had a crazy thought. One day, I might pick this game up, just to see what they talk about. Then I started thinking "Bandai?", because I remembered the amount of precise effort they put in the DBZ PS1 games. Well, that crazy day came, and if there are any regrets in my life, it wasn't shelling out $39(a.k.a. Walmart Gift Card) for this.

GRAPHICS: 8

These graphics are not for everyone. Basically, you're either love them or dislike them. The characters seem to have a more miniature look then their cartoon predecessors. That's a plus for me, because I kind of dislike how lanky the character designs are. However, for those who grew to fall in love with the anime, which is possible because I heard the original is much better, it might not be satisfactory. One thing I can say about it; Onepiece has the Powerstone/Project Justice look to it. I could swear that Capcom made this game and got mugged by Bandai execs when the game was 90% complete. The animations are impeccable, as well as the environments. You actually feel like you're having a battle in a cartoonish environment, and the expressions and actions of the character makes you feel like you're playing their role. On a special note, they played great attention to detail. I can appreciate the simple things, such as Don Krieg putting on his gas mask in a cutscene for his poison move, and then having him keep the mask on during the battle until the poison subsides.

STORY: 7

Most fighting games lack in the story department. How can't they. Once you've seen Ryu vs. Sagat fight for the 46th time and the usual fighting game ploy of reinventing characters with "evil versions", the story is destined to get kind of stale. However, I'll give Onepiece credit where credit is due. They took time with it. They don't give you the same battles with the same people every time. As much as your villian/hero may talk about the main character, Luffy, you might get to fight him. Then again, he might wind up being your first opponent. That's one of the beauties of this game: versatility. You play Story Mode and fight Usopp with Luffy, you won't always hear the fruit salad conversation. They have more than one dialogue phrase for each character, and that's refreshing when you're have to continually beat it to gain unlockables. They even do different dialogue for fights! Put Sanji against a chick and he diverts totally from his usual attack and super attack phrases! As far as the story itself, I guess it's just like the anime. Pirates after treasure, that happen to have weird super powers to get it... ...holy crap it IS Power Stone!

SOUND: 7

Nothing too groundbreaking here. It's like most party games. Most of the melodies are light-hearted or ominous, but not really what you would call intense. They're catchy, but not really anything you would really pay attention to. Well... ...the credits theme is kinda cool. As for the voices, it's a mixed bag. Now since I've never even heard(or care to hear) the original voices, the dub voices doesn't concern me. In fact, I tend to differ from the popular opinion and actually think Sanji's voice is hilariously cool. The attacks sound like typical fighting game fare. It does irk me that there are tons of voices that are undeniably similar. One French accent, OK. Two French accents, I can live with. 4 French Accents that sound "abat zee saame"? Very mixed emotions there...

GAMEPLAY: 10

And this is where the insomnia hit. OK, let me get this straight. You're telling me I can guard crush, initiate air combos, push block, use support attackers and use counterattacks in a game where I can interact with a changing environment, flee attackers, pick up items, and do supermoves which can knock people off cliffs and into crates? And each character has different abilities? And the button format for this stuff is simple?!? Sign me, I'm in! This game is total fun! It follows the great formula of being a game that a novice can pick up and instantly do cool stuff, but enough for a master to do the pain, death, and doom stuff. You fight with skill, but you fight smart. A lot of the match is maneuvering around your opponent enough to get some good offense. Also, I learned the hard way that this game is balanced, even as far as the items itself. Get the sword item to attack more powerful, and you can't block. Get the shield item to make your defense insanely strong, but you're slow as molasses. And as for the obvious speed power-up, well you can run circles around the opposition. Just don't let them catch you. You will have a blast just unleashing chaos and punishing your foes. Super moves and secret attacks are a breeze to pull off. However, secret attacks only are really useful if you're on the losing end or near-death. However, the reward for getting a near death supermove off is almost fatality-like. It tends to lead towards an automatic cutscene and victory(Buggy's is my favorite). This is one of the things I've mentioned. They paid great attention to detail. Arlong's a fish fighter, so guess what? On a stage where the cliff is water, he springs out with no damage! The characters that stand and watch the fight can be hit, and will often hit you back! The non-playable support characters even have their own personality and attack patterns, and there's 32 of them. Good stuff!

CONTROL: 8

The only real issue that I need to get out the way about control: This game needs an auto-target button. Heck, they could use the Z button or the C-Stick for it. It's just might annoy you once in a while to do a Super Move or long ranged attack that is totally off-center from where your opponent is. Other than that, it's basically cool. The button combinations, as mentioned earlier are very simple. In fact, once you know the pattern of one person's move, all it basically is about is function. You do everyone's move the same, with maybe a button changed for supers and specials, but different characters function differently. It basically controls like a 3-D platformer as far as running, jumping, double-jumping, and button press guarding. Heck, you even get fruit for landing on yoru opponent's head.

REPLAY: 10

The absolute last category I expected to rate good when I got this game. I mean, I've seen a lot of crappy games with good graphics. Same can be said for sound, as some of my favorite music tracks come from games I would never play again. Many fighting games have good gameplay and control, but replay? OMG, this game has replay! Unlockable characters, unlockable mini-games that are actually fun... ...I can't believe it not Tekken! Unlockable levels, outfits, and even unlockable art. A LOT of unlockable art, almost Soul Calibur amount. It isn't just that. This may be one of very few games where it doesn't feel like a chore to do so. It's not like you're fighting a 30-minute long story mode time and time again. Story mode takes a maximum of 10-minutes if you read the dialogue. Five 1-round fights, bonus game in the middle, done. If you have friends to play against, it is especially fun. In order to unlock the minigames, you have to keep playing Usopp's minigame challenge, which also happens to be... ...fun!

OVERALL: 9

I withheld from getting this awesome game for 2 months. I saw it, but I had put it in the same category as Beyblade and Harry Potter. That was a huge mistake. This game is impeccable, and is virtually guaranteed fun, whether long or short. If you're a fan, then you've probably already picked this game up. This is to those like me, who saw it on 4Kids and snubbed it like me: if you want a solid fighting game, get this. If you still hate the anime, forget that it exists and play it simply as a fighting game. It's that good. I think I can say that this may be one of the most overlooked GC titles made this year. As I would say about any game, rent it. However, if you're like me and have a crummy rental store that doesn't carry this game, or for that matter any GC games, my opinion is definitely get this. For a game of this low-recognition, it beats out any anime-related game I've played in years.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/06