One Piece: Pirates' Carnival

"One (Average) Piece"

One Piece: Pirates Carnival is actually a collection of mini games using the characters and the theme of One Piece. Let me start by saying that I'm not a big fan of the animation series One Piece; I've seen a couple of the episodes, but I never got hooked to it. This means while I'm giving a non-biased review, it may also leads me to not understanding some of the inside jokes/stories in the game (I did find more information about the One Piece world before writing this review though). This is a review of the Japanese version of the game.

Graphic (7/10)
People who hate “cute” graphics will not like this game. The character models are super deformed. They are done pretty good, simple, but not oversimplified. The game is very bright and colourful. It resembles the colourful world of One Piece universe. The visual effects are simple and true to the cute style. One big problem is that on certain games where the screen is split into 4 vertical panels, human players really got screwed up (Which really is the basic problem of multi players games if you don't have multiple TVs.)

Sound/Music (7/10)
The music is fine. I don't love or hate the music. If I have to describe the music, it sounds like one of those pieces of positive, happy music (I don't know if the music used in the games are the same music used in the show). The voice acting is good. As far as I know, the same voice actors for the anime are used for the game as well. I'm not going to review whether they fit the characters or not because this is not a review for the anime. When playing the board game mode, characters may talk to each other- not a big deal, but certainly a nice add-on.

Control (9/10)
Controls are simple. Most of the time you will only need directional pads and the four action buttons (In fact, there are many games where you only need directional buttons and circle button.) Every mini game has its own control; this is not a big deal because before the start of each game, the control (and rules/objectives) of the game is displayed. This will also help people who don't understand Japanese because they can “see” the game before it starts.

Gameplay and Features (7/10)
I don't remember from the top of my head how many mini games are there in One Piece Pirates Carnival. Safe to say there are about 30+ games. To list few of the games: memory game, spot the difference, where's waldo kind of game, all out kicking and punching opponents, and many more. These games mostly have their own One Piece twists but still remain simple. Most characters' games are pretty relevant to the characters' “story” in the show. To unlock most of them however, you need to play the board game mode (which is similar to Othello but with twists). This can be fun, but takes a lot of time, which makes it slow and boring at times. Expect 2-4 hours to clear bigger boards. Don't worry though because you can save the game during your turn. Once you've unlocked the game though, you can just play the games you want and have fun with your friends. Arguably some games are more fun to play with your human friends than just competing with computers. When competing with computer AI, you can choose few different difficulties for each opponent, but in some games, their actions are still predictable. One thing that really irritates me is the loading time. Don't get me wrong, it is not too slow, but since the game needs to load something for every short time, it gets annoying. This game also features voice tests and artwork.

Overall (7+/10)
A fun game, but not for everyone. I actually enjoy this game in moderation. It is not the kind of game where I'd devote one week just to play it. For me it is more of a long life - once in a while game where you just have fun. People who are fan of One Piece definitely will appreciate the game more. If you're looking for a side game that you can put into your PS2 every once in a while, do give this game a chance.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/06