A North America-Only One Piece Brawler From the 4Kids Era
Most One Piece games have been Japanese affairs, and fans outside Japan had to wait a long time for a proper one. This 2005 Game Boy Advance title is an oddity: it was developed by Dimps and published by Bandai's American games division, and it came out only in North America, on 7 September 2005. It never launched in Japan or Europe.
That release window matters. The anime was reaching English-speaking audiences through 4Kids Entertainment's dub at the time, and the game follows that localised version, which means some details differ from the original manga and Japanese anime.
At a glance
- Based on: the One Piece manga and anime by Eiichiro Oda, as localised for North America
- Created by: Dimps (developer), Bandai America (publisher)
- Released: 7 September 2005, North America only
- Genre: side-scrolling beat 'em up
- What sets it apart: a one-button combo system and a roster of 15 characters in story mode
What you actually play
You take Luffy through platform-style stages, stringing together attacks with a simple one-button combo system. Other members of the Straw Hat crew can be summoned to help, and there are twelve bosses, among them Buggy and the marine known here as Chaser. Stages contain interactive scenery, and treasures from the story can be revisited once a stage has been cleared.
The story follows the East Blue saga, the same ground as the first One Piece game, with the crew heading out toward the Grand Line.
How it was received
Critics were mostly positive. Aggregate scores sat at 76 out of 100 on Metacritic and about 72 percent on GameRankings, with individual reviews such as 4 out of 5 from GameSpy and 8 out of 10 from Nintendo Power.