One Piece Odysseyis 2023’s first entry into the shockingly long line of video game adaptations for theOne Pieceanime. This internationally beloved manga and anime series has received video game adaptations spanning all different genres, from beat ‘em ups to RPGs.One Piece Odysseyis very much the second example, as it’s a standard turn-based RPG comparable to classics likeDragon Quest.
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And, as far as new story elements and characters are concerned, it actually introduces more unique characters than one might expect (and evenexcludes Jimbe entirely, a Wano MVP), so let’s go over the most memorable and best ones.
Disclaimer: Half of the game is combat against all types of unique creatures and monsters, so monsters were included as part of the ‘new characters’ category as well.
9Lim
For all intents and purposes, Lim is sort of the person and ‘plot device’ that almost all ofOne Piece Odyssey’sstory is built around. Lim has this mysterious power (that’s never confirmed to be a Devil Fruit power) to take the memories and experiences of people and turn them into cubes. She does this right away with the Straw Hat Pirates before really even getting to know them due to her tragic past with pirates.
As far asOPcharacters that are introduced in video games, Lim, theadorable little introvertthat she is, still manages to be pretty memorable, even if her abilities are more of a plot device than something that makes sense in theOPuniverse.
8Eisa & Variations
The Eisa are natural beings of Waford that are apparently born from the same ‘cube data’ power that Lim uses. In terms of appearance, the Eisa look like monkeys wearing bulbous hats similar to Chopper’s (post-time-skip" with arms so long they might as well be from the in-universe Longarm Tribe. Throughout the course of the game, Luffy and his Nakama meet all types of different Eisa with unique appearances and abilities. But, all of them follow the same basic design foundation, and they’re one of the designs in Odyssey closest to being stereotypically ‘cute’. To name some Eisa species, there are:
There are even more than this, but these were the most memorable variations.
7Adio Suerte
Along with Lim, Adio Suerte is the other ‘primary’ character introduced inOne Piece Odyssey. There are a variety of other new characters to the IP introduced in this game, but none of them have designs that are as striking as Lim’s or Adio’s and they mainly function as side NPCs.
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Adio has a lot to do with the overall plot ofOdyssey,and a small spoiler ahead, buthis Devil Fruit ability is nothing short of absurdin terms of how overpowered it is. But, as a character, he’s pretty interesting, likable, and his design is great. Not only does he look similar to the hero of Shandia, Kalgara, which makes sense given Waford’s background as a Sky Island, but his motivations and backstory are equally grandiose as well.
6Banana Gator & Variations
Like a lot of other anime series,One Pieceis a universe in which there are all types of oddball creatures and animals. Whereas something likeAvatar: The Last Airbenderliked to combine two different animals from reality to create interesting fusion creatures for their show,One Piecedoesn’t have a set ‘rule’ that it follows, just that the creatures are wacky and memorable.
And, one of the most memorable creatures introduced in the 1000+ chapter manga is the Bananawani or Banana Gator (or Banana Crocodile, depending on the translation) shown all the way back in the Alabasta Arc.Odysseyplays around with this concept and, throughout the course of the story, has the Straw Hats fighting against multiple new species of ‘fruit-based’ alligator monsters, such as:
5Kung-Fu Dewgong & Variations
One of the best animals seen in the desert kingdom of Alabasta besides the Banana Gators (Alabasta really had some unique creatures) has to be the Kung-Fu Dugongs, a species of dugong-type creatures with turtle shells that almost look like puffy raincoats. These creatures follow a code of honor that almost forces them to fight everyone they meet to prove their skill and strength. If defeated, the Kung-Fu Dugons then become disciples of the one who defeated them.
InOne Piece Odyssey, new sub-species of Kung-Fu Dugongs are introduced, all of which are almost exactly the same, but with a different martial art as their foundation. There are:
And a few other sub-species as well, and it makes for a hilarious gimmick as far as creature variations go.
4Margin
Bounty Hunters are already an established profession in the world ofOne Piece. Ofcourse they are, given that it’s a setting rife withpirates that have absurdly high bounties. That said, not a lot of screentime is ever given to these bounty hunters to show the intricacies of how their job works. Zoro, of course, starts out as one and even has bounty hunter friends in Johnny and Yosaku, but that’s it. Margin, however, is an ‘intermediary’ of sorts introduced inOne Piece Odysseythat makes it possible for pirate bounty hunters to get the reward from their bounties.
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Pirates capture the target, turn their target over to Margin, Margin turns them in, and then splits the reward with the pirates. And, inOdyssey, this is how the Straw Hats end up fighting a lot of the newly introduced ‘villain’ NPC characters. Not only that, but Margin also operates out of the Spice Bean in Alabasta, which fans might remember as the restaurant that Luffy, Ace, and Smoker all bump into each other eating at during the early stages oftheir journey to beat Crocodile.
3Baroque Panda & Variations
The Baroque Panda is probably the most interesting case on here, given that it’s a variation on a species that has never been seen in mainline One Piece anime series, but rather only appeared in one of its movies,Strong World.
The Baroque Panda is a sub-species of the Rock Panda, an aggressive species of animal that is basically a Panda with star-like patterns around its eyes. However, the Baroque Panda are Rock Pandas specifically bred by Baroque Works agents as weapons.
2Segem & Hator
During the Arabasta Arc, fans didn’t get to see all too much of the relationships between people that became strained and frayed during the revolution. A lot of families in this desert country were torn apart as some members of the family sided with the Rebel Army while others remained loyal to the King Nefertari Cobra. OP fans got to see a smidge of this with the relationship between Koza and his father Toto, butOdysseydives into this concept more with NPCs Segem and Hator.
1All Knock-Off Pirates
And for the last character on here, it’s actually a whole host of characters. The Straw Hats come into contact with a whole host of different two-bit pirates over the course of the game. Some, however, seem to be knockoff versions of otherOne Piececharacters or some variation of this concept. To give a few examples::
One Piece Odysseyis available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.
