One Piece Odyssey is meant to celebrate the 25th anniversary of One Piece's debut as a manga series, and its subsequent rise as one of the most iconic media franchises in the history of Shonen Jump — if not media in general. While this isn't the first One Piece game to comb through the series' 1,000+ chapter history, it is the first to do it in the form of a turn-based RPG (at least globally).
Since this is new territory for the Straw Hat Pirates, their usual dynamics may have been shaken up a bit. After all, having a high-tension action scene isn't quite the same thing as a high-tension RPG battle (though they are both awesome). To that end, let's go over the crew and see who made the jump the best.
9/9 "Soul King" Brook
The jolly skeleton with one heck of an afro, Brook is the Straw Hats' resident musician. Thanks to eating the Revive-Revive Fruit, his soul can persist on its own and possess the skeletal remains of his former body. With the cold touch of the underworld at his back, Brook can unleash soulful melodies backed by lightning-quick Iaido swordplay.
Unfortunately, Brook doesn't get much time to shine in this game, as his body goes overboard when the Sunny capsizes on the shores of Waford, forcing him to bum around in spectral form for a while. The crew manages to salvage his body eventually and lets him fight with powerful sword slashes and supportive music, but he doesn't get many chances to flex his muscles. Not that he has any muscles. Yohoho.
8/9 "Devil Child" Nico Robin
A brilliant archeologist with the power of the Flower-Flower Fruit, Robin possesses the ability to "bloom" duplicates of her limbs and body parts on any surface in her line of sight. While handy for covert attacks, Robin's true strength is her ability to read Poneglyphs, a dead language inscribed on stone tablets that reveals the truth of the world (which the World Government would rather people didn't know).
While Robin becomes a powerful combatant later on in the game, she takes a bit longer to be front-line worthy than the other Straw Hats. For the first few chapters, she only has a handful of special abilities, one of which is her infamous "Grab." While that move is equal parts effective and terrifying, it only works on bipedal enemies with something to, er, "grab" onto.
7/9 "Cat Burglar" Nami
Nami was one of the first members of the Straw Hats, lending the fledging crew her skills as a navigator and meteorologist (and tricking them for a time with her thieving skills, but everyone's well past that). Using her unusual weapon, the Clima-Tact, Nami can trigger localized weather phenomena like lightning strikes and mirages.
Nami's a bit of a glass cannon in Odyssey, as while her weather abilities are both powerful and long-reaching, she herself can't take much damage. She's fantastic to have around in specific situations, particularly against enemies weak to electricity, but otherwise, she's not great on the front lines. She can use her knack for thievery to find cash out in the world, though, which is helpful.
6/9 "Iron Man" Franky
After being run over by Water 7's Sea Train, the man who would come to be known as Franky used his expert shipwright skills to rebuild himself as a cyborg. His entire body is a veritable arsenal, packed with weapons, gadgets, and gimmicks galore. As long as he's got a few bottles of cola to keep himself powered, he's a fighting machine.
Similarly to Brook, Franky is sidelined for a period of Odyssey's story, as he's busy salvaging the Straw Hats' ship, the Thousand Sunny. Once Sunny is repaired, he joins the fray, bringing with him not only his aforementioned arsenal, but his impressive construction talents. With nothing but a pile of junk, he can build beautiful bridges out of thin air.
5/9 "God" Usopp
Usopp may look like a stringy coward and, well, he is. But he's also one of the most deceptively cunning and resourceful members of the Straw Hats. As the crew's sniper, he's a crackshot with his custom slingshot, which launches a variety of modified ammunition, enhanced by a species of bizarre, carnivorous plants called Pop Greens.
Right off the bat, Usopp proves himself as an incredibly useful battlefield asset. While he can't take a lot of punishment, his ranged attacks can hit many enemies at once with explosive force. He also has access to several "gag" moves that work on gullible foes, opening an extra avenue of weakness exploitation only he can use.
4/9 "Cotton Candy Lover" Tony Tony Chopper
The Straw Hats' hardworking doctor, Chopper is a reindeer that ate the Human-Human Fruit, allowing him to freely transform between quadrupedal and humanoid forms. Thanks to a bit of personal experimentation and pharmaceutical R&D, Chopper can switch to several sub-forms that emphasize his various physical abilities, as well as provide ointments and medicines for the crew.
As the ship's doctor, Chopper's role in an RPG-style party is pretty obvious. He gets support and healing abilities before anyone else, and they are quite potent. He's also helpful during exploration as well; while he can't switch to his quadruped form for some reason, the small size of his hybrid form lets him explore small caves and cracks the other Straw Hats can't reach.
3/9 "Pirate Hunter" Roronoa Zoro
The unofficial first mate of Straw Hat crew, Zoro was the very first member recruited to the team and a stalwart adherent to its principles since. Using the esoteric Three-Sword Style, with two swords in his hands and one in his teeth, Zoro cleaves through foes and solid steel with monstrous brute strength.
While Zoro can cut through certain steel doors (more so as the story progresses), he naturally shines in the midst of a brawl. Zoro's got a sword technique for most occasions, cleaving effortlessly through both groups and individual targets. His only real weakness is that he can't do much at long range.
2/9 "Black Leg" Vinsmoke Sanji
As the Straw Hats' cook, Sanji regularly has to prepare large quantities of food in a hurry, and he's happy to do so (especially for Nami and Robin). After going through several traumatic events in his childhood, it's his personal policy to feed anyone who's hungry, no matter what. His training with the genius chef Zeff is what also taught him his powerful kick-based fighting style, which he enhances with his fiery passion.
In Odyssey, Sanji is a power-type combatant who rocks opponents' heads with his mighty kicks and spins. With his Diable Jambe ability, he can also add a fire element to his attacks, inflicting lasting burns. Of course, his most beneficial skill is in the kitchen; out of combat, Sanji can hunt down ingredients in the wild, then use them to prepare all kinds of potent, restorative meals.
1/9 "Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy
Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates and the man who will one day become King of the Pirates, Luffy is both the heart and brawn of his crew. With the power of the Gum-Gum Fruit, Luffy's entire physiology is made of rubber, allowing him to perform all manner of physical feats backed by his natural knack for martial arts.
Luffy is, somewhat unsurprisingly, the most useful party member in Odyssey. In the field, his stretchy arms let him grab distant items and grapple across gaps, and he's the only member (at least for the purposes of this game) who can scan his surroundings with Observation Haki. In a fight, Luffy's got a punch for every occasion, be it individual foes, groups, distant enemies, and whatever else. In the event his usual tricks don't work, he can use his Gear techniques to enhance his speed, strength, and size to match the occasion.
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