One Piece Odyssey Nintendo Switch review: The best way to experience Straw Hats' latest adventure

One Piece Odyssey is probably the most impressive anime game I've played on the Nintendo Switch, perhaps even more than the Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm series. I will preface this review by saying I'm not a big fan of the One Piece anime or the manga, so I had very few expectations from the Switch port of One Piece Odyssey.

However, despite that, it somehow managed to hook me right from the get-go, both in terms of its story as well as the gameplay. Although the game did have some minor technical issues, which to be honest, come with the territory of a Switch port, it still was an incredibly engaging experience from start to finish.

One Piece Odyssey is yet another excellent Switch port from Bandai Namco. The game proves that with enough development time and proper optimization effort, games can be made to run and perform quite well on Nintendo's hybrid console. While it might not be the perfect One Piece game, it sure is a perfect Nintendo Switch port.

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One Piece Odyssey on the Nintendo Switch performs as well as it looks, despite some minor shortcomings

Visuals, presentation, and audio

One Piece Odyssey on PS5 and PC looks absolutely stunning, not only due to its excellent use of Unreal Engine 4 but also the unique art style, which mirrors the cell-shaded and exaggerated designs of the anime. However, given Nintendo Switch doesn't have a good history with Unreal Engine 4, I was expecting the worst, in terms of visuals.

One Piece Odyssey features a genuinely stunning art style, inspired by the anime (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

However, I was honestly surprised by how much the Switch port retains in terms of visual clarity and fidelity when compared to other versions of the game. While yes, the texture, shaders, and lighting are of much lower quality, they still aren't anywhere as bad as I thought they would be.

Unreal Engine 4 isn't something that tends to work all too well with the Nintendo Switch hardware. However, Bandai Namco seems to have spent a good amount of time optimizing the game for the Switch, and it shows. Apart from the visuals, which really impressed me, I'm also a big fan of the game's general presentation aspects.

From a clean and non-intrusive HUD to a simplified UI that's easy to navigate, One Piece Odyssey feels like a game that's meant to be played on the Switch. While I do like the Nintendo Switch and the flexibility it gives me when it comes to playing games on the go, I'm not a fan of the Joy-Cons, especially when it comes to navigating RPG UI.

Despite running on the Nintendo Switch, the game looks breathtaking at times (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

As such, I like when developers offer a more simplified UI that's easy to navigate and use. I also liked the game's soundtrack and general audio design. While the OST isn't all that memorable, akin to the opening tracks in the Ultimate Ninja Storm games, it's still quite good, and fitting for a One Piece game.

Gameplay and combat

The moment-to-moment gameplay of One Piece Odyssey comprises combat, exploration, and occasional puzzle-solving. It's a basic JRPG affair, with a One Piece theme. What made it stand out to me, and kept me engaged for 40+ hours was its laid-back approach to the traditional JRPG systems, as well as the incredibly rewarding exploration.

Combat in One Piece Odyssey is fairly simple, making it easy to pick up and play for most players (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

The combat system is quite simple to get a hold of, especially if you're a fan of turn-based RPGs. It's basically a more watered-down version of the Persona games. Your primary roster includes four members, who you can use in combat. However, in case you do have more members to use in your party, you can swap them out mid-battle.

As is the tradition for JRPGs, you get to unlock new characters as you progress through the main story. There are also some really cool boss fights in the game, which serves as a skill check at the end of each chapter. Apart from the main story, there are also a plethora of side quests you can tackle.

However, I found the side quests in One Piece Odyssey to be its weakest aspects. While I do like the open-world exploration bits, the side quests aren't all that fun. Most of the side quests usually amount to menial tasks like collecting resources, rescuing an NPC, or fighting a mob of monsters or bandits. It gets quite repetitive and boring after a while.

Combat is the only focus here, as exploration also contributes to a fairly good chuck of One Piece Odyssey's gameplay (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Thankfully, the combat system, despite being quite basic, is still incredibly fun. There's also a bit of depth to be found in the combat system since you cannot spam regular attacks and expect to win. While it might not rival the likes of Persona or Baldur's Gate with its combat system, I still found One Piece Odyssey's gameplay to be quite fun.

Story and progression

The story of One Piece Odyssey is designed with newcomers in mind. It's not an origin story, akin to how the Ultimate Ninja Storm games. Instead, it narrates a completely original story that is easy to get invested into even if you're not a fan of other One Piece adaptations. The story is one of the reasons why I never got into the Pirate Warrior games.

The open world can feel a bit intimidating at first (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

But One Piece Odyssey easily circumvents that by making the game focus more on its gameplay than the story. And whatever story is there, it's easy to keep track of, without having to delve deep into One Piece Wiki or anime episodes. To me, One Piece Odyssey felt very much like the Star Wars Jedi games.

Just like Star Wars Jedi games, the story of Odyssey is a spin-off, that isn't essential to the larger One Piece story arc but is enjoyable regardless of if you're a fan of the IP or not. While yes, there are callbacks and references to the grander One Piece universe and its many characters, for fans of the series, it's not the main draw of the game.

Don't get me wrong, you will still find yourself scratching your head on some of the story beats, if you're coming to this game with no prior knowledge of the Straw Hats' escapades. However, the story here is told in a way that is meant to be very newcomer-friendly, while at the same time acting as a companion piece to other adaptations.

While the story starts slow, it eventually picks up pace and ends on a genuinely thunderous note (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Lastly, in terms of the game's progression, it's quite linear. Imagine the linear structure of the Ultimate Ninja Storm games but with a hint of open-world exploration. It's not all that difficult either. You won't be left scratching your head against a boss fight for too long, which, for a Switch game, is perfectly fine.

Some shortcomings

While I've only been gushing praise of One Piece Odyssey's Nintendo Switch version, it's not without its faults, no game is. Being an Unreal Engine 4 game, that too shrank and trimmed for the Nintendo Switch, there are a few technical issues that do plague the game. The most annoying issue I faced was stuttering, which often happened while exploring.

Despite the few technical shortcomings, One Piece Odyssey remains one of the most visually stunning open-world games on the Nintendo Switch (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

There's also an issue with the game where it has a long pause every time you start a battle sequence while exploring the open world. The main story battles work perfectly fine, but the open-world encounters that are random and don't have a scripted cutscene initiating them, do have a stuttering issue and ruin my immersion at times.

Additionally, some quest-related glitches forced me to restart either the last checkpoint or the entire game. One such quest prevented me from completing it, since the enemies required to complete said quest never spawned at their designated spot.

And lastly, there were a handful of instances where the game outright crashed, forcing me to replay either an entire quest from scratch or a boss fight. While the technical issues aren't anything major and can be patched with a few updates, they still somewhat hampered my enjoyment of what is otherwise an incredibly fun JRPG experience.

In conclusion

Just like Ace Combat 7 before it, One Piece Odyssey is yet another excellent Nintendo Switch port from Bandai Namco Entertainment. While there are a few minor technical issues plaguing the game, it still isn't anywhere near as bad as most third-party Switch ports tend to be. This is further punctuated by the quality of the game itself.

One Piece Odyssey is a must-play for any One Piece fan, or JRPG fans in general (Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment)

While it's not meant to be an origin story for the Straw Hat Pirates, One Piece Odyssey does a really good job of delivering an experience that serves as the perfect stepping stone for newcomers. Couple that with a robust combat system, and an engaging open world to explore, and you get an excellent JRPG that you can easily sink countless hours into.