Did you ever hear about One Piece Unlimited World Red? You know that Ganbarion (of Pandora’s Tower fame) One Piece game that looks a bit like Monster Hunter? Well, it’s coming to both North America and Europe, courtesy of Bandai Namco.
Here’s the interesting part: while the game was originally a 3DS exclusive, for the Western territories, One Piece Unlimited World Red is going to be on 3DS, Wii U, PS3, and PS Vita. Note that while Europe is getting retail versions on all platforms, North America will only see retail versions for PS3 and 3DS. The Wii U and PS Vita versions will be available digitally. It’s a multiplayer co-operative game, with 3DS and Vita offering four-player local play, and Wii U and PS3 offering 2-player split-screen play. So far, we know nothing about any kind of cross platform play, or off-TV 2-player option for the Wii U. Bandai Namco has released a trailer showing the game in action.
Now, I won’t pretend to be a fan of One Piece, since I’ve never seen the show. I am a big fan of Monster Hunter, though, and this looks to scratch the same itch. Plus the bright, simplistic anime look gives a vibrancy that looks great, no matter what platform it’s on. These videos from the Japanese release show not only what the 3DS version looks like, but will also give you some idea of how each character in the game plays.
Bandai Namco also released this batch of screenshots, presumably showing the HD version.
So far, all we have is a nebulous 2014 release date, but I’m legitimately interested in this game. Consider me cautiously optimistic. What are your thoughts?
