Warning: The following article contains spoilers for One Piece Odyssey.
One Piece fans have been given a wealth of content lately, everything they need to celebrate the anime finally getting to over 1000 episodes. Last year, we saw the release of the fantastic One Piece Film: Red, and in 2023, we have One Piece Odyssey, a new role-playing video game that lets you play as the Straw Hat Pirates.
The game was developed by ILCA and it was released on Jan. 13, 2023. It features nine playable characters, each coming with their own unique abilities and exploration techniques. One Piece Odyssey references the anime heavily, and most of your attacks reflect the moves you have seen the characters perform, even some of the funnier ones. But, you might be wondering who you control in the game, so let’s go through each character that you can have in your party in One Piece Odyssey and tell you a bit about them.
Monkey D. Luffy
It would not be a One Piece game without the protagonist Monkey D. Luffy. Our stretchy Captain is voiced by the same actress who voices him in the anime, Mayumi Tanaka. His powers are directly influenced by his consumption of the Gum-Gum Fruit that makes him stretchy. Therefore, he is able to stretch to claim items and reach high vantage points that you would not be able to with other members of your party. He is the first character in the game that you control.
Roronoa Zoro
The character whose skills are truly awesome to play with is Roronoa Zoro. The sword-wielding pirate is voiced by Kazuya Nakai, who also voices him in the anime. You can use his sword abilities to slash through many things in the game, including large entry-blocking iron doors. Zoro is available once you find him in the prologue chapter of One Piece Odyssey.
Nami
The Navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates, Nami, is another one of the playable characters in the game. Akemi Okamura provides her voice in One Piece Odyssey just as she has in the anime. She is another character you can control as soon as you find her in the prologue chapter of the game. Her ability is quite useful as she can find hidden caches of money on the floor while you are controlling her.
Vinsmoke Sanji
Another one of the characters you can play in the game is the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates, Sanji. He is voiced by Hiroaki Hirata in the game as well as the anime. As we mentioned before, Sanji is the cook among the crew, so his special ability allows him to find hidden ingredients that will improve the food he makes. He is also one of the characters you can control once you find him in the prologue chapter of One Piece Odyssey.
Nico Robin
One of the other members of your party in the game is the Archeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates, Nico Robin. Yuriko Yamaguchi voices Robin in One Piece Odyssey just as she has been doing in the anime. Like Sanji, her ability is also influenced by her role among the pirates. She can find hidden lore scattered around the game, and if you use her ability Archaeologist’s Appraisal 20 times to find lore, you get a trophy/achievement.
She consumed the Hana-Hana Fruit as a young child, so most of her abilities are tied to her powers, which allow her to reproduce limbs. She is also available during the prologue chapter of the game, but you have to find her before you can play as her.
Usopp
Usopp is also one of the playable characters in One Piece Odyssey. As the Sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates, Usopp is a long-range character and his abilities reflect that. He can use his slingshot to destroy obstacles around the world including anything out of reach, making it easier to explore. He can also use it to activate switches. In both the game and the anime, Usopp is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi. You can add him to your party as soon as you find him in the prologue chapter.
Tony Tony Chopper
Another character you can control in One Piece Odyssey is the reindeer, Tony Tony Chopper. His role in the Straw Hat crew is the doctor. In the game, he is voiced by Ikue Ôtani, who also voices him in the anime. Chopper consumed a Human-Human fruit which allowed him to transform into a human-reindeer hybrid and his ability in the game is the power to fit through tight spaces, which allows for further exploration.
Franky
The biggest of all the Straw Hat Pirates, you can play as Franky in One Piece Odyssey. He is in charge of fixing up the ship on the crew and his special abilities reference the anime in that he can build bridges and stairs. Kazuki Yao voices the cyborg in both One Piece Odyssey and the anime, but you won’t be able to take control of him until later in the game, in Chapter Five.
Brook
The last playable main character of the Straw Hat Pirates is the musician of the group. He is voiced by Chô, who also voices him in the anime. For the majority of the game, you cannot play as him, because his body is missing. Brook is the one party member of the game not to have any abilities, probably because he is added so late in the game, in Chapter Seven. If you are unfamiliar with the character, Brook is an undead skeleton who came back to life after eating the Revive-Revive Fruit.
You can play as all of these characters at one point or another during regular gameplay. Swapping between them all is one of the main elements of the game that makes it feel like the One Piece anime and an authentic JRPG. Of course, there are also many locations and other iconic characters that appear in the game as well as some new ones to keep you company. But, those were all the main members of the Straw Hat Pirates you can play in the game.
Be sure to pick up and play One Piece Odyssey now, on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PC.