Grand Battle! 2

'One Piece: Grand Battle! 2' is a fighting game based on the One Piece manga and anime, released for the Sony PlayStation. The direct sequel to Grand Battle!, it retains almost every element of the original while adapting new material from the Alabasta Saga and introducing many new mechanics.

Developed by Ganbarion and published by Bandai, ''Grand Battle! 2'' was released in Japan on March 20, 2002. Like its predecessor, it met with great success, supporting its own line of action figures as well as a handheld spinoff covering much of the same material.

A direct sequel would be released the following year.

Gameplay
''Grand Battle! 2'' retains its predecessor's 2.5D combat mechanics, with three-dimensional character sprites interacting on a two-dimensional axis. Player characters can run, jump, double-jump, crouch, block, and pick up (as well as throw and catch) items around the battlefield.

The main combat attributes remain Offense, Defense, and Agility, varying on a scale of A through E for each character; the variations among preexisting characters are mostly unchanged (with a few exceptions, such as Shanks being raised to A-rank in speed). Health is less standardized than before, with some characters possessing noticeably more than others.

Fighting consists of standard button combinations. Each player character can access around 20 standard techniques, along with several Finisher (必殺) techniques that incorporate full cinematics. As in Grand Battle!, Finisher techniques follow a numbered level system, and are divided into five classes:
 * Strike (打撃) finishers are delivered through largely conventional blows.
 * Boost (タメ) finishers are delivered through blows that can be "charged" for extra range.
 * Grapple (投げ) finishers are delivered completely flush with the opponent, and cannot be blocked.
 * Counter (カウンター) finishers are delivered by intercepting one of the opponent's attacks.
 * Support Summon (助っ人召喚) finishers call in a support character to deliver the blow.

However, Finishers now rely on the newly-introduced Food Charge (メシチャージ) mechanic, rather than health levels. Each character may carry a maximum of three Food Charges, as displayed by the circular gauge next to the health bar; performing a level-one Finisher requires one Food Charge, and so on.

Food Charges also facilitate a separate mechanic known as One Piece Heat (ONEピースヒート), which activates when a character with three Food Charges receives what would otherwise be a finishing blow. One Piece Heat greatly enhances the character's attack power, range, and speed for a set period; however, it will immediately end with the next hit received, leaving the character's Food Charge gauge empty.

Characters
There are a total of twenty-four player characters, with thirteen assigned "sets" of support characters. Most player characters must choose one support character from their assigned set (if any) before battle; a few sets, however, can be taken into battle as collective units.

All player characters can access two costumes, comprising their standard outfits and a recolored variant. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji - whose designs have all been updated from Grand Battle! - may also access their original costumes as a bonus feature.

Items
Combatants may be helped or hindered by a variety of items around the battlefield. All items can be picked up or caught, and are generally activated by either direct contact or the impact of a throw.

If attacked, most items vanish immediately, without activation; if left alone, they generally vanish after five seconds. Many items will also slide or roll of their own accord if set on a tilted surface.

Below is a table of items and their respective effects.

Items are generally found by breaking the containers positioned around each stage - barrels release food, crates release attack items, and treasure chests release power-ups. These containers can also be picked up, caught, or thrown for minor damage.

Battle Stages
There are a total of twelve stages, all based on canon locations, each with unique music, features, and background spectators.

Game Modes
Three modes may be accessed from the Top Menu.

Event Battle
Event Battle (イベントバトル) mode puts the player character through a gauntlet of five 99-second battles against five semi-randomly selected CPU opponents. Each battle, except the last, gives the player a choice between two different opponents.

Battles will usually be framed by a short cutscene, scripted after canon interactions if possible. The stage for each battle also defaults to canon when possible; Chopper will always be fought at Drum Castle, Crocodile will always be fought at Alubarna, and so on.

Combat progression is streamlined from that of Grand Battle!; the player character only needs to have greater health when time runs out, rather than fully defeating each opponent. Once all five battles are cleared, a short ending cinematic - unique for each player character - is shown, followed by the game's development credits. Outright losing a battle will present the player with a continue option; a total of five continues are allowed before Event Battle automatically ends.

Grand Battle
Grand Battle (グランドバトル) mode allows players to participate in classic arcade-style battles against each other, or against a CPU opponent; unlike Event Battle, this mode allows characters to (through alternate costumes) fight duplicates of themselves. The battle stage may be freely chosen, or left to one of three "custom" options:
 * Order (じゅんばん), which defaults to the Whisky Peak stage and proceeds along the in-game ordering for every subsequent battle
 * Toss-Up (おまかせ), which selects a stage at random
 * Various (いろいろ), which - for multi-round battles - selects every stage at random

In addition, players may adjust the following:
 * Time Limit (制限時間) between 60 seconds, 99 seconds, or total deactivation
 * Win Count (何本勝負) between first-to-one, first-to-two, or first-to-three rounds
 * Handicap (ハンディ) on each combatant's standard Attack and Defense along a five-point scale
 * Food Charge (メシチャージ) defaults between empty or full
 * Item (アイテム) containers between three different re-spawn rates

Training
Training (修行) mode allows the player to test a character's controls and capabilities on the hazard-free Marine Headquarters stage. Here, food charges and health regenerate automatically, One Piece Heat may be activated at will, and damage output is visibly recorded. The opponent character stands idle by default, but may be programmed to fight back as one in Event Battle or Grand Battle would.

To "complete" a training session, the player character must perform every available technique successfully.

Bonus Features
A number of bonus features can be unlocked by meeting various victory conditions, typically in Event Mode.

Treasure
Treasure (お宝) features:
 * Character Data (キャラデータ), which provides a data file for each player character, comprising a revolving model, combat attributes, voice clips, and a short profile.
 * Theater (シアター), which collects the game's opening cinematic and every character's Event Battle ending.
 * Gallery (ギャラリー), which collects every "unlock" screen in the game, in addition to cover-art for five previous One Piece games.
 * Visual Adventure (ビジュアルアドベンチャー), which reproduces all 172 cards from Bandai's short-lived Visual Adventure collectible card game.
 * Sound (サウンド), which collects the game's fourteen primary soundtracks.

Options
The Option (オプション) menu, in addition to standard sound and system settings, allows players to adjust the following:
 * Computer (コンピューター) intelligence between three different levels.
 * System Voice (システムボイス) among thirteen different characters - the Straw Hat Pirates, Ace, Buggy, Mihawk, Shanks, Dorry, Brogy, and Dr. Kureha.

Cast
''Grand Battle! 2'', like its predecessor, retains almost every voice-casting from the TV anime (including Mahito Ōba's succession of Ginzō Matsuo as Smoker). Unlike its predecessor, it casts most of its support characters as well as player characters, though those introduced in the East Blue Saga remain - apart from Jango - unvoiced.

Notably, the game features Rin Mizuhara's last performance as Miss Doublefinger.

Trivia

 * Grand Battle! 2 was a popular game, and at the PlayStation Awards 2002, the game picked up a Gold prize; alongside Grand Battle!, this made the series a double prize winner at the awards.
 * The game's opening cinematic begins with a recreation of Volume 20's cover (with Vivi replacing Koza, Robin replacing Cobra, and Karoo removed) and a preface based on Chapter 179's closing narration; it ends with a recreation of Chapter 198's color spread.
 * Arlong will not receive damage by falling in the water in any stage. Devil Fruit users receive double damage, and Crocodile receives quadruple.
 * This is the only fighting game where Mr. 3 is a playable character.

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