One Piece: Grand Battle! Rush!

'''One Piece: Grand Battle! Rush!' is a fighting game based on One Piece'' manga and anime, released on the Sony Playstation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube. The direct sequel to Grand Battle! 3, '''Grand Battle! Rush is the fourth and (to date) final game in the Grand Battle '''series. It loosely adapts elements of the series up to the early portions of the Water 7 Arc, with particular emphasis on the Long Ring Long Land Arc. The game was developed by Ganbarion and published by Bandai and Atari. It was released on March 17, 2005 in Japan, on September 6, 2005 in the United States and on September 29, 2005 in the European Union.

This was the first of One Pieces console games to be released in English, under the name of One Piece: Grand Battle'. However, since the English anime had not even progressed past the Alabasta Arc at the time of release, many features were changed or outright removed.

Gameplay
Combat involves arcade-style fighting with complete freedom of movement. Player characters can walk, run, dash, jump, double-jump, block, and pick up (as well as throw and catch) items around the battlefield.

Fighting consists of standard button combinations. Each player character can access 19 standard techniques, in addition to four Rush (ラッシュ) techniques. Rush techniques require the use of the Food Charge Gauge (メシチャージゲージ), which can be filled by picking up food scattered around the battlefield; at maximum, two charges can be filled.


 * Support Rush (サポートラッシュ): Summons a support character chosen before the battle. The support character will attack for a set amount of time (usually 15 seconds) before disappearing. Costs one food charge.
 * Grand Rush (グランドラッシュ): An attack preceded by a close-up on the character's sprite, usually stronger than most (if not all) standard attacks. Costs one food charge.
 * Secret Rush (奥義ラッシュ): An attack that triggers a full cinematic, which may be one, two, or three stages long. The more stages, the more damage dealt. Costs two food charges if successfully triggered; costs nothing otherwise.

If a character with two full charges sustains what would otherwise be a finishing blow, they will enter One Piece Heat (ONEピースヒート), gaining the combined benefits (and drawbacks) of the game's Sword and Shoes power-ups. As One Piece Heat continues, the character's food gauges are steadily drained. Once the gauges run out, One Piece Heat will end, and the character will not be able to refill their food gauges for the rest of the battle.

This game continues the use of Grand Battle! 3's arena system with many of the previous arenas and special moves being reused. Updates and graphic enhancements were given (many of them rather un-obvious at first glance) to many of the old arenas, and several new characters were introduced. The adjustments to the characters' fighting styles were minor, and most characters remain mostly as they were in Grand Battle! 3. The gameplay is identical to the Power Stone series.

As noted by many reviewers of the game, both professional and nonprofessional, the combat style makes heavy use of the outside elements in each stage, such as item containers, rampaging animals, etc. Falling into water deals damage to all characters except Arlong. Falling off stages without water deals damage to all characters.

Characters
There are a total of 19 player characters, and 36 support characters. Each player character is assigned at least one support character, at most three; before starting any battle or mini-game, each player character must select one support character from their assigned pool. No player character may select a support character from another's pool (except when permitted by the rules of the Davy Back Fight).

While support characters are not controllable, they also cannot be damaged or staggered; the only way to destroy them (before their allotted time runs out) is to push them into water or some other abyss. Each support character follows one of three basic movement patterns: running after the opponent with ground attacks, jumping after the opponent with aerial attacks, or remaining stationary with projectile attacks.

Below is a list of the player characters, and their assigned support characters. Please note that all characters are referred to by the spelling in the game, not the manga or anime.

Battle Stages
There are a total of nine stages in the game, each with unique features and hazards. Six are available from the beginning; the other three must be unlocked.


 * Foosha Village: Luffy's hometown, where Higuma and his bandits will throw random objects at the players. There will also be a cow that charges at the players when hit and a spinning signpost that can be used to launch the players in a random direction. Pandaman is at the roof of a house after the windmill (the color of the roof is red). It may change his place on the scenery sometimes.


 * Baratie: A massive fish-shaped restaurant where Sanji used to work. The stage mostly consists of driftwood, with one of the Baratie's platforms at one end and Krieg's half-sunken galleon at the other. A huge mast lies over the driftwood, which can be knocked into the opponent, and the Baratie's battleship will occasionally fire bombs onto the driftwood. Pandaman is in the room front to left (he is inside, so you need two players, the two need to be next with each other in front of the room). It may change his place on the scenery sometimes.


 * Arlong Park: This is the headquarters of Arlong and his pirates. It consists of a huge rectangular pool with narrow stone walkways around it. Mohmoo resides in the pool, and can be walked on and attacked (and also occasionally dives into the pool, creating a small flood. There are two small shacks that can be knocked over to cover the smaller pools, preventing sinking. If the characters on the edges of the stage are attacked, Arlong's pirates will attack the players. Pandaman can be found near a destroyed wall, and he also can be found on the gates of the park (behind of Mohmoo). It may change his place on the scenery sometimes.


 * Loguetown: The place where Gold Roger was born and executed. The smallest field, no cliffs or water. The field can change in shape by attacking the walls. Marines will fire Seastone nets at you to stun you, and bolts of lightning will hit the field occasionally. Alvida is in the middle, and will slide around, swinging her mace, if anyone attacks her. Citizens and Buggy's pirates will toss powerups, fruit, and bombs at you. Pandaman is behind of barracks, but it takes some time to appear. Also, he is in the entrance of Loguetown. It may change his place on the scenery sometimes.


 * Drum Castle: Tony Tony Chopper's home. You can only fight on the roof, which is covered with snow that can be picked up and thrown at the opponent to freeze them temporarily. Wapol can also be picked up and thrown, devouring anything in his way (including players). Giant rabbits will throw snowballs at you. Wapol's bodyguards will attack you if you attack Wapol. Pandaman is in the castle. It may change his place on the scenery sometimes.


 * Alabasta: Crocodile and Mr. 2 Bon Kurei's stage. Occasionally a sandstorm will pop up, getting bigger every time you hit it. Also if you hit King Cobra he will get angry and karate chop you across the stage. Touching Pell the falcon (flying above the stage) grants a random power up. The cannon shoots out bombs if attacked. Pandaman can be seen in the windows of the tower that some warriors are located, or at the left side of the castle. It may change his place on the scenery sometimes.


 * Mariejois: The training area. No real obstacles. The eight stone pillars on the sides can be broken by attacks. You can see 3 of the Shichibukai (Mihawk, Doflamingo, Kuma). There is the men of the World Government, Sengoku and his pet, and some old lady with him, you can see Laffite on the left side of the stage beyond the pillars, and Pandaman is beyond the pillars of the right side of the stage, hidden in other pillars, and can be seen in a bush close to the Shichibukai. It may change his place on the scenery sometimes.


 * Maxim (removed from English version): Enel's great sky ark. It has a drop near the ship's edge and the hole in the deck leading to the engines. Occasionally, a heavy gust will blow over the ship, forcing the combatants to one side.you can see pandaman in the top of the ship, beyond the electric hourglass, or at the end of the ship (on the left side hidden in the wall). it may change his place on the scenery sometimes.


 * Sexy Foxy (removed from English version): Foxy's ship, consisting of two raised platforms with railing all around (which can be broken by attacks to expose a sheer drop). Big Pan will occasionally throw axes into the ring, and Pickles will occasionally jump in, spinning like a top and attacking everything he touches. The cannon in the center will spin and fire three times if attacked. you can see Pandaman suspended in a big bird that sometimes fly over the battle. it may change his place on the scenery sometimes

Items
A variety of items can be found in all of the stages. These items can help or hinder the characters.

Containers
Barrels, crates, and treasure chests can be lifted and thrown at an opponent, or broken to reveal items. Barrels and crates store only Attack Items. Treasure Chests store only Power-Ups. If a character dashes against a container, it will be sent flying. A character struck by a dash-propelled container will be temporarily stunned.

Food

 * Fruit: Fills a fraction of one food charge.


 * Meat: Fills one food charge and restores a small amount of health.

Power-Ups
All Power-Ups are activated immediately upon contact. After activation, they produce a colored aura around the user.


 * Sword (yellow aura): Makes all of the character's attacks unblockable. Also makes the character incapable of blocking.


 * Shield (green aura): Boosts the character's defense and negates most knockback effects. Also reduces the character's speed.


 * Shoes (blue aura): Boosts the character's speed. Also decreases defense.


 * Diamond (gold "sunburst" aura): Allows the character to perform one unblockable Rush technique without spending any food charges. A Secret Rush performed with this item will always inflict 1000 points of damage (half of a full health bar).

Attack Items
Like containers, attack items can be lifted and thrown, or broken. However, they cannot be dash-propelled.


 * Bomb: If broken, explodes instantly and deals damage. If left alone, explodes after a few seconds.


 * Eternal Pose: Fills the food charges of any character that breaks it. If picked up and put down again, the needle reverses. Hitting an Eternal Pose with a reversed needle will empty a character's food charges.


 * Bonfire: If attacked, releases a small flame onto the ground. Any character that touches the flame will be set on fire, and have their health steadily depleted. Leaping into water or into an abyss puts out the fire but also deals extra damage. A character on fire can also "spread" the fire by performing a Throw Attack on the opponent.


 * Oil: If attacked, soaks characters and makes movement (especially hairpin turns) difficult. A bomb or a bonfire that comes into contact with oil creates a massive inferno. Can be washed off by jumping into water or an abyss.


 * Beehive: If broken, will release a swarm of bees. The swarm will chase whoever broke the beehive, and deplete a small amount of health. Once afflicted by a bee swarm, characters' directional controls are reversed (i.e. pushing the joystick left makes them go right). Can be neutralized by jumping into water or an abyss.


 * Poison Mushroom: Creates a purple cloud of toxic spores if attacked or thrown. Characters that touch the cloud will be poisoned and lose health with every action (attack, movement, etc.) they take. Can be neutralized by jumping into water or an abyss.


 * Gaimon: If attacked, he will retaliate by firing a pistol. If picked up, his pistol can be fired at the player's will.

Top Menu Selections
There are eight selections to choose from in the Top Menu of the game:

Mini-Games
In the Japanese version, the mini-game section is called Davy Back Fight and is hosted by Foxy and his crew, while in the American version, Usopp and his ragtag "pirates" took their place.

Secret Rush techniques cannot be used in any of the mini-games, with the exception of Custom Battles and Combat.


 * Davy Back Fight: The player selects three characters, who are put through a trio of mini-games selected by the CPU. Best two out of three wins the challenge. The winner of a mini-game may take a support character from the loser's team. Once this mini-game has been played enough times, the games that constitute its framework appear in the Mini-Games menu, and can be played at leisure.


 * Groggy Ring: In this mini-game, the player character must throw the "ball" (Gaimon) into the opponent's goal to earn points. Whoever has the highest score by the end of 30 seconds wins. For extra points, the player and their opponent may also try to knock each other into the goals.


 * Donut Race: In this mini-game, the player character must prevent the Cutie Wagon from overtaking the Taru Tiger, by stopping Foxy Pirates from shooting cannonballs at the latter. The pirates drop fruit (and occasionally bombs) when struck, so Rush techniques may be used.


 * Box Crusher: In this mini-game, the player character must destroy 300 crates, barrels, and chests before time runs out. A downsized version of this game (where 150 item containers are used instead and the time limit is half as long) is used as a "halftime" game after the player has defeated their third opponent in Event Mode.


 * Wootz Smash: In this mini-game, the player character must defeat Don Krieg within sixty seconds. Krieg possesses an invisible (but otherwise standard) health bar, as well as an invisible and permanent Shield item, allowing him to withstand most attacks and resist being knocked down.


 * Snow Cleaning: In this mini-game, the player character must destroy a large pile of snow atop Drum Castle before time runs out.


 * Custom Battles: Regular battles with various twists added (i.e. both characters jump extra high, items perform super-high damage, etc.).


 * Combat: The only mini-game that cannot be accessed at the player's leisure. It is always the last mini-game of the Davy Back Fight. In this game, the player character battles Foxy on the Sexy Foxy stage. The one difference that this game possesses from an ordinary battle is that once Foxy is defeated, he will immediately revive with a full health bar and a permanent state of One Piece Heat; to win, the player must defeat him a second time.

Translation and Alterations
As with the anime at the time, the game was translated and dubbed into English by 4Kids Entertainment. As such:


 * 4Kids naming conventions (i.e. Zolo instead of Zoro, Chaser instead of Smoker) and censorship (i.e. the cross-like guards on Mihawk's swords being shortened) are generally followed where applicable.
 * However, exceptions and inconsistencies exist. For instance, while the cigars in his mouth are removed, Smoker/Chaser retains his cigar bandoleers and the Justice (正義) kanji on the back of his jacket.
 * All of the Straw Hat Pirates' "A" costumes are removed, leaving their "B" costumes the defaults (recolors of their "B" costumes are used to make up the difference). This also removed Luffy's alternative Secret Rush (Gomu Gomu no Cannon) and taunt.
 * Since Chopper and Robin had not joined the Straw Hat Pirates (indeed, the latter was known as nothing other than Ms. Sunday) at the time of translation, their cutscenes are rewritten to remove all indications of familiarity with the Straw Hats. In addition, all of Robin's costumes are removed, save her initial Baroque Works outfit (and a recolor).
 * Usopp's Impact Dial technique is replaced with a sequence of exploding shots, based off his Gunpowder Star Dance technique from Chapter 296.
 * Enel, Foxy, and Aokiji (and their respective support characters) are removed.
 * The Maxim and Sexy Foxy stages are removed.
 * The Mariejois stage is renamed Eden Rock and depicted as a standard Navy training area. All background spectators - the Gorosei, Sengoku, Tsuru, Mihawk, Kuma, Doflamingo, and Laffitte - are removed.
 * The Davy Back Fight is renamed the Usopp Pirates' Challenge and hosted by Usopp and his ragtag "pirates" instead of the Foxy Pirates (however, unedited Foxy Pirates can still be seen in several of the mini-games).
 * The Donut Race (renamed Usopp Race) replaces the crews of the Taru Tiger (Nami, Usopp, and Robin) and the Cutie Wagon (Porche and Capote) with nondescript villagers and the Usopp Pirates, respectively. Monda is retained, but recolored to look more like an ordinary shark.
 * Combat (renamed Usopp Duel) replaces Foxy with Usopp, and randomly chooses its stage instead of being confined to the Sexy Foxy.

Trivia

 * An American-made sequel, One Piece Grand Adventure, featuring several characters either excluded from the original game or new to any One Piece game, was released in 2006. This game is generally not considered part of the Grand Battle series.
 * Translations for both the Japanese and American versions of this game were released in some European countries (such as Spain).
 * In the English version of the game, after you finish story mode with some characters, the edited out parts of the game can sometimes be seen, such as Robin's costumes.
 * Sanji will enter a unique "Mellorine" mode, with wholly different voice clips, if battling against Nami or Robin.
 * Don Krieg's MH5 technique will be substituted by a shuriken bomb (as seen in Chapter 60) if the jump command is given while the shell is airborne.
 * Devil Fruit users - Luffy, Chopper, Robin, Buggy, Smoker, Mr. 2, Crocodile, Enel, Foxy, and Aokiji - take extra damage from falling into water, while Arlong takes none. All characters take the same amount of damage from "dry" drops.
 * Luffy takes no damage from the Loguetown stage's lightning strikes.
 * The English boxart of the game is also used for the boxart of the English-exclusive One Piece.