Grand Battle!

From TV animation: One Piece: Grand Battle! is a fighting game based on the One Piece manga and anime, released for the Sony PlayStation. It adapts elements of the series up to the Whisky Peak Arc.

Developed by Ganbarion and published by Bandai, Grand Battle! was released in Japan on March 3, 2001, becoming the series' second-ever licensed game (preceded only by Become the Pirate King!), and the first for a home console. It met with resounding success, ultimately selling over 400,000 units and launching its first sequel the very next year; several more sequels and spinoffs would follow, expanding the Grand Battle name over an entire series.

In 2003, the game received a PAL release, featuring text options in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German (with unaltered Japanese audio). This made it the first One Piece game to be released outside of Japan, though it remains unavailable in North America.

Gameplay


Combat uses typical 2.5D mechanics, with three-dimensional character models interacting on a two-dimensional axis. Player characters can walk, run, jump, double-jump, crouch, block, and grab (as well as throw and catch) items around the battlefield.

As in most fighting games, health is standardized among characters, while the main combat attributes - Offense (攻撃), Defense (防御), and Agility (素早さ) - vary heavily, from a scale of A through E. These variations generally reflect the characters' canon abilities; for example, Luffy is ranked A in Offense and C in Agility, while Usopp is ranked E in Offense and A in Agility.

Fighting consists of standard button combinations. Each player character can access around 20 standard techniques, along with several Finisher (必殺) techniques that feature full cinematics. Finishers can only be used when character health falls below a set threshold (marked in notches on the health bar), and follow a numbered level system; higher levels correspond to lower health, and usually greater damage.

There are five classes of Finisher techniques:
 * Strike (打撃), delivered through largely conventional blows.
 * Boost (タメ), delivered through blows that can be "charged" for extra range.
 * Grapple (投げ), delivered completely flush with the opponent (and cannot be blocked).
 * Counter (カウンター), delivered by intercepting one of the opponent's attacks.
 * Support Summon (手下召喚), which call in a support character to deliver the blow.

(Non-Grapple finishers can be blocked, but will always inflict a minor amount of "chip damage" and it is possible to get knocked out by receiving one.)

Characters
There are a total of sixteen player characters, with seven able to access preassigned support characters. Any player character with support options will automatically take one into battle; if more than one option is available, the choice is random by default, but can be specified by combining the right shoulder input with one of the main action (Attack, Jump, or Grab) inputs.

Below is a list of the player characters, and their corresponding support options (color-coded, where applicable, with selection inputs).

In addition to their standard canon outfits, all player characters can access an alternate, recolored outfit if selected with the left shoulder input.

Items
Combatants may be helped or hindered by a variety of items around the battlefield. All items can be grabbed, thrown, or caught; their effects are generally activated by either direct contact or the impact of a throw.

If attacked, most items vanish immediately, without activating. If left untouched, they generally vanish after five seconds. Items will also slide or roll by themselves if set on a tilted surface.

Below is a table of items and their respective effects.

Items are generally found by breaking the containers—barrels, crates, and treasure chests—positioned around each stage. These containers can also be picked up and thrown for minor damage (or caught in mid-throw).

Battle Stages
There are a total of six stages, all based on canon locations. Each features unique layouts, music, and background spectators.

Game Modes
Two 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 six 99-second battles against six semi-randomly selected CPU opponents.

Each battle is framed with a short cutscene, generally scripted after canon interactions if possible. The stage for each battle also generally follows canon; Usopp will always be fought at Syrup Village, Arlong will always be fought at Arlong Park, and so on.

To progress, each opponent must be fully beaten; if a match times out with no conclusive winner, both combatants are restored a small amount of health and sent into a Sudden Death rematch. Clearing all six battles will lead to a special victory screen tailored to the player character (overlaid with a signature quote), 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.

Cinematics
Event Battle also contains five special post-credits cinematics, meant to chart progress in unlocking characters. They depict the following: Unlike those of later Grand Battle games, these cinematics are triggered by strictly one-time conditions, and cannot be saved or replayed.
 * The Straw Hats' Grand Line launch ceremony (adapted from Chapter 100)
 * Smoker and Tashigi preparing to pursue the Straw Hats (adapted from Chapter 100)
 * Mihawk's meeting with Shanks (adapted from Chapter 96)
 * Igaram's farewell to Vivi (adapted from Chapter 113)
 * A replay of the game's opening cinematic, fast-forwarded and zoomed in on Pandaman's cameo

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, and limits all battles to one round regardless of time limits or draws.

Before battle, players can use this mode's "handicap" mechanic to raise - or lower - their chosen character's standard attack and defense capabilities along a five-point scale. The battle stage may be freely chosen, or left to one of two "special" options:
 * Order (順番), which defaults to the Syrup Village stage and proceeds along the in-game ordering for every subsequent battle.
 * Toss-Up (お任せ), which selects a stage at random.

Treasure
Treasure (お宝) provides a data file for each player character, containing a revolving model of the character, combat attributes, voice clips, and finisher commands. Here, the character-select menu doubles as a win record, showing who the selected character has beaten in Event Battle.

Each of these files can be unlocked by clearing Event Battle with the corresponding characters. Achieving a complete win record will unlock a supplementary file, containing an alternate character model and a five-point scale measuring the damage output of each finisher.

Options
The Option (オプション) menu, in addition to standard sound and system settings, allows players to adjust the following: (Computer and Item adjustments affect both modes, while Time Limit adjustments affect Grand Battle only.)
 * Computer (コンピューター) intelligence between three different levels.
 * Time Limit (制限時間) between 60 seconds, 99 seconds, or total deactivation.
 * Item (アイテム) containers between three different re-spawn rates.

Cast
Grand Battle! follows almost every voice-casting from the TV anime, setting a precedent for every One Piece home-console game to follow. However, most of its support characters are left silent; only Jango and Igaram are voiced (the latter by Kuro's voice actor Kōichi Hashimoto, possibly because Keiichi Sonobe's casting had not been finalized).

The game is also notable for casting the anime's narrator Mahito Ōba as Pandaman. Ōba would reprise the role for most if not all subsequent games.

Trivia

 * The game's box-art, opening cinematic, and Press Start screen all recreate the cover to Volume 12.
 * As with many PlayStation games, this game's disc contained a "redbook" audio track designed for CD players; aside from standard product warnings, this track featured a brief skit between Luffy and Jango.
 * This game sold well even after its initial release; by mid-2002, it and its sequel had sold over 600,000 units together, earning a joint Gold Prize commendation at the 2002 Sony PlayStation awards.

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