One Piece: Unlimited Adventure

One Piece: Unlimited Adventure is a video game for the Nintendo Wii video game console based on the anime and manga series One Piece. It has already been released in Japan on April 26, 2007 and in North America on January 22, 2008. It was not released in Europe.

The NTSC (American) release of the game uses the FUNimation voice actors exclusively.

The Beginning
The story begins with Nami giving the rest of the crew new clothes she had made for them. While they are sailing, Luffy cries that there is no food, which Sanji says is impossible. Usopp then reminds Luffy that he, Luffy, and Chopper had eaten it all during an eating contest, resulting in a brutal beat-down upon the three from Nami, Zoro, and Sanji. Luffy and Chopper are forced to fish for food, while Usopp is on look-out duty for any islands they can use to restock. Instead of catching anything edible, Luffy fishes out what appears to be a blue orb, which no one pays any attention to. Luffy propels himself above the ship and wishes that an island would appear. To the crew's amazement, one does appear underneath the ship, causing the Thousand Sunny, the crew-members, as well as a few supplies, to scatter across the island.

The Plot
After falling from the sky, Luffy finds himself on an area of the island with the ocean nearby. The supplies from the ship soon fall around him too, allowing him to set up a temporary camp (serving as the "hub" for the rest of the game). He begins his search for his crew-members, but seals have been placed all over the island. Luffy discovers that the orb he found can break these seals, allowing him open and explore different parts of the island. After rounding up his crew-mates, Robin finds a faded artifact that mentions "mankind's happiness", leading the crew to believe there is a treasure somewhere on the island. However, whenever they break a seal, a strange creature named Popola comes and tries to stop them.

They do not realize his motive until Robin finds an ancient script on a wall that details the things that were faded on the previous artifact. The crew learns that a great evil is sealed on the island, and that Popola has been guarding the seals for a thousand years. However, the Straw Hat's had already undone a great number of seals and they decide to continue breaking them so they can defeat the great evil and set Popola free from his duty.

Over time, the past of Popola is revealed and it is seen that the island was once a beautiful island paradise. A man guarded an orb that gave the island its power and beauty. Popola was created out of clay to protect and guard the island and its people. Soon, more and more visitors came to the island, admiring its beauty and seeking the source of its fertility. The inhabitants of the island grew afraid as more and more foreigners came, scared that they might take over the island. So, the people went to seek help from the man and his orb. They told him to fashion Popola into something that they could use to fight, but the man refused and stated that that was not why he had created him. The people grew angry and stole the orb from him. They had decided to use the orb to bring to life the guardian statue of the island. The man warned them that if they used the orb out of hatred, something terrible would happen. The people refused to listen to him and they brought the guardian beast to life. However, the man was right, and the monster destroyed the island and its people. The man used the orb and the last of his power to seal the monster inside the island, sacrificing himself in the process. He then gives Popola the duty of guarding the island until the evil is gone.

Setting
The Straw Hats gain access to a total of eight areas in the game, six which are explorable while the other two serve as a hub and an area for the final boss battle. The areas are as follows:

Plain Zone/ Plains to Adventure (U.S) - The central area of the game, connecting six of the main areas. It is where the camp is set up and serves as the "hub" for the game. There is a total of two fishing spots, along with a small wading pool where small fish are available to catch. Explosive rocks are also plentiful, but over the course of the game, they are replaced with treasure chests. Plain Zone also has many flowers, where one can gather honey, as well as large trees rich with fruit. Large rocks can also be found in this area. There are no enemies or bosses.

Seaside Zone/ Fossil Beach (U.S) - The first, large explorable area of the game, where Luffy re-unites with his crew-members and meets Popola. There is a total of three fishing spots, one in which Golden Whales can be found. There are also many bare trees, and like the name of the area implies, an ocean. It also has a small cave which connects the sandy area to the rest of the zone. A large scale of a dinosaur can also be found in this area, along with many lakes. The bosses of this area are Smoker and Dracule Mihawk. The optional boss is Mr. 2 Bon Kurei.

Jungle Zone/ Mysterious Jungle (U.S) - The second area of the game, lush with trees, vines, insects, and ponds. There is one fishing spot and a large, sunken ship serves as the main land-mark of this area. This zone is rich with butterflies, grass, and plants. There are also many poisonous flowers and this is the first area that the Straw Hats encounter rogue pirates. The bosses of this area are Don Krieg and Kaku. The optional boss is Calgara.

Ruins Zone/ Autumn Colored Ruins (U.S) - The third area of the game, containing ruins of a past civilization. The temperature is notably chillier and the leaves are autumn-colored all year round. There is a total of three fishing spots, and this is the only place where Red Fruit can be found on trees. The area also has many burning trees as well as some ancient artifacts that were not destroyed by the guardian beast. This is also the place where the Straw Hat discover that there is an evil on the island. The bosses of this area are Spandam and Enel. The optional boss is Nefertari Vivi.

Cave Zone/ Caves of Darkness (U.S) - The fourth area of the game is filled with rocks and waterfalls of lava. There are tunnels connecting Cave Zone with all the other zones in the game. There are a total of two fishing spots, one of which contains lava fish. Different types of moths and frogs can be found here, as well as a lone tree that produces Brown Fruit. The bosses of this area are Arlong and Crocodile. The optional boss is Paulie.

Mountain Zone/ Silver Mountains (U.S) - The fifth area of the game is on the snowy, ice-capped peaks of the island's mountains. The whole area is frozen in an icy layer, and there are strong winds blowing throughout the zone. Ice fish and insects can be found here. There are also special kinds of trees here, some that explode, and some that produce the rare Golden Fruit. Frozen rocks and icy walls bar the path of those who explore it. This zone contains one fishing spot. The bosses of this area are Portgas D. Ace and Shanks. The optional boss is Rampaging Chopper.

Dimension Zone/ Land To Heaven (U.S) - The sixth area of the game is a large maze and is very confusing to navigate. One progresses through the area by jumping through a series of holes. This is the largest area in the game, and contains strange things, such as Mysterious Vegetables. A possible hazard are the yellow trees in this area that shock any who come near it. Dimension Zone is full of rare insects and fish, and contains many streams, lakes, and waterfalls. There are a total of four fishing spots in this area. The bosses of this area are Rob Lucci and Aokiji. The optional boss is Whitebeard.

Abyss Zone/ Beginning and End (U.S) - The final area of the game, as well as the smallest. Unlike all the other zones, there are no items to be found, or any insects and fish to be caught. The only thing that happens here is the final boss fight.

Story Mode
A basic Adventure game with many platforms, some puzzles and much item collecting. Story Mode features seven different large areas (named as "Zones" in Japanese version) that the Straw Hats can explore: ranging from mystifying jungles, to snow-capped mountains, to an area with distorted series of underground tunnels. Each character has their own unique skill-set, and thus, their own unique way of fighting. The characters can explore the areas to further the plot, or to collect items to feed the orb, or to build things that can help the characters along the way such as paths in the form of bridges.

You can also build things for the crew-members to use, such as a kitchen for Sanji (which improves his cooking range), or compounding tools for Chopper. You can collect ingredients to make food to increase the stats of your characters, or medicine to heal them during battle. As a side-quest, Usopp can build and improve catching net and fishing rods so that you can catch different creatures on the island. All of the items may be key resources in making bombs, components for ultimate attacks or entire weapons such as the Perfect Clima-Tact. During the adventure, characters level up their techniques as well in damage and also effectiveness leading to more attack possiblities over time, some techniques are also strictly being learned through progression in the story mode or the creation of weapons (such as the original Climatact) rather than thresholds in stats or level ups.

Vs. Mode
Play as any of the over 40 characters you meet throughout the game (including basic enemies such as nameless and rankless marines and final boss) in a battle mode. Play either Survival mode to see if you how fast you can clear 200 enemies of all types (excluding major characters and bosses) with one character, or fight against a computer or a friend in a basic battle which can have teams as large as 8 points or 15 points (each character being worth a number from 1 to 5). There also an option for handicapping your opponent or yourself to balance the odds.

Main Playable Characters
These characters are avaliable during the all of the modes (Story, Vs. and Survival):
 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Roronoa Zoro
 * Nami
 * Usopp
 * Sanji
 * Tony Tony Chopper
 * Nico Robin
 * Franky

Unlockable Characters
These characters can only be used in Vs. Mode and Survival Mode:
 * Smoker
 * Dracule Mihawk
 * Don Krieg
 * Kaku
 * Spandam
 * Enel
 * Arlong
 * Crocodile
 * Portgas D. Ace
 * Shanks
 * Rob Lucci
 * Rob Lucci: Model Leopard
 * Aokiji
 * Mr. 2 Bon Kurei°
 * Nefertari Vivi°
 * Paulie°
 * Calgara°
 * Monster Chopper°
 * Whitebeard°
 * Popola
 * Evil Guardian
 * Evil Master Beast

These characters can only be used in VS. Mode.
 * Various Marines and Pirates
 * Ancient soldiers native to the island of the game
 * Captains of the soldiers (some of which have attacks that symbolize)
 * Gin
 * Morgan
 * Miss Goldenweek
 * Pearl
 * Kuro
 * Wiper
 * Bellamy
 * Igaram
 * Rocket Man

° Optional bosses who have no real part in the story.

Story's Characters

 * Popola: a bunny-like Guardian of the island. Most of the game he is only a plot device to show the character's, the island's, and his own past. In the mid-point of the game Popola becomes an unplayable-ally.


 * Popola's Creator: An old man who created Popola out of clay. He wanted the island to be a paradise for Popola. His backstory along with Popola's is very similar to Tony Tony Chopper's past.


 * The Evil Guardian (魔人, Majin): The Evil Guardian, also known as "Evil Master Beast" in its final form, is the great evil that plagues the island. The seals on the island were made to keep this beast from destroying the island (and possibly the world). All of its attacks are borrowed from the stronger enemies the Straw Hat Pirates have faced, including Crocodile, "Fire Fist" Portgas D. Ace, Don Krieg, Aokiji, Rob Lucci, and Enel.


 * Ancient Soldiers: The underlings of the Evil Guardian. They come in several types, each with their own unique fighting style. The strongest of these underlings can even borrow their attacks from the underlings and the weaker characters that the Straw Hat Pirates have met. These enemies start to appear after the Ruin's seals are broken.

Items

 * Orb: used to unlock seals on the island
 * Pick Axe: used to dig and to break rocks
 * Net: used to catch various creatures on the island
 * Fishing Rod: used to catch fish on the island

Dub Related
Although the production and localization rights have changed hands from 4Kids to FUNimation, several edits that have appeared in games overseen by 4Kids (possibly as the change of hands was in the middle of development) have been carried over such as:


 * The Marines' uniform shirts have been edited to the 'Navy' version of the uniforms though, notably, the kanji for "Justice" (正義 Seigi) was not edited off the high ranking Marines nor Smoker.
 * Another edit is Mihawk's sword, which sports a shorter hilt to appear less cross-shaped, as well as his cross necklace, which has had the sides chopped off to eliminate the religious symbolism of a cross. This is likely due to Nintendo of America's strict rules against religion and profanity in the games released in their consoles.

Family Audience
Namco Bandai, who ported the game to English, released official CG models and screenshots for the game on their Flickr account. Among such files was the model for the character Smoker going by "Chaser" in the filename and mouseover. The model had been edited from the Japanese version to remove the cigars from the character's mouth. Upon receiving an email from a user from Arlong Park forums concerning the change, Namco Bandai confirmed to the user that they would be aiming for a "family audience". Thusly, the character's name would be changed to the 4Kids and edited FUNimation dub name "Chaser". As of November 28, 2007, it was confirmed in preview videos posted by IGN that Smoker will be called Smoker in the game, but the cigars in his mouth are still missing.

Although Namco Bandai wanted the game to be geared towards a "family audience", it does have a handful of questionable lines, such as Luffy telling Smoker, "I'm going to kick your ass".

Censorship of Franky
On the American version of the boxart, Franky is absent from both the back and front (while being present on both for the JPN case), possibly as they did not wish to spoil him joining. He does however appear in the booklet (along with mostly crewmembers excluding Vivi), he also appears in the opening cutscene and throughout the game forwards of that like the rest of the crew. The game also starts with the crew on the Thousand Sunny, though it is not particularly "hidden" as it is absent from the original version and present on the back of the American case.

Another slight edit that was made was in Franky's joining flashback. In the Japanese version his naked butt is clearly seen, but in the American version a plank was edited sticking up from some of the spare parts around him to censor him. But it was still confirmed that he was supposed to be naked, as Sanji states "Ugh.. Franky! You're not wearing any underwear again!", followed by Luffy throwing Franky's speedos to him.

Games Notes

 * In Japan, the game came with a Going Merry Wii Remote Holder gift.
 * The game is renowned for becoming slow when loading once four characters are available to play.
 * Aside from Shanks, Whitebeard and several other characters are featured despite actually lacking a fighting style being shown for those characters (at this point Shanks and Whitebeard both have only thrown one strike each). This is not the first time in the series this has happened. For example, Grand Battle! and its sequels also featured characters which had not actually fought during the series. i.e Shanks (who at that point had not fought at all).
 * Luffy uses Gear Second and Gear Third simultaneously, as his special attack while using Gear Second is Gomu Gomu no Gigant Pistol. The main difference is that unlike the manga, anime and Unlimited Cruise, he does not lose health after doing it and simply shrinks. This is likely because when the game was released, Luffy had not yet used Gomu Gomu no Gigant Jet Pistol in the manga.
 * Within the VS mode, each character has a level similar to a tier list where the higher the number, the stronger the character, however it should be noted that this is non-canon and not an accurate measure of the character's actual strength. Also, as with other in-game tier lists, it is subject to matchups and how the game is played (meaning a Level 5 may be disadvantaged against a particular Level 3).
 * If you fight a boss which has a real part in the game and is complusory for completing the story (like Portgas D. Ace, Red Haired Shanks, Mihawk and many others) before the little introduction the boss has a flashback including the character that will show up. However, if you battle an optional boss, (like Vivi, Calgara, or Whitebeard) no flashback appears, but still have their presentation and the little conversation before the battle. In Whitebeard's case, he had a full motion cutscene with Luffy challenging Whitebeard without initially realizing who he is.
 * Zoro is clearly shown using Yubashiri even though the storyline takes place after the Enies Lobby Arc and Shu had already destroyed it. This is because while the game is after the Enies Lobby Arc, it is still before the Thriller Bark Arc, therefore, Zoro had not yet taken Shusui from Ryuma.
 * Nami's Clima-Tact is shown hanging from a bracelet on her waist, even when she uses it. This only applies to her normal outfit in the game.
 * This game marked the first time Franky, Aokiji, Paulie and the CP9 characters were legally shown in North America.
 * Due to the game's rarity, a new copy can be sold for as much as $100.