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For the 2005 fighting game localized in North America, see One Piece: Grand Battle! Rush!.

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 is the first One Piece fighting game and adapts elements of the series up to the Whisky Peak Arc.[1]

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[]

Grand Battle! Screenshot

A typical battle. Note the different thresholds on Zoro's and Nami's respective health bars (and their corresponding level markers).

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, Kōgeki?), Defense (防御, Bōgyo?), and Agility (素早さ, Subaya-sa?)—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, Hissatsu?) 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, Dageki?), delivered through largely conventional blows.
  • Boost (タメ, Tame?), delivered through blows that can be "charged" for extra range.
  • Grapple (投げ, Nage?), delivered completely flush with the opponent (and cannot be blocked).
  • Counter (カウンター, Kauntā?), delivered by intercepting one of the opponent's attacks.
  • Support Summon (手下召喚, Teshita shōkan?), which call in a support character to deliver the blow.

(Non-Grapple finishers can be blocked, but will inflict a minor amount of "chip" damage; this damage is valid for knockouts.)

Characters[]

Color Input
Red Attack
Green Jump
Pink Grab

There are a total of sixteen player characters, with seven preassigned to various support characters. Any player character with support options will automatically take one into battle; if more than one is available, the choice is by default random, but can be specified by combining the right shoulder input with one of the main action (Attack, Jump, or Grab) inputs.[2]

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

Character Support Character(s)
1 2 3
Monkey D. Luffy
Roronoa Zoro
Nami
Usopp
Sanji
Kuro Sham & Buchi Jango
Don Krieg Gin
Arlong Hachi Kuroobi Chew
Buggy Mohji & Richie Cabaji
Alvida
Smoker
Tashigi
Miss Wednesday Mr. 8 Karoo
Pandaman Panda Shark
Dracule Mihawk
Shanks Benn Beckman Lucky Roux Yasopp

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.

Item Effect
Sword Raises attack power for approximately five seconds.
Crown Raises defense power for approximately five seconds.
Coin Raises agility for approximately five seconds.
Jewel Raises attack power, defense power, and agility for approximately five seconds.
Food Restores health—onigiri a small amount, tankards a moderate amount, and drumsticks a large amount. Will spoil if left alone for three seconds or more.
Spoiled Food Inflicts damage (roughly one-fifth of what they would normally restore), as well as brief paralysis.
Bomb Explodes to inflict damage. If left alone, usually explodes after five seconds.
Lantern Releases several flames that inflict four steady "bursts" of damage.[3]
Gaimon If approached (or grabbed), fires a pistol that inflicts damage.

Items are generally found by breaking the containers—barrels, crates, and treasure chests—positioned around each stage.[4] 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.[5]

List of Stages
Syrup Village: Consists of forests and a rocky slope—half-coated by an oil barrel—leading to the ocean, with the Bezan Black looming in the background. Spectators include various Black Cat Pirates (including Jango, Sham, and Buchi), Ninjin, Piiman, Tamanegi, and Kaya.
  • The Bezan Black will periodically fire several bombs onto the stage (their areas of impact marked by red shadows).
Baratie: Consists of the three-tiered restaurant and a half-sunken Dreadnaught Sabre, bridged - and surrounded - by ocean. Spectators include various Krieg Pirates (including Pearl) and Baratie staff (including Zeff, Patty, and Carne).
  • The Dreadnaught Sabre will constantly tilt back and forth, serving as an unstable foothold for both combatants and items.
Arlong Park: Consists of two stone walkways separated by a corner of the main harbor, bound on one end by Arlong Park and the other by a smaller gazebo. Spectators include various Arlong Pirates (including Hachi, Kuroobi, and Chew), Conomi Islanders (including Nojiko, Genzo, Chabo, and Dr. Nako), Johnny, and Yosaku.
  • Item containers may release a Tooth Gum item, exclusive to this stage, that inflicts a small amount of damage on contact.
Loguetown: Consists of a small, enclosed area before Gold Roger's scaffold. Spectators include various townspeople and Buggy Pirates.
  • Lightning will periodically strike the stage (its impact marked by a blue shadow), inflicting damage on contact.
Laboon: Consists of the main stomach chamber, with two small islands—one holding Crocus' cabin, the other holding a recliner— bridged by an endlessly drifting rowboat, the exit gates looming in the background.
  • Crocus will periodically leave the cabin and shoot harpoons at any nearby combatants.
  • A gale will periodically blow across the stage, pushing both combatants to one side.
Foosha Village: Consists of grassland, several windmills, and a dirt road leading to a harbor with a docked Going Merry. Spectators include various villagers (among them Makino and Woop Slap).
  • The main windmill's blades can be used as (momentary) footholds; periodically, they will reverse direction.
    • The girl inside the windmill will occasionally throw out a random power-up item.

All stages—except Loguetown—contain bodies of water that serve as "ring out" zones, respawning combatants away after dealing a fixed amount of damage. Double damage is applied to all Devil Fruit users (Luffy, Buggy, Alvida, and Smoker).[6]

Game Modes[]

Two modes may be accessed from the Top Menu.

Event Battle[]

Grand Battle! Event Battle

Event Battle progress screen, with the player character on left.

Event Battle (イベントバトル, Ibento batoru?) 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.[7]

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.[8]

Grand Battle[]

Grand Battle! Double Select

Grand Battle character menu, with default handicap levels.

Grand Battle (グランドバトル, Gurando batoru?) 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 CPU options:

  • Order (順番, Junban?), which defaults to the Syrup Village stage and proceeds along the in-game ordering for every subsequent battle.
  • Toss-Up (お任せ, O-makase?), which selects a stage at random.

Bonus Features[]

Treasure[]

Grand Battle Pandaman File

Pandaman's data file. X's indicate opponents that cannot be encountered in Event Battle.

Treasure (お宝, O-takara?) 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.[9]

Options[]

The Option (オプション, Opushon?) menu, in addition to standard sound and system settings, allows players to adjust the following:

  • Computer (コンピューター, Konpyūtā?) intelligence between three different levels.
  • Time Limit (制限時間, Seigen jikan?) between 60 seconds, 99 seconds, or total deactivation.
  • Item (アイテム, Aitemu?) containers between three different re-spawn rates.

(Computer and Item adjustments affect both modes, while Time Limit adjustments affect Grand Battle only.)

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.

Role Voice Actor
Monkey D. Luffy Mayumi Tanaka
Roronoa Zoro Kazuya Nakai
Nami Akemi Okamura
Usopp Kappei Yamaguchi
Sanji Hiroaki Hirata
Kuro Kōichi Hashimoto
Don Krieg Fumihiko Tachiki
Arlong Jūrōta Kosugi
Buggy Shigeru Chiba
Alvida Yōko Matsuoka
Smoker Ginzō Matsuo
Tashigi Junko Noda
Miss Wednesday Misa Watanabe
Pandaman Mahito Ōba
Dracule Mihawk Takeshi Aono
Shanks Shūichi Ikeda
Igaram Kōichi Hashimoto
Narrator Mahito Ōba
Gold Roger Chikao Ohtsuka
Jango Kazuki Yao

Gallery[]

Grand Battle! Main Menu
Main menu. Note that Treasure is not available from the start.
Grand Battle! Reunion
Event Battle cutscene, speculating on a potential Luffy-Shanks reunion.
Grand Battle! Alvida Unlock
Alvida is unlocked for Event Battle.
Nami Grand Battle!
Nami's Temptation Kiss, a rare damage-free finisher meant to stun.[10]
Grand Battle! Karoo Gag
Miss Wednesday's Come, Karoo! finisher may end in a friendly-fire gag.
Grand Battle! Sanji Idle
Sanji's idle animation, uniquely, can produce damage and food items.

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.

References[]

  1. Being released one month before the anime began the Whisky Peak Arc, the game takes limited measures against spoilers, e.g. referring to Igaram as Mr. 8 and Vivi as Miss Wednesday (despite referencing events that occurred after their real names were revealed in Chapter 110).
  2. Uniquely, Miss Wednesday can bring both of her support characters into battle, as Karoo is treated as a Boost finisher separate from the conventional Summon finisher for Mr. 8.
  3. Close contact will transfer the flames to the opponent.
  4. Unlike in later Grand Battle! games, any container can reveal any item—except for Gaimon, who is exclusive to treasure chests.
  5. Some background spectators double as support characters; if used in battle, they will temporarily disappear from their background positions.
  6. Uniquely, Arlong is completely immune to water damage (except on the Laboon stage, which features stomach acid), and will automatically emerge with a Shark on Darts attack.
  7. Zoro will always be fought at Foosha Village, as the game lacks any Shells Town stage.
  8. While these cinematics were all produced by Toei Animation, they were drafted and recorded independently of the anime proper.
  9. The supplementary file for Sanji also contains the "lovestruck" voice-clips he uses when facing a female opponent.
  10. For both this and Alvida's Who's the Loveliest in the World? finisher, the stun effect will arouse a heart from Sanji, Buggy, Arlong, Pandaman, or Shanks, and a question mark from anyone else.

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