Set Sail Pirate Crew! is an action RPG for the Sony PlayStation, based on the One Piece manga and anime. It is the first One Piece game to feature an original storyline, though it draws heavily from canon elements up to the Arabasta Saga.[1]
The game was developed by Aim-At Entertainment, and released on August 2, 2001.
Story[]
In a bygone age, there ruled a king who was said to have all the world's gold at his fingertips, amassed into the Treasure Ancien. When the king died, his kingdom crumbled away—but six golden Fragments Anciens remained. Legend holds that these Fragments pass a "chosen day" every twenty-seven years, when re-joining them will restore the treasure, and bring wealth beyond comprehension.
While salvaging for the Fragments Anciens off the coast of Loguetown, the Straw Hat Pirates find themselves enveloped in a sudden fog, and attacked by a mysterious ironclad ship. The attack scatters them throughout the East Blue, leaving the Going Merry adrift with only Usopp.
Elsewhere, a young boy named Yuta, inspired by Monkey D. Luffy's exploits, decides to assemble his own pirate crew with his two closest friends. With a Fragment Ancien in their possession, the trio set out to pursue the Treasure Ancien, but soon find their small, under-equipped "ship" falling apart on the high seas. Fortunately, they are sighted and rescued by Usopp, who casually reveals that the Straw Hats have already collected the other five Fragments. Somewhat ambivalently, the trio agree to join "his" crew and help reassemble the Fragments by finding the other Straw Hats.
Together, the group retraces the Straw Hats' original voyage, from Foosha Village to Loguetown. Along the way, they encounter nearly all of the Straw Hats' old allies and enemies as well as new perils, among them:
- Captain Nezumi, who also pursues the Fragments.
- The Lord of the Coast, preying on ships more savagely than ever.
- Buggy, still missing most of his body, who unwittingly assists against Smoker's Marines.
- Rokai, an embittered ex-pirate and regular patron of Ganzo's oden-boat, who had lost his own crew during a hunt for the Treasure Ancien.
- The Nisenise Pirates, a gang impersonating the Straw Hats (who manage to capture Luffy in a Seastone cage).
- The reclusive shipwright Jingoro, who builds a proper ship for Yuta's crew.
- Arlong and his officers, who kidnap Nami and Nojiko as part of their revenge.
- The masked raider Skullface, whose crew viciously attacks anyone pursuing the Fragments—including the Straw Hats.
Soon after reuniting all the Straw Hats, Yuta and his crew re-encounter Rokai, and deduce that he had scattered the crew in order to capture the Treasure Ancien unopposed. Though not denying this, Rokai warns that pursuing the treasure will destroy "the most important thing that makes you a pirate... and a man" and flees.
Turning back, the trio find the Straw Hats at Loguetown, under attack by both the Buggy Pirates and Smoker's unit (who assume them to be the Straw Hats' subordinates). After overcoming the Marines, the trio rejoin the Going Merry, where they help the Straw Hats fight off Buggy and Alvida. Impressed with their growth as pirates; the Straw Hats throw their newest allies a party that lasts deep into the night.
However, once the Straw Hats fall asleep, Yuta and his friends flee the Merry at the urging of the male friend—who has carried away all the Straw Hats' Fragments inside Luffy's hat. To their horror, Luffy wakes in a rage and gives furious chase, eventually ramming the Merry into their ship. Caught, the trio surrender the Fragments, but are shocked to find Luffy reclaiming only the hat; gently, Nami explains that the crew, meaning to pursue much higher dreams on the Grand Line, had already agreed to give Yuta all the Fragments.
Their camaraderie restored, Yuta's crew and the Straw Hats join forces to capture the last Fragment, held by none other than Skullface. The mysterious raider proves to be a fierce opponent, enduring heavy punishment to his ship, his crew, and his own body—for his will is in fact a curse tied to the Treasure Ancien itself, possessing Rokai's body. As the battle turns against him, the curse takes full possession, transforming Skullface into a gold-skinned monster able to deflect seemingly any attack.
Even so, Skullface is eventually exhausted enough for Rokai's own personality to resurface. Urged to fight the curse, Rokai tearfully confesses that the Treasure Ancien had driven him to kill his original crew mates, and that he submits to Skullface's will out of guilt, hoping the raids can prevent others from pursuing the treasure. As the Straw Hats argue that he should live for himself to honor his crew, Skullface prepares his ultimate attack, aiming to spread the curse over all of them; to his shock, the Straw Hats resist it through sheer force of will, and counterattack.
Gameplay[]
The main gameplay revolves around sailing the Going Merry, visiting recognizable locations like Cocoyashi Village and the Baratie. Sailing involves using cannonballs to destroy obstacles and enemy ships, Belly and cards of various characters, and managing the crew's food supply. While sailing, players will encounter enemy crews sometimes supported by notable characters such as Alvida, Eric, Yosaku, etc.
Unlike other One Piece games, the Straw Hat Pirates are not controlled directly outside of story events where the player makes decisions such as Zoro dueling an impostor and Sanji fighting Arlong. Since the Straw Hats mainly act as support, during battles, the player controls the Gejitsu Pirates.
Crew fights are turn-based with the player attacking using a card system similar to a roulette wheel with the player picking cards to deal damage. Picking cards at the right time allows more cards to be chosen and thus do more damage and/or allow the current supporting character to unleash a special attack. Battles end when all three members of either crew are eliminated from the fight with the player gaining Belly if victorious.
During certain story events, the player will engage enemy ships in naval combat which takes place in first-person. The player takes turns shooting down the cannonballs launched by the enemy and counterattacking by shooting specific points on the opposing ship. When the enemy ship is defeated, the story will advance and may be proceeded by a fight against the enemy crew supported by their leader.
Characters[]
Playable[]
Guide[]
Cast[]
As the second-ever One Piece game to feature a voice cast, Set Sail Pirate Crew! follows its predecessor in maintaining all of the TV anime's castings (though its selections are somewhat more eclectic, leaving several major characters such as Shanks unvoiced). It is also notable as the first—and to date only—game to cast film-original characters, i.e. Tobio and Ganzo.
Trivia[]
- The game's over-world map follows the canonical layout of the East Blue very closely, and is in fact the first known appearance of many East Blue island names (e.g. Dawn Island, the Gecko Islands, the Conomi Islands).
- As these names did not appear in any printed work until 2002's One Piece Red, the game's developers may have drawn them from the preliminary world map that Eiichiro Oda sketched while conceiving the Loguetown Arc.[2]
References[]
- ↑ The game's actual plot appears to take place shortly after the Arlong Park Arc, with the penultimate level effectively being an alternate version of the Loguetown Arc.
- ↑ While this map was only officially published many years later—in One Piece Green and One Piece Magazine Vol.9—it is known to have informed earlier tie-in works, such as the 2001 Loguetown novel.
External Links[]
[]
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
|