The One Piece franchise is well-known for its bright, colorful graphics and that is the first thing that gamers will notice upon booting up One Piece: Unlimited World Red. The game looks magnificent on consoles and especially the PS Vita. A big highlight of One Piece: Unlimited World Red is the ability to cross-save which allows players to upload their saved data to the PlayStation Network to be shared between the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita game systems so you never miss a moment of gameplay even while on the go.
One Piece: Unlimited World Red will give gamers two options upon starting the game with the chance to either jump straight into the main story or play the Battle Coliseum mode. In the Battle Coliseum mode, players will enter a giant ancient stadium that allows them to duke it out with the various powerful pirates of the One Piece world to gain wealth, fame and recognition. The Battle Coliseum mode was not originally featured in the Japanese release and allows players to choose four different types of competitions that includes Battle Royale, Duel, Boss Rush and Chaos Battle. However, before you are allowed entry, players must prove themselves through an "Entry Test" to show they have what it takes to fight in the Coliseum. The game allows you to adjust your controls in the "Info" panel on the Pause Menu to make sure you have everything ready before the battle begins. After taking down a bunch of enemies with Luffy and Law, you will be declared the winner with your outcome results appearing on the screen. The results will let you know how long it took you to clear out the enemies from the ring and where you rank in the league on the pyramid. You start out at the very bottom rank which is the "C League" and can work your way up to the very top of the pyramid to the "A League." The Battle Coliseum mode is strangely addictive and we can gladly say that we played it for several days before ever jumping into the main campaign which means that One Piece: Unlimited World Red has a very high degree of replayability. One Piece: Unlimited World Red isn't the type of game that you pick up and you are tired of in just a few days and fans of the series will definitively get their money's worth out of the new release. The combat mechanics in One Piece: Unlimited World Red are extremely easy to pick up and every battle is insanely fun which means that the game never seems repetitive no matter how long you play. The controls are responsive and fluid with the ability to use a combination of various character moves to keep gameplay fresh and entertaining. The battles in the Battle Coliseum mode will feature one-on-one duels alongside scrambles against enemy hordes which will allow you to raise your rank in the Coliseum after winning the various battles with no penalization for losing. If you are the type of person who can't put down a game until you reach the pentacle of success then expect to be glued to One Piece: Unlimited World Red for a very long time, because the game is very addicting and you will want to be the ultimate champion no matter what it takes.
In the Battle Coliseum mode, players can start by entering a "Duel" or "Scramble" with the ability to only choose one character for duels and up to two characters for other types of battles. The item words that can be utilized during combat will differ for each character so it is really fun to test them all out to see what results you will get. You start out with Luffy and Law being unlocked after the first battle but can unlock additional characters as you progress by completing certain types of challenges such as being promoted to B League or clearing two duels while unlocking new quests in the process. The animation sequences before, during and after battles are completely amazing and feature excellent writing with a touch of humor. While most of the character voice-overs are in a foreign language, players can read the dialogue boxes that appear on screen to see what they are saying, which is about the only downfall we found of the entire game. Continuously hearing your characters yell and talk in a language that you don't understand can get a little annoying the more you play but is something that doesn't hurt the overall enjoyment of the game.
The characters of the Straw Hat Crew have some particularly fascinating moves that can be utilized with great success throughout your adventures such as Luffy's Gum Gum Rocket that allows him to use his stretchy arms to fly across the map which makes traveling to your destination that much easier. Players will have to talk and complete certain actions in order to proceed to the next step in the story and as you battle more enemies then you will need to keep an eye on your HP & SP gauges. The green HP gauge is your health while the SP gauge is your current spirit. If your health is almost depleted then it will flash a bright red and if it gets to zero then you will be knocked out. The SP gauge will raise as you attack enemies and take damage from their strikes in order to fill the bar up to perform special attacks. While the first mission in the campaign is an easy one which is to beat up some thugs and get to the inn, players can expect more advanced enemies and missions as the game progresses. In order to save your progress, you can rest at the Inn and after your first save then the adventure begins with Pato telling you that your whole team has been captured and took to the other side of the island. One Piece: Unlimited World Red features a series of goals that you must complete and you will earn trophies throughout your completion of certain ones such as completing the "Prologue." 
One Piece: Unlimited World Red allows up to four players to venture across the island on PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS and up to two players on PS3 and Wii U. Gamers will play as the various members of the Straw Hat crew throughout One Piece: Unlimited World Red's episodic storyline with complex boss battles with the likes of Rob Lucci, Caesar Clown and more. One Piece: Unlimited World Red is a fun RPG adventure that allows players to explore the world and assist the town by taking on additional quests to gain rewards and valuable items, in addition to the game's main storyline to defeat Red who wants to be the Pirate King, with the overall campaign taking around 7-10 hours to complete. There is a ton of fun stuff to do in One Piece: Unlimited World Red besides saving your friends, taking down the bad guys and completing quests such as the ability to expand the town and complete addictive mini-games. Players will be able to go fishing, catch bugs and even battle with their best buds in local multiplayer matches. However, the ability to explore the world as you wish and mastering a wide variety of combos really adds endless playability to the new release.
In the end, One Piece: Unlimited World Red is a terrific game that has almost everything you need for an enjoyable experience such as strikingly beautiful visuals, impressive animations, a terrific soundtrack, and a superbly written storyline. Fans of the One Piece franchise will not be disappointed at all with the new release and may find that it adds a certain degree of originality and fun to the series. Gamers will be able to enjoy some of the series original characters in an epic new adventure that has insanely addictive gameplay and a high degree of replayability to keep anyone entertained for weeks on end. If you don't own One Piece: Unlimited World Red then you are missing out and need to purchase this fantastic masterpiece today!
One Piece: Unlimited World Red is now available for PS3, Nintendo Wii U, 3DS and PlayStation Vita. One Piece: Unlimited World Red is rated T for Teen by the ESRB. For more information on the game, check out the official One Piece: Unlimited World Red website.
Game Features:
Game Information:
Developer: Ganbarion
Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
Platforms: PS3, PS Vita (reviewed), Wii U, and 3DS
Release Date: July 8, 2014 (PS3, 3DS, Wii U) and July 14/15, 2014 (PS Vita)
