Eiichiro Oda's One Piece is one of the most beloved manga of all time. It rivaled the anime superstar of Dragon Ball until it eventually surpassed it. Despite being thought of as one of the big three of manga publisher Shonen Jump, it's careened past its competition and it's now the highest-selling manga and comic book of all time, according to Anime News Network.
Of course, this record-shattering story about a pirate crew can't just stay on the page and in animation cells. One Piece has made its way into many different video game adventures over the years, some of which focus on adventure and others on brutal combat.
One Piece: Burning Blood (2016) - 66
Compared to fellow Shonen Jump franchise Naruto, there aren't many fighting games in Luffy's history. There's not a direct comparison to be made with the Naruto Ultimate Ninja STORM franchise, at least. So Spike-Chunsoft and Bandai-Namco took a shot at creating a modern fighting series for the stretchy hero. This shot was One Piece: Burning Blood.
The game touted a "complex battle system" which allowed 1-on-1 fights and let players make true use of their abilities. It also allowed specialized Logia Fruit eaters to avoid damage, just like the show and anime. Unfortunately, despite selling well in Japan, the game did not review extremely well and reviewers felt it was rather middling.
One Piece: Unlimited Adventure (2008) - 67
Despite being a shonen battle anime, One Piece features a lot of exploration and adventure. It was inevitable that a game would eventually capitalize on the piracy adventure the franchise loves so much. That game was One Piece: Unlimited Adventure for the Wii. This was a full-on adventure game with puzzles, platforming, and even collectibles that could be crafted into new items.
The game features three modes: story, VS, and survival. While the VS and survival modes are standard battle modes with any of the game's characters, the story mode was more interesting. It featured a unique plot to the game and new enemy encounters. Despite that and big marketing, though, the game only received average reviews.
One Piece: Grand Battle (2005) - 69
Despite not having any numeral title, One Piece: Grand Battle from 2005 is actually the fourth game in its series. It's the fourth in the Grand Battle series, which began in 2001 as the series' fighter. The series bears a resemblance to the Power Stone series with its 3D arena fighting nature and this fourth and final entry was available on Playstation 2 and Gamecube.
This game featured 19 playable characters from the anime. It also featured four modes: Grand Battle, Story, Training, and Tourney. While the other modes are self-explanatory, the titular mode was simply an arcade mode that could unlock new fighters. The game received average reviews from critics and outlets.
One Piece: Grand Adventure (2005) - 70
While the 2005 Grand Battle game is the last in the series, this doesn't mean it went sequel-less. Less than a year later came One Piece: Grand Adventure. This game brought even more characters to the fray, although the story mode was stripped down in comparison.
This is still a must-play for fans of anime video games. Its high number of costumes and 24 playable characters really brings out the feel of the early series. The game received more praise than its predecessor, as well, which is impressive, given the game's short development time.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 (2013) - 71
While One Piece doesn't have a fighting game franchise at the same level as other big anime games, it does have an iterative franchise that absolutely rakes in the cash: the One Piece: Pirate Warriors series. This series incorporates elements from the Dynasty Warriors games, commonly called Musou, and 2 is one of the best games in this side series, released on the Playstation 3 and Vita.
Unlike the first game, Pirate Warriors 2 features an original story fit in between arcs of the anime. What made this game favored over its predecessor is not only its large roster but also the lack of quick-time events. With this change, fans were excited to lay smackdowns on hundreds of enemies as the Straw Hats.
One Piece: Unlimited World Red (2014) - 75
One Piece: Unlimited World Red was a show-stopper when it was first released. This 3DS Action-RPG let Luffy explore a hub town and from there go on various adventures. This gameplay style really captured the exploration the franchise is known for, and so it received many ports to other platforms.
As of writing, Unlimited World Red is one of the most ported games in the One Piece series. Unfortunately, something was lost during translation. While the updated ports for Steam and the Nintendo Switch may be graphically superior, they were reviewed as poorer than the original. This is likely due to the lack of the touch screen inputs that made the original so immersive.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (2020) - 76
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is the most recent game in One Piece's repertoire. As such, it's available on all current-generation platforms. In fact, it's so recent that it adapted the relatively recent Wano arc of the story. It takes liberties with it, however, completely changing the back half of the story.
The game features the baddie-busting gameplay the Warriors franchise is known for. But it's not just that vanilla Musou taste that Pirate Warriors 4 is offering. The game also offers four new modes for multiplayer, allowing players to cooperate and compete. And given that the game has 52 characters, there's plenty of mixing and matching to be done with the different modes.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 (2015) - 76
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 is as close to a playable anime as fans are going to get. The game features every arc from the manga in its story mode. While condensed, these stories continue up until the most recent one of the game's release. And with 37 characters to play with, it gives a very full version of the arcs and events of the universe.
The game also comes with a new Kizuna Rush mechanic, which allows helper characters to be called in for summon attacks. Additionally, some characters like Luffy can transform into more powerful forms. The game also has plenty of logs that track progress and achievements. These new mechanics helped the game stand out as one of the best One Piece games.
One Piece (2005) - 76
One Piece, or Shonen Jump's One Piece, as it is sometimes known, had a lot going against it. It was the one game in the franchise to only see release in America. It was also based on the 4Kids English dub that was so hated by fans and viewers alike. So it's incredible that this beat-em-up on the Game Boy Advance remains one of the highest-rated games in the franchise.
The Game Boy Advance has a lot of great games still worth playing, even today. This One Piece game from early in the franchise's life is among them. Despite being a rather simple single-button masher, the game has a lot of charm with intractable environments and expressive sprites. The game also featured several summon-able assists for Luffy, including swordsman Zoro.
One Piece Treasure Cruise (2015) - 79
One Piece Treasure Cruise is the phone game installment in Luffy's gaming adventures, and it beats the odds by being the best-reviewed game in the series. Treasure Cruise is a free-to-play role-playing game that sees the player assembling a team of six to reenact the stories of the manga. Combat and decisions are done by tapping the phone screen in time. Despite its simple premise, this freemium title is one of the most downloaded games in the series.
Treasure Cruise is a gacha game, which means characters and progression are dolled out randomly, with the player given the option to pay to get more. Gacha games usually have tons of playable characters since their pricing model supports it, and Cruise is no exception. In fact, the game has over 1,000 characters to summon, giving it one of the largest casts in gacha. The game is often looked at as one of the biggest mobile successes in the Japanese and Asian markets, and reviewers in every region found its gameplay addicting.