One Piece Odyssey: All Chapters RANKED!
One Piece Odyssey was an epic and lengthy JRPG with a great mix of old elements and new features. I was having fun for the majority of the game, but some sections are definitely better than others. That's why, today, we will be ranking all ten chapters in this article.
#10 - Chapter 7: Assemble! Straw Hat Pirates
C’mon man. What even is this? This isn’t a chapter. There isn't even a single dungeon that you go to! All you have to do is get some bubble-bubble mushrooms to make some, probably delicious, possibly sassafras-enhanced, cola. But you get it in the darn Lake Shore Cave from Chapter 1. By far the best part of this chapter is when you finally get Brook's body from the bottom of the ocean! After all this time, the Straw Hat Pirates have finally been reunited! You also get to rematch the Fire Colossus, but it's still pretty easy and not that unique. At the end of the chapter you get to see the cutscene revealing the game's major plot twist, but there is basically no gameplay here and the other chapters in the game are just so much better.
#9 - Prologue
When I first started the game, I was very confused about the prologue. Why did I start at level 40? I did, however, have a really fun time experimenting with the battle system and the different abilities before I actually got thrown into the game. It's not great, but it's not boring. And at least things happen in the Prologue unlike Chapter 7. You are introduced to Lim and Adio, and get to fight two bosses in the Del Kong and Fire Colossus. Sadly though, after the Prologue you have to go through the pain of not having all those epic skills and you'll be back on level 1. Like most games that have one, One Piece Odyssey's prologue is a good introduction to the game and its mechanics, but the story hasn't really started and there aren't any sidequests to do here. Good, but most of the game is way better.
#8 - Chapter 3: The Wind Colossus and Dust Ruins
At this point I was like OH FRIV this game is going to take me so long to beat (and it did) but I had clocked in like 25 hours after beating Chapter 2 and I knew there were nine chapters. I was honestly pretty happy when I realized that all of the odd numbered chapters were like a tenth of the length of the even ones. But the Dust Ruins, the only thing that really happens in this chapter, was good, but also kind of annoying. I could not figure out how the heck to use those weird wind fan thingies. At least there's a dungeon, unlike Chapter 7, but it isn't one of the best. It's fun, but it isn't close to the best.
#7 - Chapter 1: Island of Storms
The first chapter in the game introduces the main plot, new battle mechanics, and other cool things. But for a large portion of the chapter you don't have any abilities, and that makes the battles not as fun as in other chapters. And I literally had a headache going through the Lake Shore Cave, I swear it took me like two hours. But so much about the game is introduced here that I couldn't put it any lower. You get the first of your skills back here, and you learn about Memoria. The second dungeon, the Thunder Ruins, was a really fun dungeon, and I was super excited to get into the bulk of the game. But when you compare this to the chapters where your saving armies and fighting dictators, this just doesn't even compare.
#6 - Chapter 5: Water Colossus and Ice Block Ruins
This chapter is just like Chapter 3, but with a better dungeon. I found the Ice Block Ruins to be a fun and enjoyable dungeon that didn't take too long. This chapter also gives you one of the best characters in the game! There isn't too much to say about Chapter 5, but it's a good and fun chapter that introduces you to the second half of the game.
#5 - Chapter 6: Paramount War - Battle of Marineford
Chapter 6 is very strange. The whole chapter is a series of battles, but man are they good battles. You get thrown in the middle of a war and try to save Luffy's brother. This has you fighting all kinds of marines, warlords, and admirals. I was so mad when I couldn't beat the crud out of that Akainu guy. But the battles are more strategic than previous fights and the story is awesome (would've probably been more awesome if I watched the anime, but I digress). The obvious reason that this chapter isn't higher is because, well, you don't move around at ALL. At least you can go back to Marineford to do sidequests...
#4 - Chapter 4: Exploring Water Seven, City on the Sea
This is where the chapters start to get really, really good. Chapter 4 is the second long, epic Memoria chapter in the game, and while I didn't like it quite as much as the first, it was still very enjoyable. The town of Water Seven is stunning, and who doesn't want to go on a wacky train thingy in the sewers? And then have a giant tower start flooding? And you have to escape? This is groovy! I absolutely LOVE the music that plays in the town too, that's a big plus. The worst part about this chapter is that you don't have Usopp, but then again, he isn't that great of a character anyways. I loved this chapter, it was definitely better than the chapters on Waford, but it isn't as good as the top three.
#3 - Chapter 2: Memories of the Desert Kingdom, Alabasta
This is the first real chapter in the game, and man was I surprised at how good it was. There are two towns in this chapter, which is awesome. Deserts in video games are often hit or miss, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this one. While the battles are still easy, strategic elements begin to pick up and the plot is probably the best of the Memoria chapters. You have bombs and princesses and evil casino dudes and a bunch of bosses and it's all just a really complete, fun, and entertaining chapter to play through. Just like Water Seven though, it does lose some points for having a character leave the party for the majority of the chapter, and this time it was Robin. She was like ten levels underlevelled by the time she rejoined my party, and that was quite annoying. But other than that it was really fun. However it was the longest chapter in the game, and at the time, I thought the chapters were all going to be this long and I was pretty scared because I didn't think I was going to be able to finish the game.
#2 - Chapter 8: Kingdom in Conflict - Battle of Dressrosa
I love everything about this chapter. The bosses are amazing, the town is super cool, and you have all of your party members the whole time! That includes the two that you get later also! You also play through this chapter right after getting the rest of the most powerful abilities (save for a couple of Luffy's that you get from story stuff). I had so much fun beating enemies up with those new abilities with my characters. While the plot isn't quite as good as Alabasta and Water Seven, the gameplay was just too fun! It wasn't as long, which I liked because I wanted to finish the game, but there were some pretty fun sidequests that made up for that. The Doflamingo fight at the end was actually not that much of a cakewalk (at least when you fight him in the sunflower garden). Overall, this chapter has all the good things that you want in a chapter, and not many downsides.
#1 - Chapter 9: What Those Hands Can Grasp
While it only has one dungeon, the Sky Tower, I think the final chapter has got to be the best. The majority of the game's story that isn't part of Memorias is explained and revealed here, the Sky Tower is a really good dungeon, and you are finally fully powered up and ready to face the final boss. You get to rematch some old foes, solve some puzzles (they are very easy), and that Purity Garden area was really cool and fun to go through. The final boss cutscenes were epic as heck and so was the battle. But, like most games these days, there is stuff to even after the final boss! In this case you can go finish all the sidequests that you may have missed, open all the locked treasures, but most importantly, you gain access to the Challenge Enemies, or powerful rematches of previous bosses. I feel like all games should have something like this where you can rematch bosses. Or better yet, make it like Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch where they are the same but different. Anyway, the challenge forms of these enemies aren't particularly difficult, but if you interact with the cube again, you can face the TRUE CHALLENGE forms. Most of these things are hard as freak and you really have to use items, Chopper's healing, and all your strongest abilities. This was what I had been waiting for the whole game: some difficult battles! And there are even more difficult battles in the final dungeon if you go back after beating the game! Those tribe dudes hit like a truck and if you do the missions you can get like ten million experience from them. Yes, you read that right. I loved those Memoria chapters, but Chapter 9 takes the cake because of its story relevance, difficult battles, and wrapping a great game up in a great way.