‘One Piece: Thousand Storm’ Multiplayer Mode Explained: Japanese Manga-Inspired Game Release Date And Features Hinted By Bandai Namco

One Piece: Thousand Storm, the game based on immensely popular Japanese manga One Piece by mangaka Eiichiro Oda, features an interesting multi-player mode. Publisher Bandai Namco had recently confirmed pre-registration for the game has gone live. One Piece: Thousand Storm will be available for iOS as well as Android.

Japanese arcade, mobile, and home video game publisher, Bandai Namco, had confirmed that One Piece: Thousand Storm, a role-playing game based on immensely popular Japanese manga One Piece, will be launched in western countries. The publisher added that the game will make its stateside appearance in winter. As there’s not much time, fans of One Piece will have to rush over to the official website of the game to pre-register. Interestingly, the publisher promised quite a few bonuses for signing up early.

One Piece: Thousand Storm has already been released in Japan. The game reportedly offers an immersive 3D gaming experience. It is apparently quite different in game-play from other games that are based on the One Piece anime. With One Piece: Thousand Storm publishers are once again experimenting with the tried and tested RPG (Role Playing Game) approach.

The game, already working on iOS and Android, allows up to three players to participate in a single gaming session. All three players can play simultaneously. The game offers a highly developed multiplayer engine because One Piece manga involves a lot of characters. As expected, the game starts off with the manga’s most popular characters, Luffy D. Monkey, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp. Players can choose any of these characters. However, as they make progress, other members of the Straw Hats pirates will be introduced, and players will be allowed to play as these characters.

The multiplayer platform in One Piece: Thousand Storm is available nationwide. In other words, players can invite or join other games that aren’t being played locally. Incidentally, the multiplayer battle system is limited to three players. Besides the multiplayer mode, players can play solo in the “Single Mode” system as well.

The multiplayer system features a virtual “Lobby Area,” where players can communicate. Players can use the area to plan their battles and strategies. The area might also include a strategy guide. If the players do not wish to pause their game, a live chat feature, called “Sticker Chat” is also available for communication during battles in the game.

Besides the virtual lobby, One Piece: Thousand Storm for iOS and Android also offers the “Scene Card” feature. The feature offers dual benefits. Players can access the feature to view popular scenes from the “One Piece” anime. However, the feature also allows players to brush up on the different abilities of the characters they are playing and learn a new skill. Various battle skills are expected to be appended to the Scene Cards.

The battle skills are quite important because they vary as per the character that the player picks in One Piece: Thousand Storm. Interestingly, the game will allow players to use anticipated “Gear Fourth” transformation of Luffy. Other power skills such as Sabo and Ace’s “Hiken Fire Fist” are also available. As the game progresses, Law’s “Gamma Knife” attack and Doflamigo’s “Birdcage” move will also be available for players to use in their battles. The creators of One Piece: Thousand Storm have promised many more such “finishing” moves.

Fortunately, the complex moves won’t be difficult to pull off as the creators have promised a simplified control system. Players can control their chosen One Piece character in One Piece: Thousand Storm single-handedly. From avoiding an attack to protecting the character, players can execute the movements with a single flick on the screen. Even complicated and multi-step “combo” attacks can be reportedly executed with singular commands.

One Piece manga is one of the longest running Japanese series and has inspired several games besides the anime of the same name. Bandai Namco winter release of One Piece: Thousand Storm in winter, recently caused fans in Japan to rush to the website to download and were reportedly greeted with random stalls and crashes, which were fixed.

[Featured Image by Bandai Namco Entertainment]