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The One Piece anime has fans excited year after year when game developers bring their beloved series to life. To see Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates in playable form is just as important as DBZ or Naurto titles. I for one have never seen the show, so I was confused from the get go. I have played another One Piece game before this, but it was set up like a Power Stone fighting game, so back story and character knowledge was not as essential. One Piece: Unlimited Adventure for the Wii on the other had is an adventure title so filled with cut scenes, dialog, and character development, that I was confused the moment I booted up the game. This is why I recommend that only fans of the series give this version a run through as there is no back story or information provided that will bring you up to speed. This being said, I can see where if you are a fan of this series, Unlimited Adventure is a solid title that will appeal greatly to you. The visuals have a unique style and act much like the anime series. All the One Piece characters are brought to life with cel shaded polygons and animate quite well, both in movements and special attacks. The game provides cut scenes that move the story along and are visually more polished than the in-game graphics, yet don't differ so much that there is a negative drop in visual appeal. The large world provided plenty of exploration options, but be prepared to revisit locals frequently.
Unlimited Adventure is filled with plenty of authentic voice overs and dialog that will make fans appreciate the developer's knowledge in taking the time to hire the team to work on this Wii exclusive adventure. The music and score is wonderfully orchestrated and whether you are soothingly checking out the scenery, or in the thick of battle, the game's score is brilliant throughout. Controlling the Straw Hat Pirates is not a chore at all, and even utilizes some of the Wii motion controls. You hack, slash, or use unique moves such as "Gum Gum Storm and Cyclone Tempo" with such ease that any Wii fan who has had their system only a few months will be able to be successful battling off baddies here. You can play as any of the pirates and switch to them on the fly to suit your needs, provided you've unlocked them of course (which happens in the first 30 min of play time or so). There are lots of combos in the game, and more become accessible to you with more play time. One Piece: Unlimited Adventure has a couple modes of play to enjoy. For the single player fan, the solo adventure mode will unfold new twists and fresh ideas that give fans the feeling of playing through a new season of One Piece. The multiplayer is a bit on the shallow side though, as even with 40 playable characters, the developers decided for one reason or another not to port over a previous version of One Piece's fighting engine. What you have now is a scaled down version of the same idea, but no where as complex or addicting as before. When it is all said and done, One Piece: Unlimited Adventure is a title that will bring much joy to fans of the series, but honestly won't reach many gamers beyond that. If you have the itch to jump into the persona of Luffy and Co. then by all means pick this up for the Wii as it is a solid game, just too much of a game that is "for fans only".
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