POSTED 7/6/16


ONE PIECE: BURNING BLOOD

Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco

Can’t get enough of that wonderful Luff?

Fans of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga series will extract the most enjoyment from Burning Blood. Which, we guess, is pretty bloody obvious. If you’re not into Harry Potter, a game based around him won’t suddenly make you worship everything Hogwarts.

Hmm, now we’re wondering why the fuck we picked JK Rowling’s wiz kid as example-worthy. But we’re talking One Piece, so we’d best get on with it...

A beat-’em-up not dissimilar to other Bandai Namco releases such as Dragon Ball Xenoverse and Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, Burning Blood sees its rubbery hero, wannabe King of Pirates Monkey D Luffy, taking on all comers in fights to the, erm, winningness.

There are myriad all comers, too, with some 40 playable characters from the One Piece world. Then there are the 60-plus comrades able to be called in to help if you’re feeling royally screwed. Or if you just need a breather and want to watch Frank-n-Furter on steroids go the biff – fishnets and all.

If you think that’s peculiar then run away now, for it’s only a drop in the wondrously fertile bucket of One Piece characters that launch onscreen here. It’s a shame to knock the stuffing out of some of them...

While some fighting games take it easy on genre newcomers, despite a leisurely control introduction Burning Blood isn’t for those who think button mashing is the bee’s knees. All the good stuff requires varying combos and much concentration. Those who adhere to these requirements will be rewarded with some incredible special move animations worthy of such a brilliant manga series.

Some fans may be bummed that Burning Blood’s biffgasmic story mode only covers the Marineford arc involving Luffy’s brother. But the myriad extra modes and challenges will help dull any blow.

Ore wa Luffy! Kaizoku-o ni naru otoko da!

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