One Piece has become one of the most successfully and popular anime series of recent years, with thousands of fans around the world following the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew. Upcoming PlayStation VR title One Piece: Grand Cruise will lets fans join up with the Straw Hat pirates, as shown in the new trailer.
The One Piece characters have appeared in a number of videogames since the anime series began broadcasting in Japan in 1999, slowly gaining in popularity, which got a significant boost when the series was subsequently broadcast in the US. The series follows the adventures of main character Monkey D. Luffy, who dreams of finding the ‘One Piece’ which will allow him to become King of the Pirates. To search for it, he gathers a crew he names the Straw Hat pirates and sets sail on his ship, the Going Merry.
The first trailer for One Piece: Grand Cruise shows a player putting on a PlayStation VR headset and finding themselves on the deck of the Going Merry, where Luffy appears to introduce himself. The trailer shows various other characters such as Tony Tony, Chopper and Zoro, who fans will be able to speak to and interact with as they are invited to join the Straw Hat Pirate crew.
In addition to interacting with the Straw Hat crew members, and exploring the ship in 360-degrees, the trailer also shows an attack from a giant kraken, which players will be able to help drive off. A confrontation between Luffy and Doflamingo is also shown, though its not clear at this point how players can influence this event.
Fans who live in Japan will have an opportunity to try out One Piece: Grand Cruise as a multiplayer experience, as One Piece Tower in Tokyo will be hosting a special version of the title which will allow up to eight players to go through the initiation into the Straw Hat pirate crew.
One Piece: Grand Cruise is expected to be released some time in 2018, though a more precise date is yet to be confirmed. The trailer can be viewed below.
VRFocus will bring you further news on One Piece: Grand Cruise as it becomes available.