When the first trailer dropped for One Piece Odyssey, a new RPG game set in the world created by Eiichiro Oda, many had started to wonder where the missing Straw Hat member Jimbei was. He joined the crew during the Wano arc but has been built up as a member of the crew ever since they entered Fishman Island. Well, his absence actually connects to when production started on the new One Piece game.
In a new developer diary from Bandai Namco, producer Katsuaki Tsuzuki shared some insight into how they brought the game to life. In it, he reveals that they started work on the project in the middle of the Whole Cake Island Arc. Now, it stands out that Jimbei hasn’t joined the crew officially until the final arc before they were forced to split up. Plus, it implies that they’ve started work on this project all the way back during the arc’s run. So, they approached Oda in 2019 to help out with designs, but they may have been working on the game for around five years now.
So, it’s no wonder that later additions from Wano aren’t also appearing. While they do typically plan things in advance, game production is very time-consuming. They are also working with ILCA to create the JPRG, which offers an island that has its own little world to offer that includes elements from across One Piece‘s long history. There is a chance they might add some newer members to join the Straw Hats through DLC, which would open up the possibility of Jimbei or maybe even characters like Carrot or Yamato to join their cause. So, we’ll see what the game may have to offer.
You can watch the Dev Diary here:
Source: YouTube
