[TGS 2018] An interview with the producer of One Piece: World Seeker – Rei Hirata

Although One Piece: World Seeker is delayed to 2019, it is still one of the most-anticipated video game for anime fans like us. During the previous Taipei Game Show 2018, we are lucky to be able to enjoy the game and now at TGS 2018, we finally got the chance to have an interview with the producer, Rei Hirata! Check out what he has told us below!

Here is our gameplay video during TGS 2018:

About the game story

Luffy and his crew arrive on the Prison Island, where a frightful war once occurred over the island’s rich natural resources. The island is now quickly rebuilding under the guidance of the Navy. However, the residents are now divided into 2 factions – the Pro-Navy who supports Navy and their control on the island, and the Anti-Navy who long for tradition and reject the Navy’s presence.

There will be 2 new characters designed by Eiichiro Oda (the artist of One Piece). First of all, we have Jeanne, the young leader of Anti-Navy group that doesn’t really want to go against the Navy, but rather want to bring the old life back to the island. Her main aim will be finding ways to reduce the conflicts on the island. We also have Isaac, the Warden who is very different from the enemies Luffy faced before. His power doesn’t come from Devil Fruit, instead, he has enormous science power and this is why the island is still standing until now.

About the gameplay

Featuring a sandbox open-world gameplay, One Piece: World Seeker is a pure offline game, allowing you to explore the world freely and complete the story missions at your pace. You can only play as Luffy too, as the game is specifically made to tell Luffy’s stories. Of course, there will be side missions available as well.

About the game development and setting

Other than asking questions about the game content, we also asked Rei Hirata some questions about the game development process! We are curious about whether Eiichiro Oda is monitoring the game development or giving advice on the game, Rei Hirata tell us that they didn’t speak to Eiichiro directly, but speak with the publisher, Shueisha instead.

While for the timeline settings, Rei Hirata tells us that there are no specific settings for the game story’s timeline. However, it is set sometime near the Cake Island Arc, so we can look forward to the battle with the Germa 66.

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Unfortunately, the interview is quite rushed so we couldn’t ask anything we wanted to know. We hope these answered some of your questions, and stay tuned with us for more updates about TGS 2018!