This is a great game, why hasn't it been released in the US?
User Rating: 8 | One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 2 - Mezameru Yuusha WII
I was surprised by how good this game is, recent games based on various anime haven't been that great, and I'm not even a fan of One Piece, but I enjoyed this game and the challenge it brought. This is the longest game I've played in quite some time, even though it only has 5 levels, or islands, but they're fairly huge and you need to backtrack countless times to get the items needed to progress. The game can be finished quickly if you have a save file from the first game, if so, then all your stats from that game are carried over to this one, I did not play the first game, so I had to go trough the fairly mundane task of leveling up the old fashioned way, searching for stuff and beating up enemies, hoping they'll drop something useful. The game looks good and the japanese voices are excellent, the fighting is fun with a lot of cool moves and flashy special attacks to unlock. Boss battles are among the highlights of the game, some of them are unbelievably challenging, Kizaru or whatever he's called is a pain in the neck and one of the most difficult bosses I've ever encountered, even the final boss is a lot easier than him. However, due to the RPG elements, you can level up your character's HP and SP gauges, however that can be a very time consuming process, but it's not impossible.
I would be lying if I didn't say that I got frustrated quite a number of times, either because I couldn't get past an enemy like the aforementioned Kizaru or I couldn't catch the fish I needed, but more often, I wouldn't have the right items to get the other items I needed to progress and I couldn't find them, the game gives you vague hints on where to locate them, however when you eventually do come across them, what a joy and a relief, and very rarely did I find myself completely stuck without any clue whatsoever on where to go next. Again, this is such a huge game, there are secret bosses, secret moves, secret items and just a bunch of stuff to discover, kudos to everyone who's finished the game 100%. I won't bother as usual, you get the end credits, you've finished the game I say, or enough of it. I might return to seek out the few secret bosses that I haven't defeated yet. In the end, it's a good game and One Piece fans will probably enjoy the heck out of it, problem is, it hasn't been released in the US, only in Asia and Europe, then again, it's only fair that we're getting some region exclusives every once in a while, I guess.
