The One Piece franchise lends itself properly to motion video video games and even the occasional combating sport. However that is not all One Piece has to supply within the online game house. So, what daring new adventures can the Straw Hat Pirates go on? Why not restaurant administration with Bandai Namco‘s upcoming One Piece: Grand Connoisseur—which I demoed at Tokyo Sport Present 2026?
Happening in a world the place the seafaring restaurant Baratie was taken over by pirates, its fame is ruined, and the ship is left a large number. After Luffy and firm take again the ship, it is now as much as the Straw Hat Pirates to rebuild, develop, and repair the fame of the restaurant with the newly christened Baratie Quantity Two. It is a easy premise for a sport that does not want a lot motion.
So, how do you obtain the aim set out for you? You handle the restaurant by setting and creating menu objects, putting in seating and decor, and touring the world of One Piece in quest of prospects and new elements. In essence, it is like a mini-city builder with One Piece: Grand Connoisseur‘s décor, tables, and seating, menu objects, and companies appearing as an equal to a metropolis builder’s buildings, taxes, and companies.
©Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation ©Bandai Namco Leisure Inc.
What makes One Piece: Grand Connoisseur particular is the pixel artwork type and the colourful forged of One Piece characters showing within the sport. Addressing the previous, had this sport used high-resolution graphics akin to Metropolis Skylines or fashionable Sim Metropolis video games, the attraction of One Piece: Grand Connoisseur can be misplaced. Seeing the One Piece characters working across the Baratie Quantity Two in pixel artwork kind is pleasant. The abstraction of the characters brings out the persona of the person characters via their actions and motion. It is enjoyable and harkens again to the Nineties period of online game graphical constancy.
As for the colourful forged of One Piece characters, the One Piece: Grand Connoisseur website states there are over 400 characters you may encounter. Whereas the TGS 2026 demo solely encompasses a handful of them, not all of the characters who appeared have been allies of Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates. This begs the query: did Luffy bury the hatchet with characters like Smoker, Arlong, and different One Piece villains? Finally, although, it isn’t necessary as a result of the main target of One Piece: Grand Connoisseur is not fight. It is constructing and managing a profitable restaurant. However seeing how all of the One Piece characters work together on this comparatively peaceable surroundings is entertaining and lends itself to comedy, one thing for which One Piece is thought.
©Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation ©Bandai Namco Leisure Inc.
Administration video games, not to mention restaurant administration video games, aren’t everybody’s cup of tea. They are often tedious and require lots of planning to actually perceive. One Piece: Grand Connoisseur is comparable in that there’s some tedium to constructing and managing the Baratie Quantity Two. Nonetheless, it is such a breath of contemporary air that that is hardly a difficulty. If you need a novel tackle One Piece, check out One Piece: Grand Connoisseur.