Developer: | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
Publisher: | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
Producer: | Tsunehiro Shibata[1] |
Series: | One Piece |
Platforms: | Android, iOS |
Released: | March 29, 2018 (initial release)[2] January 31, 2019 (re-release)[3] |
Genre: | Action |
Modes: | Multiplayer |
Engine: | Unity |
One Piece Bounty Rush is a free-to-play mobile game based on the One Piece franchise, developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game is played in real-time with four player teams in battle mode, in which the team that has the most treasure at the end wins. Every battle takes place within a location from the One Piece series.
The mobile game is a collaboration between Bandai Namco Entertainment, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda, anime production studio Toei Animation, and the manga publisher Shueisha.[4]
It was initially released on March 29, 2018 for Android and iOS platforms and was taken offline on April 10, 2018 for long-term maintenance[5] [6] and was later re-released with graphics and gameplay overhaul on January 31, 2019.[7] [8]
One Piece Bounty Rush has a team of four players competing against another team of four players in real-time, with each battlefield being based on a location within the One Piece series.[9] The winner is whichever team has the most coins at the end of a battle. Players can enhance a character's level by collecting in-game items from either the story mode or a battlefield.[10]
Each team has to place their own flag on treasure to claim it. The three character types within a team are Runner, Attacker, or Defender. The runner grabs points, the attacker fights enemies, and the defender moves enemies out of the way. There are a variety of characters to choose from and each character has their own attacks.[11] The attacks include a basic combo and special skills. When using a basic combo, the player has to attack whatever character is closest. Every point from claiming treasure gives the player a small bonus after the battle.[12] When a basic combo is finished, the enemy is knocked down, but they have the ability to not be harmed while getting back up.[11]
The game's pre-launch test had one million players.[13] On June 1, 2020, the game's Facebook page reported 20 million downloads.[14]
Dave Aubrey, of Pocket Gamer, wrote, "I don't hate One Piece: Bounty Rush at all, but after getting a feel for how much effort would be required to level up characters and play with a larger variety, it's not something I want to return to."[11] Dan M. Scarborough said in a Blue Moon Game review, "One Piece Bounty Rush is a shift from gacha style to a real-time PvP action game, which is quite a brave move. However, mere bravado is not enough for a game to succeed, a lesson many developers learned the hard way. This game is just not worthy of the effort you need to invest in order to have some reward."[12]