One Piece: Pirates Carnival – PS2 – Review

One Piece
has proven to be a grand video-game series thanks to its first two PS2
iterations. Both Grand Battle and Grand Adventure took hints from the retro
Dreamcast fighter, Power Stone. Wipe that slaphappy look off your
opponents’ faces by slapping them senseless. Pick up and throw barrels and
other objects for additional damage. This familiar formula took players
back to the days of Dreamcast while creating new fans with the One Piece
license.

One Piece:
Pirates’ Carnival hopes to be just as successful as its predecessors, but in a
different genre. This title tackles the mainstream "party game" genre, a risky
move that could lead to Mario Party gold – or Sonic Shuffle disappointment.

However, as
much as I love Mario, and as many copies as Mario Party has sold, I’ve never
liked that offshoot series. Which is why I was interested in this title, a
game that that chose to go in another direction. Pirates’ Carnival features
mini-games that are simple and repetitive but do not always allow the biggest
button-masher to win.

There isn’t
a whole lot to this game, so let’s dive right into the best of what it has to
offer: its most entertaining mini-games. (Note: The names have been changed to
titles that make a bit more sense. The original quirky titles do not always
indicate the kind of game you’ll be playing.)

Dodgeball –
In this top-down, bombed-out version of a classic, players team up with one of
their opponents for a game of dodge-the-explosive. Whoever’s in the lead is
assigned to the person in third place; the second-place contestant is stuck
playing with the guy (or gal) in fourth place. Bombs drop from above, and your
goal is to throw it at your opponents right before it explodes. You can pass
it to your teammate for a quick one-timer throw. And when someone gets booted
from the game (by losing all of their energy), that player gets to command a
cannon in the top right or left corner of the screen. In single-player games
you’ll be able to switch between characters by pressing the triangle button.

Darts
– Fire away
at the board, try to hit the mark next to the bull’s eye (which gives you a
much higher point total), and hope your darts don’t get eliminated during the
elimination round (in which dart-removing pieces are randomly thrown at the
board).

Darts
in action.

Brawler – A
beat-’em-up that’s reminiscent of One Piece: Grand Battle and One Piece: Grand
Adventure. Run around, strike each other, and pick up and throw objects
that’ll help you get the job done.

Stilts
– Holding yourself upright can be so difficult – especially when you’re on
stilts! Here the goal is to ram into your opponents and knock them down while
keeping yourself from falling over.

Smoke
escape –
Maneuver in and around shifting walls to prevent yourself from being hit by
the character-devouring smoke in this mini-game. (It makes me think of that
weird creature on Lost.) The goal is to collect three keys and unlock the
door. Otherwise it will result in a draw, changing that square on the board to
gray, indicating that no one got the point.

Mountain climbing
– One of the few button-mashers, players have to tap the square and circle
buttons repeatedly in order to gain enough power to run up a mountain (while
riding a Chocobo-like bird, no less). Once their run power has run out,
players must tap the X button to latch onto the mountain before they fall.
Repeat this process until you reach the top.

Slap
the horror guy
– Here you have to slap a guy three times. Doesn’t sound too unusual, does it?
Just wait till you see exactly who it is your slapping. He looks like a cross
between a vampire and Freddie Kruger. His only defense is a circular move that
has him running around to enclose enemies in a golden beam. Get caught up in
it and you’ll lose one health point (you’ve only got three). Strike him three
times before death and you’ve won.

Hmmm,
I wonder which ones match?

Water
dig –
Remember the fun of digging in Super Mario Bros. 2? This mini-game takes you
back to the 80s, throwing in a splash of water to bring you back to reality.
The goal is to dig holes repeatedly until enough leaking water has filled your
tank. If caught in a tornado, half your water will be lost. Avoid them at all
costs.

Chest
protection –
Play as either the chest protector or the chest stealer. As protector you must
shoot a series of pellets (by pressing the circle button) to stop moving
enemies in their tracks. They’ll drop stolen chests and be temporarily
paralyzed. As a thief you’ll need to snatch chests and stand perfectly still
whenever the protector fires. If done correctly the pellets will miss and
you’ll be able to continue to your goal.

There are
several other mini-games to kill your boredom, including a scope-based take on
Where’s Waldo (you have to locate the "real" panda). Street races lead you
down a trap-filled course where the captain must escape three angry
adversaries.

Chop-Chop
Festival (actual name) is another game that gives you the chance to be
captain. Doing so lands you the role of a knife-wielding pirate. It’s more
zany than violent, but you will have to poke your opponents to deplete their
health. Their goal will be to jump on your head, just as Sonic would to
eliminate robots, or as Mario does to eliminate Goombas.

Climb
it, climb it!

The rest of
the mini-games are of a similar quality and style, including a fair amount of
repetition – but also a fair amount of fun. If party games are your thing and
you love the One Piece series, Pirates’ Carnival will satisfy your craving for
a multiplayer board game.

Review Scoring Details for One Piece: Pirates’ Carnival

Gameplay: 6.9
One Piece:
Pirates’ Carnival is all about the mini-games. You’ll win spaces on the board
by successfully completing these games, leading you down the road to eventual
victory. Boards come in various shapes and sizes, but don’t put too much of an
emphasis on the one you choose. The length matters if you care about having a
longer or shorter game, as does the formation, if you’re paranoid about the
special cards that could wipe out your spaces and give them to an opponent.
But these are brief, in-between moments that are over pretty quickly. Your
focus should be on the mini-games and how well you do at them. Then it won’t
matter which board you use because you’ll always be able to rise to the
challenge.

Graphics: 5.0
Basic animations
and party-game environments that do nothing to impress.

Sound: 6.0
The usual for a
party game: grunts, goofy sound effects, repetitive music, etc.

Difficulty: Easy
Designed for
younger players, Pirates’ Carnival isn’t very challenging. All things likely
your kids won’t think so either, but that won’t stop them from having a good
time.

Concept: 7.0
A fun collection
of mini-games spread across a board-game setting. The person with the most
owned spaces wins.

Multiplayer: 7.0
As a
single-player title One Piece: Pirates’ Carnival would get old fast. But as a
multiplayer board game, kids will be able to gather around their PS2 and play
for hours without the “bored” feelings that typically come along with a
virtual board game.

Overall: 7.0
For fans of party
games only. You don’t necessarily have to like One Piece to enjoy this game,
but that’s who it’s targeting – and that’s the audience it’s destined to most
fully satisfy. As someone who doesn’t watch the show (and as someone who
hasn’t been six for a very long time), it says a lot that I enjoyed the game.