Set sail, button-mashers, because this time Play Comics is diving face-first into One Piece: Grand Battle! that PS2 and GameCube special where early Water 7-era drama gets smooshed into a chaos-filled arena and told to play nice. Expect stretchy punches, loud special attacks, and exactly the kind of character balance you’d expect from a game that assumes “pirate” and “fair” don’t belong in the same sentence. We’re talking Straw Hats, shipyards, and the eternal question: “Is this actually good, or do I just really like yelling ‘Gum-Gum’ every five seconds?”

Joining Chris on this voyage is Janine Juliette from D’ohmance Dawn, here to bring big-brain One Piece insight and just the right amount of gremlin energy to keep things interesting. Janine’s got thoughts on how this slice of the anime translates into a brawler, where the game nails the Straw Hats’ personalities, and where it feels like someone skimmed the wiki five minutes before coding a super move. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a deeply thoughtful One Piece fan is forced to reckon with PS2-era anime jank, this is absolutely your kind of chaos.

So grab your controller, your favorite questionable snack, and maybe a backup controller for when Luffy’s rubber nonsense finally pushes you over the edge. We’re digging into how far the game actually gets into the story, why some characters feel terrifying and others feel like they snuck in as a joke, and whether this one belongs on your “must-play” shelf or your “fondly mock from a distance” list. Treasure, friendship, and highly unsafe maritime workplace practices await. Let’s see if Grand Battle! can keep its ship together.

Learn such things as:

Which Straw Hat shines in an arena brawler and which one feels like they forgot to finish the move set?
Is this game might secretly be more fun as a chaotic couch brawler than as a serious competitive fighter?
How would the internet have broken if people could have known what was to come for these characters?
And so much more!

You can find Janine on BlueSky @janinejuliet.bsky.social and of course her podcasts D’ohMance Dawn and Wrestle Girlies.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicspodcast on Threads, @playcomics on YouTube or the Play Comics website.

If you want to hear Chris talk with Karrington Martin about the lessons we learned from children’s media and how crazy it is that we’re supposed to just forget about that now that we’re adults, then is probably something you should check out.

A big thanks to I am Your Target Demographic and Longbox Review for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who probably has a stuffed Chopper.

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One Piece Grand Battle with Janine Juliette (D'ohmance Dawn)