As Monkey D. Luffy has trained to fulfill his goal of becoming King of the Pirates, he’s powered up in many different ways. But games based onOne Piecehaven’t developed all of Luffy’s powers for their players. Lasting over twenty-five years,One Piecehas plenty of material for developers to choose from, but the franchise’s protagonist should definitely receive these boosts in upcoming installments.
AnyOne Piecefan is aware ofLuffy’s devil fruit power, achieved originally by eating the Gum Gum Fruit (Gomu Gomu no Mi) and the expansion of his stretchy power with his invention of Gears, essentially a power-leveling structure as he’s grown throughout the series. However, there are specific aspects of Luffy’s powers that have been difficult to translate into video games like Haki.
As one of the most recognizable and beloved characters in anime and manga, Luffy has been in many games outside theOne Piecefranchise,including Shonen titles likeJump Force,Jump Super Stars, and Jump Ultimate Stars. However, this article focuses on his appearances in mainlineOne Piecegames, including:
Additionally,One Piece: Bounty Rush, a free-to-play mobile 4v4 multiplayer team action game, contains some of the abilities mentioned in this article. As one of the few mainlineOne Piecegames consistently updated with new characters and abilities,Bounty Rushhas the advantage of keeping up with new additions to the franchise. However, the powers mentioned in this article aren’t available in mostmainlineOne PiecePC and console games.
Spoilers forOne Piece’s Long Ring Long Land, Thriller Bark, and the Wano arc
Luffy’s Gear 5 Changes the Battlefield
In one of the most iconic episodes of the franchise, Monkey D. Luffy finallyunlocks his full potential by using Gear 5. In this new state, Luffy’s already cartoonish stretching fighting style goes completely off the rails, making high-stakes battles seem likeLooney Tunesfights.
It’s revealed that the Gomu Gomu no Mi’s original name is the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. The rubbery attributes so closely associated with Luffy originally came from the legendary sun god Nika. Prior to Luffy, the fruitwas originally eaten by the mysterious Joy Boy, supposedly the first ever pirate in the world ofOne Piece. The power of Nika and the reputation of Joy Boy combined with Luffy’s notoriety makes enemies quake when Luffy uses this new power scaling technique. It is currently the most powerful form Luffy can maintain.
As mentioned, Gear 5 Luffy is playable inOne Piece: Bounty Rush, but this form has yet to be playable in any other games. The latest mainlineOne Piecegame,One Piece Odyssey, saw Luffy reaching up to Gear 4 in gameplay. With his Gum-Gum King Kong Gun in Gear 4 being considered asone of the best moves inOne Piece Odyssey, Luffy’s Gear 5 moves would surely blow this ability out of the water.
Inaddition to his Joy Boy form, Luffy has had many recognizable character designs over the years. Similar to how Sanji’s Soba Mask form is available to play inOne Piece: Bounty Rush, the following Luffy forms are available to play in variousOne Piecemobile games and niche older titles, but not in mainline PC and console titles that are more popular.
Luffy’s Old Character Designs Make for Great New Characters
Afro Luffy
Not featured again in the mangasince the pre-timeskip Long Ring Long Land arc, Afro Luffy was a fun joke character born to fight Foxy the Silver Fox. While preparing for the fight, Usopp gave Luffy an afro to use in battle, claiming that the wig would give him extra powers in battle. In addition to the afro, Luffy sported boxing shorts and boxing gloves in the ring.
Though Luffy gained no additional powers from the afro, it still added to the comedy of the short filler arc. A new mainline title could bring back thecomedy of pre-timeskipOne Pieceby including Afro Luffy as a skin or by making him the most overpowered character in the game. This comedic move would fit in with otherOne Piecegames as the franchise has a history of committing to the bit. For example, outside the franchise inJump Force, Sanji sticks to his characterization by being unable to do damage to female characters.
Afro Luffy is available to play in the mobilegameOne Piece: Treasure Cruiseand console gameOne Piece: Burning Blood, which was released in 2016. Since then, he hasn’t made any significant appearances. At the very least, Afro Luffy would be a fun DLC skin.
Nightmare Luffy
The same can be said of Nightmare Luffy. In the Thriller Bark Arc, the Rolling Pirates buff up Luffy by infusing him with the power of one hundred shadows that were separatedfrom their owners by Gecko Moria. These shadows gave Luffy the strength to defeat Moria and Oars and granted him additional powers he didn’t have previously. For example, one of the shadows infused in him was a swordsman. Luffy began to sword fight against his opponents without previous knowledge of the fighting style. In addition to his strength, Luffy’s speed has been increased in this Nightmare form.
Luffy’s visual transformation into this form is stark. Nightmare Luffy is roughly thesame size as Chopper’s Heavy Point, featuring large bulging muscles and unnaturally blue skin. His personality also changed. Where Luffy may have gained new fun catchphrases as Afro Luffy, as Nightmare Luffy he begins talking with an uncharacteristically grim tone. One could even say that Nightmare Luffy is the antithesis to Joy Boy.
Nightmare Luffy is yet another characterthat is available inOne Piece: Bounty Rush, but he is also present in the Wii gameOne Piece: Unlimited Cruise. Nightmare Luffy’s inclusion inUnlimited Cruisewas topical at the time as the game was released in 2009, a year after the Thriller Bark arc began in the anime.Bounty Rushseeks to include even the most niche characters in its roster, unlike most mainlineOne Piecegames. This is proven by the exclusion of Nightmare Luffy from any mainline console titles in the franchise sinceUnlimited Cruise.
However,Unlimited Cruisetook a unique approachto Nightmare Luffy. Unlike in canon, Nightmare Luffy was able to demonstrate archery skill and could shoot fireballs from his mouth after drinking sake. This creative decision proves that developers can experiment with the various characters inOne Piece’s roster, something that should be done for both Afro and Nightmare Luffy if they’re included in games going forward.
Whilethe inclusion of Gear 5in the next mainlineOne Piecegame is guaranteed, the inclusion of Afro and Nightmare Luffy are not. However, bringing them back to the next title in the franchise could draw in older fans ofOne Piece, who are nostalgic for the pre-time skip days.
One Piece
Cast
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
