If you've heard of
Mushiking, I will say this game's core is exactly like it but you replace the beetles with One Piece characters. I'm a fan of One Piece and since the 3DS game didn't localise for US, this game will have to do for a portable One Piece game.
Although the game is basically a rock-paper-scissors (moves are renamed strike, break and cut respectively) game, there is still enough variation to it so that it does not get to dull. Each character has a skilled move (strike, break or cut) which will do more damage. If you complete a series of moves, you will also unleash your special move which results in a short cinematic cutscene. One top of all those, each character also has a special ability like damage increase or reduction. Lastly, the game can also randomly decide to grant you knowledge of what move your opponent is going to choose from the compass found in the between the characters' health bar. This is called mantra pose and sometimes I miss out on it by choosing my moves too fast.
Edit: There is also a Guard Chance mini-game to reduce the damage if you get hit, just press all the fists that appears on screen under the time limit.
You start with 3 characters and an additional one through aiming your camera at a round object like a coin. One of the main special feature of this game is the QR/AR function where you can scan a picture code and a character will appear on it. You are mainly using the function to add new members to your crew as well as form teams from cards which you can buy packs of 3 cards from 7-11 stores.
The game saves to servers and for Apple devices, I think it locks on to your Device ID as I tried deleting and re-installing on the iPad. Upon loading, it retrieves your previous save data from the server without any choice. For your crew, you can only register each card once and it is verified through the servers. You do have the option to de-register the cards and otherwise I think it will all be tied to your device. I rather NamcoBandai uses iCloud or a specialised game account so you can play your game on any number of iDevices. There is facebook integration but it only allows one facebook account that is linked to be active at a time. I've also never figured out how the save games are tied to the facebook account.
The game requires an Internet connection at the start and there will be a special event retrieved from the game servers each day to encourage you to open the game everyday, for example, Sundays are boss event battles day. You engage in battles with your crew, bosses or events and gain berries to buy items from the shop and experience to level up to level 30. After battles, you can also gain items, treasures or new team formation. There are also special items you can get from unlocking achievements.
The game is free but to get the full experience, you will need to buy packs. At the start, there are
How to play tutorial screens and my future posts will concentrate on other information about the game. Here are some more useful links:
Cardlist
iTunes App Store link:
ONE PIECE AR CARDDASS Formation (WORLD) - NamcoBandai Games Inc.
Android Play Store Link
