One Piece is everywhere: Luffy is invading Monster Hunter 4 and going international

Anime crossing over to video games is not all that uncommon in Japan. If the anime has even the slightest hint of popularity, you can be sure it is going to get a game, and that that game is going to sell like hotcakes. Today, one popular anime has three video game announcements that are sure to get all the mugi wara fans out there excited.

(See: Luffy in the new J-Stars promotion video.)

One Piece Unlimited World: Red

One Piece Unlimited World: Red was released on the 3DS in Japan last fall, and today Bandai Namco announced that it will be seeing an international release later this year. The game will take place during the Punk Hazard Arc and will let you fight against Caesar Clown, Smoker, and even a few enemies from the past, like CP9’s Rob Lucci. With the announcement, Bandai Namco also released this trailer:

Monster Hunter 4 collaboration (only in Japan)

Tired of wielding giant swords the size of small cars? Well, why not try out Luffy’s massive fists? Capcom has announced that Monster Hunter 4 will have another One Piece collaboration, and will feature a couple weapons from the series. Starting later this month, you will be able to slice through the monsters with Zorro’s three blades, or pulverize dragons with Luffy’s giant fists.

In a previous collaboration, you were able to download Chopper as your Felyne, and even get Usopp’s slingshot and Nami’s weather-controlling rod. That’s almost enough DLC to create the entirety of the Straw Hat crew. Will the next collaboration feature a robot and a skeleton?

J-Stars Victory Vs Ultimate Villain

Fans of the series know that One Piece characters Luffy, Boa Hancock, Ace, and Akainu will be playable characters in the upcoming J-Stars Victory Vs for Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita. What you may not know is who the mysterious villain in the game will be. Thanks to the most recent issue of Jump, we know that the game’s boss is called Dark Phantom, and will be able to mimic all of the fighter’s moves. It looks like the final boss you will have to beat in this anime fighter will be yourself.

I’m not sure if J-Stars is trying to be poetic with this villain choice, or just trying to make things difficult.