Overview

It has been over 20 years since the Like A Dragon series made its debut with the original Yakuza game that released in Japan in the December of 2005. Since then we have seen seven subsequent main-line entries, and a bunch of spin-offs that highlight characters who have become a staple in the world of Yakuza, and with quite possibly its most goofy and outlandish entry yet. Pirate Yakuza is par for the course for this series, but more so Goro Majima the Mad Dog of Kamarucho and fan favorite of the series on a new adventure following the aftermath of the events of Infinite Wealth.

Pirate Yakuza simply put is an absolutely bombastic and out there video game, that whilst much more compact to its mainline counterparts is still packed with a wealth of meaningful content that works well, and showcases RGG's ability to implement and continue to experiment with new ideas, even if some do feel like they've run their course by the end of the game. But that being said if you're a fan of this series then you're sure to find something here that you absolutely love, so without delay, let's get into my review for Like A Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

Story

The story for Pirate Yakuza starts off following Goro Majima a living legend an icon in the world of the Yakuza, who has washed up on the shores of Hawaii on an island called Rich Island, where he is rescued and met by a boy named Noah. It is revealed that Majima has no recollection of his past and decides to commit to the life of piracy with his newly acquainted friend Noah. They decide to set out on an adventure to find some treasure, hoping to find an elixir of life to cure Noah's cough, and at the same time fulfil a boys dreams of seeing the world.

The story does take some time to get going but is entertaining once it does take off, and introduces some entertaining characters, and see's the return of some series all stars. The story ultimately does crescendo into something that does nicely have relevance to long standing fans of the series whilst providing its own unique story.

Whilst it does offer its own unique story, I would say that Pirate Yakuza does ride on the player having knowledge of the events of Infinite Wealth primarily and the more of this series you have experienced the more you'll know and be invested with Majima as a character.

If there is one thing that I feel Pirate Yakuza is a comparable too in many departments particularly its narrative, is the smaller sized side adventure The Man Who Erased His Name, which released back in late 2023. In a similar vein to how The Man Who Erased His Name closed the chapter on Kiryu as a central protagonist, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii feels like a send-off to the cast, and series favorites Goro Majima in a similar vein, as well as closing out the loose ends that are left open after Infinite Wealth's conclusion.

Gameplay

Brawler Combat

The combat for Like A Dragon Pirate Yakuza see's a return to the brawler combat that defined the series, and provides two satisfying styles of combat which may seem like less than in prior entries but it provides an expansive set of tools that keep the combat fun for the duration of the playthroughs runtime.

The combat is satisfying as ever here in Pirate Yakuza with two different styles that are completely different and serve to utilize different approaches to enemies. You will start off with the Mad Dog style which will resemble Majima's Yakuza combat style and if you have played Infinite Wealth it is great to be able to use this Doppleganger ability here.

Then there is a new playstyle for Majima called Sea Dog which embodies the pirate life of a Yakuza by slowing expanding this combat style with new tools that flesh out the class out with a gun and a grappling hook, you also wield two swords that you can throw at enemies.

It offers the staples that you would expect providing new and satisfying heat actions, interactable objects that you can use to beatdown your enemies and larger scale fights with 30 enemies on screen that you can brawl with.

I will say that compared to previous entries in the series, I do feel like Pirate Yakuza does feel on the easier side, particularly if you engage with much of the games side content. I do feel like the games combat and particularly the boss encounters will feel like they're a cakewalk compared to other games, where you will be melting health bars towards the later half of the game, and I do feel like this may feel a little too easy for long term fans of the series.

Navel Comat

The flipside and new inclusion to Pirate Yakuza is the inclusion of navel combat which has you engage with enemy ships out on the seven seas. The way combat works here is that you'll have machine guns, which will be able to fire for four seconds, then you have your two side cannons which are more the heavy hitters, these have you pull up on the side and fire off dealing damage, and there are different effects and debuffs that you can apply to enemy ships like fire and poison, weirdly. There are also different types of cannons you can utilize through progression unlocks.

But despite these efforts, I can't help but feel like the navel combat comes up a little short, like it is fun for what it is, but if you're someone who is looking for some depth in the approach to Navel combat, then you may walk away disappointed here, as this aspect of the game serves as a more as a fleshed out mini-game, then fully fledged system.

It's is a lot more simplistic and arcadey firing those cannons and ramming your enemies, but I do feel like once you've engaged in combat enough in the early hours, the combat doesn't really evolve.. However, does this tap into the overall vibe and feeling that makes you feel apart of the Pirate Fantasy. It has this unique Yakuza flavor to a pirate experience, that does make it stand out in comparison to many other games in the genre you could be playing.

The navel biomes and locations are varied in their presentation even if functionally it does become rather samey. I will say some areas like the Frozen Sea also do look a little rough as well. Still it is more fun than Skull and Bones, and there is a plethora of different activities that are available that do make this combat remain fun at least through the runtime of Pirate Yakuza.

Exploration and Side Content

Now onto the exploration and the side content that is available in Pirate Yakuza and man, the amount of side content available in whilst making their appearance from prior entries, do make a return here and are distinctive with the ways they reward your time, because many of the things that you do in Pirate Yakuza whilst fun in their own right, do feed into the progression systems really well.
The exploration and side content is comprised of three different sections, and that's how I will be dividing this section into.

Sailing The Seven Seas

The first form of exploration and side content that you'll be introduced to and it is the real draw to this particular experience, is the navel exploration of the seas of Hawaii, where you will be exploring islands, collecting treasure, and fighting rival pirates for there plunder. It sounds cool and is fun, and for the most part it is enjoyable for the duration of this games runtime. But out of all the three pillar locales that you'll explore, I do think that sailing the seas is the weakest component of the experience. It is fun to explore the seas at first, blasting iconic tracks from the franchise and some sea shanty tunes, but one you have raided a few islands, engaged in combat with some rival ships, the loop becomes rather one-dimensional and familiar. It is bombastic and there is a lot of fun in its simplicity, but if you're someone who does aim to tackle a lot of this content, you'll reach the ceiling early as to what this side of the experience has to offer early on.

The Devil Flags side story does provide legs and reason to explore the open world and more so the navel combat, and open area the seas of Hawaii. It's not like it is bad by any means but I do feel the pursuit of treasure and the mini-dungeons do become repetitive and tedious.

The Streets of Honolulu

The biggest area that you'll explore in the more traditional sense is the streets of Honolulu which are just as fully explorable and as vertical with buildings and interactable stores as they were in Infinite Wealth. Pirate Yakuza is full of many of the same activities that you'll find in Infinite Wealth with things like the Super Crazy Delivery, the courses that you can take, and even the Aloha Links. There are some other interesting activities and mechanics that do make the exploration feel more unique to this experience, such as bounties which is a system where you can fight different enemies in the open world to collect some cash, and this is another mini-collectathon that is decent, but more a means to make some quick cash. The biggest element that makes much of the side content feel rewarding and satisfying in this game is ultimately the different rewards that you can acquire for completing activities, as I think that Pirate Yakuza has some incredible cosmetic customization, but also the key pillar which is the crew mate system that is tied into the progression of the navel aspects of Pirate Yakuza which we will get more into later in the video, but it is worth mentioning here that the side activities are as diverse, even if familiar, are rewarding and do make your time feel valued.

Pirate Yakuza also includes its own wealth of Substories which are as entertaining as they usually are, and are something that are always worth doing when you stumble across them, providing satisfying stories about the location and the folks living in the area. I think that if you aren't playing through or experiencing the substories in a Like A Dragon game, then you're missing out, and Pirate Yakuza is no different in this regard, and it is also another means of looking for some cool new recruits.

The last element that I'd like to talk about is the search for treasure, which you can find in the location of Honolulu. It accomplishes this through the inclusion of a Grapple hook, which is an immediate plus to a video game, but it is used here to explore certain rooftops of Honolulu and find hidden some hidden treasures, which is another collectathon, and a nice side thing.

Madlantis

Madlantis is the underbelly of the pirate world similar to purgatory from the criminal underbelly of Kamurocho. The main attraction here is the Coliseum battles that are a mixture of new activities that provide challenges essentially having you face off in different navel battles, along side boarding the ships with your crew mates and fighting 30+ enemies. It's some quality fun here, and I don't think that it is too overbearing with how much there is on offer. Madlantis also offers up its own variety of mini-games like a batting barrel mini-game, and there is also some hidden treasures like I mentioned with the Honolulu section that you can grapple and collect.

Side Content Conclusion

The amount of places to explore here are an interesting blend of new and old, but full of content and bustling with activities as you'd expect from any Like A Dragon release having you able to explore the streets of Honolulu as freely as you could in Infinite Wealth and the new area being the sea of Hawaii and its respective islands, along with its underbelly known as Madlantis.

Like A Dragon Pirate Yakuza is one of the more easier games to 100% and there is a strong quantity of content here and range as mentioned. I mention this because whilst I don't believe this is a downside, it can be challenging to get 100% completion's on many of the Like A Dragon games given how dense they are and sometimes for some people it can come across daunting as a game to approach and tackle, and I think if you're looking to try and more broadly go for a 100% completion Pirate Yakuza is a great starting point.

Gameplay Systems

Progression

The progression for Pirate Yakuza has many different facets, that lean into the two sides of combat I mentioned earlier. On the Majima side of things, we have two big things that will progress your effectiveness in combat. There are abilities, which are a staple for any Like A Dragon game, allowing you to flesh out Majima's two styles with new heat actions, and kit to help him approach enemies in combat. These abilities are purchased with money and points acquired from completing goals of the expansive task list.

There is a new inclusion that are rings that can be equipped that provided benefits to Majima in combat. These rings can be obtained through different treasures that you find out in the world, and also there are purchasable rings that can be acquired through the stores of Honolulu.

The Crewmate System

The biggest and more interesting system is the crewmate system which is where a lot of the rewards from exploring comes into play. So once you set out into the world with your ship, you'll be able to unlock different members that can join your team and different squads that you can assign party members to. When you recruit a member to your crew, you'll have four different categories that these members will have stats for, with them being proficient in a particular role, which mean you can allocate them and assign them to your ship and have them be useful when you are engaged in navel combat and repairing the ship. Then there are members who're more well versed in combat, so you'll want to position them to assist you when boarding an enemy ship and fighting their crew. It's pretty awesome you'll see all of these party members fighting alongside you.

There is another dimension to this system too, as you'll find different tier pirate members which can progress to higher levels meaning they can be more effective, and their are also different roles that each crew member can be proficient in as well with there being melee DPS, ranged DPS, tanks, and healers and it makes for an interesting and continual growth of team composition, and whilst a lot of it does feel like it boils down to stat boosts, I feel like the overall system is quite satisfying.

I think again, the thing that sells this system the most is the overall spectacle of it all, and seeing all of these characters jumping across the deck with you, along with fighting alongside you, and many of these characters are reoccurring major or minor characters too, it is some entertaining fun, that personally never got old for me.

Conclusion

Overall Like A Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is another bombastic ride into the ever-expanding world of the Yakuza, and it has important moments for longstanding fans, and narratively will be a confusing starting point for newcomers. But the game itself, is a satisfying ride that provides a great variety of locales and activities to partake in that don't overstay their welcome, and in my 35 hours with the game, I felt like I had really walked away feeling satisfied with what this game set out to accomplish. It may not offer the most complex systems in the world or navel combat that will set the world on fire, but there is a certain charm to its arcade-like approach, and if you're looking for something that can ignite the desire to have fun with a video game, and keep throwing fun things to do, then Like A Dragon Pirate Yakuza is sure to offer that to you, and is absolutely an experience that I would recommend.