Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii – Everything You Need to Know

The pace at which RGG Studio puts out Like a Dragon games never ceases to impress, and the fact that the vast majority of those games tend to be well worth their price of admission only makes that output that much more impressive. Not long from now, we’ll be playing another game in the beloved franchise in the form of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, a spinoff that’ll see fan-favourite character Goro Majima returning as the central playable protagonist. Naturally, there’s plenty of excitement surrounding it, and ahead of its launch, here, we’re going to go over everything that you should know about the game.

STORY

Set six months after the events of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is going to turn its focus away from Ichiban, Kiryu, and co. and instead pivoting to Majima, as we mentioned. The legendary ex-Yakuza finds himself stranded on Rich Island, where, upon awakening, he realizes that he has fully lost his memories. Now, accompanied by Noah, a boy who saved his life, Majima adopts a modern pirate persona and embarks on an adventure in search of treasure and his own lost memories.

NEW CHARACTERS

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will welcome a number of completely new characters into the fold. We’ve already mentioned Noah, who’s going to be an important part of the story. Other than him, other new characters featured in the game will include Jason Rich, a bar owner on Rich Island and Noah’s father, Jason’s daughter Moana, former Tojo clan patriarch Teruhiko Shigaki, and more.

RETURNING CHARACTERS

Of course, this being a Yakuza / Like a Dragon game, you can expect plenty of familiar faces to show up as well. Majima is, of course, the star of the show, while you can also expect his sworn brother Taiga Saejima to play a role as well. Meanwhile, former Majima followers Nishida and Daisaku Minami will return as well.

LOCATIONS

Like a Dragon games are famous for how smartly they reuse maps and locations, and sure enough, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will bring back a familiar map in the form of Honolulu. The entire map, first featured in last year’s Infinite Wealth, will return, while Nele Island, another familiar location, will also be featured. The aforementioned Rich Island will also be explorable, and will be joined by fellow new location Madlantis, which is a secret island that pirates in particular love to visit frequently.

NAVAL EXPLORATION AND COMBAT

Majima’s switch to piracy will impact the core gameplay loop as well, as you’d imagine. Chief among the changes to the series’ familiar formula will be the addition of naval exploration and combat. Players will be able to take control of Majima’s ship to traverse the high seas, where you’ll also encounter enemies to take on in real-time naval battles. When you’re done firing canons and a variety of other weapons (such as guns, flamethrowers, and more) at each other, you’ll also be able to board enemy ships for more one-on-one combat.

GOROMARU

Maima’s ship is going to be another vital aspect of the game, to no one’s surprise. Called the Goromaru, it will be the vessel that you’ll be using to navigate the seas and take on other pirates. Players will be expanding and improving their crew throughout the experience, while you’ll also have various customization options at your disposal as far as the ship itself is concerned.

CREW BONDING

Bonding mechanics end up becoming important to Yakuza games one way or another, and Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is going to keep that trend going. This time, they’ll be tied to your crew. Specifically, Majima will be able to bond with his crew members by performing in a variety of side activities. As your bond with a crew member increases, you’ll see improvements in their effectiveness in the form of stat changes.

PIRATE COLISEUM

One of several side activities on offer (more on that later), the Pirate Coliseum will be worth keeping an eye on for those on the lookout for combat challenges. Found in Madlantis, the coliseum will allow players to engage in different types of battles for unique, special rewards. Four different battle types will be available, including – as you’d expect – naval battles.

RETURN TO BRAWLER COMBAT

Outside of ship combat, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will obviously feature plenty of fisticuffs and brawls, but instead of Infinite Wealth and Yakuza 7’s turn-based style, it will revert to the series’ original style. Yes, that means combat in the upcoming spinoff is going to be real-time once again, so you can expect plenty of bombastic brawler duels.

FIGHTING STYLES

Like brawler Yakuza and Judgment games, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will let players approach combat in multiple ways. Two different combat styles will be featured, with the “Mad Dog” style serving as the default and focusing on speed, agility, and aggression that Majima fans will find familiar. There’s also the Sea Dog style, which will see him equipped with cutlasses, pistols, and other pirate tools.

MINIGAMES

No Like a Dragon game is ever complete without a vast and varied suite of minigames, and sure enough, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii seems to be touting an impressive roster on that front. A number of fan-favourites are returning, such as Crazy Delivery, Dragon Kart, and of course, karaoke. A number of classic retro Sega arcade games will also be featured in full in-game once again, including Space Harrier 3D and The Ocean Hunter.

NEW GAME PLUS

Sega and RGG Studio provoked some backlash with their decision to lock Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s post-launch addition of New Game Plus behind a paywall. Thankfully, however, they seem to have learned from their mistakes,. Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will also add New Game Plus in a post-launch update, but unlike Infinite Wealth, it will do so at no additional cost.

LENGTH

Mainline Yakuza games tend to be colossal undertakings, though Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, as a spinoff, is going to be a much shorter (but still meaty) experience. According to RGG Studio, the game is roughly 1.5 times longer than Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, which means we’re looking at a 15-20 hour runtime.

PRICE

Owing to its nature as a shorter spinoff (and one made in less than a year, no less), Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii isn’t going to be a full-priced game. Instead, when it launches for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC on February 21, its standard edition will be priced at $60.

PC REQUIREMENTS

As is usually the case with the series, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii’s PC requirements aren’t particularly demanding. To run the game on the platform at lowest settings (which will target 720p at 30 FPS), you’ll need either an i5-3470 or an FX-6300, along with either a GeForce GTX 1050 (3 GB) or Radeon R9 370 (4 GB), and 8 GB of RAM. Meanwhile, on recommended settings (to play the game at 1080p and 60 FPS), you’ll require either an i5-6600 or a Ryzen 3 2300X, along with either a GeForce GTX 1070 (8 GB), a Radeon RX 5600 XT (6 GB), or an Arc A750 (8 GB), and 12 GB of RAM.