Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii began life as Like A Dragon: Tuna, and featured Kazuma Kiryu as a fighting fisherman

Between a rock and a hard plaice.

Once upon a time, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio toyed with calling its upcoming spin-off Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii 'Like A Dragon: Tuna', with the idea to have the series' original protagonist Kazuma Kiryu star as a fighting fisherman.

RGG studio director (or, should that now be Arrrrgh GG) Masayoshi Yokoyama schooled us on the origins of Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, in an interview with PlayStation.

"Around June or July 2023, long before the release of Infinite Wealth, the dev team was already mulling over the idea of an Infinite Wealth spin-off. Even if we were to make Like a Dragon 9, we knew that wouldn’t be enough to capture and tell the story," Yokoyama said koi-ly.

"During the end of the Infinite Wealth development, we began percolating the idea of a spin-off that stars characters who are not Ichiban Kasuga. It was almost as if we were creating a blown-up sub-story for Infinite Wealth."

Yokoyama said he actually "wanted to make a game called Like a Dragon: Tuna, where Kazuma Kiryu, as a tuna fisherman, sets off to sea to fight against fishing boats" for quite a while. However, we don't need a brain sturgeon to tell us this idea ultimately wasn't realised.

But, while Like A Dragon: Tuna may not come to be, it served as a catalyst for Pirate Yakuza. Carp-e diem, and all that.

"Keywords like 'ship', 'sea', and 'fighting', which had since then been engraved in my head, evolved into the concept of pirates," the developer furthered, explaining how the team ultimately landed on Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza.

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was announced last month. It features recurring character Goro Majima swashing his buckles as the sole protagonist, as he takes to the seas as a mighty pirate following a case of amnesia.

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is set to debut next year, on 28th February. It will launch across Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PS4 and PC.

To close, a quick fish joke that always makes my kids giggle: Why did the fish blush? Because it saw the boat's bottom!