Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Review
Summary: Set sail on one of this year’s silliest adventures.
4.1
A pirate's life for me
Like a Dragon (aka Yakuza) has finally jumped the Shark in its latest semi-sequel, epilogue, spinoff thing Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. If you thought Itchigo’s turn-based antics were silly in Infinite Wealth, just wait until you get a load of the dread pirate Majima.
After being shipwrecked (this seems to be a theme lately) and waking up on Rich Island, just off the coast of Hawaii, with amnesia, (Oh come on), Majima is rescued by a 10-year-old boy called Noah and his pet Tiger, Goro (that he insists is a cat).
When the pair are attacked by a group of pirates Majima’s muscle memory kicks in and he unsurprisingly wipes the floor with them. Noah then takes Majima home to the bar he lives in with his alcoholic father and teenage sister.
His father, Jason, understandably is a little wary of his son bringing home an amnesiac yakuza. Then the pirates turn up for revenge. After a rather uncomfortable stand-off with the pirates that want to get revenge on the guy that just kicked their asses. Several times. Majima and Noah decide to pay the pirates a visit to settle things.
This ends with Majima commandeering their ship (a literal galleon complete with cannons… and machine guns). Being appointed Captain, and setting a course for Nele Island since that is where all the other Yakuza are hanging out. Oh with Noah and his Dad, (who just happened to be a former treasure hunter and expert navigator) in toe. Leaving his teenage daughter to look after a bar. (Presenting Father of the Year ladies and gents).
Oh and to top it all off there’s a big musical number as they set sail. Because why not make it a musical as well?
So far, so crazy, but with the series’ most unhinged character in the driver’s seat it’s hardly surprising.
Once on the open sea, you’re introduced to Pirate Yakuza’s new gameplay element – Naval combat. This initially revolves around cruising around the Caribbean and blowing any other pirate ships you find out the water and collecting cargo that’s fallen off the back of boats, or what’s left of the ones you’ve just blown apart.
When you’re not fighting at sea, you can land at various islands to indulge in a spot of treasure hunting. This is similar to the Dungeons in Like a Dragon Ishin! with you running through and defeating rooms full of enemies before eventually uncovering your prize. In this case, it’s a trinket worth a fair chunk of change, a bump to your reputation, and if you’re lucky, it’ll be a ring you can equip to one of your fingers that boosts your stats.
After getting Nele, seeing that the Yakuza are still there cleaning up the toxic waste from Infinite Wealth, and he hasn’t had his memory jogged at all, despite seeing several returning characters, Majima, and his crew decided to blow off some steam at Madlantis, a hangout spot for local pirates that revolves around a massive aquatic colosseum that pits crews against each for fame, glory, and loot.
Madlantis is also the biggest new area in the game, and Majima’s home away from Honolulu. A boat graveyard packed full of surly pirates and buxom wenches. There’s an arcade, a bar, golf, baseball with exploding cannon balls, and the aforementioned Pirate Colosseum, which feels like a game all of its own.
It’s a great place to make a ton of cash, level up your crew, and upgrade your ship with bigger cannons, a sturdier hull, and machine gun ammo that sets fire to other boats.
You can also engage in decktop battles where your crew boards the enemy vessel and beat up everyone on board for glory and loot.
This works into the greater narrative as rising through the ranks of the colosseum helps the crew gain info about the whereabouts of a legendary lost gallion said to be full treasure worth billions.
However, before you can do this, Our would-be pirate needs more crew and the ship needs some serious repairs. Queue a jaunt back to Hawaii to conscript some salty sailors (There are more than 100 to lure back to your boat) and find a shipwright skilled enough to repair a tub held together by barnacles and prayers.
This is when the game opens up proper, and this being an epilogue to Infinite Wealth, anyone who has played Itchigo’s last adventure will feel right at home. Honolulu is pretty much just as Ichigo left it, packed full of recurring characters and just as many things to do. You set up shop at the Resolve Bar again, Julie at Gear Works is the source of all your tech and higher-end ship upgrades, and you can even get a Taco from the same shady truck (Though the owner, Jeff, is trying to go straight).
There are also plenty of Substories to explore (which for once feel more grounded than the main campaign, although that’s not saying much) that often end with you being rewarded with more crew members, animals to rescue and take back to your island petting zoo, and lucrative bounties to claim from beating up criminals too tough for the cops to handle.
Like a Dragon’s Nintendo-inspired side games also return with Pokemon Snap for perverts and Dragon Kart back in the random-minigames-that-are-far-more-involving-than-they-should-be department.
There’s also a ton of retro gaming goodness to be found. There’s a stack of collectible Master System carts including Alex Kidd and Flicky to play in your home base, or you can hit the arcade for a quick bout on Virtua Fighter 3, Fighting Vipers 2, and Spikeout.
You can also blast through The Ocean Hunter, in its first-ever console port. This rare arcade title sees player grab a spear gun and murder their way through shark-infested waters before battling legendary sea creatures, culminating with a fight against Daigon. (yes that is a Lovecraft reference in this Japanese lightgun shooter)
Failing that you can simply have a wander around town greeting the locals for social media clout on Aloha Links while having a nice chat with Noah.
Majima can also hunt for hidden treasure on rooftops and hard-to-reach places throughout Honolulu and Madlantis by zipping onto them with his trusty grapple.
This being a Like a Dragon game it’s also a weapon used as part of your swashbuckling fighting style which sees Majima done his pirate gear and attack foes with a pair of cutleses, an antique pistol, and zipping straight into unwary enemies with his grapple.
Later Majima stumbles across cursed instruments that unleash a shiver of sharks and other sea beasts on unsuspecting foes in fantastic, over-the-top special attacks.
It’s not the only style mind, as Majima still employs his Mad Dog technique that sees him slashing wildly at foes with his dagger while diving all over the place.
Majima can also create clones of himself that will attack enemies by themselves when his insanity meter is full. This helps during some of the more hectic battles with larger mobs, or it’s a great way to turn the tide in more desperate boss battles as it allows you to take a bit of a breather.
Mad Dog’s faster pace changes things up nicely compared to Kazuma’s more heavy fighting style. While Swashbuckler is lots of silly fun especially when you’re chucking swords at one guy, beating up another, and then catapulting yourself into another thug, just before they can shoot you.
The presentation is what you would expect from a modern Like a Dragon game. If you’ve played Infinite Wealth you’ll know exactly what to expect, gorgeous character models, packed but fairly small open-world areas to explore, and a solid framerate. The most impressive part though is how Yakuza Pirate ups the ante in the brawling stakes with massive showdowns that can throw upwards of 100 characters on the screen at once in huge crew-wide brawls.
Once again there’s also an English dub, which is welcome, though Matthew Mercer’s slightly more world-weary take on Majima is more does lack the flamboyant charm of Hidenari Ugaki’s it’s still a solid performance and you can always flit back to the Japanese dub if you’re missing him.
Final Thoughts
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a fantastic spin-off and a great Epilogue to Infinite Wealth.
The decision to put Majima in the captain’s chair is inspired and has allowed the team at Ryu Ga Gotoku to create one of the most unique and off-the-will games in the long-running series. Much like its beloved lead, Pirate Yakuxa in Hawaii is a little crazy, a little random, but incredibly charming.
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