I can’t believe the new Like A Dragon game was made in less than 18 months

It’s a testament to the franchise that when it was confirmed that Goro Majima would star in the next Like a Dragon adventure: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, few fans were surprised.

The cache that Ryu Ga Gotoku has generated with fans since the Like A Dragon franchise moved into a new level of popularity in the last decade means that it essentially has the license to do whatever it wants. This may be its biggest departure so far, but from what we’ve played, fan’s faith in RGG is well justified.

The game is set some months after Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Goro Majima, the old running mate of Like A Dragon protagonist Kiryu Kazuma, has washed up on a far-off island with no memory of his past. His life is saved by a random child who gives Majima water, and shelter. Trading the streets of Kamurochō for the high seas, Majima forms a pirate crew and embarks on his late-in-life career change.

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii blends traditional Yakuza action gameplay with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag-style naval combat. When on land, Majima hacks and slashes his way through groups of wandering random enemies. Majima has two fighting styles, each offering a unique approach to hospitalizing random thugs. These can be changed mid-fight and influence the attacks that Majima can use.

The fighting is traditional LaD beat-em-up combat rather than the turn-based gameplay of the previous few titles. Alongside Majima’s weaponry and martial arts skills, he can also play magical instruments (just go with it) to summon spiritual creatures from the deep. A giant celestial shark? Sure, why not? Speaking of sharks, during a presentation on the game, we’re shown that eventually, Majima’s boat will be able to be fitted with shark cannons, as well as laser canons. Sharks with lasers attached to them are currently unconfirmed.

Boat combat is all about lining up your ship with other ships and blasting them to pieces. You have to maintain the health of your ship, which, if it gets low enough, will see the ship burst into flames. Majima then runs around the deck of the ship trying to put it out with a tiny fire extinguisher. RGG has such a talent for playing farcical comedy with a straight face.

The ship combat we encountered in our preview was fairly easy, but for more involved battles, once the enemy ship is weak enough, Majima and his crew can board and finish it off. This manifests as big group battles wherein you have to defeat all of the opposition crew, and the captain, before you lose any of your crew mates. There are naval combat tournaments, as well as random battles that take place while sailing between zones.

The small preview of the game’s main story was intriguing, but we also got the sense that Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is more than happy to give you the time to explore the world yourself. At one point we’re literally told to go and stretch our legs and see what weird and wonderful people we could meet.

“The small preview of the game’s main story was intriguing, but we also got the sense that Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is more than happy to give you the time to explore the world yourself”

One of the first people we ran into begged us on his hands and knees to fight him, for little reason other than the love of a scrap. We did so, and following our battle we invited him to join our team. Our demo jumped around in the first few hours of the game, so while we didn’t get a full sense of how we amassed our ridiculous crew, we can’t wait to find out.

One side quest we took on saw a retired salary man beg us to let him join our merry gang of pirates, much to the dismay of his wife and son. We let him join, but it soon becomes clear that a life at sea isn’t for him, and he remembers that the real pirate’s treasure was his family. All of this melodrama takes place against the backdrop of men with tiger masks and pizza delivery boys murdering each other on the deck of a ship.

Another side quest sees Majima being taken on a bus tour of Hawaii by a popular idol, only to quickly realize that things aren’t what they seem and that the idol may be taking some of the poor folks on the bus for more than one type of ride. The amount of traditional Like A Dragon in the game is something that truly surprised us. Sure, you’re spending a lot of time in ship-to-ship action, but there’s also plenty of time to explore, meet strange characters, and play classic LaD minigames.

Even if you’ve already spent 100 hours in Hawaii last year for Infinite Wealth, the game, from what we’ve played, makes great strides to not only fill the place with brand new characters to meet and greet but also reward fans who spent that time with references, follow-ups to side quests from Infinite Wealth and more.

The inclusion of Hawaii also greatly helped with the production of the game, cutting development time to less than 18 months. The game splits time between Hawaii, Madlantis, and a few more pirate islands, however, it seems like Hawaii is the largest explorable space, other than the sea, of course.

We had absolutely no doubt that RGG was going to be able to pull off Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, but we’re still very impressed by how confident it is. This game, which RGG confirmed will bridge the gap between Infinite Wealth and the next main series entry, will both palette-cleanse fans who need a break from the turn-based main series and reward those who’ve been Goro Majima fanatics for over a decade now.