ARR!!! Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag has been dethroned (in my opinion) as the best pirate video game. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a WILD pirate adventure game built within the Like a Dragon (aka Yakuza) universe.
When this game was first announced many, including myself, thought this couldn’t be real and if it was, then it must be DLC for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth which launched in 2024 (check out my review) and takes place in the Hawaiian Islands.
But no, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a full-game release where you play as protagonist Goro Majima. Now if you are a fan of the franchise then you know exactly who he is, and if you’re new to the franchise and this name means nothing to you that’s completely fine since Goro also has no recollection of who he is and is suffering from amnesia.
This was a fantastic idea by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio since it doesn’t require new players to the franchise to feel unprepared. Don’t get me wrong, the Like a Dragon lore is great and how all the various games tie into each other, including Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is creatively told. With that said, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii can be enjoyed by those just looking to play a badass pirate game, and man oh man, this is one hell of a pirate game.
So avoiding spoilers, all you need to know is Goro Majima washes up on a beach after assuming he was involved in a shipwreck. As mentioned, he has amnesia but is covered in Yakuza tattoos so it’s safe to say he’s either a current or former member. A 10-year-old boy named Noah and his tiger Goro (yeah, what a coincidence) find Goro Majima and try to help him out.
The joke here is the boy refuses to believe Goro is a tiger and insists he’s a cat. Noah gives a quick rundown of this unique island named Rich Island and the 60+ inhabitants. He also explains why there are groups of men walking around dressed up as 16th-century pirates.
Unlike Infinite Wealth, the combat in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is NOT turn-based and goes back to the classic beat’em up combat system. You have light and heavy attack buttons along with a jump, evade, and grab. The more you kick ass, the faster you’ll level up to learn new abilities for your 2 fight styles which are titled Mad Dog and Sea Dog. Mad Dog is your traditional street brawler fisticuffs style. Sea Dog is a style that focuses more on using pirate-type weapons such as pistols and cutlasses.
Sea Dog unlocks later in the game when Goro embraces the pirate life. While in combat, you will notice a Madness meter filling up in the top corner. Once full, press (RT) to spawn 4 Goro Majima doppelgangers which are extremely effective. I used this feature during one boss fight and easily destroyed my foe while I stood back and watched. Please note that this special ability is for the Mad Dog style.
There is a cool one for the Sea Dog style too. Pressing down on the D-Pad allows you to switch between fight styles on the fly. During combat, you may see the occasional button prompt. Correctly pressing the displayed button will trigger a cut scene straight out of a martial arts movie. There is one that shows Majima catching a blade attack with his teeth. Quick-time events are also sprinkled in some boss fights to spice things up.
While the ship controls are quick to pick up, there’s also a deeper crew management system in place. You can see your current crew members’ skills & abilities. As you play alongside them, everyone will level up but at various points in the game. There are areas in which you will be able to recruit new members with their own unique set of skills & abilities.
This becomes handy later in the game when the ship / on-boarding becomes tougher and you need a beefier boarding crew. On the topic of boarding an enemy ship, you just need to dish out enough damage that makes them immobile and move in for the kill. Now you can just blow them out of the water or ram them to send the ship down to Davy’s Jones locker. Once the battle is complete, a splash screen appears showing the results and which crew members have earned XP.
While the open sea looks MASSIVE, it’s not, which isn’t a bad thing. This means it will keep you locked into a particular area of the ocean and various islands to explore and expand as you progress in the story. I tried going all the way to the far left and right and was greeted with an invisible wall and a crew member saying “There is nothing here to see.” I see this as a plus since it creates fewer chances of going too far off course and out of the realm in which to progress the campaign.
With that said, there are plenty of islands to explore for treasure. These islands play out like a dungeon. This means there are multiple waves of enemies to defeat with each wave getting harder the deeper you go. The same occurs for boss battles and in some cases, you will get the heads up with a prompt saying “Hey, are you ready to move on?” Tip: always say NO. That way you can double-check your character stats to see if you collected enough money to unlock new moves or cook some recovery meals.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is filled with mini-games. One you will be playing frequently is the cooking mini-game. You will find seeds for various ingredients, then find locations to plant these seeds. You can collect the item within 10 minutes or more (depending on the ingredient) and head over to a cooking pot. Here you will see a menu of meals you can cook depending on the items you have and of course, they all offer a variety of recovery boosts.
Once you select your desired dish, the mini-game will begin. It all changes depending on the dish so for one you could be pressing (X) in the right location of a meter bar to blow into a fire or press a button combination to chop up your ingredients. The faster you complete these mini-games, the better the result. There is also a multiplayer mini-game menu on the home screen. You can play some classic Sega titles such as Virtua Fighter 3 and Sega Racing Classic 2 Power Edition. Just remember this is LOCAL CO-OP, no online play which is a bummer so make sure you have a 2nd controller handy.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a beautifully refreshing gaming palate cleanser. No one in their wildest dreams could have seen this one coming and the fact that it all gels so well is icing on the cake. The game runs smoothly and there is no glitching or clipping which one might expect during the ship battles.
My only gripes are ones I’ve had with some of the others in the franchise such as not every NPC is voiced (English or Japanese). So, you can have this amazing cut scene or just a conversation while walking with a crew member and then interact with another NPC that brings up the dialogue box. Another is during large brawls. When blocking, my character will block while not facing the attacker. When I lock on to an enemy, it occasionally gets confused. Again, these are minor gripes, not game-breaking by any means but worth mentioning.
Overall, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a unique, fun game with a wild story and musical song and dance number that will instantly put a smile on your face.
This review was written based on a digital review copy of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii for Xbox Series X provided by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Sega.
