In a world where game narratives have increasingly fallen under the influence of HBO’s somber prestige TV tone, it’s refreshing to play something that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Previous Yakuza games have scratched that itch, embracing a hallucinogenically zany brand of soap opera melodrama and slapstick weirdness. Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii is the latest entry – the title alone confirms a return to its irreverent formula.
At the game’s opening, a shirtless Goro Majima washes up on a sunny island beach. Awoken by a young boy Noah, Majima learns he’s on Rich Island, off Honolulu, Hawaii AKA “The Big Pineapple” of last year’s Infinite Wealth.
Then some pirates turn up. And not modern, Captain Phillips-terrorising speedboat and AK-47 pirates, either, but Long John Silver-cosplaying, shiver-me-timbers buccaneers. It’s here you first meet Keith The Pirate, a recurring punching bag who gets battered everywhere he goes.
Majima has gaming amnesia but the intricate Hannya on his back lets us know what he’s about and fans will remember playing as him in Yakuza 0 and Yakuza: Dead Souls. After a few hours exploring Rich Island, you dispose of Keith’s captain and make off with his ship and crew, all while persuading Noah’s dad – a grumpy, drunken treasure collector with reservations about an amnesiac gangster taking his son to sea – to help you hunt down lost treasure and use the money to cure his son’s health condition (which appears just to be run-of-the-mill asthma, but fine). A spirited musical number involves your crew prancing around the deck like the HMS Pinafore and then you’re on your way.
Though unearthing The Esperanza’s treasure is a key goal, this is a multifarious, mad yarn. Majima’s former clan members quickly reappear and, following on from the events of Infinite Wealth, are stuck cleaning up nuclear waste with a religious cult. You’re also tasked with climbing the ranks of Pirate Colosseum, a pirate ship battle royale, complete with epic crew-on-crew brawls. The latter is situated on Madlantis, an “outlaw paradise” of gaudy lights run by a shisha smoking baroness with a Bond-inspired shark pool.
Basically, Pirate Yakuza is non-stop zany entertainment – and the game’s wacky aesthetic melds perfectly with its kitchen sink approach to gameplay. At its core, this is a beat ‘em up RPG and pirate sailing game. At sea, ship combat is simple but compelling: machine guns from the front, cannons from the sides and, amusingly, rocket launchers from the deck.
On land, real-time combat returns. Majima switches between two fighting styles, Mad Dog (fists and dagger) and Sea Dog (cutlasses and pistols). These pair with acrobatic context-sensitive, ‘Heat Action’ special moves. Regularly upgrading Majima’s skillset is essential: sudden difficulty spikes occur, and button mashing will send you straight to Davy Jones’ Locker (the three difficulty settings are a welcome addition).
So Majima needs cash, reputation and crew mates – and in his quest to increase these, we come to the Yakuza series’ central pull: total procrastination. Beyond collecting bounties and procuring treasures, there’s a veritable trove of side activities to pursue here. These range from typical (Texas Hold’em poker, Fantasy Mahjong, darts, trick shot pool) to downright weird: batting cannonballs at explosive barrels or taking fiendish exams at vocational school. Old favorites like Dragon Kart return, with multiple grands prix to take on.
Not all games are created equal and some tasks in Pirate Yakuza seem slightly antiquated (essentially: go here, batter this thug; go to the mall, buy these 10 items etc). But, taken as a whole, this is a joyously entertaining game that will provide fun for every kind of player.
‘Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii’ is released on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One and PC on February 21
VERDICT
The sheer value on offer in Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii is incredible: there are classics like Daytona USA 2 and Virtua Fighter available to play on in-game Sega arcade systems. This is also a genuinely funny game: Majima is loveably mad – and your crew members are comedy gems, a crazy cast of scoundrels, such as Masaru the pepper-throwing, machete-wielding cook and Captain Beef, the real-life Japanese Twitch streamer reimagined here as a cow-obsessed pirate desperate to impress his dad.
All in all, Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii is another stellar entry in what is fast becoming gaming’s most consistently entertaining series.
PROS
- Hilarious, thrillingly zany tone
- Loveable cast of misfit characters
- Endless side entertainment from games within the game
CONS
- Some tedious repetitive tasks
- Slightly inconsistent difficulty
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