Against the odds, the next game in the beloved Yakuza game series, Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, is looking like it’s going to live up to its quirky name. At a themed preview event in Buena Park, California, just outside of Knotts Berry Farm, myself and other reporters got a stab at never-before-seen parts of the game — and the sea combat looks like it’s going to be a fun time among many activities.
Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii is a new adventure from Sega studio Ryu Ga Gotoku featuring series favorite Goro “Mad Dog” Majima, a wild-eyed gangster who emerges from the maniacal sidekick in Yakuza 0 and Like A Dragon: Fortune of Infinite to the main character. Picking up immediately six months after Infinite Wealth, Majima washes up on an island shore with no memory of his past (mis)deeds. After getting a first look at the game late last year, this new preview introduced me to a trio of activities teased in the trailer — ship-to-ship naval combat, coliseum combat, and the returning Dragon Kart minigame.
Most importantly, I got a feel for the flow of the game, as the first preview session got me into the game’s second chapter. Although without many skills and upgrades, I could still switch between Majima’s two fighting styles. The first, pirate-themed sea dog style, had me swinging around swinging twin flippers (or throwing them like boomerangs), firing my flintlock pistol, and using a chain whip to pull myself up to enemies. The second, Mad Dog’s style, will be more familiar to Yakuza fans who fought Majima in previous games: He jumps around with a knife like an alley brawler, even calling out the defendants to face the masses of enemies.
Both styles are fun, and although I got by with the button mashing, I was forced to use my small set of skills and tools when enemy groups pulled my weapons (and actual modern ones that put my little gem to shame). While the game is lumped into the Like A Dragon subseries, it wisely ditched the turn-based RPG combat in favor of real-time combat like the main Yakuza series, and is all the better for it; Flying boomerang slashes in a pirate outfit is the kind of crazy action that’s doable in non-stop motion (which can fall apart if players are given a moment to think).
In the first free-roaming section of the game, I ran into roaming gangs of island tough guys, but I mostly ran around learning the game’s weird and wonderful angles: planting herbs to harvest later, cooking food tasty treats, winning the favor of animal friends and collecting health items and energy drinks. Also on the islands, I’m buying supplies for the next one-sided war.
The next gameplay session brought the good stuff, namely the ship battles teased in previous trailers. While gamers long for the rough sea dog days of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, enjoy Sea of Thieves, and mourn what Skull and Bones could have been, the cannon-struck waters of Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will surely to appeal.
Battles at sea, brawls in the coliseum and more
The second game session opened in the wonderful pirate dreamland of Madlantis, the game’s big addition to the Yakuza landscape. Scalliwags swarm the rusted metal walkways that break down for fights, and neon signs point to bars, shops and a casino (where you can play poker and blackjack). But the centerpiece is the Pirates Coliseum, which lets you engage in four different types of battles of increasing difficulty.
The first, Quick Clash, places your ship in the flooded coliseum to engage enemies in quick combat. At lower ranks, you’ll face single ships, but harder fights will pit you against multiple ships of varying sizes. Combat at sea is a bit more arcade-style Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag than the more realistic Sea of Thieves, as you’ll be sailing with a bird’s-eye view as attack grids appear for all three of your weapons with breach: machine guns firing forward as well as a group of cannons each to port and starboard. These can be traditional cannonball weapons, short-range flamethrowers or even laser cannons (stay awesome, Yakuza).
While you’ll mainly be looking out between the ships to get the best angle for your next cannon salvo and get out of range of your opponent’s counterattack, there are several reasons to leave the wheel to walk the deck. Goromaru (what is your ship called). Most importantly, you’ll need to do this if your ship catches fire, as putting out the fire will stop taking damage, as the less health your ship has the less damage it will take. While walking around your ship, you can also use a deck-mounted machine gun or run around firing rocket launchers at enemy ships (never change, Yakuza). Keep in mind that you will be crawling to a stop away from the wheel, so watch out for enemies attacking your stationary ship.
Once you’ve defeated the enemy ship, it’s time to board and you’ll automatically jump into hand-to-hand combat with your crew against the other ship’s captain and mates. It’s a fun end to fights, especially in the second Pirates Coliseum mode, Tournament of Captains, where your opponents will have increasingly weird themes — I played against Biker Pirates, for example, who not only dressed as extras in Grease or The Strangers, but after boarding, they went through their decks on motorbikes.
Pirates Coliseum’s third mode, Madlantis Mania, was a series of deck battles against enemy crews and a little less exciting than the others. But the fourth mode, Swashbuckler Showdown, was a joyous hand-to-hand brawl on an island arena that pits you and your crew against dozens of enemies — a bit like Dynasty Warriors brawling among strange mobs with a few champions sprinkled throughout. It’s here that I’ve fought long enough to charge up my walrus-style madness meter and summon one of the four dark sea gods (shark, parrot, monkey, or jellyfish) to defeat my enemies. in mass.
Your crew, on the other hand, is drawn to a cheerful assortment of oddballs that you’ll pick up as you play through the game, some with various abilities suited to controlling balls, being team leaders, or made your first friend. From chefs to brothels to accountants to gangsters, you’ll fill your squad with a who’s who and who’s who. During one fight, my default crew went up on the deck of the enemy ship with me, including one guy wearing a ram’s head over his business suit while another wrestled in his underwear.
Gangster, pirate, what’s the difference?
Sadly, we weren’t told much about the story, although we do know that the amnesiac Majima at the start of the game will revel in his freedom and love for the friends he meets. However, it gets complicated as memories come back to him about the crime boss he was at the end of the last game, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
This preview was more about exposing us to the yakuza pirate vibes that players are expecting — and the vibes just aren’t afraid to be too funny. The Yakuza series balances melodrama and wacky creepiness in ways that are somewhat complementary, and enhancing the wilder aspects in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii works for Mad Dog Majima. It’s pushing the envelope for what gamers can take seriously, but with many familiar features returning from the flagship games on Earth.
One of those recurring perks is the beloved Dragon Kart, which we got to play in the preview. While I wasn’t a master of taking on RGG in the main kart racing minigame, it was a lot of fun getting Majima into a minicar and blasting around corners, and there’s even a Battle Royale-like duel mode (which sounds a lot like Mario Kart’s Battle Mode). Of course, no Yakuza game would be complete without karaoke, which you can sing on your ship.
But it’s the fun new pirate-themed touches that caught my eye, from adorning all 10 of Majima’s fingers with various exotic rings (to boost stats and skills) to the cooking minigame so you can make a loud party for my team to raise morale and strength. I can navigate the waters between the game’s four main land areas to fight marauding ships and find secret treasure ashore on distant islands.
The game’s themes of freedom from rules and the support of your crew nicely replicate the same dynamic in many other Yakuza games, making the downright silliness more endearing than alienating. With fast-paced combat on land and sea, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is shaping up to be a fun outing that expands the world of the series without straying from its central message of staying loyal to your chosen family (through violence).
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