Arrr! Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a grandiose pirate fever dream
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii fires off a full broadside of fun and surprises. This zany adventure is a must for fans of all things piracy.
«By Davy Jones’ cursed locker, what did I just witness?!» Thoughts like these cross my mind as I finish my pirate adventure in the latest Like a Dragon after around 25 hours of play. It’s an absolutely insane game that bombards me with an incredible array of crazy story and gameplay elements in a short space of time.
If you even slightly envy a pirate’s life, you should hoist the Jolly Roger immediately and set sail with Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.
Pow! You’re a pirate
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a spin-off of the long-running Japanese punch’em’up series Like a Dragon. I slip into the boots of legendary Yakuza Goro Majima. He washes up on the coast of a small island near Hawaii with no memory.
The tiny island is terrorised by would-be pirates. Although Majima no longer knows anything about his former life as a gangster, his fists still fly around without mercy. Through my adventure, I liberate the island from the pirate plague by force and learn about a legendary treasure said to lie dormant somewhere in the Hawaiian seas.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
Through a bizarre chain of coincidences, Majima himself becomes the captain of a pirate ship and sets off in search of the epic booty.
Some buddies I made on the island are along for the ride – first among them former pirate Jason Rich, his son Noah and their cute pet Goro. The two little rascals in particular really grow on me over time.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
The Like a Dragon games are known for their unique mix of absurd humour and dramatic storytelling. In this vein, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii puts its focus on the absurd, initially too much for me. The flashy pirate world has little to do with the dark gangster stories of past games. However, as the game progresses, I discover more and more Easter eggs and connections to the overarching story of the series. Overall, as a long-time fan, I’m satisfied – even if the story doesn’t reach the high points the series is known for.
If you’ve never played a Like a Dragon game before, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a good, if not entirely representative, introduction to the series. Without any previous knowledge of Majima’s Yakuza life, immersing yourself in the amnesia story is even easier.
Search for treasures and sink ships
Majima spends a large part of his pirate adventure on the high seas. On his ship Goromaru, I explore the island clusters around Hawaii. There’s all kinds of treasure to plunder and items to collect across the open game areas.
If I see a suspicious-looking island, I drop my anchor and leave the ship with my crew. The islands themselves aren’t open worlds, but linear levels where hostile pirate crews lurk. If I beat up all the pirates on an island, I get my hands on some sick treasure.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
On my journey from one island to the next, I keep coming across enemy ships that attack me. The ship battles are a gameplay highlight – they’re fast, chaotic and wonderfully unrealistic.
My massive pirate ship feels more like a small, manoeuvrable motorboat thanks to the arcade-like controls. With a turbo drive, I can boost my speed for a short time and drift through the enemy armada with ease.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
On the offensive end, I have side-mounted cannons and a machine gun positioned on the ship’s bow at my disposal. Majima can also leave the helm of the ship at any time to attack enemy ships from the deck with a rocket launcher (!).
I’m constantly upgrading my ship’s equipment with resources I find throughout the game world. Jetting through the world like a vacuum cleaner and sucking up all the loot is truly worth it.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
If my ship suffers major damage, I order my crew to repair it. Majima personally takes care of injured crew members and runs across the deck to heal them. It's moments like these, I'm helplessly exposed to attacks – luckily I can set off smoke bombs to hide my ship and buy myself a bit of time.
I can sink most enemy ships with my weapons. With particularly powerful boss ships, sea battles are followed by a skirmish on the deck of the enemy ship, where I have to beat up all the remaining enemy pirates.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
A tried and tested combat system with a good pinch of madness
Majima beats up enemies using either the Mad Dog or Sea Dog fighting style. With the former, I can focus on individual opponents, while the latter style is particularly suitable for larger groups. In some situations, there are almost a hundred characters on the battlefield at the same time – more than in any Like a Dragon game.
Still, the real-time combat system works like it did in older games – I attack with fast or strong strikes, dodge with dashes and block enemy attacks. As usual, a heat bar fills up as the fight progresses. When full, I can use it to execute exaggerated brutal finishers – a real feast for the eyes for connoisseurs of over-the-top violence. Majima now has access to a pirate sabre, a powerful revolver and a grappling hook. Thanks to the latter in particular, he feels more mobile and faster than ever before.
Source: Sega
In addition to the heat bar, there’s now a second indicator that fills up when you perform spectacular manoeuvres in battle – the Madness Gauge. When it’s full, Majima can unleash magical special attacks that often decide the outcome of a battle.
In Mad Dog style, the ex-Yakuza summons up to four doppelgangers to fight alongside him for a short time. As the Sea Dog, Majima can unleash one of four cursed Dark Instruments – legendary weapons I can find on the treasure islands of Hawaii. If I play the dark violin, a man-eating shark appears. If I blow into the dark ocarina, jellyfish appear to paralyse enemies. Crazy awesome.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
On a discovery tour across Honolulu and Madlantis
Between buccaneering escapades, Majima and his crew take time out in two larger, open game areas, exploring them on foot. One of these areas is Madlantis, a huge cave where the pirates of the region meet to drink, gamble and fight. The perfect place to find new members for my pirate crew, then.
Strolling through winding alleyways full of dirty buccaneers and half-naked dancers is really impressive. I can’t get enough of the hustle and bustle, and the characters I meet there are fascinating too. Chief among them the noble Queen Michelle, who reigns on her throne as the merciless Queen of Pirate Bay.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
The second large region, Honolulu, is the complete opposite of the dark and dirty underground world of Madlantis. Nevertheless, I can still find many potential recruits for my ship here. I already know the city from previous game Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. It feels cool to return to the tropical paradise after a year away. I still vaguely remember certain sights and stores, bumping into old buddies across the city. It feels like returning to a familiar vacation spot.
The side missions I can find across these two game areas are wonderfully absurd, as is typical of the series. I take on bounty contracts, complete an HR seminar for pirate captains and help a researcher develop a headset for communicating with animals.
Average Hawaii activities, of course.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
There’s also no shortage of mini-games. Many of them have been recycled from past games or given a new pirate twist. Go-karting, delivering food, playing baseball with cannonballs and exploding barrels. I never get bored with this crazy selection.
However, the main attraction among the side activities is definitely the Pirates’ Colosseum in Madlantis. It’s a league where I can compete against other pirates in increasingly brutal ship battles, playing my way up to champion.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
Technical weaknesses and bumpy pacing
Still, not all that glitters is gold in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. The crazy pirate adventure has its biggest weaknesses in its pacing and technical implementation.
Despite its relatively short length, Majima’s buccaneer adventure is packed with plenty of different game mechanics. Getting started with countless tutorials is quite tough as a result. The story also takes a while to introduce all the important characters and build up suspense.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
In contrast to the slow start, unlocking skills and upgrading weapons later in the game is too easy for me.
My ship is too quickly equipped with the best laser cannons and coconut machine guns. In no time at all, my crew is made up of the strongest scoundrels in the region, all at maximum level. And Majima’s unlocked combat skills turn most enemies into driftwood faster than they can scream Arrrrr. Even the more difficult battles in the Pirates’ Coliseum feel trivial.
Source: Domagoj Belancic
The quality of the graphics varies greatly. While Honolulu and Madlantis look truly impressive with small details in the game environment, many NPCs and beautiful lighting, some regions on the high seas are all the more disappointing.
Quite a few treasure islands look barren and unfinished with washed-out textures, poorly detailed environments and aggressive pop-in. The Hawaiian sea itself isn’t always visually convincing either. Depending on the camera angle, unsightly artefacts and unnatural reflections can be seen – mainly due to the excessive use of Screen Space Reflections. A shame – especially in a game where there’s bound to be a lot of water.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will be available from 20 February for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC. The game was provided to me by Sega for the PS5.
In a nutshell
A successful pirate joyride full of surprises
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is an absolutely ridiculous piracy simulator, impressing with a varied display of gameplay. All the ship battles are fast and wonderfully chaotic. The usual solid combat system is even faster and wackier with new weapons and magic attacks.
Even the uneven pacing and fluctuating graphical quality don’t stop me from recommending this game to all pirate and Yakuza lovers. If you’ve never played a game in the Like a Dragon series before, feel free to pick it up without any prior knowledge. Long-time fans shouldn’t be put off by the apparently trivial and (too) crazy pirate story.
Pro
- Varied gameplay
- Successful and absolutely insane ship battles
- Familiar fun combat system with new twists
Contra
- Bumpy pacing
- Graphics not completely convincing
Header image: Sega
22 people like this article
Domagoj Belancic
Senior Editor
Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.chMy love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.
