It’s been 10 years since Goro Majima was last given center stage in the LAD franchise with Yakuza 0. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii makes a case for him being a more common protagonist in future games however, as it’s a blast from start to finish and is a better take on the series old formula than The Man Who Erased His Name was. The new features to the combat coupled with Majima’s different fighting styles than Kiryu shows how Ryu Ga Gotoku could take the series old formula going forward if they continue with older style spinoffs.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii takes place half a year after the events of Infinite Wealth and sees Majima washing up on a beach on an island near Hawaii. He’s helped by a boy named Noah Rich but he’s amnesiac and doesn’t even remember his own name. His body remembers he’s a damn good fighter however and after fending off a group of pirates that attacked Noah, a series of events leads to Majima ultimately becoming a pirate captain himself while he tries to regain his old memories.
Although not quite the GOTY contender Infinite Wealth was, Pirate Yakuza is still a great, content filled entry in a franchise that can’t seem to miss.
Pros
The gameplay goes back to the older action beat em up style as opposed to the turn based RPG of recent mainline games and it honestly fits Majima as he’s overall a faster and somewhat more wild fighter than Kiryu is but also more skilled than Ichiban is. Majima has two styles to swap between, Mad Dog a style familiar to fans of the franchise as it sees Majima delivering quick strikes with his trademark demonfire dagger. The other style is Sea Dog which lays into the pirate motif. Majima fights with dual cutlasses, a pistol as well as a hook shot and allows him to throw his swords like boomerangs. Both styles feature plenty of upgrades to purchase along with abilities shared between both and they honestly make Majima feel like the most powerful protagonist within the franchise.
The heat system returns from older games as well which allows Majima to deliver devastating attacks. Heat actions in Mad Dog tend to do greater damage vs one enemy while many of the Sea Dog actions are good for clearing out squads of up to 10 enemies with some attacks, making it good to switch between both as the situation calls for it.
New additions to combat overall is the ability to perform aerial attacks. Majima can jump and launch enemies in the air for juggle combos and has different attacks such as being able to launch daggers in mad dog or a dive bomb attack while in Sea Dog. Also new to Pirate Yakuza is the madness gauge, a different kind of heat system where Majima gets different abilities such as being able to clone himself in Mad Dog or go completely absurd and summon sharks on land in Sea Dog.
Combat is among the most varied in the franchise as on top of standard encounters you’ll also often take on other pirate crews with your own squad in large scale battles. Occasionally you’ll also have duels on top of the ships masts like something straight out of an old pirate movie. Between the variation of the styles, new abilities and the scope of some of the large scale battles, it never felt like anything got old.
On top of combat familiar to the series, naval combat is also a major focus in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Visually it looks similar to what was seen in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag though what’s presented here is far more arcade style than black flag and more over the top as well. Majima ‘s ship, the Goromaru features a good deal of customization in terms of both appearance and the weapons you can equip. You have your standard cannons but also have cannons that shoot out ice or poison to more absurd choices such as laser cannons and… Coconut guns…(If he shoots ya… It’s gonna hurt.) Majima can also personally aim at enemy ships with his own personal set of bazookas.
Much like Majima himself, the ship also features various upgrades to it’s durability, it’s boost ability in the form of jet rockets that are attached to the ship and how many crew mates you can hold. Weapons can also be upgraded either by purchasing them or crafting them in Julie’s shop returning from Infinite Wealth. These weapon upgrades can prove quite powerful as you’re able to shred through even higher level ships with ease as things go on. Your crew mates can also be levelled up through fighting, getting them gifts or throwing them feasts or parties. As your bonds increase they help in ways such as healing you during skirmishes or making the attacks from the Goromaru even stronger
On top of the combat, just like other games in the series, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is an extremely content rich game. The game has 4 locales to visit overall. Rich Island, where Majima washes up in the beginning, Honolulu the setting of the last game, Madlantis, a pirate hub with a colosseum and other activities and Nele island which is more used for story purposes. Each island also has its own waters to explore where you can go on several mini islands to find different treasures ranging from ones that net you a ton of money to various new abilities and different rings that Majima can equip to bolster his stats and grant him immunity to certain things such as fire or electricity. The 4 islands themselves also have their own unique activities such as an animal raising barn on Rich Island where you can raise various animals Majima can rescue throughout the game.
Honolulu is where most of the game’s substories take place as well as the return of fan favorite mini games such as Dragon Kart and Crazy Delivery. Madlantis features the colosseum, where you engage in various different arena challenges but also has its own mini games such as the returning golf game as well as a new game called bang bang blast which sees Majima hitting cannonballs at explosive barrels with a baseball bat. It’s also where the game’s most extensive side arc begins, the battles with the devil flag pirates who plague the various waters throughout the game.
The game’s story and characters are also quite good much like past games in the franchise. Personally I hope Ryu Ga Gotoku considers adding Majima in a starring role for the next game with Ichiban similar to Kiryu in infinite wealth as he proved to be a strong protagonist here much like he was in Yakuza 0. Though he’s amnesiac, much of his personality is still very much in tact and he shows a good deal of wisdom despite the nature of his character due to how long he’s been around at this point as he’s 60 during the course of this game.
With how he was written in this game, he could honestly be a good contrast to Ichiban despite the similarities the two of them also share.
The primary secondary character is Noah, the boy who saves Majima at the beginning of the game and forms a strong friendship with him. Noah starts off as a starry eyed kid with dreams of seeing the world but matures considerably as the game goes on. Other characters include Jason, Noah’s world weary father who lost everything years prior but opens back up through his adventures with Majima and his son, Masaru, the ships cook who helped Majima steal the ship from its previous owner and a few good antagonists such as Jack, the captain that Majima stole the Goromaru from and Raymond Law, the games primary antagonist who commands Madlantis.
Cons
So one downside is that while both combat styles are fun in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Sea Dog does unfortunately tend to outshine Mad Dog style. The style is better for clearing out huge groups of enemies due which you’ll fight much more often in this game than in previous so I found myself using seadog more than 70% of the time perhaps. A bit unfortunate as in The Man Who Erased his Name I found myself using both that games styles equally.
Also while the story is good and I enjoyed Majima as a protagonist, It does feel unfortunate that the sadomasochistic aspect of his character didn’t really seem present here. Majima has been compared to the joker in the past and it is a bit disappointing that they didn’t play that part up as much this time. Speaking of the story, the games primary antagonist Raymond Law was good but I feel like he didn’t get enough screen time. He appears a bit early but isn’t seen again until the games later acts.
Portrayed and voiced by professional wrestler Samoa Joe, he’s a legitimately badass character who also proves to be a good foil to Majima in his final scenes so it’s a bit sad we didn’t get to see him more.
While the game’s naval combat is fun and it didn’t need to go in as deep as AC IV did, I do feel a couple more naval activities could’ve been used. Perhaps a literal fly fishing mini game or some sort of boat race type game. Also, the enemies did have access to weapons you don’t such as mines which could make your arsenal seem limited in comparison.
Lastly, I feel Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii didn’t quite push its absurdity as much as it could’ve given it’s overall outlandish premise. I actually felt Infinite Wealth had more funny moments overall and while Majima doesn’t have the overactive imagination Ichiban does he has been known for being a clown so I thought RGG would’ve pushed that a bit more.
Final thoughts
All in all Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a great package much like just about every other game in the franchise is. It shows that RGG can still add to the old formula while keeping things enjoyable and they make a great case for Majima taking a more staring role in future games, especially if Kiryu’s arc is done after the events of Infinite Wealth. I hope for a Majima/ Ichiban team up in the future and that it’s the most wild entry in the franchise yet.
Reviewed on Xbox Series S. Thank you Sega for providing a code for the game. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is available on PS5, PS4 Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC releasing on 21st of February 2025.
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