As the latest entry in the Yakuza franchise, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii marks a departure from the more traditional Yakuza and Like a Dragon titles. This time around, we get to take on the role of the legendary "Mad Dog" Goro Majima, whom I’m not afraid to say is my favorite character in the entire series. Pirate Yakuza promises a fresh and exciting take on the series, but will it raise the tide for the franchise as a whole? Or is it destined to sink below the depths as merely a lackluster spinoff? Here’s our review of Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

Majima’s Set-Up to Step Up!

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (AKA Yakuza: One Piece) follows Majima as he washes up on the shores of a backwater, rural island of Hawaii. He’s suffering from the classic (and totally believable) anime trope of amnesia. This overused plot device gives Majima a blank canvas for him to have a fresh start and eventually rebrand as a captain of his own pirate ship – the Goromaru. 

Pirate Yakuza tries to tell the tale of a mystery surrounding Nele Island — a fictional Hawaiian island first introduced in Infinite Wealth — and uses Majima’s personal quest to recover his lost memories as the driving force to push the narrative. Sadly, this mystery never quite coalesces into a truly engaging or fulfilling arc, and it’s often the subplots and side characters that end up stealing the spotlight.

Like Noah, the incorrigible 10-year-old who first finds Majima washed-up on the beach and wants to help him recover his memories; and Jason, Noah’s father and ex-treasure hunter who rightfully mistrusts Majima’s claim of amnesia. However, the believability of these characters gets called into question when instances like the previously skeptical Jason become perfectly comfortable with having his child spend so much time alone with an amnesiac ex-yakuza turned pirate captain. With how overprotective Jason was initially portrayed, this sudden shift in behavior feels forced, undermining the relatable tension and realism established in his character.

While these early hours of the game — like in most Yakuza titles — are heavy on exposition, it also introduces several new mechanics such as planting crops and cooking up meals, Initially, this felt as if Pirate Yakuza was steering me towards a survival-sim genre (which I’m not entirely opposed to Like A Dragon: Stardew Valley being the next spinoff). Unfortunately, these mechanics never felt like they were fleshed out enough to truly shine.

After this initial introduction, I rarely bothered to grow my own ingredients and instead just went to the local bars and restaurants for my meals. Even after I unlocked the ability to cook and host feasts onboard the ‘Goromaru’ to raise my crews’ morale, the system just felt half-baked and was more of a distraction than an essential element to the core gameplay loop. This is a shame because I think there is untapped potential in expanding the cooking system to include more dishes with additional side effects, such as providing attack and defense buffs to my crew or reducing attack cooldowns for cannons.

Perhaps it was the onslaught of new characters getting introduced without any prior rapport or the apparent emphasis on survival-focused elements like growing ingredients and cooking, but these first few hours felt like they dragged on longer than necessary. I didn’t feel the familiar investment into the story like I did with the recent Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, or even Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. In fact, it wasn’t until much later on that Pirate Yakuza finally got its hook on me.

It’s the Pirate’s Life for Me!

What hooked me the most in Pirate Yakuza was easily just being a pirate! The ship-to-ship combat, while treading shallow waters at first, goes out into the deep end once the ship’s customizations and upgrades are unlocked. My first forays out to sea were basic ventures where any enemy ships I came across were easily sunk with just a couple of cannon blasts off my starboard. They never posed any real danger in the beginning, so naval combat felt pretty elementary at first.

Similarly, on land, Majima’s amnesia didn’t seem to affect his muscle memory at all and it’s quickly apparent that he is still a badass when it comes to throwin’ down in a scrap. Majima’s signature "Mad Dog" fighting style delivers the fast and furious brawling attacks that he has always showcased, but the new "Sea Dog" stance introduced in Pirates Yakuza is what I had the most fun with.

In the “Sea Dog” stance, Majima incorporates dual-wielding cutlasses and a pistol that adds a fresh twist to his style. Majima can also launch the cutlasses like spinning boomerangs, which made me feel like a Jedi knight throwing lightsabers. Eventually, I also acquired a hook chain to complement his twin blades and add a grappling hook-like mechanic to his arsenal.

It felt pretty amazing to zip around the battlefield and chain together flashy combos using the hook chain, like some kind of spider-pirate-man. It felt perfect for dealing with groups of enemies, whereas the “Mad Dog” stance seemed better suited for one-on-one duels against bosses or other elite foes.

Combat changed considerably once I unlocked the Pirates’ Coliseum in Madlantis, where I could test my ship’s (and my crew’s) mettle against a bevy of other pirates. To unlock it first, I had to meet the minimum requirements for registration which included having a crew of at least 15 members, fixing up my deteriorating ship, and expanding its arsenal to be able to hold my own against the more seasoned contestants (sea what I did there?).

So what’s a captain to do? As it turns out, there are a lot of folks living in Hawaii who will quit their job in order to join your crew and answer the call of piracy! All you have to do is ask! – and then simply do whatever they want of you so that they’ll say yes, like giving them a certain item, showing your prowess in minigames such as Billiards and Darts, or participating in a series of side missions that can sometimes culminate into enlisting multiple crewmates.

Assembling Your Crew; Gotta Catch ‘Em Arrrr

In a harmonic fusion of mechanics, nearly every mini-game and side-quest has at least one crew member that can be obtained. Whether it’s getting a high score at the explosive Bang Bang Batting Center, or winning a championship in Dragon Kart – I felt incentivized to spend a little more time in these activities than I normally would have. While I don’t have any issues getting detracted from the main story on my own, it actually felt more rewarding in Pirate Yakuza to do so. Every new side endeavor was an opportunity to add another member to my crew, which directly impacted and improved my privateering prowess.

That said, it felt like the diverse assortment of recruitable comrades in Pirate Yakuza was sometimes too much in terms of whimsy. While I’ve always enjoyed the eccentric characters in other Like A Dragon titles, Pirate Yakuza tends to double down on the ridiculous. Having a chainsaw-wielding robot, a visual kei singer, and a kabuki actor fighting alongside me in the Coliseum against a rival crew of sumo wrestlers – the absurdity can get overwhelming and it took me out of the immersion on more than one occasion.

When this happened, I had to take a step back and remind myself that this wasn’t the gritty crime-drama that I’m used to seeing from the Yakuza series anymore, but a more lighthearted and over-the-top swashbuckling adventure featuring one of the series’ more eccentric protagonists. The tone felt more like a comedy akin to Ichiban’s antics in Yakuza: Like A Dragon, just set on the high seas rather than in the streets of Yokohama. At times, Pirate Yakuza walks the gangplank between the more serious tones of past Yakuza titles and the goofier antics of more recent entries but ultimately leans more towards the wild and wacky side of the franchise.

Regardless, getting access to the Pirate’s Coliseum and really embracing the pirate lifestyle was where I felt like Pirate Yakuza shined the brightest. Acquiring new crew members, traversing the open seas in search of treasure, and outfitting my ship with insane new weapons like laser cannons and coconut-shooting machine guns – all of this just to climb the ranks and become the top pirate. This was the loop that had me the most engaged and kept me going back for more.

Final Impression and Recommendation

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a bold departure for the series. While the 25+ hours I spent through the main story may not be the most gripping narrative the franchise has delivered, its strengths lie in the myriad side activities, memorable subplots, and the unique twist of assembling a diverse pirate crew which in the end helps elevate the overall experience beyond a somewhat lackluster main storyline. I fully believe that Ryu Ga Gotoku studios could have woven a more intricate tale if they didn't rely on a cliche amnesiac protagonist. In the end, Pirate Yakuza has the narrative equivalent to, "It's not the destination, it's the journey."

If you're a fan of the newer, more lighthearted Like A Dragon titles and enjoy quirky pirate adventures, then Pirate Yakuza is worth your time. However, if you’re looking for the grittier crime drama of previous  Yakuza titles, you might find Pirate Yakuza is too wacky of a departure for the franchise.