Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Review - Absurd, Over-the-Top, and a Blast

*This review was initially pubished in a review-in-progress state. On February 28, 2025, this review was updated with the full review, complete with a verdict, score, and PROS and CONS.

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Soon after the release of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios follows up with Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, an even more absurd concept that only the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series and RGG can pull off. It’s more ‘unnecessary’ Yakuza that keeps on proving its worth, as many will greatly appreciate this spin-off entry that delivers yet another fun action game that highlights the series’ greatest strengths, its likable characters, and at times, its most notable weaknesses.

Goro Majima is again placed in the spotlight, as he finds himself washed up on one of Hawaii’s many islands. Struck with amnesia, Majima is helped and accompanied by a local kid named Noah Rich as he embarks on a pirate adventure that consists of ships, outfits, cannons, swords, the whole package that delivers up the illusion that a small percentage of the modern pirate world is still living like it’s the 1600s, during the golden era of piracy in the western seas. There are treasures abound and bounties to hunt as Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza is part Yakuza action-adventure, and part arcade ship combat.

A tale as absurd as it is entertaining 

The story isn’t deep by Yakuza standards—it’s a straightforward treasure hunt. But RGG still delivers an entertaining adventure, thanks to Majima’s likable and chaotic personality. He’s not Ichiban Kasuga or Kazuma Kiryu, but his wild and wacky persona perfectly fits the game’s concept like a glove. 

Pirate Yakuza takes its time to set the tone and setting, slowly introducing the player to the key systems of its characters, then injecting side activities and other distractions in the main path to entice players to not trigger the next chapter in the game, which is something I notice in most Yakuza games. 

The real surprise for me is how much I enjoyed this side-story, as it highlights Majima’s best traits forward as he goes around doing pirate things with a kid who runs around with an inhaler for his occasional asthma fits. There were a lot of obvious twists and turns, but it pays off once you reach the fifth and final chapter. ‘Tis a short tale by Yakuza standards, but one that was able to land perfectly for those that stick around until the end. 

A swashbuckling symphony of chaotic combat

As for the gameplay, this spin-off brings back the action combat fans love, as Goro’s equipped with a new set of fighting stances a player can switch on the fly during combat. His Mad Dog style has a unique approach, as a proper attack string can trigger your lifting enemies off the ground to juggle them in the air. We then have the Sea Dog style, which has a series of tools that make it a perfect choice for taking out multiple enemies at once. Sooner or later, you are given tools to summon crazy creatures and allies to do significant damage, literally acting like a summon spell in some JRPG. There were also unlocks that made the switch between the two styles more effective. I found myself switching between Sea Dog and Mad Dog mid-combo. 

Gameplay may feel similar to previous action titles in the series, but leans more toward the Dynasty Warriors concept of a single man capable of taking on an army, as this game throws waves of enemies at you all at once. Most of the pirate boarding sequences or key encounters have you going against roughly 50 guys, making it usually a 50 vs 10 situation, with some allies thrown into the mix. This kind of scenario happens a lot, as I found myself taking out around 5 enemies in one combo string or sweeping a line of enemies with a single charged attack. It was weirdly satisfying and slightly challenging as the difficulty lies in the feeling of being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

This game makes you feel the strength of Majima though, one of the many characters in the Yakuza world that is tough as nails and so powerful that it’s only natural to question whether they are even human. Once again, in a Yakuza game, I feel like a force to be reckoned with as Majima is an unstoppable machine, so that no matter what, he will stand back up, unless he’s up against Kiryu, of course.

The only real issue I had with the combat is how there aren’t enough combat upgrades to flesh out the different ways to take out enemies. Towards the halfway, there was a fixed combo string and set of moves that I relied heavily on. Towards the end, most of the upgrades were mostly damage and health increases, so there wasn’t a satisfying expansion of my tool kit to freely explore the combat’s potential, especially with this game giving you the ability to juggle enemies. 

What’s impressive is how RGG can handle both turn-based and action-oriented combat, as thanks to what I saw in Infinite Wealth, the talented folks at the Japanese studio have shown that they are experts in either concept, as both are enjoyable in their own right. 

This time around, we are given the action side, a coin flip of assets created for Infinite Wealth, as Goro will be revisiting the same Hawaii map found in the last mainline title. Pirates in Hawaii is set months after the events of Infinite Wealth, so there are changes made to the game’s Honolulu map, but most of the characters introduced in Infinite Wealth are present in this game. Those who played the last turn-based RPG will appreciate certain nods to the events that happened in the last game, and mentions of a certain bunch of yakuza roaming around as a group.

A Yohoho - Yakuza action adventure 

When it comes to the game world, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is simply Infinite Wealth if it weren’t a turn-based RPG, as a lot of the new systems added for that game are present in this one. The social media system where you’ll say ‘Aloha’ to NPCs in the app to become friends returns, as does the Street Surfer, which makes walking the least effective way to go around. This is Infinite Wealth for those not keen on the RPG direction the mainline series has taken. 

So far, how the game is presented is simply RGG doing what they do best, as Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is populated with the usual wacky side stories, mini-games, and other activities to really distract the player and keep them off the beaten path. It’s a tried and true formula done many times in the series, and it still works to this day. They still have weird side stories as I’ve come across a recently retired old man longing to go out and live a pirate life to stories that bring back characters from side stories found in Infinite Wealth. They still serve as a nice laugh as I always wonder what weird situation I’m getting myself into when I interact and start the side story.

If you’re not sick of the side activities you’ll be fine, but it’s still worth mentioning that most of the side activities like the mini-games are really repurposed to populate the game world. Nothing new stands out here as it’s the typical Yakuza distraction package with slight alterations. They include a fun cooking mini-game to craft consumables based on the ingredients you crafted or grew, and an animal farm where you can tend to the various animals you find during your playthrough.

The real meat for Pirate Yakuza lies in the depth of the ship combat, ship customization, and crew system. I was enticed to seek out buried treasure to fuel future ship upgrades, as well as open opportunities to recruit stronger crew members to make your crew more effective during ship battles and boarding sequences.

Controlling your ship is easy, with combat showing an absurd side as Goro’s ship, named the Goromaru, is equipped with not just left and right cannons, but dual machine guns to handle enemies right in front of you. It’s so absurd that this pirate ship has fuel boosters to give the ship a quick burst of speed, and you can drift for quick turns, giving the feeling that I’m driving a sports car in the open seas. The game doesn’t shy away from the fact that this is set in 2024 as they mix the past and present as much as they can, with characters just going with it as if the pirate thing is a normal part of life in Hawaii. 

The ship combat here didn’t feel like an afterthought as I was surprised to see that I could freely walk around my ship while on a battle with another ship as I could go around putting out fires and help revive downed crew members to get them back into the fight and man a cannon once again. I can even bring out Goro’s rocket launcher to shoot at ships, because why not.

Where you can explore with the ship is limited to the small map with certain areas allowing payers to disembark to trigger this gauntlet series where you and Goro’s crew battle against waves of enemies that towards the end reward the player with a treasure chest filled with treasure. That’s the extent of treasure hunting here—you won’t be solving puzzles or tracking down exact locations, as combat takes center stage.

Keep it coming with these spinoffs

In comparing Pirate Yakuza to Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, I can say I prefer this recent spin-off entry, simply because it’s not Kamarucho all over again - this game reuses the Infinite Wealth setting that still feels fresh and exciting for many, and is packed with an absurd pirate theme that reminds us that the Yakuza series can go anywhere it wants and still find ways to entertain. Gaiden felt like another Yakuza Kiryu game, while Pirate Yakuza feels like a fun adventure with RGG’s take on pirate gameplay concepts like ship combat and the ability to round up crew members to build up a more effective pirate crew on and off your trusty ship.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii reuses the Infinite Wealth setting that still feels fresh and exciting for many and is packed with an absurd pirate theme that delivers the all too familiar Yakuza charm and entertainment. Goro Majima is liked for many reasons and his latest adventures just reinforce why he’s one of the most cherished characters in the series. 

This is the kind of spin-off I would like from the series, where they get to experiment with weird concepts instead of filling gaps in stories or delivering something that is non-canon. It’s okay to give us some fodder now and then, especially if it’s as abundant in quality and charm as Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

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Verdict: 4 / 5 (Fantastic)

PROS

• An entertaining take on the pirate theme that fits nicely into Yakuza’s crazy world

• Still, a solid Yakuza package in terms of content quantity, filled to the brim to keep players distracted

• Goro Majima shines, showing that RGG’s Yakuza world has a range of characters that can carry games

CONS

• Copy and paste activities that can come out as repetitive for some avid players

• Majima’s moveset doesn’t expand to something more complex toward the end of the game

What I’ve Played 

• Finished all 5 chapters

• Did all side activities and went through some of the side stories

• Climbed the ranks of each category in the Pirate Colosseum battles in Madlantis

*This review is based on a PS5 review copy provided to the reviewer

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