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Despite the Yakuza franchise being nearly 20 years old, there are no signs of it stopping or even slowing down. In fact, the franchise took the protagonists worldwide to Hawaii in the eighth mainline game, Infinite Wealth. However, what was the Mad Dog of Shimano up to while Kiryu and Ichiban were in Hawaii? Well, it turns out he had amnesia and decided to join a pirate gang, stealing ships, beat up roleplayers, and participating in do-or-die ship competitions. No biggie.
Not only do players get a completely full experience filled with unique storylines, fun customization options, and all your favorite minigames, it comes at a fraction of the time it typically takes to finish a Yakuza game. Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii proves just how talented and efficient the developers at RGG are with yet another incredible Yakuza experience in the books.
A Yakuza Pirate Tale For the Ages
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii takes place during the events of Infinite Wealth, and follows Goro Majima after washing ashore a Hawaiian island with no memories of how he got there. He’s saved from starvation by a young boy named Noah, whom he later promises to travel the seas with, marking the beginning of the game’s adventure. In typical Majima fashion, he takes on the role of pirate captain who recruits several completely new faces to the franchise and crosses swords with anyone who stands in their way of making sure they capitalize on an ancient treasure.
That’s basically the entire story, with a few added caveats I didn’t mention that help make it more of a Yakuza-type narrative. However, don’t think it doesn’t follow that intensely emotional storytelling spirit that separates these games from others. The narrative doesn’t feel out of place at all within the game’s universe, all things considered. We’ve seen the franchise introduce some of the most insane concepts, so a Yakuza kingpin turning to a life of piracy isn’t too farfetched. This is especially so with the character of Goro Majima. I truly feel that the story wouldn’t have been as expertly told if a different or utterly new character told it instead.
The world and its characters felt very fleshed out, thanks partly to Infinite Wealth’s assets, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the franchise revisit it. In fact, I would be surprised if RGG doesn’t revisit the ship gameplay that this game introduced to the franchise, considering it was one of the most fun vessel battle experiences I’ve ever experienced in gaming.
Stop and Smell the Ocean Breeze
I was incredibly surprised by how fun the ship battling mechanics were. As a pirate, you’ll be expected to enter ship battles on the ocean and the Madlantis coliseum. The game boils down these battles to their most basic form and makes them extremely approachable, despite what some might think. You can shoot a machine gun from the front of the ship, cannons from either side, or step away from the helm altogether and use a rocket launcher to damage enemy ships. The choice really is yours in the heat of battle, and before long, I was genuinely enjoying them while searching for treasure outside of main missions and upgrading my weapons.
The whole story doesn’t exclusively take place on the Goromaru, your completely customizable pirate ship. You also have access to Honolulu, which was created for Infinite Wealth. You don’t just get a run of the ocean and the various islands around Hawaii, you can actually take advantage of many of the same places Kiryu and Ichiban visited. Even most of the minigames you know and love are available to spend hours of your time on. Fans of substories (much like myself) will also be pleased with how many wild substories you can complete while on land. It can be very easy to get lost in substories when they’re about things like helping living statues from being bullied or stopping polar bears from eviscerating zookeepers.
The music was also on point, as it typically is with Yakuza games. A theme song was created for the game alongside a few other lyrical songs that aided in bringing that swashbuckling life to, well, life. At 85 songs total, it almost seems as though the musical team at RGG didn’t sleep in exchange for producing banger after banger. Matthew Mercer’s singing and acting as Majima was also so well done that, despite Mercer’s voice being all too familiar at this point, it didn’t break away from the character at all. I was definitely watching Goro Majima sing and dance alongside a group of American pirates.
Short and Sweet
I’m a sucker for the million-hour stories that Yakuza games are known for, but a shorter story has proven to be fun in the past. The Man Who Erased His Name proved that an existing setting can be the basis for a completely new story that doesn’t have to be as life-altering as Yakuza tales can be. Majima doesn’t need to be in the grasp of some giant Japanese warlord or Yakuza king for a story exclusively about him to be interesting. In fact, if you don’t already find Majima interesting, whether or not you’ve ever played a Yakuza game, then that just sounds like a you problem.
I finished the game in about 12 hours, and that was just the main story. Of course, I went back in after I had finished to do some side stories I had missed and earn placements in different mini-games, which ended up allotting an additional five hours. That time doesn’t even account for the time you can spend in the Madlantis coliseum or searching for treasure across the ocean. Personally, I thought this made the game far more accessible to newer players who might have found the time needed to dedicate to these games to be a bit much.
Where’s the Next Spin-Off?
Like a Dragon: Yakuza Pirates in Hawaii is a delightful tale involving one of the most beloved characters in the franchise’s history. Considering that it does a great job of explaining the state that the characters are in as well as their general history/ relationship with one another, I would recommend it to anyone looking to try the series for the first time. Sure, it takes place so far in the series, but much of what’s happened doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of the story; it is chockful of locations to visit, things to do, stories to enjoy, and collectibles to find.
Ultimately, Yakuza Pirates in Hawaii shows just how hard RGG Studio really works behind the scenes. I always joked with my friends that RGG has a binder with every sub-story, main story, mini-game, and dialogue sequence ever pitched to the narrative team in the game’s history. For every new game developed, they just open it up and pick ones that haven’t been used before. Whenever Ryu Ga Gotoku announces a new Yakuza installment, the quality of the story just cements that theory.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (PC Reviewed)
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii proves that Ryu Ga Gotoku can make an exciting and well-rounded game that doesn't need to be 100 hours long at the expense of reusing assets and locations again and again.
The Good
- Less bloated and more digestible than other Yakuza games.
- Deep customization options for you and your ship.
- Super fun ship combat.
- Incredibly funny writing and characters.
- Interesting and unique side content.
The Bad
- You revisit the same locations various times.
- A LOT of assets from Infinite Wealth are reused.
- Some scenes and locations felt like they were rushed in development.
