RGG Like a Dragon Direct gave us an in-depth look at the gameplay of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, showcasing the game’s various locations, combat systems (land and sea), crew building, and more. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will be released on February 21, 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Pirate Yakuza Hawaii truly relies on the madness that is Goro Majima, who now takes the lead in the latest spin-off. Washing ashore near Hawaii, he is quickly confronted by pirates and embarks on an offbeat adventure filled with privateer brawls, crew building, and ship-to-ship fighting.
On land, Goro has multiple fighting styles to utilize in battles that could start to push this series into musou realm. Mad Dog’s style will look and feel relatively familiar to the classic Yakuza series, emphasizing fist and low sword fights with speed and agility, dodging and blocking, soaring into the air before performing charged moves, wind slashing, building the final move of Suspicious People, evoking shadow doppelgangers to fight alongside you.
The Sea Dog style then relies on two-handed low swords, hooks, muskets and the like. You can throw cutlasses like boomerangs, chain hook to close the gap, and shoot guns. Use the guitar, violin and saxophone to summon the Dark Gods – the Curse of the Man-Eating Shark, the Curse of the Electrifying Medusa, the Curse of the Sadistic Monkey, the Curse of the Cyclonic Bird. Crazy stuff.
On the seas, you will build your great galleon to your liking and then hire a crew to operate it. You can train them, deepen bonds through song, drinks, adventures and more. Of course, your ship must be armed to the teeth with broadside guns, forward-firing rocket launchers, laser miniguns, walls of fire, and more. Assign crew members strategically to maximize attack and defense stats.
It’s not just a fight, you can retreat back to the base on Rich Island. It was here that Goro woke up with no memories of who he was, joining forces with Noah Rish and Goro’s tiger cub friend. Rest here, replenish supplies, rehabilitate animal friends and more.
Alternatively, head to other nearby islands, such as Madlantis, where pirate lords reside. It’s a mini-game hub with gambling, mini-golf and a Pirate Colosseum where you can test your crew against anyone willing. Nele Island is the home of a former Yakuza who moved there… primarily to facilitate pristine up nuclear waste. And there is always only Hawaii, as seen in Infinite Wealth.
It looks huge and completely absurd and we can’t wait for it to land next month!
