The RGG Like a Dragon Direct gave us a good long look at Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii gameplay, showcasing the game’s various locations, combat systems (on land and on sea), crew building and more. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One and PC on 21st February 2025.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii really leans in on the craziness that is Goro Majima, who now takes the lead on this latest spin-off. Washing him up on the shores near Hawaii he is quickly confronted by pirates and goes off on an off-kilter adventure filled with buccaneer brawling, crew building and ship-to-ship combat.
On land, Goro has multiple combat styles to use in battles that might start to nudge this series into the realms of a musou. Mad Dog style will look and feel relatively familiar to the classic Yakuza series, emphasising fisticuffs and short swords with speed and agility, dodging and blocking, taking to the air, before unleashing charged moves, whirlwind slashing, building up to the ultimate Suspicious Men move, summoning shadowy doppelgangers to fight alongside you.
Sea Dog style then leans in on dual wielded short swords, grapple hooks, muskets and the like. You can fling the cutlasses like boomerangs, chain hook to close the gap, and blast away with pistols. Whip out guitar, violin and saxophone in a pinch to summon Dark Gods – Curse of the Man-Eating Shark, Curse of the Electrifying Jellyfish, Curse of the Sadistic Ape, Curse of the Cyclonic Avian. Crazy stuff.
On the seas, you’ll build up your grand galleon as you see fit and then hire a crew to man it. You can train them, deepen bonds through song, drink and adventure, and more. Of course, your ship needs to be armed to the teeth with broadside cannons, front-firing rocket launchers, lasers miniguns, walls of flame and more. Assign crewhands strategically to max out the attack and defence stats.
It’s not all fighting, and you can retreat back to base at Rich Island. This is where Goro woke up with no memories of who he is, teaming up with Noah Rish and tiger cub friend Goro. Rest up here, restock supplies, rehabilitate animal friends, and more.
Alternatively head to other nearby islands like Madlantis, where pirate lords make their home. This is the hub for minigames with gambling, minigolf, and the Pirates’ Coliseum where you can test your crew against all comers. Nele Island is home to ex-Yakuza who’ve moved there… to help clean up nuclear waste, of all things. And there’s always Hawaii itself, as seen in Infinite Wealth.
It looks huge and completely ridiculous, and we can’t wait for this to land next month!
