Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is the second gaiden, or side story, game in the Like a Dragon series. The gaiden games have been using concepts new to the series and focusing on characters other than the curent main character in the series. This game focuses on the one character that fits into the romanticized version of pirates the most, Goro Majima.
Fans of the series have been hoping for a Majima-fronted Like a Dragon game for years. Western fans have also been clammoring for a game based in the United States. The previous game brought us the latter last year and Pirate Yakuza explores the Honolulu area from that game as well.
The game takes place six months after the events experienced by Kiryu, Kasuga, and company in Infinite Wealth. Majima becomes amnesiac and washes up on a small island where he is rescued be a young boy named Noah who gives him water. A group of pirates threatens Noah, and Majima fights them, surprised by his fighting abilities. He deduces that he is a yakuza from the tattoos on his body, but he has no idea who he is or how he came to be washed ashore.
He soon meets Noah's father, a former treasure hunter, and after some skirmishes Majima takes over a galleon complete with the first mate and the four take off in search of treasure and the elixir of life in hopes of curing Noah's asthma and related illnesses.
As an ancronistic pirate tale, I can't help but compare it to the Monkey Island.series. However, with its excited young pirate hopeful in Noah, it is clearly inspired by the former's inspiration, Treasure Island. It also takes inspiration from other pirate games such as the granddaddy of pirate games, Sid Meyer's Pirates with its ship battles. It's traversal methods are also reminiscent of the recent Rare pirate game, Sea of Thieves.
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio also takes some mechanics from its own games, with the classic Mad Dog Majima playing style from Yakuza 0, the grapple mechanics from Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and the sword and gun combo from Like a Dragon: Ishin! The latter two were given a pirate makeover. The grappling now comes from a hook which can be used to move up to higher areas in search of treasure as well as a weapon in battle to pull opponents toward Majima. The sword and pistol are part of the pirate style of fighting, which combines weapons with Mad Dog mechanics.
There are also special moves that can be used when a hit meter is filled. The Mad Dog special is to release the crazy shadow clones of Majima from Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The pirate special is playing one of four dark instruments, which attack all of the enemies by calling on various ocean gods. One of the instruments is found during the main story. The other three can be found from a side quest that has Majima attacking ships and finding treasure to defeat a series of strong pirate leaders.
The game is given the usual music treatment with a fantastic new pirate-themed score. It also has the now-requisite karaoke minigame. A fun new song that is played during regular game play and can also be played in karaoke is a sea shanty sung by the crew of Majima's ship, the Goromaru. The only downside to the karaoke this time is that, other than the afforementioned shanty, all of the music is sung exclusively by Majima. It's a shame that Majima's sworn brother, Taiga Saejima, isn't given a song to sing. There is a missed opportunity there, especially since the karaoke songs DLC contains the Saejima version of the perennial fan favorite Baka Mitai which can be played during gameplay or on jukeboxes, but the Majima Construction Anthem is the only DLC song that is actually performable in karoke.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii also has the other requisites for a Like a Dragon game. It has the often silly substories and fun minigames such as gambling games such as poker. Two popular minigames return, although they have modified forms. The batting center now has exploding barrels to hit until a lock is revealed that can then be hit. This one is a lot of fun, and reminds me of the cannon ball slicing from Ishin! but with more explosions. The golf driving range also returns. Bingo and closest to the hole are there as usual, but the latter difficulties have an interesting twist. There are now obstacles in the way in the form ofcardboard cutouts of various objects, such as stars and cows.
The classic Sega games are also here. It contains the Master System games from previous Like a Dragon games and Lost Judgment. However, it has three new games. Two of them, Poseidon Wars 3-D and Space Harrier 3-D, are Master System games. The third game, Star Jacker, is a Sega SG-1000 game that joins Flicky in being the only SG-1000 games officially available in the Americas.
For arcade fans, the Model 3 games Fighting Vipers 2 and The Ocean Hunter return. Best of all, for those of you wanting the original versions, Virtua Fighter 3 joins Virtua Fighter 3tb and the Daytona 2 rebrand Sega Racing Classic 2: Battle on the Edge joins Sega Racing Classic 2: Power Edition. UFO Catcher 8 Second is also once again available for crane machine stans.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is another fun action role-playing sidestory from away from the usual turn-based RPG mechanics that are now the standard for the main games in the series. The pirate mechanics fit surprisingly well into the game world of the series and, after playing this, it is clear that Goro Majima is born to be a pirate. The only downside is the lack of songs in the karaoke minigame, but that's just a tiny tick off of a very fun game.
Final Verdict:
4 out of 5
| Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review |
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