Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii PS5 Review. Frankly, I’m surprised it’s taken this long for Goro Majima to get his own adventure. After all, the Mad Dog of Shimano is one of the series’ most beloved characters and was one of two playable protagonists in Yakuza 0, alongside series stalwart Kazuma Kiryu. For my money, 2017’s 1980s-set outing offered one of best narrative threads the series has ever weaved, with Majima’s journey from cool and collected night club owner to crazed, blade-wielding Yakuza proving an action-packed and often heartstring-pulling tale.
Crucially, it gave vital context to his backstory and offered a more nuanced look at Majima, who up until then was just this mad bloke who would show up and do crazy stuff for whatever reason. Still, I doubt I’m alone in admitting the last place I expected the one-eyed demon to show up would be on board his own pirate ship and using a violin to summon man-eating sharks. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is known for subverting expectations though, and they certainly lived up to their reputation here. But, really, a pirate yakuza in Hawaii? How is that supposed to work? Oddly enough, rather well, as it turns out!
Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii PS5 Review
A Blank Slate
Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii opens as Majima washes up on a sun-kissed beach with no memory of anything that happened before; even his own name eludes him. After being rescued by a local boy, Noah, he quickly finds out that, for some reason or another, there are pirates roaming the seas in 2024 in old-fashioned ships, people risk their necks for fame and glory in the Pirates’ Coliseum and remote islands are awash with riches to plunder.
Trust me, it’s best to just go with it, and that’s what Majima does; with nothing better to do as he can’t remember his old life, he quickly finds himself caught up in the search for a legendary booty known as the Esperanza treasure, meeting some unscrupulous folk along the way.
The fact Majima is essentially a blank slate is an interesting way to take the character, although he still remains Majima to some extent. There’s a wildness in his eyes; a hint of the unhinged, fearless ex-Tojo Clan legend that has defined him for decades, which ensures you’re invested in his adventure. There’s also a surprising amount of heart to the story, particularly his friendship with Noah, that strengthens throughout your swashbuckling journey as Majima takes the youngster under his wing.
There’s an interesting juxtaposition at play here, as Noah’s wide-eyed innocence and thirst for adventure contrasts heavily with the sheer madness of it all, not to mention the fact you’re slicing up legions of pirates and blowing ships out of the water. But somehow, it works.
Fortunately, the narrative manages to instil a palpable sense of excitement and discovery as you plunder and battle your way through various locations, and there’s enough twists and turns to keep you glued to the screen. Majima may be the star, but many of his ragtag crew have your typical Yakuza idiosyncratic charm and decent enough backstory to ensure you care about them, with Noah’s father, Jason, and the ship cook being standouts.
Setting Sail
A character in its own right is the Goromarua, Majima’s personal pirate ship that he nabs after defeating its original owner. Aside from being a flash way of navigating the high seas, the ship, much like Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, is basically your mobile home, which you’ll expand with its own crew, upgrade, and customise to your liking.
Crew must be assigned to man its various weapons, from gatling guns, canons, to flamethrowers and laser canons, and can be levelled up to increase their efficiency by destroying rival ships or giving them gifts to keep their spirts up. Keeping them in ship shape is the key to winning naval battles, offering some rewarding micromanaging in the running of your ship.
Speaking of which, naval combat is generally fun if nothing too challenging outside of the Pirates’ Coliseum. Most smaller ships can be sent to Davey Jones’ Locker with a sustained blast from your machine guns, although the back shoulder buttons come in handy for bigger vessels by firing off a salvo of cannon fire.
Boss ships require a little more strategy on your part. You’ll have to determine the best time to retreat out of range to make any necessary repairs, which leaves you vulnerable for a moment, and there’s greater emphasis on positioning as you line up your shots and avoiding income attacks. Once you’ve left the ship a smouldering wreck, your crew must board it and face off against a load of pugnacious pirates waiting to dish out some pain.
Here, you can apply unique squad leader buffs to aid you in combat, although your enemies can also return the favour; as such, these scraps are a little more tactical and unpredictable in nature compared to slugging it out with landlubbers in town.
Navigating the waves is easy enough, and being able to use a speed boost when your bar is full helps things a lot, as the ship admittedly feels a bit sluggish at times. Along the way you’ll unlock lighthouses, which act as fast travel points and safe zones to tweak your crew and weapon loadouts; it would have been handy to do this anywhere on the open ocean, but lighthouses are never that far away, so it’s not a real issue.
Mad Dog Unleashed
Never one to sky from getting his hands dirty, Majima can dish out his unique brand of pain with two fighting styles: Mad Dog and Sea Dog. The latter is the swashbuckling style befitting of a pirate captain, which our unhinged anti-hero wielding a pair of cutlasses, although you’ll soon get your hands on a pistol and hook for long-range attacks. Once unlocked and charged, you can hit R2 and use the face buttons to activate any Dark Instruments you’ve found, which range from unleashing man-eating sharks, a rampaging ape, and eletrified jellyfish. It’s totally bonkers stuff, but lends battles an undeniable cinematic flare that makes them both fun and incredibly entertaining to watch unfold.
Mad Dog channels Majima’s classic Yakuza brawling as he wields a single blade in a series of fluid and fast-paced attacks, and clearly differentiates itself from Sea Dog by focussing on vicious combos and movement. Majima is able to execute swift dodges, instantly positioning himself behind foes and striking with lethal accuracy. Whacking R2 when charge unleashes a flurry of Majima doubles that excel at crowd control, while holding down the face buttons unleashes charged attacks like a deadly blade thrust or sends the pirate captain in a spinning frenzy.
Pleasingly, both styles feel worth checking out and have their own unique advantages and disadvantages. I never found one stance was better to stick to overall, and frequently switched things up on the go; it’s this freedom to experiment and seamlessly change things up that makes combat fun and rewarding.
You’ll also feed points and cash into upgrading Majima’s abilities like past games, buffing your health and attack prowess while also unlocking some impressive and devastating moves and Heat attacks. Nothing feels superficial here, as I was compelled to keep investing in Majima and the rewards in a fight are well worth the time and effort.
The Spirit Of Adventure
Speaking of investing, one Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii’s biggest achievements is the sheer amount of stuff to do. This isn’t anything new for the Yakuza series, but given this is a spinoff – and a pretty irreverent one at that! – I was surprised by how much there is to see and do.
Your journey takes you to a fully explorable Honolulu ripe with side quests, crew to hire, Bounties to tackle (these are like mini bosses in their own right and offer a fun challenge for crash rewards), karaoke, planting crops to produce ingredients for rustling up health-giving meals (the cooking mini-game is barrels of fun and addictive as you level up to unlock better dishes), and islands to invade and pilfer treasure from (some of these reward rings to give Majima for stat-boosting buffs). Feeling social? Then befriend locals using a social media app and grow your friendship with them, take photographs around Honolulu for a travel agency to net rewards, or even rescue local animals and take them back to Rich Island to look after.
Yes, there’s a bit of grinding to be done so you’re powerful enough to face off against specific foes in the story (your ship in particular needs to be robust enough to survive some tough customers), but pulling in the resources required to do so is just so much fun that I found myself more than happy enough to venture off to an undiscovered island, take on a new Bounty, or duke it out with some gnarly sorts and rising through the ranks in the Pirates’ Coliseum.
The feeling that you’re growing in strength and making an impact on the wellbeing of your crew is palpable, and there’s great satisfaction to be had when you see the result of your labours in battle; it makes it all worth it, and never felt like a chore.
Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii effortlessly captures the sense of adventure and exotic locations you would expect of a swashbuckling adventure, with lush jungle island, bustling city streets and quaint little seaside towns brimming with activity and intrigue. The sun-kissed beaches of Honolulu and neon-soaked streets of Madlantis are oozing with character, while the production values during the main cutscenes are equally sparking with detail.
On the flip side, much like the worn and sea-weed swept hull of a rickety pirate ship, NPC models and general textures are looking a little rough around the edges. This is most noticeable during your excursions on the Goromaru, where there’s a distinct lack of polish to the point where the 12-year-old Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag somehow manages to depict a more convincing picture. It’s not the most egregious of issues, but it’s clear the engine is showing its age at this point.
On paper, Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii shouldn’t exist, much less even work. Yet somehow, despite its irreverent and somewhat incongruous nature, it all comes together to offer something quite special. There’s surprising heart to the story if you can just get behind the fact people are dressing and talking like 17th century pirates with smartphones, and the game is utterly rammed to the rafters with content. For newcomers, this is actually a great introduction to the series, while fans will get a kick out of Majima taking the helm one again for what is easily one of the best gaming spinoffs in recent memory. Ahoy, matey!
Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is out on February 21, 2025 for PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.
Review code kindly provided by publisher.