Review: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is silly but slow

2020’s Yakuza: Like A Dragon was the perfect place for new fans to jump into the long-running Like A Dragon (formerly Yakuza) series. With a brand new cast of characters to follow and a few cameos from familiar faces, it aimed to introduce new players into the world gently, while pleasing the dedicated crowd. It was a success, but it leaves the series in a narrative bind. The cast that fans adore can’t simply be retired and thrown out, but there’s no point in keeping them around if they’re not going to do anything. That’s where Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii sails in.

Set six months after the events of 2024’s Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii follows fan-favorite Goro Majima, one of the most legendary yakuza to come from the Tojo Clan, and he has – as is typical in video games – lost his memory. He washes up on an island after being shipwrecked, takes down a bunch of piratey outlaws, and swiftly becomes a pirate captain in his own right.

The ridiculous setting works because of the ridiculous protagonist. Goro Majima – known as the Mad Dog of Shimano – is a legend in the lore, sure, but fans know him best for his outlandish antics throughout the series, where he appears in a variety of outfits to ambush our previous protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu. He might be unshackled from his previous burdens, but he’s still as ridiculous as ever, and somehow makes the absurdist pirate setting work.

It’s not all absurdism, though. Players that have followed Majima since his role as joint-protagonist in Yakuza 0 will know all too well that he’s a character with depth and heart, and his loyalties in his amnesiac haze are torn between his sworn brother, Saejima, and the people he’s met since losing his memory. This series is known for blending soul-filled stories with absurdist action, and Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii does not disappoint.

What does disappoint is the story’s initial, glacial, pace. Fight through the early hours to get to all the sailing and fighting, and you’ll find a great game waiting for you. Majima can swap between Mad Dog and Sea Dog combat styles, one being the familiar fighting style you associate with the Mad Dog of Shimano, and another resembling a true swashbuckler, complete with swords, pistols, and a grapple hook. It’s easy to swap between the two styles mid-fight, and you should, as it consistently keeps combat fresh and gives you new options for how to defeat foes.

We can’t neglect the sailing combat though, which mimics what we saw in 2013’s Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. It’s solid enough, and an interesting new feature for LAD’s repertoire of mechanics, but most importantly, it does a decent job of setting the scene, and solidifying Goro Majima in the pirating world. It might not be the best mechanic in the series – or even this game – but without it, it just wouldn’t be piratey enough.

Like most games in the series, Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii has a few points of friction for you to work through if you’re going to enjoy the game to the fullest, but that shouldn’t hold you back from this fantastic adventure. Whether you’re a long-time fan or are fresh off of the latest games in the series, Goro Majima’s goofy pirate adventure is a simultaneously touching and absurdist story with some of the best action the series has ever seen. This game celebrates the history of these beloved characters while moving the series into the future, and we can’t wait to see more like it. If you’re a Like A Dragon fan, you can’t afford to miss Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.