Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. I had to start off this review by simply rewriting the game’s (absurd) title because… well, they ain’t lying. RGG Studio decided to make a freaking pirate game set in the Yakuza / Like a Dragon universe, with as much absurdity and self-awareness one could muster… and it works. It works so freaking well it’s downright remarkable. They didn’t simply jump the shark when making this Majima-led spinoff (or sequel? Who knows or cares), they jumped a mutated Megalodon the size of the Burj Khalifa, and performed a 900 backflip whilst in the air. Hop onboard, and let me tell you a bit more about this delightful piece of stupidity.

Everybody’s favorite psychopath, Goro Majima, wakes up on a beach, suffering from total amnesia. He doesn’t remember who he is, why he is in said beach, or what he does for a living. He does, however, remember how to beat the living crap of people if they bother him. Upon saving an asthmatic kid (and his pet tiger) from some actual pirates, he talks to his dad, punches some more people… and half an hour later, decides to become a pirate himself. A lovely BROADWAY-ESQUE MUSICAL NUMBER ensues, Majima stops narrating the prologue as if it were The Princess Bride, and we’re off to an actual pirate adventure set in Hawaii.

This happens not an even an hour into gameplay. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii wants to be as absurd as possible, and I’m glad it decided to go full idiotic right from the getgo. Upon leaving the initial island, you are already allowed to explore the seas with your ship, and disembark on nearby islands in order to hunt for treasure. Piloting a ship, and attacking enemy vessels, is super straightforward. The combat is simple, yet open for a lot of customization. You start off with a machine gun, a rocket launcher, and two cannons for your ship, but later down the line you are allowed to buy laser turrets, rocket boosters, actual shark launchers, and you can even paint the damn ship in Yakuza tattoos if you’re feeling feisty.

When you reach an island, you can disembark and look for treasure nearby. It’s a lot more straightforward than it sounds. There’s no literal “exploration”: it’s just a gauntlet against enemies until you beat a miniboss by the end of it. Upon beating the miniboss, you get a piece of treasure, and are automatically transported back to your ship. Speaking of fighting enemies…

We’re back in beat ’em up territory! The turn-based combat seen in Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth were really fun, no doubt about it, but it’s good to be back in a more, uh, “traditional” Yakuza gameplay loop… if you can even call this game traditional in any sense of the word. Given how Majima is the protagonist in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, expect his two combat stances to be as ridiculous as the ones in Yakuza 0. We have access to two styles: the “tame” one has Majima jumping around like a Mexican jumping bean, dancing around with his knife, throwing daggers at enemies, performing dash attacks like this is Naruto.

Then there’s the “pirate” stance. In it, Majima dons a captain outfit, wields two sabers, a pistol, and a grappling hook. He can throw the sabers around like boomerangs, his pistol has infinite ammo, and he can use the hook not only to reach higher places on the map, but also as a means to either drag enemies towards him, or launch himself towards them like M. Bison from Street Fighter. It’s a fighting stance that takes a while to get used to, but it’s not clunky; it’s just incredibly far off from the minuscule semblance of realism that was still lingering in this balls-to-the-wall franchise.

Regarding maps, there are three you can explore. The main hub is still Honolulu, but there is also a small slum island, the one Majima starts the game off at, as well as Madtlantis, a place I can best describe as if the Pirates of the Caribbean ride from Disneyland had a baby with the Gold Saucer amusement park from Final Fantasy VII. It’s a depraved pirate haven full of minigames, brawls, hookers, and a Pirate Coliseum, a place where you can basically fight against other ships in a gigantic gladiatorial arena. It makes no god damn sense, but I didn’t care. Had I cared about logic, seriousness and consistency in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, I would had quit by the time the kid started singing in a musical number.

As with pretty much every other Yakuza title, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is absolutely plastered with content, to a nearly suffocating degree. Most of the minigames from Infinite Wealth return. My favorite new sidequest revolved around hiring new crewmates for your gang. There would always be a condition in order to unlock them, be it by completing a task, a sidequest, or a minigame. I could then train my crewmates, take them with me on expeditions, and give them gifts to increase their experience. In this game, being a wholesome, lovable pirate is what makes your crewmates more powerful. Go figure.

I do have to point out one weird flaw with Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, however. A weird one, considering the fact I even have to mention it in the first place. There is something really odd with this game’s lighting and color saturation. I had to constantly tinker with the HDR settings on the pause menu in order to make some of the beach sections actually visible for me. At first, the game looked like it was set in a perpetual bloom of blinding lights, no matter how much I tinkered with the HDR and brightness settings. I had to turn the option off in order for the game to actually look presentable. Without HDR, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looked as good as any other Dragon Engine-powered game, so you’re not missing out much.

All in all, if you want absurdity, you’re getting absurdity. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii sees the franchise in its most ridiculous, over-the-top, and self-aware. At the same time, it’s still a phenomenal pirate simulator, an engaging story to unravel, a fantastic sandbox to explore. It’s not a simple pirate mod plastered on top of the usual Yakuza formula: RGG Studio took its time to make what’s possibly the best pirate game I’ve ever played. Better than Black Flag, better than Sid Meier’s Pirates, certainly a lot better than Sea of Thieves and Skull & Bones. I just wonder what else can they do in order to up the ante. Yakuza in Space? A Western Yakuza? Ooh, maybe an isekai starring Ichiban? Oh boy, the possibilities…

Graphics: 8.0 Pretty much the same visual quality seen in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, but with some added pizzazz due to the ship exploration and combat sections. That being said, there is something really weird about the HDR and lighting in this game. The fact I have to mention HDR shows how much it actually bothered me.	Gameplay: 10 Fan-freaking-tastic. We’re back to beat ’em up combat, but with two completely insane fighting styles for Majima to use. Furthermore, the ship exploration and combat sections are sensational.
Sound: 9.5 Even cheesier, with some actual musical sections. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.	Fun Factor: 9.5 It is, by far, the dumbest, most over-the-top, most absurd Yakuza game ever made, and it’s completely self-aware. I fell for it right away. It managed to mix the franchise’s traditional exploration and combat with some incredible buccanneering experiences, resulting in one of the most addictive games in the franchise.
Final Verdict: 9.5

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X and PC.

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was provided by the publisher.