Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii preview: Avast landlubbers

We went hands on with Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza's gameplay, combat, and mini-games

Sega/GLHF

Whispers about a pirate game in the Like a Dragon/Yakuza series have fluttered around the internet for months, but the concept seemed so outlandish that fans of the series disregarded the rumors for their strong ‘my uncle works at Nintendo’ vibes. Turns out someone's mate’s brother or something maybe actually does work at Sega because not only is a pirate-themed Yakuza game launching on February 28, 2025, but I've even played it.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a spin-off from Infinite Wealth using the same map of the island that Kiryu and Ichiban segwayed around just a few fleeting months ago. The key difference is that those two are nowhere to be seen – so far, at least – and instead, fan-favorite character Goro Majima is taking the wheel. Or should I say the helm because he's a pirate now.

• Read more: The worst part of the Pirate Yakuza reveal? I can’t get a Majima Pop-Up Pirate

My 30 minutes with Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii were limited to a few key activities and areas, but what I experienced showed plenty of promise. The main map of Hawaii seems to be the same as the Infinite Wealth map, and activities such as Karaoke at Revolve, along with forging Aloha Links and playing Crazy Delivery, returned as well. However, Pirate Yakuza has a whole new area up its sleeve, reminiscent of Like A Dragon Gaiden’s Castle or Yakuza’s Purgatory: Madlantis.

Pirate paradise / Sega/GLHF

Madlantis is a pirate’s playground complete with grog, wenches, and plunder all built haphazardly in and amongst a shipwreck. Pirate Yakuza digs even deeper into the pirate theme when on Madlantis, as Majima defaults to his pirate attire, including doublet and tricorn, but no shirt, because at the end of the day it's still Majima we're talking about. 

He also defaults to the new Sea Dog fighting stance on Madlantis, as opposed to the traditional Mad Dog style he still uses in Hawaii. This new signature style is fast-paced and knife-heavy, and Majima moves so quickly that he almost floats when performing aerial attacks. Mad Dog-style doesn't use any of the Heat Actions the series is known for, but Majima can call in his doppelgangers to help out during fights.

• Read more: All mainline Yakuza games, ranked from worst to best

Sea Dog-style does allow Majima to use Heat Actions, and they are as extra as you’d expect. It's a fast-paced fighting style as well, but its skills focus more on the dual cutlasses Majima wields instead of making his speed the main feature. Sea-Dog comes with some nice combos you can do by sending your cutlasses spinning, throwing a few punches, and then catching them as they return like boomerangs. Majima even steals money as he attacks using the Sea Dog-style, which surprised me, but it makes complete sense.

Looks like you lose / Sega/GLHF

I also got a chance to try out one of the new major mini-games, Dragon Kart. Dragon Kart is your standard kart racer, except you all but murder competitors with guns and rocket launchers. The track I played was made so that you chain boost pads together, but missing one felt extremely punishing, almost as if I were driving through mud. This is just the demo however, and there's plenty of time to adjust things before release.

• Read more: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth review

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is exactly what it looked like from the reveal. It's a Gaiden-style story, except instead of playing as Kiryu pretending to be a secret agent, you're playing as Majima pretending to be a pirate, which is no bad thing. Majima steers a ship, fires a flintlock and has a pet tiger also called Goro who wears an eye patch. What more could we ask for?