Key recommendations
- Pirate Yakuza is set to be the Majima game fans have been asking for for a long time.
- In addition to familiar maps and minigames, Pirate Yakuza will feature new areas and exciting minigames such as Madlantis.
- You can dress up Majima as a Barbie. What is not to love?
I was getting off one train after another in London, dragging a suitcase behind me, with four hours to go when the RGG Summit went live last Friday. Of course, I wasn't going to miss it. I clutched my phone and squealed in delight – garnering a strange look from fellow commuters – when it opened with the familiar figure of Majima.
It seemed too good to be true. Surely it was just a tease for the fans to have Majima introduced next game? But no. After all these years of waiting, of fans asking, dreaming and hoping, Majima stans eat well. Our boy (read: grown man in his sixties) is finally getting his own game: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.
If you know anything about me, it's that I love Majima. I have his tattoo inked in my skin, I spend way too much money on Majima merchandise, and he's definitely not someone I'd kick out of bed. I was surprised by how many people DM'd me asking for my thoughts on the reveal, but knowing that I was set to preview “RGG's next untold title” just a few days later, I didn't want to comment until I I saw him correctly. Now the time has come.
Let's face it. It should be really terrible for me not to love him altogether. Anything Majima is good in my books, but I'm going to put my bias aside for a moment to react like a normal, sane, non-obsessed Like a Dragon fan. In case you didn't know from the western translation, Pirate Yakuza it is the next Gaiden title and is titled as such in Japan. Immediately think of what I got with The Man Who Erased His Name (henceforth known as TMWEHN because I don't want to keep typing all that) and you're on the right track. It's set to be slightly larger than the previous Gaiden, but it's still a Gaiden title and much smaller in size (both in map size and game length) than a full-fledged LaD title.
We only got a small taste of the narrative, and the hands on slice we played was clearly not from the beginning of the game. The trailer gave more information about what was going on than the demo, but I remember the TMHEHN demo being pretty much the same. The point is to show what's on offer in the world, rather than a piece of the story pie. Given how fresh and deep LaD's narratives are getting, I have no doubt that RGG wants to keep their cards close to their chest this early, as any narrative shown now would likely give a lot away.
The Honolulu map is reused from Infinite Wealth in the same way that TMWEHN reused Yokohama. However, there are also new maps such as Madlantis, the strange pirate hideout. I also saw part of your ship, the Goromaru, that you travel to and from locations.
We were told that other areas will be available, so I think another city will appear. If we think of Madlantis as TMWEHN's Castle equivalent, and Honolulu as the condensed version of Yokohama we had in TMWEHN, then we need something to rival TMWEHN's main city. Except in Honolulu it is the main city because it's bigger than Sotenbori anyway… but anyway, I feel like we need another location. I need more areas for Majima to strut his stuff.
In the demo I played, I didn't have the full map of Honolulu, and I'm not sure if this was just for the demo or, like TMWEHN, it will offer a more limited version of the original series map.
Honolulu was about the same. You have your segway, Noah has a mini segway (cute), and you can wave to befriend people (so yeah, the friend system is back). The map also featured Most Wanted boss battles, apparently bounties set by the Honolulu City Police, and what better man to put down the bad guys than Mad Dog himself? Majima also has a grappling hook (called a wire hook) that he can use to grab items or apparently do a bit of grappling, though we haven't seen the latter feature in action.
We had a limited view of Madlantis, as none of the minigames were open for the demo, but what little we did see gave us a promising taste of a neon-lit, perfectly pirated, suitably mad place to roam as Sea Dog Majima and kicking. the bottom of any scurvy bastard stupid enough to cross you.
Similarly, there are some familiar minigames in Pirate Yakuza, such as Dragon Kart, karaoke in Revolve Bar, and Crazy Delivery, but new minigames are also added, such as the dating game that was teased at the summit. The minigames were limited in the hands on, I didn't see any of the new ones, but it was incredibly fun to do both Dragon Kart and Crazy Delivery as Majima. Karaoke, as always with Majima, was a treat. As he delivered his squeaky Majima tones on the high notes, he made the entire press room laugh.
Let's get down to the important stuff though: the fight. I love the Like a Dragon series, and I don't regret the turn-based battles we now have in the main series, but I've always preferred the action combat. I love the button mashing, I love the chaos and the fast feel of spinning, slashing, jumping and screaming with manic joy (as Majima does). He felt it incredibly good to return to battle, switching between Mad Dog and Sea Dog styles and wreaking havoc wherever I went with my blades.
These different fighting styles mean that even those who have grown tired of the series' action battles will find Pirate Yakuza's return to the old way refreshing – especially considering it's Majima-flavored. Mad Dog's style is classic Majima, with a madness gauge instead of a heat gauge, combo attacks, and his familiar Doppleganger attack. The Sea Dog style gives us the luxury of pirate weapons, and god are they fun. You've got a hand cannon to throw people around, a wire grappling hook to shoot at enemies and slashers, the latter of which you can even boomerang at enemies as well as slash and obliterate them with combos.
Enough of that serious critic stuff, let's put my fangirl hat back on. Yes, it looks exactly like a Majima Construction helmet. Let's talk about the outfits. Just like Kiryu in TMWEHN, you can dress up Majima in Barbie style from a wide range of hats, tops, pants, shoes, accessories, makeup and more, choosing an outfit for both Seadog Majima and Mad Dog Majima . You can even put eyes or a pirate hat on your tiger friend, Goro.
Yes, he has the same name as Majima (Majima Goro), I don't know why.
In recent LaD games, I always dress up the protagonist as Majima. Kiryu was dressed as Majima in TMWEHN. Kasuga was dressed with Majima in Infinite Wealth. But since I had Majima, I gave him a little makeover with soft hair, earrings and black painted nails, and then…well, standard Majima clothing because I love him and hate change .
In fact, I had access to all Majimas past and present. From hair to outfits, there was a look for every version of Majima (including Goromi), and even an outfit that resembles the go-to outfit of Hidenari Ugaki (Majima's Japanese VA). Tapping the preview when changing your clothes gives a scene with Majima strutting down the catwalk like the king that he is, so make sure you don't miss that. With pleasure.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks like it will be such a signature game not only for RGG Studio but also for Majima. I mean, the details of the game were leaked months ago and it was so stupid that no one believed it. If that doesn't tell you how chaotic and crazy it is to be a Majima-starring game, I don't know what else will. Yes, I do. I tell you. This is the Majima game fans have always wanted. It goes back to the old fight, feels right for Majima's personality, and is the show taking what it learned from its successes to create something new and passionate for the fans.
The only qualm you might have is that it's not a Majima main title. That means we don't get a 50+ hour story like Infinite Wealth, but if TMWEHN proved anything, it's that RGG Studio can pack a punch even in a smaller package. I was already excited from the trailer alone, but after playing some of the game first hand, I'm even more convinced that this is the LaD game I've been waiting for. I'm ready to go with Captain Majima.
