A well-rounded story that will capture Yakuza fans.
Boating revs into something special
Another onslaught of minigames and side activities for players to loss their life to.
The water and textures feel similar to the original Black Flag.
Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii still offers some good looking visuals.
The Like a Dragon series, formerly localized as Yakuza, is one I never had on my radar.
I forever imagined its weirdness was simply too alien for me to find enjoyable.
Perhaps, I thought, I wasculturedenough to enjoy a Yakuza game.
It’s a pirate’s life for Goro and his latest crew of supporting characters.
I saw it as the perfect opportunity.
Within hours of starting my voyage, I bitterly realized how wrong I’d been.
I had missed years of this franchise based on poorly preconceived notions.
There’s no shortage of swashbuckling aesthetics in the combat.
I felt the weight of hundreds of hours of gameplay that all beckoned for me to master.
This review was made possible thanks to a review sample provided by Sega.
The company had no input nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.
Perhaps Goro should wear a shirt out in the sun?
The good
Goro Majima takes the helm in the latest entry in the series.
What’s more, he’s alone.
Yep, this is definitely a Yakuza game.
Minigames are as fun as ever.
Mad Dog finds himself butting stern first with a group of pirates running amock on the island.
One that may lead to fortunes that are yet untold.
Goro thinks the same and sails forth at full speed.
Smokin' villains in Hawaii spell disaster.
I don’t want to give away too much of the story.
What you should know is the story is as excellent as it’s always been.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii’s combat
I wasn’t sure how I felt about combat at first.
Water textures are dated.(Image credit: Future via Michael Hoglund)
It felt like a sloppier version of Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.
Over time, the depths of the systems at play bore fruit.
A plethora of unlockable options started to rope me in.
Stone textures and other surfaces hold little geometry.(Image credit: Future via Michael Hoglund)
The combat punished me for over-extending and rewarded me for patience.
Any frustration I was enduring happened because I started button-mashing in hopes I could neglect the consequences.
The pirating ended up becoming absolutely addictive.
Even wood seems flat, and some HDR settings are an absolute pain to get right between situations or different islands.(Image credit: Future via Michael Hoglund)
Sailing the open seas, speeding through materials, battling degenerate pirates, and plundering booty from nearby islands.
The king of everything else
The minigames yet again reign supreme.
Each feels rewarding, thanks to the shop system.
I would assume someone put me in a plaster-like cavern.(Image credit: Future via Michael Hoglund)
Each presents their own level of challenge with a bounty reward equal to said challenge.
I just wish I could pair it with a ridiculous solar-powering hat.
I’ll let you find more for yourself, as some surprises are best left to the player.
The game doesn’t often take itself seriously.
Needless to say, there’s a lot to do.
Then again, I’ve said it already, but it’s a Yakuza game.
You expected a metric #$%@ ton of things to do.
The bad
I have one problem with the game.
The annoyance becomes obvious from the start.
The geometry is entirely missing from most surfaces and instead replaced by a flat two-dimensional surface.
The area that suffers most isn’t surface textures; it’s the water.
For me, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii entirely missed this mark.
I debated which looked better or worse, and in neither case could I decide.
The representations of the seaplay are just that dated.
More people need to jump into the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series.
It’s amazing what the developer can do with so little time.
It’s time for players to jump in and experience what Like a Dragon has to offer.
If you’ve never tried one of their games, I absolutely urge you to do so now.
It’s $60, but it’s an absolute treasure trove of gameplay for a multitude of players.
If you appreciate anime, you’ll love the story of Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.
If you like minigames, look no further.
If you miss Assassin’s Creed Black Flag, get ready to plunder.
