Key things
- Pirate Yakuza is set to be what fans of the Majima game have been asking for for a long time.
- In addition to familiar maps and minigames, Pirate Yakuza will feature exciting new areas and minigames such as Madlantis.
- You can dress up Majima as Barbie. What's not to love?
I was hopping from one train to another in London lugging a suitcase with four hours to go when the RGG summit broadcast started last Friday. Of course I didn't miss it. I clutched my phone and squealed in delight – earning a strange look from fellow commuters – when it opened with the familiar figure of Majima.
It was too good to be true. Surely this was just a tease for the fans to get Majima to introduce another game? But no. After all these years of waiting, with fans asking, dreaming and hoping, the Majima stans are eating 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 a tattoo of him inked into 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 to ask my thoughts on the reveal, but knowing I was set to preview 'RGG's next unaccounted title' a few days later, I didn't want to comment until I'd seen it properly . Now that time has come.
Let's face it. It would have to be really awful for me not to absolutely love it. Anything Majima is good in my books, but I'm going to put my bias aside for a moment and react like a normal, sane, not-quite-obsessed-as-a-dragon fan. In case you weren't aware from the western translation, Pirate Yakuza is another Gaiden title and is called that in Japan. Immediately think of what we got with The Man Who Erased His Name (henceforth known as TMWEHN because I don't want to keep writing it) and you're on the right track. It's supposed to be a bit bigger than the previous Gaiden, but it's still a Gaiden title and it's much smaller (both in map size and game length) than a full LaD title.
We only had a small taste of the narrative and the hand 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 showcase what's on offer in the world rather than a slice of the story pie. Given how meaty and deep LaD's stories are, I have no doubt that RGG wants to keep his cards close to his chest this early, as any story shown now would probably give a lot away.
The Honolulu map is reused from Infinite Wealth in the same way that TMWEHN reused Yokohama. But there are also brand new maps like Madlantis, a quirky pirate hideout. We also saw a bit of your ship, the Goromaru, that you travel to and from places.
We've been told that there will be other areas as well, so I'm assuming another city will appear. If we think of Madlantis as the equivalent of TMWEHN's castle and Honolulu as the condensed version of Yokohama we had in TMWEHN, then we need something to compete with TMWEHN's capital city. So if Honolulu is the capital because it's bigger than Sotenbori anyway… but anyway, I feel we need another place. I need more areas for Majima to lay out his stuff.
We didn't have the full Honolulu map in the demo we played, and I'm not sure if that was just for the demo or if, like TMWEHN, it will offer a more limited version of the original series map.
Honolulu was much the same. You have your segway, Noah has a mini segway (cute) and you can do a hand signal to befriend people (so yes, the friend system is back). There were also Most Wanted boss battles all over the map, apparently bounties set by the Honolulu City Police, and who better to round up baddies than Mad Dog himself? Majima also has a grappling hook (called a wire hook) that he can use to pick up items or seemingly grapple a bit, though I haven't seen the latter feature in action.
We had a limited look at Madlantis, as none of the minigames were open for demos, but what little we did see offered a promising taste of a neon-lit, perfectly piratical, suitably crazy place where you can roam around like Sea Dog Majima and dig into the stock of any scurvy stupid scumbag to cross you.
Similarly, there are some familiar mini-games in Pirate Yakuza such as Dragon Kart, Karaoke at Revolve Bar and Crazy Delivery, but new mini-games are also being added, such as the dating game that was teased at the summit. The mini-games were limited in hand, we 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. When he belted out his shrill Majima notes on the high notes, it made the entire press center laugh.
But let's get to the important part: the fight. I love the Like a Dragon series and I don't begrudge the turn-based battles we get now in the main series, but I've always preferred the action fights. I love the button mashing, I love the chaos and the fast feeling of spinning, slicing, jumping and screaming in maniacal joy (like Majima does). You could feel it incredibly good back to action fighting, 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 tired of the action combat of the series will find Pirate Yakuza's return to the old ways refreshing – especially when 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 oh my god are they fun. You've got a hand cannon for blasting people, a wire grappling hook that you use to pull yourself into enemies, and your sabers, the latter of which you can even boomerang at enemies as well as slice and dice them into oblivion with combos.
Enough of the serious critics, let's get my fangirl hat back. Yes, it looks like a Majima Construction helmet. Let's talk about outfits. Similar to Kiryu in TMWEHN, you can dress up Majima in Barbie style from a range of hats, tops, pants, shoes, accessories, makeup and more, and choose outfits for Seadog Majima and Mad Dog Majima. You can even put an eyepatch or pirate hat on your tiger friend Gor.
Yeah, his name is the same as Majima (Majima Goro), I don't know why.
In recent LaD games, I always dress up the main character as Majima. Kiryu was dressed as Majima in TMWEHN. Kasuga was dressed as Majima in endless opulence. But since I had the real Majima, I gave him a little makeover with slicked back hair, earrings, and painted black nails, and then… well, the standard Majima outfit, because I love him and hate changes.
We actually had access to all Majimas past and present. From the hair to the clothes, there was a look for every version of Majima (including Goromi) and even clothes that resembled Hidenari Ugaki's (Majima's Japanese VA). The change preview gives a scene of Majima walking down the catwalk like a king, so don't miss it. You're welcome.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks like it should be a game under the brand not only for RGG Studio, but Majima as well. I mean the details of the game were leaked months ago and it was so crazy no one believed it. If that doesn't tell you that it's appropriately chaotic and crazy to be a game where Majima is the main character, I don't know what does. Oh yeah, me. I'm telling you. This is the Majima game fans have always wanted. It harkens back to an old fight, feels right for Majima's personality, and is a series that uses what it learned from its successes to create something new and passionate for fans.
The only lingering gripe you might have is that it's not a major Majima title. That said, we don't get a 50+ hour story like Infinite Wealth, but if there's one thing TMWEHN has proven, it's that RGG Studio can pack an impressive punch in a smaller package. I was excited from the trailer alone, but after playing some of the game firsthand, I'm even more convinced that this is the LaD game I've been waiting for. I am ready to set sail with Captain Majima.
