We’re just shy of half way through Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii now, and despite some initial concerns, it’s really quite impressive.
Showing us exactly why we fell in love with Yakuza: Like a Dragon but also showing us that perhaps the entire series of Yakuza games is more silly than we realised.
Removing our turn-based combat expectations, that initially became a prejudice, made our experience of Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii a bit of a revelation.
Silly, funny, heartfelt. Pick your favourite, positive adjective. There’s nothing really bad to say about Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, and that’s kind of amazing, isn’t it?
Combat
Let’s talk this over. Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, despite carrying the “Like a Dragon” moniker, is not a turn-based combat system.
So far as I can tell, the combat gameplay is attributed to the protagonist of the game, which is something we really like as a concept.
With Goro Majima you get a straight-up brawler in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. You see a group of bad guys in the wild, just go up to them and kick the living daylights out of them.
With different styles (Mad Dog and Sea Dog), you can mix-up each encounter and try different approaches to each battle. Cutlasses or a short blade, speed and specials. You have a lot to go at.
With your heat gauge charged-up, too. You can deliver some really stylish takedowns to mobs or individuals. With some context-specific prompts at the right time, you get some wicked moments in the middle of different bouts.
Levelling
Because you’re a pirate, the best way to level-up, is to pay for upgrades with cold-hard cash. Naturally.
Collecting loot from chests, capturing criminals, working as a food delivery cyclist. Maybe just some casual pirate naval combat? There’s plenty of ways to make money, and you use it to level up.
If Majima needs improved attack power, or there’s a new attack to unlock in your Mad Dog/Sea Dog style. You pony-up the dollars. It feels quite fitting in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.
Of course, when you’ve spent all your cash on arcades, gifts for your crew and clothing…….you only have yourself to blame. Not that we ever did that…..
Ship and Crew
Pirates need a ship, and a ship needs a crew! Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is no exception.
Once you get your ship, you think that’s about it, until you need to get it fixed-up and ready for the arena. Suddenly, you have a bigger ship, you can upgrade weapons, you can recruit people in the open world to join your crew. It’s a great, fun and accessible cycle. Soon you’re crewed-up on all your cannons and you’re working out your best boarding crew to help you fight when you land on the deck of your foes.
Whilst the ship combat doesn’t echo that of say Assassin’s Creed Black Flag or Sea of Thieves. It does a great job of giving you that arcade-style combat. It’s fast, it’s engaging, and it’s easy to pick-up. Once you’re done, you sometimes board the enemy ship and do things hand-to-hand, much the same as the rest of the normal in-game combat.
What makes Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii stand out more than the other games we’ve been playing, though, is the crew element. It’s like in an RPG where you can have friends, and you keep them happy. But you can find strangers in the world of the game and try to recruit them. I have old sailors, Idol fans, inventors. All kinds of folk work with us to sail and ultimately win.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
We’ll talk story, overall satisfaction and anything else that comes out of the woodwork, in due course. But at the half way point it’s all incredibly promising.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is likely to be on our game of the year list, certainly a part of the discussion. Which, when you think about it, is crazy. We were ready to give up on it after the first 40 minutes, and now it’s all we can think about. Having to put it down to go play other titles for a while.
Majima-san has worked his charms on us as well. Maybe a bit deeper into the series than most, but we’re there now, and that’s not nothing.
