Like a Dragon: Yakuza Pirate in Hawaii Tokyo Game Show Demo Proves the Series Is More Absurd than Ever [Hands-On Preview]

The Yakuza series of video games is odd in the best way possible. That’s why I was so excited that Like a Dragon: Yakuza Pirate in Hawaii was on full display at the Tokyo Game Show, giving me the chance to play around 20 minutes of the highly anticipated game.

It wasn’t hard. A large statue of protagonist Goro Majima on a pirate ship full of treasure stood out even among the glitz and glam of the show floor.

First things first, while the recent Yakuza have ditched action-based gameplay for more of a turn-based RPG system, Yakuza Pirate returns the series to more of an action beat ‘em up while bringing back Majima for the leading role. This time around, if you haven’t seen already, he’s in command of a pirate ship.

After departing a pirate ship, the demo began with a brief combat tutorial on a beach in Hawaii. Majima and a young boy named Noah run into a group of hooligans who want their money because inflation has gotten so bad – no lie there. This tutorial showed off two fighting styles: the returning Mad Dog style in which Majima wields daggers and can summon copies of himself and the new pirate style where he whips out a cutlass and can fire a pistol.

As stated above, this is all in an action-based style with a horde of ruffians surrounding Majima as he throws cutlasses, tosses them around, and commits super moves in that over-the-top style. The Mad Dog style appeared much faster while the pirate style featured a lot of button holding that slowed down combat somewhat for heavier hits. None of the bouts in the demo were challenging – it was, by all appearances, very early in the game – but fans of the older Yakuza games will likely feel right at home with this updated, fluid system.

The rest of the demo had me participate in mini-games, of which there were several. If I spoke to Noah, he could fast-travel me anywhere around Hawaii I wanted to go: we first went to karaoke, where I completed a short rhythm-based mini-game as Majima belted out the notes in ludicrous fashion.

I won’t pretend to be a Yakuza series expert, but it looked to me like the music video that played during karaoke referenced past events in the series, giving long-time fans more incentive to seek it out. I also did “sing” on the “casual” setting rather than the “passionate” setting, which I assume is much more difficult.

Related: All Pre-Order Bonuses and Editions for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

I then moved on to Dragon Kart, which, as you’d expect, is a Mario Kart-like mini-game, except this time, you’re shooting rockets and machine guns instead of turtle shells. It also featured a health system where, if my kart’s health reached zero, I’d spin out for a few seconds. This never happened to me, yet the racing itself seemed rather challenging until I got the hang of drifting. I managed to eke out a first-place finish with a well-timed power-up.

I didn’t want to run out of demo time before advancing the story, so I skipped participating in the other mini-games and exploring what looked like a rather expansive Hawaii. I did, however, watch other people play a delivery-like game that sees Majima racing through the streets on a bicycle to deliver food, which looked rather fun.

Returning to the pirate ship, Majima, Noah, and a few other crew set off for Madlantis, which looks like the primary hub of the game. A black screen informed me that I could sail the seas and explore in the main version of the game, but it was cut for the demo.

Madlantis, at first, looked like a nondescript rocky island; however, upon entering a cave Majima and his crew come upon what I can only describe as a Los Vegas-like pirate den, resplendent with repurposed cruise ships and bright neon lights. A woman watched as Majima’s ship approached – what I can only assume is the main antagonist – and that’s where the demo concluded.

It didn’t reveal a lot about Yakuza Pirate that we didn’t already know: it’s a Yakuza game full of quirky mini-games with an off-kilter protagonist that fans of the series are sure to know all about. 

It did, however, show that the transition from Yakuza hi-jinks in Japan and Hawaii to the open seas somehow makes sense in RGG’s universe. If Yakuza Pirate is as well received as the other titles in the series, there’s no telling where the absurdity will go from here – space, maybe? Regardless, the demo also solidified my excitement for Like a Dragon: Yakuza Pirates in Hawaii for February of next year.