Prepare for a swashbuckling adventure unlike any other! The upcoming Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii promises a significantly larger and more ambitious experience than its predecessor, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. Discover the exciting revelations from RGG SUMMIT 2024.
Majima's Pirate Adventure Sets Sail in 2025
A Bigger, Bolder World Awaits in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
The Yakuza/Like a Dragon series is charting a course for uncharted waters with Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Get ready for an adventure exceeding expectations in both scale and ambition. During RGG SUMMIT 2024, RGG Studio president Masayoshi Yokoyama announced that the game's story and world will be approximately 1.3 to 1.5 times larger than Like a Dragon Gaiden.
For those who found The Man Who Erased His Name relatively concise, Pirate Yakuza aims to redefine expectations. It's not a simple expansion; it's a wholly new level of adventure.
"We don't even know the exact area of the city itself," Yokoyama revealed in a Famitsu interview (machine-translated). "Of course, there's Honolulu City, featured in Infinite Wealth, and various stages like Madlantis, making the game significantly larger than Like a Dragon Gaiden."
The game's content is equally expansive. From the signature brawling combat to the series' quirky side activities and minigames, Pirate Yakuza promises a jam-packed experience. Yokoyama hinted at a shift in the perception of "Gaiden" titles, stating that the traditional understanding of "spin-off" or "side story" is fading. This suggests a fully-fledged experience comparable to mainline entries.
Set in and around the Hawaiian islands, the game offers a distinct change of pace, surpassing even its predecessor. The charismatic Goro Majima, once again voiced by Hidenari Ugaki, takes center stage in this seafaring adventure. Majima awakens on a Hawaiian beach, inexplicably becoming a pirate. The specifics remain shrouded in mystery, even Ugaki, while excited, remains tight-lipped:
"The game's information is finally out, but many elements and details remain to be shared," Ugaki commented. "I'm usually quite talkative, but I've been instructed not to reveal anything, so I'm not entirely satisfied yet."
Voice actress First Summer Uika (Noah Ritchie) even teased a live-action scene featuring Ryuji Akiyama (Masaru Fujita), who described a memorable recording experience: "There was one interesting recording scene. When I went to the restroom, there was an aquarium with a clownfish...and many beautiful women at the recording...It wasn't a dating show, but that scene created an exciting, almost unrealistically popular feeling."
These "beautiful women" may refer to the "Minato Ward girls," appearing both in live-action and CG form. The studio held auditions for these characters earlier this year. Ryosuke Horii shared, "I was pleased that many participants, unaware of their specific roles, demonstrated a genuine love for the series and a passion to work with us."
For further details on the auditions, refer to our related article!
