Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Demo Impressions
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii releases very soon and with it comes the release of a demo. The demo provides a small chunk of Hawaii for Majima to torment the local “delinquents” with. I played the demo a few times over the weekend and Pirate Yakuza (not gonna say the whole thing again) may have my favorite moment to moment combat of the entire series. Of course I am getting ahead of myself, it is just a demo after all, and not a particularly long one. Yet, it’s left one hell of a good impression.
In terms of why Majima is here, why he’s a pirate, you won’t find any explanation in here or in the demo. You’re just thrust into some random point in the story where Majima has to gear up to set sail for some place called Madlantis. So, you spend that time “gearing up” by exploring the given area of Hawaii. Those who have played Infinite Wealth should feel right at home since the map is the exact same. The demo allows you to change Majima’s clothes, take part in 3 karaoke numbers, and get into as many fights as your heart desires with elite enemies (bosses) under the label of bounties. There’s a decent chunk of these bounties to go after, all of which land a decent amount of cash. However, there being this many implies that the pirate life is going to be an expensive one.
Pirate Yakuza has two combat styles, the RGG standard as of late with their brawlers (minus Ishin). The first is Mad Dog Style, a fighting style reminiscent of Majima’s past life in the Yakuza. The other being Sea Dog Style, where Majima becomes the pirate you see on the cover. However, both are more than viable and extremely satisfying to use. Mad Dog Style features combos that allow you to start on the ground, then launch an enemy in the air, and continue hitting them with more strings while airborne. I instinctively tried to use an Izuna Drop since that’s how quick combat is, it feels like I was back in Ninja Gaiden. Sea Dog Style brings out two cutlasses for Majima to use, complete with legitimate murder heat actions that act as bruises in the Yakuza universe. Sea Dog is flashy and dare I say, insane. Yet, that’s almost the point I would think. The controls are as tight as ever, strong ground combos alongside the stapled heat actions and ultimate moves make the combat flow beautifully. the only thing I want when a fight ends is for another to begin.
The demo also allows access to ship battles which are just as ridiculous as it seems, yet it’s oddly simple. Being the captain of a pirate ship and getting into a scrap with other pirates is a video game match made in heaven. Most hold Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag in high regard for this exact reason, it’s also why Sea of Thieves still thrive. Pirate Yakuza also deserves a chance to speak. It’s easy to determine where the enemies are, ships don’t feel sluggish to turn, the impacts of the cannons and machine guns leave a lasting impact audibly and visually, it’s really easy to get engrossed in the battle. Once their defenses are down you rush aboard the enemy ship and make all your enemies walk the plank. In the full game you’ll be able to create a crew entirely out of characters you’ll meet throughout the story so I can already imagine the attachments that will be made.
Pirate Yakuza feels like a game that RGG has wanted to make for a long time. It feels like with Majima finally starring in his own game they wanted to make it as memorable as possible. Yakuza is often referred to as a balancing act with its goofy side context juxtaposed with its grounded narrative. Pirate Yakuza decides to go full crazy and that’s the best choice they could have made. Pirate Yakuza is insane amounts of fun and I can’t wait to see where the story goes when the full game drops on February 20.
