Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii brings back playable Goro Majima in style - hands-on preview

It's impossible to know exactly what RGG Studios has up their sleeves at any given point; case in point, when the studio revealed Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii earlier this week, complete with an amnesiac Goro Majima taking a major playable role for the first time since Yakuza 0. Majima is The Man Who Forgot His Name; and he's taken on a role as a pirate captain in the interim. None of the story specifics were showcased in the demo we played, but it's not like there's anymore explanation needed, either.

Following up Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii returns to the series' traditional action combat. Majima has two separate styles to choose from; Mad Dog, which shows that despite forgetting who he is, Majima very much remembers his moves - and Sea Dog, which has Majima donning a full pirate outfit, complete with dual cutlesses he can throw out at enemies like boomeranges, a flintlick pistol he can charge up for extra damage, and a hookshot that he can use to quickly pull himself to enemies.

In Mad Dog mode, Majima can charge up an uppercut to launch enemies into the air, and in a fairly big upset for the series - he can chase enemies into the air to juggle them, complete with an optional finisher which sees him driving his dagger right into a poor bastard's ribcage. Majima also has access to a super move in Mad Dog which summons a number of dopplegangers which will follow his every move, quickly filling the screen with a frankly absurd amount of particle effects.

Beyond that, we didn't get too much of a chance to check out any of the other new features for Majima's new story. Exploring Hawaii, Majima can use his new hookshot to gather items and reach places you otherwise can't reach normally; the experience was almost identical to my time playing the TGS demo for Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth last year, even down to it - of course - being set in Hawaii. I did get to see Majima perform 24-hour Cinderella, though! There were a few other minigames, as you'd expect from the series, too.

The main thing I was interested in checking out wasn't available in the demo, however - ship combat. Any sections where Majima would've taken to the seas had been blocked out, and past a quick excursion to the new area of Madlantis, I wasn't able to see anything truly new just yet. What I played was fun - and I'm absolutely sold on the concept - but with only a few months before launch I was hoping to see a little bit more. At least we won't have to wait too long!

That being said; RGG, you better not touch the tiger cub. If anything happens to him I will absolutely cry. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii launches for PlayStation 4, 5, PC (Steam), Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on February 28, 2025. Stay tuned for our further thoughts as we get closer to launch.