3/5 ★ – MomagicLOL's review of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

“Take the dream from the man, but can’t take the man from the dream” **SPOILER FREE REVIEW** Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii swings high being the fan-favorite Goro Majima’s first solo outing as the main protagonist as he travels to Hawaii seeking 200 year old treasure left by from the Palekana tribe from Like a Dragon: Infinite wealth. However, this game struggles to earn its sea legs as the first 3/5 chapters of this game while not terrible, are a slog of mediocre writing, terrible pacing, and mostly average character development. If this game weren’t the drawbridge between Infinite Wealth and LAD9, I would’ve probably skipped it. It sucks that chapters 4 & 5 decide to juice up the interest by 1000% as it rides the coattails of extreme tedium and borderline desperation for your interest. The main villain was extremely one-dimensional, but what happens throughout the game will make you want him to suffer. Majima feels a bit out of character as he’s lost his identity for the first 5-10 hours, but as soon as he remembers he’s the fuckin big dawg, he roles back in. I played in English (fuck off with your thoughts) and while I wasn’t sold with Matt Mercer as Majima, by the end my mind was changed. All it took was a good monologue with what is a seriously amazing reminder that this guy isn’t just some scurvy-ridden pirate with an eyepatch, he’s Shimano’s Mad Dog. The best thing about this game is definitely the combat and the return of Hawaii from Infinite Wealth. The combat resembles Devil May Cry but more simplistic and flashy, and honestly I enjoyed the combat more than most of the DMC’s combat. The ship combat resembles that of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag but VERY cut and dry. I was somewhat disappointed with how little there is to do with the seafaring, and while what we do get has solid legs, it’s as easy to enjoy it as it is to skip it with fast travel. Overall? Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a serviceable entry in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise. The mostly poor writing off the backend of both LAD Gaiden and Infinite Wealth is a damn shame, but what we have here is a zany pirate game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I’d recommend playing this if you’re going through the series as it does set up what could be a central plot point for Like a Dragon 9, but I wouldn’t pay full price for this game. 7/10