(Mad Dog Deals With Scurvy) Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii

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Why yes, another Yakuza game. Why not keep em coming? Hell, this one had the gull to throw Ubisoft's own pirate game under the gullet of the ocean. The mad dog after several years finally gets his own spin-off. An amnesiac pirate on a quest for some booty.

The best part, Sega ain't squeezing us off, it's a 60 dollar entry with various mini-games, including and get this, manning pirate ships. They've decided to do what they learned from the Gaiden games, providing bite sized amazing experiences in short lengths. But I think people are going to sink a lot more for that pirate mini-game, and then some.

I played this on the PS5, saw no reason to play it on the PC since it runs 60FPS at full resolution. While the early game takes a while, considering the not-so-impressive story is takes center stage with loads of cutscenes, the fun comes along as the hours go by.

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Let's start with Majima, washed up on a small island near Honolulu, Hawaii, can't recollect who he is or how he got here, he meets a local boy named Noah and his pet cat, Goro. Here's how it gets funny, Majima is much nicer? Willing to help out? Less insane?

Well, he still fights like crazy, but this game doesn't stop there. You get involved immediately in all kinds of shenanigans, and now has to travel with a boy, his reluctant father, and a ragtag group to find a hidden treasure worth billions, as well as a miracle elixir that cures anything. I can sure tell that at this point, any grounded sense of reality has been lost for this plot alone.

For starters, Majima can now jump, throw blades from higher altitude, and even repeatedly slash them. If it's going to be a pirate game, Majima himself needs an ungodly amount of attack power. You have two attack stances to switch between: Sea Dog, and Mad Dog.

Mad Dog is his usual, fast-paced hard hitting attacks involving punching, kicking, and of course, stabbing. He can dodge super nimble and fast, probably even faster than Kiryu. Last importantly, he can send his enemies flying while constantly beating them to a pulp with little to no recession. His ultimate is summoning clones, because he's so fast, there's too many of him. 😊

Sea Dog is the swashbuckling side of him, with dual swords and pistol. He can boomerang slash his enemies both ground, and midair. Does so much wave clearing with it, despite being a little inferior to Mad Dog in terms of sheer strength, the swashbuckling is definitely his new specialty. Especially the gun, the heat actions, it's best for hyper aggression as well. Also, guess the ultimate? He uh, summons evil sharks. Like some Dark Soul boss on rampage mode.

Ah, but of course, you're a pirate. You can't keep everything between your toes without some cooking. You find food ingredients by hunting, fishing and planting crops. That pet cat also helps out. Super cuteness factor indeed. Straight up from the Ishin game.

I said bite sized content, but already in the early game, I'm given the impression that so much more to come. Also, I do appreciate the scenery change from mainland Honolulu and Kamurocho. Like, this game's visuals still hold up in today's time even. Smooth performance, even granted. Dang, now that I think about it, maybe running it on PC with 165Hz monitor might have cleaned it out.

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Currency is your best way to bump up Majima's prowess. Plus unlocking more crazier combos, heat action to counter abilities, and lots more. Look, it's not going to be 0 crazy with the repertoire, but by the time the real swashbuckling starts, you won't have to worry.

I also like the boss battles, they obviously took the Gaiden's enemy ultimate attack parries, which requires specific timing. Couple that with mobs of enemies mowing down on you, and you have a great recipe for not only stepping it up, but also going full insane with the brawling. Though, it seems like gadget usage is not found here, and you have few items to use around you.

Ok, I've lingered too long on the main fighting formula, now let's talk about the pirate stuff. Yes, you get to drive a pirate ship, boost the damn thing, and even pull a Tokyo Drift to avoid damage. But the best part is your arsenal of weapons, you have cannonballs on the side, and an auto turret on the front. You can get off the steering wheels, and even launch a bazooka on them.

On deck means looking into crew's morale, reviving them knocked out during battles, and so on. But if you're looking for something fancier, we can talk about doing trades, pirate booty hunting mini-games on specific islands, adding the specialty of obscenely giant bosses like a giant freaking bear even. You can manage your crew formation, and upgrade your ship later on.

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Oh yeah, I guess you can also board other ships to steal their loot too? Crazy, huh? Almost as if a certain game a year ago tried doing that, and failed miserably. But the biggest stuff content jump happens when you land in Madlantis and Honolulu. Remember the hidden coliseum in Y0?

You get to engage in silly games called Bang Bang Batting, taking the batting game to its extreme. Oh, no worries, there's more. I mentioned fishing didn't I? Pachinkos, Dragon Kart, Pirates' Coliseum, and hell lot more. Ok, it starts off pretty slow, and drowsy in the first 4-6hrs, and story gets boring, but damn it, Majima did it again. My entire weekend is gone after this.

This spin-off provides so much to do in 30+ hrs of fun, and honestly speaking, I'm fine with some of the underwhelming aspects. It's a good game, it knows it, doesn't deviate from that much.

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