Like A Dragon has been on a roll with a barrage of new titles in the last few years, from spin-offs like Like A Dragon: Ishin!, to mainline canon episodes like Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii felt like it came out of left field with its off-beat and over-the-top premise as it stars long-time fan favorite Goro Majima as he finds himself amnesiac and a pirate in Hawai’i.

I’m sure we’re all curious about this surprise reveal, and we were fortunate to interview Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii‘s producers Ryosuke Horii and Hiroyuki Sakamoto, who shared insights on the gameplay, inspiration, and other surprises with this upcoming Like A Dragon installment!

Majima Gets The Gaiden Treatment

Media: What was the thought process that went from shifting from the Yakuza theme to a Pirate theme in Pirate Yakuza?

Sakamoto: Pirate Yakuza is not a spin-off, but a continuation of the Like A Dragon saga. The main point to bear in mind is how we considered to continue Majima’s story. It just so happens that the way to resolve his story and issues is a pirate-like way of doing things.

When you play the game, you will find that this will make sense narrative-wise. The idea came about when playing Infinite Wealth and we’re thinking, “How will Majima take the events in Infinite Wealth?” So Pirate Yakuza is a large side story to link Majima’s story to Infinite Wealth as a whole.

Horii: It is a pirate title, but at the same time, it won’t be a Like A Dragon title without the Yakuza element. It is pirates that are given a Like A Dragon treatment.

Media: How long can we expect to complete the main story?

Horii: The world is a lot broader this time, about what you’ve got all the islands around Hawaii. So the story will be longer than Man With No Name, there should be more play time. There’s more replayability, elements, and things that you can’t speed run compared to Man With No Name.

Infinite Wealth was a big game, surprisingly, but this time with Pirate Yakuza, we think it’s probably just the right size. People can complete it in a comfortable time.

Media: The Sea Dog style is an interesting fighting style of Majima’s. Can you speak about the how the pirate image inspires this fighting technique?

Sakamoto: In contrast to the existing Mad Dog style, which is what Majima had until now. He has certain tools that he has now that he did not have before. And we thought we would put these combinations together and figure out what would work the best for him.

Media: Will we see the jump function used for other characters going forward?

Horii: Majima is the protagonist this time around and he is different from Kiryu and other characters. He is speedy and agile. For that reason, we thought that it would make the most sense to implement that feature with him.

With regard to what we do in the future, it will depend on which character we’re making in question. Currently, we’re not particularly thinking about that. We’re going to see what the player final reaction to that the jumping playstyle, and based on that, we will consider moving forward.

Sakamoto: We don’t really think it would be a good idea to have every single character be able to jump and attack that way. It is important to consider to the context of each character as we don’t really want to be making all the combat into the same over-the-top stylish style.

Media: Will Pirate Yakuza be recommended for new players who’ve never played a Like A Dragon game before?

Sakamoto: Purely from an action-game standpoint, it is a fun standalone action game. We think there’s a low barrier for entry. There is the pirate element, which is quite fun. New players will find it interesting and easy to play.

A Pirate’s Life is Right For Me

Media: How you do decide the mini-games for each entry of Yakuza? Is it a a fan vote or a developer vote?

Horii: It depends on the setting of each title. So for example, in Hawaii, we want to create mini-games that fit the setting of Hawaii with its bright and sunny atmosphere. We want to have mini-games that would make sense in that atmosphere and location.

Sakamoto: So throughout the whole series, there have been a very large number of mini-games and there are a lot of demands from fans to create specific games. As we go through the series, we do keep the classics in there, and we try to new things and to have a balance of both. There will also be some playable retro arcade games in Pirate Yakuza.

Media: We’ve a caught a brief glimpse of Madatlantis and we got a taste of the casino games and the boss fight with Keith. Can you talk more about what can we expect from that area in the final version of Pirate Yakuza?

Horii: What you saw in the demo is just a small part of Madatlantis. In the full version, there will be shops and mini-games. There’s a lot of explore around there that is also relevant to the story. You will visit it several times, and we hope you look forward to that in the finished version. While Madatlantis and Rich Island are important locations, there are still lots to see in Hawai’i.

Media: Since it is a pirate game, will there be activities such as singing pirate songs and treasure hunting?

Horii: The game does involve creating a pirate crew: The Goro Pirates. We do, of course, have piratey elements such as singing and partying. You can expect that type of musical element. We can’t say things like how many tracks this point, but you can certainly look forward to that kind of element in the game.

There is a strong association with pirates and treasure. There is a strong element of exploration in this title. You will be gathering treasure and looking for treasure chests. You’ll be beating strong bosses carrying treasure, so there will be a ton of pirate elements.

Media: Could you speak about the tiger cub that’s in the pirate crew? It’s very cute. (laughs)

Horii: Goro-chan, the tiger, he’s key to the story between Majima and the young boy, Noah. We thought that if we just had Majima and Noah, it wouldn’t work quite as well. We added the tiger cub to make it a more pleasant image.

Sakamoto: He wasn’t mo-capped. (laughs)

The Ever Evolving Medium of Like A Dragon

Media: What do you think made Like A Dragon a beloved series that connected with audiences around the world?

Horii: It wasn’t really our intention to create something that is beloved around the world. So we’ve kept the original story and charm the same way.

Sakamoto: It is a very passionate story and that is what audiences really like about it.

Media: Could you comment on the casting process for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza?

Sakamoto: We considered actors who can do drama well during the casting of Pirate Yakuza. Majima is a dramatic, over-the-top character, we needed actors who can play off that energy. We’ve had returning characters in previous series such as First Summer Uika playing the pirate boy Noah. We know that they can give a good performance, so that’s why they were chosen.

Media: How are you able to release sequels and spin-offs so quickly?

Sakamoto: We used the in-house engine, the Dragon Engine for Pirate Yakuza. The heart of the game is the narrative aspect of the story, and we go about it in our way, and I think that’s why we release games and sell them in a short period of time. We don’t really copy the studios abroad and we develop our own way and that’s what makes us so fast.

As the interview came to a close, Horii-san and Sakamoto-san had some final words to impart to the media.

Horii: Majima is the protagonist this time around and as a speedy, agile, and unique character and it is a game full of action, so please look forward to that. There is a pirate-style element, and it may appear as a spin-off, it really is a continuing of Like A Dragon series and you can really look forward to a passionate human drama.

Sakamoto: Majima’s character has been around a long time and is a popular character, but he’s 60 years old now. It is a good example of a game where a character can develop a strong character and be the foundation of the game. Like the previous entries to the franchise, Pirate Yakuza is still a human story, we have considered combining interesting characters together in interesting ways.

We hope to continue to develop games that way with Pirate Yakuza. This is the direction that we believe players will enjoy the game and be pleasantly surprised by how the story develops. We’re always looking for ways to combine new elements to create a new game and that is what the essence of Like a Dragon. And we hope that you would continue have faith in that while playing.

We would like to thank SEGA, Horii-san, and Sakamoto-san for this opportunity.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is scheduled to release on February 28, 2025, for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC.