The next Yakuza game is about series wild card Goro Majima fighting pirates and is called Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Sega revealed at the September 2024 RGG Summit.
As someone who’s never played any Yakuza game, what even is this series? Are you not playing as a Japanese gangster or something? Why are you now an actual pirate?
It is has a serious narrative about crime, politics, family issues, corruption and honor.
And in the next scene you’re spending thousands of dollars (yens?) on a custom toy car to win a slot car championship or building your own go kart and race against other gangster.
Let’s just say that this is not too out of the ordinary.
Oh to be someone outside, looking in at this series… It must look absolutely insane lol. As someone who’s been playing these games for years now, this feels right at home for this series to me.
Yes the mainline games are you playing a gang member (im not sure about the new protag though}. I think this is the second time piece spinoff that tells a different story, they just reuse the previous cast as new characters. Like a Dragon: Isshin is the first game like this
It’s one of those series that has expanded so far, with favoritism towards its characters, that they even decided to drop the name “Yakuza” in favor of the Japanese title, since so much of it has little to do with being a Yakuza anymore. Honestly, I can’t remember any game in which you’ve done actual Yakuza-like actions such as shaking down businesses, running loan shark scams, or executing hits. When you do end up making money, it’s through perfectly legitimate businesses whose biggest problem is “thugs keep attacking us!”
As someone who’s never played any Yakuza game, what even is this series? Are you not playing as a Japanese gangster or something? Why are you now an actual pirate?
Yakuza is a very japanese game.
It is has a serious narrative about crime, politics, family issues, corruption and honor. And in the next scene you’re spending thousands of dollars (yens?) on a custom toy car to win a slot car championship or building your own go kart and race against other gangster.
Let’s just say that this is not too out of the ordinary.
This is a series where you can
Have a chicken be your employee at a successful business venture alongside an oversided-roomba and a former wrestler.
Pursue the reason why your crime boss/father-figure let you take the fall for a murder and then sell out the entire organization while you did time
Have a hobo wizard as an ally who becomes like a brother to you
Get caught up in a national political conspiracy
Just…roll with it and have fun.
Oh to be someone outside, looking in at this series… It must look absolutely insane lol. As someone who’s been playing these games for years now, this feels right at home for this series to me.
Used to be that… Now it’s just whatever the fuck the head designer dreamed up while on mushrooms.
Even in normal games you play just as ex-yakuza, or other civilians.
Also this series is crazy so, pirate as a protagonist is not so outlandish idea.
Yes the mainline games are you playing a gang member (im not sure about the new protag though}. I think this is the second time piece spinoff that tells a different story, they just reuse the previous cast as new characters. Like a Dragon: Isshin is the first game like this
In this case it looks like real Majima lost memory and got isekai’d to become pirate (game still might be non canon).
It’s one of those series that has expanded so far, with favoritism towards its characters, that they even decided to drop the name “Yakuza” in favor of the Japanese title, since so much of it has little to do with being a Yakuza anymore. Honestly, I can’t remember any game in which you’ve done actual Yakuza-like actions such as shaking down businesses, running loan shark scams, or executing hits. When you do end up making money, it’s through perfectly legitimate businesses whose biggest problem is “thugs keep attacking us!”