Nintendo masterpiece The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time sees protagonist Link play beautiful melodies on an ocarina to cast magical effects and save the world. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii does the same, sort of, except protagonist Majima instead summons a giant glowing jellyfish that fights pirates.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii developer Ryu Ga Gotoko Studio shared the combat abilities Majima can use in the game in a blog post translated by Gematsu. This included details on the Dark Instruments he can deploy and the sharks, apes, and jellyfish they summon to fight baddies.
Alongside the more traditional Mad Dog style Majima has used throughout the entire Yakuza / Like a Dragon series, players can also choose to use his Sea Dog style that’s more fitting for Majima’s new life as a pirate.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Combat Screenshots
Primarily using cutlasses to take down enemies, the Sea Dog style also lets Majima use sidearms to activate triple finishers. Three sidearms are available throughout the game, including the Cutlass Boomerang, Pistol, and Chain Hook.
Things get particularly wild with the Dark Instruments, however. Majima will build up a Madness Gauge while fighting (separate to Heat Actions) that can be used to activate this new ability, with players able to choose between playing a violin, saxaphone, guitar, and the aforementioned ocarina.
“Blowing into Majima’s cursed ocarina beckons a terrifying jellyfish to emerge from the briny deep,” reads the description, which officially dubs the jellyfish the Dark God of the Deep. “This creature will heal Majima and his allies, as well as shock and immobilize nearby enemies.”
The violin summons giant sharks which deal heavy damage, the guitar summons a “ferocious” ape that inflicts massive damage with limited range, and the saxaphone summons an “avian ally” that blows enemies away.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a spin-off sequel to Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the eighth mainline entry in the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series (or ninth including Yakuza 0). It follows Majima as he wakes up with amnesia and becomes a pirate, exploring the likes of Hawaii along the way.
A trailer released at the October Xbox Partner Showcase revealed a proper first look at ship combat akin to Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and the return of the beloved character Taiga Saejima, perhaps teasing more ties to the main series than previously thought.
It will also be a decent bit longer than previous Yakuza spin-off Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, with its story taking around 15 to 18 hours to complete. Fans can also dress up Majima as longtime series protagonist Kiryu Kazuma, but only if they sign up for email notifications.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
