A new PlayStation blog (thanks cheery fanzine PCGamer for the spot) has provided some illuminating info on the upcoming Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii, and in many ways, the LAD series as a whole. The biggest takeaway: the fact pirate Yakuza was, at one point, going to be a fishing game called Like A Dragon: Tuna.
Sachie Kobari interviewed RGG studio director and LAD executive producer Masayoshi Yokoyama, alongside RGG’s chief producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto, about LAD: Pirate Yakuza’s origins. Right from the off, Kobari asks how the game came to be – and the response is gold.
Yokoyama says that once Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s (Yakuza 8) development came to a close, they wanted to create a “blown-up sub-story” for the game, as a sort of spin-off that stars characters besides the main protagonist Ichiban Kasuga. Turns out that “for quite some time”, Yokoyama wanted to make a game called “Like A Dragon: Tuna”, where Kiryu, “as a tuna fisherman, sets off to sea to fight against fishing boats”. In the end it didn’t come about, obviously, but Yokoyama says that words like “ship”, “sea”, and “fighting” were “engraved in his head”. And it’s this mixture of themes that eventually bore piracy.
It’s interesting that they ditched Kiryu and went with Majima. Presumably, it’s because Kiryu stars in a lot of their games – most recently semi-spin-off, Like A Dragon Gaiden – and Pirate Yakuza is an opportunity to give the fans what they want: control over the absolute weapon that is Goro Majima, with his wise-cracking and his stylish moves. He’s a cracking character, with some real trauma powering that outward ‘madness’ and, believe it or not, a soft heart capable of love. All of which we’re introduced to in the brilliant Yakuza 0 and then it’s built on slightly in Yakuza Kiwami 2 with a fateful reunion. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve recovered.
Pirate Yakuza is hopefully the first of many daft spin-offs. Back in 2018 (or 2021 on PC) we had Judgment as the action sidepiece to LAD’s turn-based battles, starring a kickass lawyer and his pals fighting crime from the inside. Sadly the Judgment series seemingly came to a halt when the actor Takuya Kimura, who plays the main character Takayuki Yagami, got into some rights issues (Japanese link to those rights issues here). You know what I’d kill for? A spin-off of the next LAD game, but it’s Haruka or anyone pursuing a J-Pop dream. God, that section of Yakuza 5 was mint.
Oh and also, Kiryu’s taxi driver shenanigans in Yakuza 5? Also great. Just spitballing here RGG, but I wouldn’t be mad if Like A Dragon went a bit Crazy Taxi.
You can learn more about Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii from our coverage of its initial announcement. And you can find it over on Steam, too.