Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Naval Combat Looks Even Better Than Skull and Bones

Jan 10, 2025 at 05:30am EST
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

During yesterday's Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Direct, the Japanese developer shared a lot of new info on their next game, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, which is slated to launch next month. The 13-minute video demonstrated ground combat, but its highlight was certainly naval combat, which fans have commented looks even better than Ubisoft's naval-only title Skull and Bones.

Regardless of whether you agree or not, naval combat in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii certainly sounds quite deep. To begin with, players will get to fully customize the Goromaru pirate ship, including hull, armor, sails, and figurehead. The game also lets them hire their crew among a roster of over a hundred sailors, who have their own attributes and can subsequently be improved by deepening the crew's bonds through song, drink, adventure, and victory. They will then have to be optimally assigned to attack or defense operations.

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Of course, a key component of naval combat is installing, upgrading, and firing cannons. This is where the IP's outlandish nature shines, offering options for energy cannons, laser cannons, and even 'shark cannons'. Of course, boarding is also available in the game, allowing the crews to come to blows in frenetic melee combat. Before the end of the video, the developers also confirmed that the New Game Plus mode will be added to the game for free after launch.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a spin-off set after the events narrated in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Series mainstay Goro Majima is the lead character. At the start of the story, he washes on Rich Island with no recollection of his previous life.

The game is scheduled to be released on February 21 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X.

About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.

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