Preview Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii: Black Flag-style combat on the high seas

Despite the odds, the next game in the beloved Yakuza series, Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii, is shaping up to look like it will live up to its quirky name. At a themed preview event in Buena Park, California, just outside Knott’s Berry Farm, I and other journalists tried to catch a glimpse of heretofore unseen parts of the game — and it looks like combat at sea will be a fun highlight between the games. Many activities.

Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii is a new adventure from Sega studio Ryu Ga Gotoku starring series favorite Goro “Mad Dog” Majima, a wild, eyepatch-wearing gangster who progresses from obsessive sidekick in Yakuza 0 and Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth to main character. Majima picks up right after six months of infinite wealth, washing up on the island’s shore with no memory of his past (mis)deeds. After getting The first look at the game came late last yearthis new preview introduced me to three activities shown in the trailers – ship-to-ship naval combat, Colosseum battles, and the returning Dragon Kart mini-game.

Most importantly, I felt the game flow, as the first preview session got me into the game’s second act. Despite being deprived of many abilities and upgrades, I can still switch between Majima’s two fighting styles. The first, the pirate-themed Sea Dog style, has me swinging around two swinging swords (or throwing them like a boomerang), shooting my flintlock pistol, and using a chain whip to pull myself into enemies. The second style, Mad Dog, will be more familiar to Yakuza fans who fought Majima in previous games: he charges in with a knife like a back-alley brawler, even summoning dopplegangers to even the odds against hordes of enemies.

Both modes are fun, and although I was able to mash buttons, I was forced to use my small set of skills and tools when enemy groups pulled my weapons on me (and actual modern weapons put me to shame). Although the game is grouped in the Like A Dragon sub-series, it wisely abandons turn-based RPG combat in favor of real-time combat like the main Yakuza series, and it’s all the better for it; Flying around with bouncing swords in a pirate outfit is the kind of crazy move that can be executed in continuous motion (which can break down if players are given a moment to think).

In this first free-to-play section, I faced off against roving gangs of tough guys on the island, but mostly I was running around learning the game’s weird and fun angles: growing herbs to harvest later, cooking meals, earning favor with animal friends and stocking up on health items and energy drinks. Even on the islands, I buy supplies for the upcoming lopsided battle.

The next play session brought the good stuff, namely the ship battles shown in previous trailers. While players long for the days of Dark Dogfish Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flagenjoy Sea of ​​​​Thieves and mourn what Skull and Bones could have been, and the cannonball-stuck waters of Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii are sure to draw you in.

Naval combat, runway engagements and more

The second play session takes place in the stunning filthy pirate dreamland of Madlantis, the game’s big addition to the Yakuza landscape. Scalliwags wander the rusty metal arcades marring fights and neon signs mark bars, shops and a casino (where you can play poker and blackjack). But the main hub is the Pirates Coliseum, which lets you participate in four different types of battles with increasing difficulty.

The first, Quick Clash, places your ship in a flooded runway to take on enemies in quick combat. At lower ranks, you’ll face single ships, but more difficult battles will pit you against multiple ships of varying sizes. Naval combat is a bit more like Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag than the more realistic Sea of ​​Thieves, where you’ll be sailing with a bird’s eye view while attacking operations pop up for your three slotted weapons: forward machine guns plus an array of cannons for both port and starboard. These can be traditional cannons that fire artillery shells, short-range flamethrowers or even laser cannons (stay cool Yakuza).

Although you’ll mainly be hopping between ships to get the best angle to fire your next cannon and get out of your opponent’s retaliatory range, there are a few reasons to step away from the wheel to roam the deck of a Goromaru (as your ship is called). More importantly, you will need to do this if your ship catches fire, as putting out the fire will stop the timed damage as the lower your ship’s health is the less damage it will do. While walking around your ship, you can also use the deck-mounted machine gun or run around to fire rocket launchers at enemy ships (Never Change Yakuza). Keep in mind that you will be crawling to a stop far from the wheel, so watch out for enemies that charge at your immobile ship.

Once you defeat an enemy ship, it’s time to board, and you’ll automatically jump into hand-to-hand combat with your crew against the other ship’s captain and shipmates. It’s a fun ending to combat, especially in Pirates Coliseum’s second mode, Tournament of Captains, where your opponents will sport increasingly funny themes – I played against Biker Pirates, for example, who not only dressed like extras in Grease or The Outsiders, but after Boarding, they rode their motorcycles across the deck.

The third Pirate Coliseum mode, Madlantis Mania, was a series of deck battles against enemy crews and a little less exciting than the others. But the fourth mode, Swashbuckler Showdown, was a fun hand-to-hand combat on an island arena that pits you and your crew against dozens of enemies – a bit like Dynasty Warriors brawling through hordes of goons with some heroes scattered throughout. This is where I fight long enough to charge my Sea Dog style insanity meter and summon one of the Four Dark Sea Gods (Shark, Parrot, Monkey, or Jellyfish) to overpower my enemies Collectively.

Your crew, by the way, is drawn from a wide and delightful array of oddballs you’ll pick up as you play through the game, some of which have different abilities suitable for commanding cannons, being a squad leader or becoming your first mate. From chefs to brothel ladies to accountants to gangsters, you’ll fill your team with someone who’s just that. During one battle, my pre-selected crew climbed onto the deck of an enemy ship with me, including one man wearing a ram’s head over his business suit while another brawled in his underwear.

Gangsters, pirates, what’s the difference?

Unfortunately, not much of the story is shown, although we know that the amnesiac Majima at the beginning of the game will enjoy his freedom and love for the friends he meets. However, things become complicated when his memories of the crime lord he was at the end of the last game, such as Dragon: Infinite Wealth, return.

This preview was all about exposing us to the yakuza hacker emotions that await players – and the emotions are just shy of being so ridiculous. The Yakuza series balances melodrama with funny surprises in somewhat complementary ways, and plays up the wilder aspects of Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii for Mad Dog Majima. It pushes the boundaries of what players can take seriously, but with many familiar features from the mainline games returning to set it back.

One of these recurring franchises is the beloved Dragon Kart, which we got to play in the preview. Although I wasn’t an RGG pro in the basic kart racing minigame, it was a lot of fun putting Majima in a go-kart and blasting around corners, and there’s even a battle royale-like duel mode (which looks a lot like a Mario Kart battle mode) . Of course, no Yakuza game would be complete without karaoke, which you can sing aboard your ship.

But it’s the fun new pirate-themed touches that caught my attention, from decorating Majima’s ten fingers with various exotic rings (to boost stats and abilities) to mastering the cooking mini-game so I can prepare a boozy feast for my crew to level up their abilities. Morale and strength. I can navigate the waters between the game’s four main land areas to fight off invading ships and find secret treasure ashore on remote islands.

The game’s themes of breaking free from the rules and supporting your crew nicely mimic the same dynamics found in many other Yakuza games, making the earnest silliness more charming than off-putting. With fast-paced combat on land and sea, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii shapes up to be a fun jaunt that expands the world of the series without deviating from its central message of staying loyal to your chosen family (through violence).