Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Will Now Launch a Week Earlier, New Trailer Reveals Naval Combat

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii received a new trailer at the Xbox Partner Preview event Thursday, highlighting the game's naval combat. The trailer showed off ship battles, melee skirmishes and more of Goro Majima's eccentric adventures. Developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio also announced that the action-adventure Yakuza spin-off will now be released a week earlier on February 21, 2025.

First revealed in September, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii directly follows the events of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The protagonist this time is beloved series anti-hero Goro Majima, who wakes up on an island without his memories and soon finds himself as the captain of a pirate ship and crew, on the hunt for a great treasure.

Pirate Yakuza's Naval Combat Revealed

The latest trailer focussed on Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag-style naval combat in the game. Players will be able to fully control and customise their ships, engage in action-packed battles on the sea and fulfil their pirate fantasy as rival crews compete for a hidden treasure.

In an interview published on Xbox Wire following the new trailer, Like a Dragon series producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto said that players will be able to explore multiple islands beyond the Hawaii setting in the game. “In this game, Majima and his crew will take to the high seas and explore different areas beyond Hawaii, including Rich Island, Madlantis and other hidden islands. While we cannot reveal details just yet, players can expect exciting cannon battles and a whole lot of action, both between ships and brawls,” he said.

A New Fighting Style

Sakamoto said that RGG Studio would share a more in-depth look at Pirate Yakuza's naval combat system in the future. The ship combat is new to the series, but the familiar action-brawler combat, a trademark of Like a Dragon games, returns, as well. In the trailer, Majima-san can be seen taking on a whole crew of rival pirates. The Mad Dog of Shimano will also be getting a new pirate-focussed fighting style that will utilise the new weapons at his disposal.

"While naval battle will be new, real-time action combat will still play a significant role in the game. In addition to Majima's Mad Dog style focused on speed, agility, and knife fighting, he also has a Sea Dog style where players can dual-wield cutlass short swords, pistols and other pirate tools in combat,” Sakamoto said.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will bring a new brawling style
Photo Credit: Sega/ Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

Madlantis Awaits

The trailer also featured some of the colourful cast of characters from the game and provided a glimpse of Madlantis, a bustling pirate township that serves as a hideout for all the gangs, a centre of trade, and a hub of side activities in the game. Sakamoto provided more details about the pirate hideout and all that it has to offer: “Madlantis is a ship graveyard dug into a cave on a secret island. It has a sprawling pleasure district where criminals go to blow off steam and do battle in the Pirates' Coliseum, where ships duke it out in exhilarating real-time naval battles.”

RGG Studio also announced that Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii would now release on February 21, 2025, a week ahead of its original release date of February 28. The studio said this was party done because development on the game was progressing more smoothly than anticipated, and because it wanted players to experience the game the comes right after Pirate Yakuza with “peace of mind.” RGG is likely referring to Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds, which releases February 28.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza is available to pre-order across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X. Players who pre-order the game can add Ichiban Kasuga, the protagonist from Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and his pet crawfish Nancy to their pirate crew.