Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza from developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio marks a step back into the “spinoff” lane for the series. 

But as the last few years have shown, nobody does those quite like the Like a Dragon series. 

Past efforts, such as the 2023 spin-off Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, were critical successes. Pirate Yakuza arrives as a similar follow-up to 2024 Game of the Year contender Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth. 

The stunning pace of releases that almost feels like it mirrors annual release cycles only seen in sports video game series makes for a tricky outlook for Pirate Yakuza, though. The tightrope between not burning out returning players and still offering the dense 50-plus hours worth of content is a tricky one to walk. 

Then again, if any studio and series can make it work, Like a Dragon can. 

Graphics and Gameplay

Like its predecessors, Pirate Yakuza is a treat for the eyes. Colorful, detail-packed locales persist throughout the game’s long runtime. Characters emote well in heartfelt, well-voice-acted scenes, and a fun mix of stylistically arcade combat visuals meshes nicely with photorealistic details like lighting and shadows. 

It probably helps that the game runs through some familiar-feeling places, albeit with arguably a more tropical vibe this time. There are four distinct locales with plenty to discover and do, plus some interesting verticality that lets players find extra loot by way of the chain hook tool.

While the immersion factor created by the sheer detail is fantastic, those who want to speed things up can fast-travel at lighthouses, too. This could be a boon for returning players, considering the giant Honolulu area from Infinite Wealth is back here.

Pirate Yakuza won’t shock onlookers in the combat department, at least not at first. It’s real-time like other Yakuza games, not turn-based like the recent Infinite Wealth. There are two fighting styles that distinctly feature around either speedy brawling (Mad Dog) or dual-wielding weapons (Sea Dog). 

New, though, is the ability to jump and do mid-air combos within the usual systems. It sounds like an almost about-time addition, but it’s impressive just how much this deepens the already-fun combat from past games. 

As always, properly managing gauges, strategically setting up counterattacks and juggling between the two fighting styles on a per-opponent basis make for a simple-but-deep and rewarding combat system. 

These things also make for some rather difficult fights at times. The game doesn’t spike difficulty unfairly and the controls and camera work are snappy, so it never feels bad. But like outright fighting games, it can and will quickly punish players for mistakes. The counterpart to that, of course, is that practice and improvement feel more rewarding here than in similar games.

Also new? Ship combat. Vessel vs. vessel fights unfold in real time. Feel-wise, it’s more arcade-like than anything else, with players even able to use a boost to drift into strong positions mid-battle.

And yes, players can really, really get their pirate on by boarding an enemy vessel, too. 

This isn’t a groundbreaking feat by any means, not with series like Assassin’s Creed doing similar things over the years. But it is a fun wrinkle specific to this series. As an option to have, it’s nice, but it can get a little repetitive. 

Overall? The expected immersion and time-consuming list of activities will have players engrossed, especially when the combat refresh feels so good to play. 

Story and More

Spinoff or not, the events of this game take place after Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and again feature Goro Majima. 

Yet again, the funny-serious balance takes center stage—Without his memory and in a new place, Goro is instantly stuck in a power struggle between groups like pirates, ex-yakuza and more. 

Few series manage to pull off this balance, by the way. It’s sort of reminiscent of say, wearing a wacky unlockable outfit in an otherwise super-serious game (Dead Rising comes to mind, but not totally). In this game, it’s more of, going on a pirate raid with a hot-pink ship. Characters and story beats here can be super heartfelt, yet a few seconds later, players can engage in some of the silliest stuff imaginable. 

The world itself and supporting cast that occupy it play a part in this. There are once again unique characters who won’t leave the minds of players for a long time, whether it’s during side quests or simple one-off interactions. 

This time, progression goes beyond simple RPGisms and in the usual Like a Dragon’s case, the droves of customization and side minigames. Here, players can assemble and tweak a pirate crew and the Goromaru ship itself. 

Bonding remains a core gameplay loop of the series here and is implemented smartly into the pirate lifestyle. As players better bond with specific crew members, stat bonuses and unlocks will open up, again making the bonding system engrossing.

Which isn’t to say the iconic minigames of the series don’t return, too. They’re here in droves—Dragon Kart, Karaoke and so much more return. But where Infinite Wealth had that odd-fun Animal Crossing-like “mini” game, Pirate Yakuza funnels players more into that pirate crew effort to fun results. 

Still, the Mario Kart-styled racer is fun. Perhaps best of all to those thrilled about the return to this style of combat are the challenges found within the extensive coliseum mode. 

Unlockables are many, though most notable again are the presence of emulated Sega games.

Also, like past games in the series, Pirate Yakuza runs well and has a robust suite of options. Unlike Infinite Wealth, which locked new-game plus behind a paywall, that is a planned addition for free at a later date. 

Conclusion

The Yakuza/Like a Dragon series wears many hats, effortlessfly weaving in and out of different genres and styles. Pirate Yakuza is no exception, tackling the beloved pirate lifestyle with its own brand of flashy wackiness and compelling gameplay systems. 

That said, for older gamers, this doesn’t carry the same impact as the classic release of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag all those years ago. 

And for series-long fans, going back to similar settings so soon after the super-long Infinite Wealth, plus the continued trend toward social media-like goofiness, might be the reason for pause. 

Still, Pirate Yakuza is a blast, no matter where it's a veteran returning to the series now or at a much later date, or an onboarding point for a newcomer. Few studios and series continue to pump out as much quality fun, consistently.