The next Yakuza game is about pirates in Hawaii — yeah, you read that right. In a series that constantly reinvents itself and pushes the envelope, Yakuza has, once again, found a way to one-up everything that’s come before. But as ridiculous as the premise is for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (the real title), it’s emblematic of the biggest strength of the bizarre series. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has found a winning formula, and a smart way of approaching both game development at large and growing a series. By deliberately drawing from past games and reusing content that’s already been created, RGG Studio has given itself the chance to innovate with fresh themes and narrative ideas. It’s an ingenious approach that should serve as an example to the industry at large.
Pirate Yakuza will make the third year in a row we’ve had a yearly Yakuza game, more than that in fact. Since 2020 RGG Studio has released Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Judgment Remastered, Lost Judgment, Like a Dragon Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and now Pirate Yakuza. The studio also, somehow, found time to release two different Super Monkey Ball games in that time as well.
