The idea for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is already fairly buck wild, even for a spin-off. In response to Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio director Masayoshi Yokoyama, the outcome may have been even stranger: For some time, he needed to make a fishing recreation referred to as like a Dragon: Tuna.
In an interview with the PlayStation Blog (by way of PCGamer), Yokoyama shared particulars about one other potential thought for a spin-off. Brainstorming started round mid-2023, months previous to the discharge of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth on January 25, 2024. Earlier than the workforce determined to have Goro Majima go on a pirate journey, the plan was to function Kazuma Kiryu as a tuna fisherman, who would set off to sea to combat towards fishing boats.
Beat ‘Em Up Fight Returns In Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii
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“Lengthy story brief, it by no means got here to fruition, however key phrases like ‘ship,’ ‘sea,’ and ‘preventing,’ which had since then been engraved in my head, developed into the idea of pirates,” Yokoyama mentioned. It was at all times the intention to create a spin-off starring characters who weren’t Ichiban Kasuga, one of many protagonists of Infinite Wealth, however Majima ended up because the frontrunner.
Amnesia was a paramount narrative peg for the character to work, as he is recognized for being unpredictable. Whereas that perspective is what units him aside, the workforce needed to keep away from the emotional discrepancy of the participant being annoyed in a scene whereas Majima is unbothered in regards to the occasions unfolding.
“To keep away from that, we would wish a impartial character who may act the way in which gamers anticipate from a protagonist,” Yokoyama mentioned. “However the draw back is that we’d find yourself with a boring protagonist. We gave Kiryu and Kasuga further personalities to construct them into protagonists, but when we did that to Majima, he’d change into a boring man. To make him a protagonist, we solely had two choices: amnesia or journey again in time. With out amnesia, Majima wouldn’t have labored as a protagonist.”
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is releasing on February 28, 2025 on PC and each old- and current-gen consoles. Preorders at the moment are reside, that includes some reductions in addition to a pricier Collector’s Version with a number of bodily goodies.