Sep 232024
When we discussed the newly-released Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii on Friday, I had mixed feelings about the game’s premise.
One of my criticisms was that everything has the trappings of classic historical pirates even though the game is set in the present day, which contributes to the sense of it being too silly compared to the rest of the series.
But now I’ve seen a few fans toss around a theory that could explain everything – and it makes a lot of sense.
The start of the trailer implies that this is a frame story in which Majima is telling someone else about what happened to him. In that case, we need to take into account the possibility that Majima is an unreliable narrator. And if he is, these anachronisms and sillier aspects could be considered his embellishments to the actual events.
(It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve done something like this. Notably, the enemy transformations in Yakuza: Like a Dragon are just Ichiban’s imagination because he’s a big JRPG fan.)
So I’m calling it now – the first time we see that pirate ship, it’s going to cut back to the frame story to have someone object that pirates don’t use galleons anymore, and Majima will tell them to shut up because it’s his story and he’s going to tell it the way he wants.
If that’s actually what’s happening here, I’m much less critical of it. Realistic modern-day pirates, while more suitable for a serious story, probably wouldn’t be nearly as much fun as a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas. Choosing the fun option for the player to experience while having it actually be an embellished version of the “real” events would actually be a great way to do it.
Meanwhile, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was confirmed to be much longer than Gaiden, with the main story stated to be around 1.3 to 1.5 times longer. That would explain the higher price point ($60 compared to Gaiden’s $50), especially if it has a sizable amount of side content.
All in all, I’m feeling more positive toward the idea of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii than I was on Friday, especially since there are ways it could all make sense. Of course, this theory could be wrong and they just actually have pirates in galleons firing cannons at each other and fighting with cutlasses in 2024. What do you think about the unreliable narrator theory?