Operation Backlog Completion 2026

The Pirate Majima Game is Real! (Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Revealed)

 Video games  5 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Sep 202024
 

Earlier this week, we discussed the rumors of a pirate-themed Like a Dragon game.

I thought the story premise sounded questionable and hoped it would be a historical spin-off instead.

But no, the leak was accurate! Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii has been announced for February 28, 2025. It is set after Infinite Wealth and stars Majima, who loses his memory and becomes a pirate captain while trying to remember who he is.

The RGG Summit was held this morning at 6 AM Eastern Time, which was too early for me to normally be up. But by chance, I woke up at exactly 6 AM, so I tuned in a few minutes late to watch the rest of the Summit. I’ve seen people say the trailer contains spoilers for Infinite Wealth, which I didn’t pick up on at all, so I’m guessing they were in those first few minutes that I missed. To be safe, I won’t watch the trailer again until I’m caught up.

I still think the premise of Majima getting amnesia and becoming a pirate is a bit too silly. And… even though they’re modern-day pirates, they look like classic pirates?! They’ve got a galleon! They’re firing cannons! It feels a bit too goofy to me for a series where the main stories are usually pretty serious despite all the wacky side content, but I have my fingers crossed that the story will still be good.

It features brawler combat, now with the ability to jump, and you can switch between two combat styles: “Mad Dog” and “Sea Dog.” Despite my skepticism about the game’s premise, I love those names.

They also showed off a handful of mini-games, and this is the game the auditions were for. Instead of hostesses, they’re part of a new live-action scenario called “Masaru’s Love Journey: My Dream Minato Girl,” in which the new supporting character Masaru searches for romance. I’m not sure why it’s about Masaru instead of Majima or what it means for gameplay (will we be playing as Masaru? are we giving him love advice as Majima? is this a wingman Majima mini-game?), but it has the potential to be interesting.

Now, the Japanese title is is Like a Dragon 8 Gaiden: Pirates in Hawaii, so it’s strange that they both dropped the “Gaiden” and shoehorned “Yakuza” into the English title.

With it being another Gaiden title, I’d worried that it would be a digital-only release in the west like Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, but not only are we getting a physical standard addition, but they also announced a physical Collector’s Edition that includes an acrylic standee of Majima, a pirate flag, a coin pin, an eye patch, and a voucher for the digital deluxe content.

(Where was this energy when Judgment came out?? Do you know how much I wanted a Judgment Collector’s Edition?)

It’s kind of ironic for me that the first Like a Dragon game I’m skeptical about is getting a Collector’s Edition. I’ll probably get it anyway since I love the series so much, but I wish one of the games I’d been super excited for had gotten that treatment.

I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t tease another game at the Summit. They really spoiled us with that first Summit in 2022, and since I have some mixed feelings about the pirate game, I was really hoping they’d announce at least one more. Instead, the only other things they showed were the upcoming show, the Kiwami Switch port, and a new merchandise line. It just goes to show that even though they did it once, we can’t expect multiple announcements every time.

Anyway, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a reality, and it’s coming next February. Are you excited for it, or do you have doubts?

Let’s Talk About the Latest Like a Dragon Rumors

 Video games  3 Responses »  Tagged with:
Sep 162024
 

We’re getting closer and closer to the next Like a Dragon announcement, and rumors have begun to fly.

Let’s talk about what is confirmed first.

Fact: RGG Studio is set to reveal a new game at TGS that they say fans will be “surprised” about. They also selected the actresses who will appear in an upcoming game, after holding a contest. It’s not clear if those refer to the same game or not.

Fact: An RGG Summit will be held this Friday, September 20, where they’re expected to announce the next Like a Dragon game. It’s unclear if this is the same game as the TGS reveal and there was just some misinterpretation about when it would be announced, or if they’re two separate games.

Fact: Sega recently filed a trademark for “Yakuza Wars.”

Up until recently, we’d assumed Yakuza Wars was the surprising game they were set to reveal. However, it now appears that Yakuza Wars is a Chinese gacha mobile game, which is kind of disappointing but probably means it’s not the big Summit/TGS announcement after all. Since RGG isn’t developing that game, I wouldn’t expect it to get more than a brief mention.

So what could their next game be? Judgment 3? Kenzan remake? Like a Dragon 9? Dead Souls Kiwami?

Enter the pirate rumors.

It seems there’s a leaker teasing a game to be announced soon. Some people think the teases are for a new Ninja Gaiden game, but others are convinced it’s a pirate-themed Like a Dragon. A Like a Dragon pirate game would certainly be a surprise. Infinite Wealth already did a lot with water and Ishin had swordfighting (and guns), so it doesn’t feel implausible. A fan on Twitter also pointed out that when the actresses’ auditions were announced, there was a map featuring a ship visible in the background.

Things have taken a stranger turn, however, with an older claim surfacing that says it’s a modern-day spin-off in which Majima loses his memory and becomes a pirate.

That sounds like a questionable story premise to me. Given the choice between the two, I’d much rather a historical pirate game with the cast playing new characters a la Ishin than a Majima amnesia plot. But no matter which it is, there had better be a sea shanty mini-game to act as this game’s karaoke.

Of course, this whole rumor could come to nothing. The original leak could be for Ninja Gaiden while the Like a Dragon game is something entirely different. Even the claim that RGG teased the Majima game seems to only refer to a tweet about the Majima coat hanger merchandise, which is a stretch to consider a hint toward a pirate spin-off. We’ll know soon enough, though, because the RGG Summit is only a few days away!

Do you believe the Like a Dragon pirate game rumors?

RGG Summit Set for September 20

 Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Aug 302024
 

RGG Studio has announced the next RGG Summit.

It will be held on September 20 at 3 AM PT / 6 AM ET, and they’re expected to announce the next game in the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series.

Previously they said their next game would be revealed at TGS, which is roughly a week later, so I’m not quite sure what to make of that. Either they meant they’re going to show their next game at TGS and it was misinterpreted to mean an announcement since they hadn’t mentioned the RGG Summit yet, or they have multiple games to announce.

Let’s talk briefly about the past RGG Summits.

The first one was in September 2022. Like a Dragon Ishin had been announced the previous night at a State of Play, and the Summit provided more information about that, along with the first reveal of Like a Dragon 8 (later titled Infinite Wealth) and the surprise announcement of Like a Dragon Gaiden. While not being announced at the Summit, Judgment and Lost Judgment PC ports were shadow-dropped afterwards.

In short, the first RGG Summit was huge.

In June 2023, the RGG Summit returned to show trailers for Gaiden and Infinite Wealth that had already been shown at other events, with a little more information provided.

Then in September 2023, there was another RGG Summit that provided a deeper look at Infinite Wealth.

So this is the first time since 2022 that we’re going into an RGG Summit without the next game(s) already having been announced (unless you count the Switch port of Kiwami). That opens up the potential for it to be an exciting event with multiple announcements like that first RGG Summit was.

Personally, I’d love to see a new Judgment game, and I haven’t lost hope for a Dead Souls remaster. A Kenzan remake would also be quite a pleasant surprise. It feels too early for the next mainline game to be announced, but another Gaiden side game isn’t out of the question. And let’s not forget the mysterious “Yakuza Wars” trademark we thought would be the TGS announcement.

I’m probably in the minority on this, but I don’t want a Kiwami 3. Yakuza 3 might feel a bit clunky to play, but its remaster is still fine and I’d rather them use their time and energy on other games.

Meanwhile, I’ve started Infinite Wealth but am still early in the game, and I’m partway through Lost Judgment. Here’s hoping I make enough progress before September 20 so that I don’t risk spoilers by watching the Summit…

What are your hopes and expectations for this year’s RGG Summit?

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