Summary
There’s been a lot of hype around the release ofLike A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaiiand a lot of new players will be using this wacky spin-off as their first jumping-in point for theYakuzaseries. Despite being a spin-off game in the vein ofLike A Dragon: Ishinrather than a mainline entry, the game retains a lot of theYakuzaDNA in its gameplay and systems. Like other recent spin-offs,Pirate Yakuza in Hawaiireturns to the action-brawler style of olderYakuzagames, rather than the turn-basedLike A Dragonsystem.
TheLike A Dragonseries has a unique style, and new players might be caught off-guard by the number of different activities and systems vying for their attention, even in the early stages of the game. Fromwhat to expect from the gameto starter tips and things to watch out for, these are the things newYakuzaplayers should know aboutLike A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii.
1Go At Your Own Pace
No Wrong Way To Play
This could be said of any game, but there is no wrong way to play aYakuzaorLike A Dragongame. The same is true here. If players find themselves wholeheartedly enthralled by go-karting and want to put an hour or two into it, that’s fine. There are plenty ofside activities inLike A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, and players can explore or ignore them at their leisure.
The story missions tend to ramp up the stakes and seriousness, but the side content can be just as deep, if often more whimsical. This lets players dictate their own pace of progress in the game, and the majority of side activities will earn rewards that are useful in general gameplay, too.Pirate Yakuzais similar to the other games in the series in this way, even if the main story is happier to jump the shark than the mainline games.
2Story Events Will Unlock New Ways To Play
Main Story Progress Opens Up More Of The Game
One thing that theLike A Dragonseries has always been good at is opening up more content and gameplay elements gradually. New side characters and mechanics are often introduced as story elements before segueing into their own side activities as players progress. This is just as true inPirate Yakuza in Hawaii,and players shouldn’t neglect progressing the main story if they want more ways to interact with the game.
An early example of this is the Hook that players unlock in the middle of chapter two. This is a weapon and utility item that gives players new ways to explore the environment and new options in combat. Players can use the hook to grapple to previously inaccessible locations, as well as use it to close the gap on opponents. This not only makescombat flowbetter, it opens up new ways to explore and uncover secrets.
3Don’t Forget To Upgrade
Majima Can Grow
New players coming to the game should expect to be in combat a lot. There’s both melee brawling and ship-to-ship naval combat inLike A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, and both systems are equally deep. New players should be aware thatLike A Dragongames have all the depth of your average RPG, and almost everything can be leveled up or upgraded.
That starts with Majima’s core stats, and new players should look to get early health and attack upgrades to make the many combat encounters a lot easier. Players can alsounlock new combat skillsand upgrades for each of their fighting styles, as well as upgrade their weapons, gear, and accessories as they progress. All of that is before players even get to upgrading and crewing their ship, leveling their crew, and more.
4Build A Pirate Crew
Motley Crew
WhileLike A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaiishares a lot with previousYakuzagames, the biggest new system is the naval combat. Large-scale ship-to-ship battles include a naval phase, where ships fight with weapons from standard broadsides to laser cannons and rocket launchers, and a boarding phase, where players fight in brawler style alongside their crew.
As this is aYakuzagame, players won’t be hiring new crew members from a list. Instead, recruits are found all around the map. Sometimes they’ll come fromcompleting side quests, random challenges, or after big reputation gains. Once players have started assembling a crew, they can level them up by taking them to participate in naval battles.
This crew-building mechanic is more core to the gameplay loop than new players might expect. One of the key story reasons thatthe Goro piratesare in Hawaii is to expand their crew, so it’s more than just a side activity. For players who click with the new ship combat, there’s also the draw of the Pirate Coliseum for players to test their crew compositions and naval battling skills.
5How To Amass Treasure
Every Pirate Needs Booty
New players need to know that acquiring money is one of the most important things players can do inLike A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.Leveling up Majima’s skillsin the game costs cold hard cash, not XP. There are a lot of other things players are going to want to buy throughout the game, too, so hoarding that pirate booty is essential.
Players can always sell junk and other items they find around town for cash, but there are better ways to make money. Just grinding fights can become lucrative as enemies get stronger, but pursuing bounties is an even better way to make cash. Bounties are a side activity marked on the map once Honolulu opens up, so they’re easy to find. The pirate coliseum is another good way to earn money, but players will need to build their ship and crew to have continued success.
6Make Use Of Buffs And Healing Items
Get Into Cooking
In keeping with series traditions, there are a lot of different items that players can make use of inLike A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. From healing snacks toenergy drinks, to items that can provide buffs, players might not know what the best items to use are. Items are plentiful in the game, and players shouldn’t hesitate to use them.
For the best healing and buffs, players will need to make use of the cooking system. Some ingredients can be found in the environment and cooked up with meal kits to provide healing and buffs. This will also save on buying healing items from vendors. New players should be aware that anything shiny in the environment is worth investigating, as this is how players will acquire random items and ingredients.
7Find The Dark Instruments
Call On The Sea Gods
New players in particular should be aware that their combat arsenal is not going to be complete until they’ve passed certain story milestones. Various aspects of the combat system will only unlock with progress, but one of the biggest examples is the Dark Instruments. These legendary musical instruments let the player summon “ancient gods” for assistance in combat.
They each provide some very strong combat abilities, but they don’t even get introduced until the end of the second chapter. Players need to pursue the Devil Flags quest line to acquire the instruments, and they’re definitely worth going after.
