A Year Later, This Is Still One of My Favorite Sega Games of the 21st Century

Sega has been on a strong streak lately, with recent entries in some of their biggest franchises highlighting their enduring appeal. The likes of Sonic and Virtua Fighter have released new entries that are true to their earlier spirit while still charting new paths forward, while news of older franchises like Jet Set and Crazy Taxi getting new entries has been especially exciting. Recent years have also been incredibly kind to the Yakuza series, which has delivered a lot of great games like Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties.

Still, I’m not sure if anything is going to surpass Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Released a year ago today, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is chaotic, charming, colorful, and one of the best games Sega has put out in years. That’s not to disparage the other strong releases from the publisher, but rather to underscore just how much fun the seafaring Yakuza spin-off was. Whether you’ve played every entry in the series or are a newbie to the world of Goro Majima, it’s one of the most enjoyable experiences you can find in modern gaming.

A Year Later, I’m Still In Love With Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii debuted a year ago on February 21, and it’s become one of my favorite Sega games of the century. While the game builds on the events of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and brings back former yakuza member Goro Majima, the game’s narrative largely sets off a new story that works as a stand-alone story. Waking up on Rich Island with amnesia, Goro befriends a treasure hunter and his asthmatic son and forms a pirate crew to explore the local area. Playing like a demented fusion of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag and Grand Theft Auto, Goro’s adventure takes him across the Hawaiian Islands where he hunts for treasure, competes in pirate coliseums, and battles giant squids.

Throughout it all, the gameplay leans into a self-aware sense of ridiculousness, giving it all a chaotic energy that not only matches Majima as a character but also the sheer thrill of exploring the islands as a self-styled pirate captain. The sheer scale of the adventure gives players plenty of options, whether that be embarking on mini-games, increasing the strength of the pirate crew, or working to uncover Majima’s memories. That free-flowing sense of adventure is key to the spirit of being a pirate, which serves Majima well as a character. Already defined by his refusal to be weighed down by morality, Majima was a perfect playable character for this kind of adventure. His various styles of combat, chaotic nature, and surprising depth give him a lot of great material for the game to expand upon and explore, which developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio leans into with a flourish. There’s a truly startling amount to do in the game, and all of it is thematically connected to the player’s bombastic lead character.

Yakuza Games Are A Blast, And Pirate Yakuza Truly Understands That

The Yakuza series as a whole has been a strong franchise for Sega, with a deft mix of fun gameplay, expansive worldbuilding, and compelling narratives. It’s tricky to reflect all of that in a single game, and the best entries in Yakuza are able to pull it off with gusto. While it may lose some of the harsher edges of the criminal underworld — and create a more sympathetic cast of characters as a result — Like a Pirate absolutely delivers on creating a unique and entertaining experience. There’s no other game in recent memory that packs so much in with such a vibrant spirit of anarchy, where players can hop from naval battles and climactic battles to karaoke ballads and kart racing minigames. Like a Pirate should be overstuffed and unwieldy, but the tight game design and impressive worldbuilding keep everything on point. The result is a game that players could spend dozens of hours playing and only feel like they’re really scratching the surface.

The fact that it’s all underscored by a story about the power of friendship makes it all the more entertaining, giving the sheer bombastic confrontations a genuinely sweet story about someone confronting who they were in the past while deciding who they want to be in the future. I enjoyed Like a Pirate a lot when I first got my hands on it, immediately throwing myself into all the chaos and enjoying the sheer absurd action. As time wore on, the characters grew on me, and the settings became more vivid — all while the combat and gameplay remained engaging on a technical level. Like a Pirate is a year old, and it’s made me happier in those past twelve months than most games I’ve played in recent memory. If you haven’t gotten the chance to dive in, then the game’s birthday is the perfect excuse to pull a Majima and live like a pirate.