Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Review (Chomsky Honk)
Join Goro Majima in an epic quest to find the ultimate Pirate Treasure; tickets to the Spongebob Squarepants Movie.
If you haven't finished Infinite Wealth, you should do so before playing this game because it is very much based on the events that happened in that game, which is to say it will spoil several major plot elements from that game. This game is a great improvement over the gameplay present in LaD Gaiden, with two very fun and powerful combat styles, and it takes the chaotic and frenetic Coliseum hell matches and incorporates them into the entire game, by turning that team of ten combatants from Gaiden into all-out mosh pits where you can be taking potentially thirty crewmates into insane pirate army battles.
If you're expecting Black Flag but goofy, you should temper your expectations, because this is a Yakuza/ Like a Dragon game above all else. While fun and arcadey, with plenty of visual and gameplay customization, the naval combat is not as deep as Black Flag, and disappointingly, the ocean and the archipelagos you travel through look fugly, which is a shame because of how large of a focus the game places on the pirate fantasy and sailing. It goes without saying that this game is still a better pirate game than Skull and Bones. Blasting other ships with lasers and coconuts, boarding wrecked ships, leveling up crewmates and managing your ship is still a great time, as you populate your deck with your favorite schizophrenics and freaks that you've encountered through the series' many substories.
If you're a series veteran you've already bought this game. If you're a complete newcomer to the series then you should start with 0 and the Kiwamis, or Yakuza Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth if you just want the most relevant context for this game.