Summary
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaiitakes you back to the charming and sun-soaked city of Honolulu. If that wasn’t enough, Goro Majima finally returns as a protagonist, much to the delight of Yakuza 0 fans.
Just like other Like a Dragon games, Pirate Yakuza has a decent amount of easter eggs and references. Some of these reference other characters and games in the franchise, even spin-offs like the Judgment series, while others are more general in terms of their pop culture relevance.
9Ran
Pocket Circuit To Dragon Kart
Dragon Kart makes a returnin Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. It was last featured in 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon, where it was run by the Pocket Circuit Fighter, Fujisawa, who was first introduced in Yakuza 0.
In Pirate Yakuza, Ran has now taken over the duties for Hawaii’s version of Dragon Kart. She was first introduced in 2023’s Like a Dragon Gaiden, where she worked at a Pocket Circuit cafe in Sotenbori. This little bit of off-screen storytelling is a nice touch and creates some more parallels between Pocket Circuit Racing and Dragon Kart.
8Golden Balls
Shenron’s Wishes
Another similarity that Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii has with Like a Dragon Gaiden is the task to collect seven golden balls. One of your early recruits, Mr. Beef, tasks you to collect them all as part of a substory.
This, of course, is a reference to Dragon Ball Z’s dragon balls. If it wasn’t obvious enough, Mr. Beef also mentions someone by the name of Mr. Shen, this being a reference to Shenron from Dragon Ball. After you acquire all seven golden balls, you can meet Shen, who grants you one wish from a choice of many dialogue options.
7Judgment Crew
Yagami Still MIA, Though
The Judgment crew returns in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaiias recruitable characters, although the game’s protagonist, Yagami, is unfortunately missing. Kaito and Higashi were also featured in a substory in Like a Dragon Gaiden, and then became recruitable members for Kiryu’s coliseum battles.
Fans who haven’t played Judgment and Lost Judgment likely won’t care, but for those who have, this is some neat little ongoing fan service, and it’s nice to see the two series overlap here and there.
6Yagami’s Outfits
Slick Leather Jacket
Speaking of Judgment, while Yagami is still nowhere to be seen, we do have his jacket as a wearable accessory for Majima. No super skinny jeans, though.
There’s also an outfit and makeup titled Scourge of the Night that can be acquired by the Sicko Snap minigame vendor. This is, of course, an outfit that was worn by Yagami in Lost Judgment as part of a side case.
5The Ganzhe
The Chinese Mafia Remnants
In the area south of the Nirvana Coast Hotel, any enemy combatants you come across will be affiliated with the Ganzhe and have Chinese names. The Ganzhe were the Chinese Mafia featured in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and their henchmen could be found in that same area.
While the Ganzhe aren’t mentioned in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii at all, and their fate is unknown after the assassination of their previous leader, this is still a nice little detail that shows that their remnants are still around.
4Nickelle Kidman
Pirate Actor In Hawaii
You can find an NPC named Nickelle just north of Aloha Beach, and are able to recruit her after hearing her out as long as you are at Pirate Rank 2 or above. While talking to her, she mentions that she’s actually a pretty big actor.
She talks about being cast for a role as a Pirate but doesn’t know how to prepare for it. Majima can then offer to recruit her for his ship. This is obviously a not-so-subtle reference to the actor Nicole Kidman.
3Say Hello To My Little Friend
Majima Likes Scarface
During the Dragon Kart races, players can pick up various power-ups, much like the mini-game’s obvious inspiration, Mario Kart. These power-ups include a speed boost, a rocket launcher, a minigun, and much more.
When you do pick up and use the minigun, though, the English dub of the game has Majima randomly exclaim, “Say hello to my little friend”, a reference to Al Pacino’s character from Scarface.
2Dondoko Island
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii contains a reference to Dondoko Island and its accompanying story from Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
During thesubstory The Captain’s Return, you can encounter Dread Pirate Hook, who was the main antagonist of the Dondoko Island storyline. He is now seen collecting trash, and after you help him out as Majima, he shares what he’s been up to and what he’s learned from his previous experience.
1Jane Rich
No One Cares About Jane
During the fourth chapter of the main story of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Jason takes you to Hawaii to meet his wife, Jane Rich, and his daughter Naomi. Jane runs a jewelry store in Downtown Hawaii.
Although Jane doesn’t appear again in the story, being a very minor character, you can actually visit the store and find her at the counter. However, you can’t buy anything from this store, but it’s interesting to see her there and not have the store closed off.
