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[LectureMaster]

News アーカイブ - AUTOMATON WEST

All Automaton West articles featuring the latest news on video games, anime and technology from Japan and across the world.

automaton-media.com

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SEGA will release Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii on February 21 for the PC (Steam), PS4/PS5 and Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S. The new Majima-centered action title is a spin-off of Infinite Wealth, making it a smaller entry to the franchise. However, as teased by RGG Studio shortly after the announcement, it will still be significantly longer than the series’ previous spin-off game, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.

Since Like a Dragon Gaiden was well received by fans for its compact format and shorter playing time compared to other titles in the series, we asked Like a Dragon’s developers about the reason behind Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii’s increased volume.

According to RGG Studio’s director Masayoshi Yokoyama, the team didn’t actually set out to make Majima’s game longer on purpose, but rather, “It’s more like the volume ‘ended up’ increasing due to the story.”

The volume of a game is determined by the length of its main storyline, Yokoyama explains, and the main story for Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii turned out to be 1.3 times longer than that of Gaiden’s, resulting in a bigger game.

Yokoyama says that developers can increase a game’s volume as much as they want “if they try hard enough,” such as by adding fetch quests for the player to spend time on, but Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii came out longer than Gaiden without RGG Studio doing such things. “The map is huge, there’s a bunch of places to visit, and there are still features we haven’t announced yet. The volume increased by itself.”

According to the team, the most straightforward indicator of how Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii compares to Gaiden in terms of volume (and the trouble they went through to make it) is price. The upcoming title retails for $59.99 USD, making it 10 dollars more expensive than Gaiden.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is scheduled to release on February 21, 2025 for the PC (Steam), PS4/PS5 and Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S. For more dev stories and details about the game, check out our full-length interview with RGG Studio.

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[nush]

Don't care, they all get heavily discounted within a year.

 

[ManaByte]

Don't care, they all get heavily discounted within a year.

It’ll be on Game Pass in the summer.

 

[Big Baller]

 

[RavageX]

I haven't really liked the direction they have been going in. I don't mind them trying different stuff, but I dunno....

 

[Mhmmm 2077]

Day 1, can't wait.

 

[Vyse]

Day 1, can't wait.

Same!

 

[yet_another_alt]

Don't care, they all get heavily discounted within a year.

They're no longer that heavily discounted. Yakuza 0 used to drop below $5 all the time but Sega seems to be learning and it's been hovering around $10 in the past few sales. Yakuza 7 is actually cheaper than 0 right now.

 

[El Muerto]

The game looks too ridiculous and not in a good way.

 

[ManaByte]

The game looks too ridiculous and not in a good way.

It’s a Yakuza game. There have been more than ten. How is this new?

 

[The Cockatrice]

Might skip this one. Dunno. Will see.

 

[Hunter 99]

Ive left this beloved series behind after they changed it to turn based l.just didn't click with me and believe me I tried. (I'm happy for people who love the turn based just didn't suit the game for me)
I did play the man who erased his name as it was still like the old school 1-6 but even then it was my worst entry.
This whole pirate thing is just cheesy as hell and turning the mad dog into some kinda joke.
Shame...

 

[bender]

I haven't really liked the direction they have been going in. I don't mind them trying different stuff, but I dunno....

I mean...

 

[JerryinSoCal]

Looks like fun, will be buying it for sure.

 

[ManaByte]

Watch SEGA put SCUD Race in the arcade of this one.

 

[AREYOUOKAY?]

Watch SEGA put SCUD Race in the arcade of this one.

Maybe this more fitting


Though it may have copyrights to deal with so maybe not.

 

[ManaByte]

Maybe this more fitting


Though it may have copyrights to deal with so maybe not.

Looks like Ocean Hunter is in it.

 

[Schmendrick]

Infinite wealth is way too fresh in my memory to play another long game on largely the same map. Also I think the formula in general is getting a bit stale by now.

 

[Metnut]

Looks like a lot of fun. These RGG games never let me down.

 

[StereoVsn]

I dunno, this one just isn’t hitting me. I would have loved another Judgment or similar title instead. Enough freaking Majima.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

I dunno, this one just isn’t hitting me. I would have loved another Judgment or similar title instead. Enough freaking Majima.

Crossover of Judgment X Yakuza?

Your opinión?

 

[StereoVsn]

Crossover of Judgment X Yakuza?

Your opinión?

I would definitely be into that. It’s just the upcoming Hawaii game shenanigans are a bit too much for my taste. And I did mostly like Gaiden despite some issues.

 

[YCoCg]

I haven't really liked the direction they have been going in. I don't mind them trying different stuff, but I dunno....

The game looks too ridiculous and not in a good way.

I dunno, this one just isn’t hitting me. I would have loved another Judgment or similar title instead. Enough freaking Majima.

They still are, Project Century seems to be the next big one and that one looks like it has a more serious tone.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I haven't really liked the direction they have been going in. I don't mind them trying different stuff, but I dunno....

Turn based >>>>>>>>>>> Real time

 

[xrnzaaas]

Crossover of Judgment X Yakuza?

Your opinión?

Or make a Kaito focused game if there are problems with the celebrity playing the role of Yagami. Based on Lost Judgment's DLC I'm confident Kaito could become the main protagonist or a co-protagonist of the next game.

 

[Gonzito]

I once loved this franchise so much but I dont like the direction it has taken in the last years. The community in my opinion is a big part of the problem. You go to reddit or twitter and its all memes and stupid shit related to the games and I think that's why the developers have taken this approach of craziness and whacky stuff when making new entries

I am at a point where I might not even buy this game. Its a shame, yakuza was always my passion

 

[Labadal]

I will probably get it at some point, but I don't feel like I need to get this on day one.

 

[deriks]

Unpopular fact: a longer game doesn't mean a better game

And if is a Yakuza game, it really doesn't. You could argue that could have a ton of side missions, which is fine, but having the primary goal longer for no reason sucks. There's a lot of reasons why people love Yakuza 0, and one of them is the length

 

[Humdinger]

I'm not sure about this game. I was initially intrigued, because I like Yakuza and Majima's character (remembering him mostly from Zero). Then I saw a gameplay sample, which heavily featured item collection, crafting recipes, and cooking. That doesn't interest me.

I'm also concerned that the heavy focus on "wackiness" will backfire. Yakuza's humor is funny because it is an occasional surprise in an otherwise dramatic game with intensely serious characters. But if they're always going for the laugh, will it be funny? It's like the "class clown" personality in school. You might find his wisecracks funny on occasion, but you're not going to want to spend all day with him, listening to that. At least I wouldn't.

 

[AREYOUOKAY?]

Looks like Ocean Hunter is in it.

Good that makes the price worth it.

 

[Big Baller]

Maybe this more fitting


Though it may have copyrights to deal with so maybe not.

Where are the waves? Wave Race looks nextgen in comparison but that framerate

 

[Mhmmm 2077]

Unpopular fact: a longer game doesn't mean a better game

And if is a Yakuza game, it really doesn't. You could argue that could have a ton of side missions, which is fine, but having the primary goal longer for no reason sucks. There's a lot of reasons why people love Yakuza 0, and one of them is the length

I'm not sure what you are trying to say... that longer game is not necessarily better, but that's also y0 is loved because of it's length..? You know that Yakuza 0 is longer than most of Yakuza games? I'm pretty sure only y5 and Ichiban games are longer than y0. So is longer good or bad, cus I really can't tell from your post.

 

[deriks]

I'm not sure what you are trying to say... that longer game is not necessarily better, but that's also y0 is loved because of it's length..? You know that Yakuza 0 is longer than most of Yakuza games? I'm pretty sure only y5 and Ichiban games are longer than y0. So is longer good or bad, cus I really can't tell from your post.

I took a little less than 20 hours with 0, which for this kind of game is perfect. 1 and 2 was shorter I guess (it's been a while), but still fine length. 3 to 6, and even Ishin (the remake), I took like 30 hours and was a drag, specially 3 that even back in the day was a very rough game to look at it

Yakuza 7 I took 60 I guess. Still didn't play 8. Still they're RPGs so can't be compared with past games

So to keep short: a Yakuza action game should be like 20 hours with the main plot. Having bigger than that could hurt

Another examples that concludes the fact that a longer game doesn't mean better:
- Banjo Kazooie has the perfect size and perfect length, but Tooie is bigger and gets boring since you take more time to get shit;
- Last of Us gets everything well paced, but Part 2 gets bigger just for the sake of it and you took 20 hours that could easily be 10 like the original;
- Wolfenstein New Order you finish the game just by reach the end of the stage, but with New Colossus you need to kill specific guys to get something and then going to the end of the stage, getting the game boring by the end
- Doom 2016 also you basically reach by the end of the level and there you go. With Eternal the stages got bigger and with more platforming, but the real problem is that we don't have that much ammo, so you need to invest time to pick it, and you don't pick that much ammo on the floor, there's an obligation to glory kill with the chainsaw to get it, so it drags you more and more

 

[RavageX]

Turn based >>>>>>>>>>> Real time

I didn't have a problem with that aspect of the later games. I wouldn't want the whole series to be that way though. I like my beat-em-ups.

 

[Thief1987]

I took a little less than 20 hours with 0, which for this kind of game is perfect. 1 and 2 was shorter I guess (it's been a while), but still fine length. 3 to 6, and even Ishin (the remake), I took like 30 hours and was a drag, specially 3 that even back in the day was a very rough game to look at it

Yakuza 7 I took 60 I guess. Still didn't play 8. Still they're RPGs so can't be compared with past games

So to keep short: a Yakuza action game should be like 20 hours with the main plot. Having bigger than that could hurt

I don't know maybe you played them in some weird way or your memory failing you, but what you are saying isn't right. Y0 is the longest game in the series, after Y5, and Y3 is the shortest.

 

[StereoVsn]

I don't know maybe you played them in some weird way or your memory failing you, but what you are saying isn't right. Y0 is the longest game in the series, after Y5, and Y3 is the shortest.

Yeah, I took about 45-50 hours with Yakuza 0, but I did spend time on side content.

 

[Humdinger]

I took a little less than 20 hours with 0, which for this kind of game is perfect.

You sure about that? Yakuza Zero has 13 hours of just cutscenes alone.

 

[KXVXII9X]

Infinite wealth is way too fresh in my memory to play another long game on largely the same map. Also I think the formula in general is getting a bit stale by now.

This is why I am more excited by Project Century. I'm playing through Infinite Wealth right now and it is a chore to get through after the first 7 chapters. I only played Yakuza LAD, LAD Gaiden, most of Judgment, and most of IW and the formula is already a bit stale.

 

[Thief1987]

This is why I am more excited by Project Century. I'm playing through Infinite Wealth right now and it is a chore to get through after the first 7 chapters. I only played Yakuza LAD, LAD Gaiden, most of Judgment, and most of IW and the formula is already a bit stale.

You expecting something different from Project Century? Good luck.

 

[KXVXII9X]

You expecting something different from Project Century? Good luck.

They definitely seemed to change how the fighting works. Unlike the change from Yakuza to Judgment, the combat looks completely redone instead of being refined. It doesn't look like it is confined to being in an arena either. It could just be the trailer making it look more cinematic. I am also seeing more physics, better lighting, better weather effects, and more interactions. It looks like a real generational leap ahead.

 

[jshackles]

I'm still 65 hours into Infinite Wealth. Will probably finish that one in the next few weeks, and pick this up next fall when it's cheap.