The Yakuza franchise spans seven mainline games, a handful of spin-offs, and the soft-reboot series, Like a Dragon, which itself spans two mainline games and now a spin-off in the form of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. That's not even mentioning the Judgment series, which is made by the same developers, set within the same universe, but is its own separate entity. It's all a little confusing, especially for an outsider looking in, and that's becoming a bit of a problem.

Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii took people by surprise when it was initially announced, not least because of its bizarre pirate-themed gameplay, but also because no one was really anticipating a Like a Dragon spin-off. For diehard fans, the news of a new Like a Dragon game was likely a positive surprise, but for those who are still desperately trying to find the best way into this ever-growing labyrinthian franchise, it only added salt to the wound. Interestingly, this shouldn't have been the case, and yet Like a Dragon seems to be making the same mistake the Yakuza games did.

Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii Makes The Series Even More Unapproachable

A Returning Character & Bizarre Setting Make It Hard For Newcomers To Jump Onboard

The Yakuza franchise, with its seven entries - including one with a zero in its title - became quite an unapproachable task for newcomers. While it is not strictly necessary to play every game in the series, at least from a narrative point of view, even picking up and playing the most integral ones can take hundreds of hours. So, it made sense that developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio decided to essentially soft-reboot the series, creating a new set of characters, setting, and combat style for Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Other than a handful of references and reappearing characters in minor roles, served as sequels to the Yakuza franchise. These both required prior knowledge of pretty much all the Yakuza games in order to be able to properly enjoy them.

Now, fans are being treated to the bizarrely named Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, yet another Like a Dragon game that requires homework. Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii features returning characters from the Yakuza games, namely Goro Majima, and the same setting from the previous Like a Dragon game. To properly enjoy it, prospective players will absolutely need to play at least Yakuza 0, as this will at least help them understand the obsession behind its protagonist,

This Is The Wrong Direction If Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Want New Fans

The Franchise Is Beginning To Suffer From The Marvel Problem

While the wild concept behind Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii deserves its own breakdown, it isn't really the core reason why new fans might be put off. If anything, it could serve as a way of drawing in a new cohort of players, especially those who prefer pirate-themed adventures. Rather, the main reason why Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is likely to alienate newcomers is because of this prior connection to the original games.

The Yakuza series has always had an issue with onboarding new players, whether it's thanks to its complex lore and history or just sheer number of entries. In many ways, it resembles the ever-complex interconnected web of the Marvel multiverse, both in comic and movie form, which continues to be an unapproachable mess. That's why Yakuza: Like a Dragon felt so special, and why this cavalcade of new releases feels like a regression in many ways, a dogmatic dedication to holding on to the characters created back in 2005.

This cavalcade of new releases feels like a regression in many ways, a dogmatic dedication to holding on to the characters created back in 2005.

If Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio wanted to introduce a new audience to its games - which it evidently does with the Yakuza TV series - then it should drop the complicated sequels and naming conventions and stick to making a completely new and disconnected series, much like it did with Judgment. The fact that the precedent is there is ultimately what's so frustrating. It proved that it could make something just as good as its Yakuza games without needing to shove unnecessary Kiryu appearances.

Perhaps more frustrating is the fact that Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is very good, as are, for the most part, all the Yakuza games. They're all incredibly strong entries and some of the most unique games currently available, so the fact that newcomers can feel put off by them is all the more upsetting. If new players could have come on board with Yakuza: Like a Dragon and stayed on board, that would have been great, but the fact that its sequel required them to go and play eight other games to properly appreciate it is pretty ludicrous.

Does Like A Dragon Even Need To Appeal To Newcomers?

It Has Its Own Dedicated Fanbase

Of course, all of this begs the question whether Like a Dragon even needs to appeal to newcomers, much in the same way that the recent slate of Marvel projects barely appeals to anyone who hasn't been on board since the early days. The answer to that is a little complex as, clearly, from a strictly financial point of view, the series has been doing incredibly well. The fact that a spin-off game as bizarre as Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii got greenlit and is genuinely releasing goes to show that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is clearly doing something right.

However, there are still those who really want to get into the Yakuza games but don't have a lifetime to dedicate to beating the first seven, let alone the most recent batch of titles. There is an obvious solution to combat this, and that's for Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio to make more games like Judgment. While it absolutely shouldn't reboot the franchise completely, it should use its spin-offs as an opportunity to offer newcomers an easy way in, which could, in turn, convince them to dedicate all that time to playing the original series.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii could have worked - from the perspective of ushering in new fans - if it had cast a new character as its lead and not brought back Goro Majima. While he's a fan-favorite character, the love for him stems from his many appearances in the original Yakuza games, with Yakuza 0 basically existing to flesh out his character further, which makes him inaccessible to those without a prior fondness for him. The Yakuza franchise may not necessarily need new fans, but there are new fans that desperately need it, they just don't know how yet.

Source: SEGA/YouTube