The Like a Dragon (formerly Yakuza) franchise is known for delivering massive games with copious amounts of content, though as a smaller-scale spinoff, the upcoming Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is obviously not going to be quite as expansive as, say, Infinite Wealth was.
According to developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, however, you can still expect a substantially longer experience than the previous spinoff, 2023’s Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.
Speaking in an interview with Automaton Media, RGG Studio’s director Masayoshi Yokoyama revealed that Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is going to be about 30 percent longer than Like a Dragon Gaiden, echoing similar previous statements.
According to Yokoyama, the development team didn’t necessarily set out to make a bigger game than Gaiden, with the runtime instead being a byproduct of the story and its demands. “It’s more like the volume ‘ended up’ increasing due to the story,” he said. “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,” Yokoyama added, before stating that the longer runtime will be reflective of the game’s price, which is $10 higher than Like a Dragon Gaiden’s launch price.