Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii Could Answer An Age Old Fan Debate About Majima’s Personality

Since Majima Goro first graced our screens in 2006, fans have fallen in love with the unpredictable and eccentric funny guy in the snakeskin jacket and eyepatch. Known for his ludicrous and violent tendencies, Majima became a feared and legendary yakuza and earned the nickname ‘The Mad Dog of Shimano’. For those unfamiliar, think the Joker from Batman and you’re on the right track.

Despite his prowess in battle and capabilities, Majima has always had a goofball side to him, and this is a large part of why he’s so endearing to fans. He sets himself up as Kiryu’s rival and wants to best him in battle, yet also has this bromance going on where no one can harm Kiryu but him.

Related

Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii’s Naval Combat Is The Evolution The Series Needs

Like a Dragon’s pirate spin off is fully committed to sea-faring adventures, in ways video games rarely are.

Over the years, we’ve seen Majima dress up in various ridiculous outfits to pester Kiryu (remember Goromi the hostess?), drive a truck into a soapland, nonchalantly defuse a bomb, obsess over zombies, and throw himself into deadly battles with the joy of a kid at Christmas so many times we’ve lost count.

The Birth Of The Mad Dog

When Yakuza 0 launched in 2017, a debate amongst fans arose whether Majima’s Mad Dog persona was simply all an act. We see a very different side to Majima back in the ‘80s, where he appears as a more reserved man in a classy suit with long hair running the Cabaret Grand. He’s a far cry from the Mad Dog we all know and love.

Having failed his assigned assassination, Majima was punished by the Shimano family. His eye was gouged out, and he’s ultimately thrown out and carted off to be Tsukasa Sagawa’s problem, who makes him work front of house to pay off a hefty debt. He’s eventually assigned another assassination to prove his worth, Makoto Makimura, but over the course of Yakuza 0, Majima realises he’s been set up for failure and begins to fight back for what he believes in, ultimately choosing to save Makoto.

It’s only near the end of Yakuza 0 that we see Majima become the Mad Dog for the first time, and as he finally bites back and refuses to take orders, Sagawa remarks that he has “ the eye of a mad dog” and that he “finally busted outta his cage”. After this, the next time we see Majima, he’s cut his hair and donned what becomes his signature snakeskin ensemble, telling Sagawa “I’m gonna have more fun and live crazier than any of ‘em.”

And thus started the debate. How much of the Mad Dog persona is real and how much is an act? Did the events of Yakuza 0 push Majima to the brink of sanity and make him snap? Did Majima choose to take inspiration from the strong characters he met during Yakuza 0 to form his own formidable persona? Or perhaps, there really was a Mad Dog lurking in Majima all along and he’s just decided to lower his inhibitions and let the dog out?

Pirate Yakuza Will Show Us The True Majima

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii could finally settle that debate. We know Majima washes ashore on Rich Island near Hawaii with amnesia, and eventually, he becomes a pirate captain of the Goromaru. Amnesiac Majima would presumably be a personality reset, showing his true nature, and in doing so, Pirate Yakuza will hopefully answer the question once and for all. Is the Mad Dog real or just a front?

When we recently spoke with Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio chief producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto, he told us, “[At] the very start of the game, you have Majima who has amnesia, so it’s not like he’s starting like the normal Majima. He’s starting from a different point.”

“According to RGG Studio’s director Yokoyama Masayoshi, players should actually expect to be greeted by a rather serious Goro Majima, especially in the earlier stages of the game, before he becomes a pirate,” Automaton said after speaking with Sakamoto.

During our recent hands-on preview, we didn’t see much of the narrative and it wasn’t from the beginning, so Majima was already in full Sea Dog mode. From what we played, Majima is aware of his name and other characters refer to him as a yakuza, so there is some knowledge of his past. However, it’s unclear whether he truly remembers who he is or has simply been told.

It could be that Majima only has amnesia for a brief spell at the start of the game, or perhaps he’s quickly told who he is and who he used to be, but the lack of actual memory means his personality remains altered. Maybe he won’t ever recover his full memories by the end of Pirate Yakuza.

The fact that the narrative has been kept safely under lock and key gives me hope that Pirate Yakuza might deliver a hard-hitting emotional arc for Majima that fans have been begging for for years. Sakamoto also promised it would be more than a romping, silly pirate adventure, telling us, “Pirate Yakuza will still have that emotional and dramatic side to it, more so than players might expect from what we’ve seen so far”.

Pirate Yakuza seems set to give us a jolly good pirate experience with a fan favourite. We’ll have fun sailing around and slicing and dicing enemies, but there’s a promise of buried treasure at the heart of the narrative that will give more depth than we may have dared hope for. Ultimately, if this silly, goofy-looking pirate game manages to pack a hefty punch in terms of enjoyable absurdity and emotional storytelling, wouldn’t this be perfectly on point for Majima?

Systems

Released

February 20, 2025

Developer(s)

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

Engine

Dragon Engine

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol

Expand