Hidenari Ugaki, the voice actor behind fan-favorite Yakuza anti-hero Goro Majima, pitched a game based on his own character to studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama and was told "that's not going to happen." Two years later, we're getting exactly that in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.
Of course, Majima has appeared as a prominent character and even a playable protagonist in a number of Yakuza games, but there's never been a game solely focused on him. We're finally getting one, but only after Ugaki's pitch was pretty soundly rejected by Yokoyama, as the voice actor recounts in a recent interview with Famitsu.
"At that time, I said, 'How about this time it's not 'Ryu ga Gotoku' but 'Hannya Ga Gotoku' and Majima plays the main character?'", Ugaki said (via machine translation), referencing Majima's prominent back tattoo inspired by Hannya of Japanese folklore. "But while I was saying that, Yokoyama-san said, 'That's not going to happen,' and I remember being disappointed (laughs)."
Although anyone with even a cursory understanding of the Yakuza series could've predicted a full-blown Majima game would be wildly unhinged, I don't think anyone expected the swashbuckling pirate game set in Hawaii we're getting on February 8. RGG even added Majima's Hannya tattoo to the Like a Dragon series' 20th anniversary logo.
"But despite what he said, 'Ryu ga Gotoku 8 Gaiden' was produced, and the 20th anniversary logo of 'Ryu ga Gotoku' featured not only a dragon but also Hannya in large size, which made me feel glad that I had played Goro Majima."
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, a title I struggle to take seriously even by Yakuza standards, takes place six months after last year's Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, seeing Majima inexplicably take on the pirate life after washing ashore in Hawaii and being saved by a young boy named Noah.
Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii revives another Sega arcade classic that's never been ported - a true Yakuza games tradition.
