Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Length Revealed

SEGA’s Yakuza series has been ongoing since 2005, with many incredible titles such as Yakuza Kiwami, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth garnering acclaim. The next installment, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, launches in February 2025. As fans bare the winter cold before the Hawaiian heat hits, a recent Automaton interview with Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio director Masayoshi Yokoyama shines a light on the length of the title.

Videos by ComicBook.com

Many of the Like a Dragon titles have spanned countless hours of gameplay, with Yakuza: Like a Dragon at 67.5 hours and Like a Dragon: Ishin! rounding out at 45 hours. The latest installment in the series, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which was recently nominated at The Game Awards 2024 for Best Narrative and Best Role-Playing Game, clocks in at an astonishing 83.5 hours of gameplay. Although the series has longer titles, 2023’s Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, is a bit shorter than its coinciding titles, with an average of 21.5 hours.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Will Be 27 Hours Long

RELATED: February 2025 Is Going to Be a Huge Month for RPG Fans on PS5

This particular title was mentioned during the interview with Yokoyama when he was asked about the length of the upcoming title, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. In response, he stated, “It’s more like the volume ‘ended up’ increasing due to the story. The volume of a game is determined by the length of the main storyline, and when we created the main story for Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, it ended up being 1.3 times longer than that of Gaiden’s”. 

Seeing how Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name averages 21 hours, it seems that Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will clock in around 27 hours, expanding by 6 hours of more content. Many fans have expressed their admiration for the 2023 title for having the right amount of content, given the lengthier titles are more spread out. Yokoyama’s comment values the Gaiden guidelines but adds 30% more content to the experience.

Yokoyama expanded on his response by saying why they decided to go with a slightly larger story by stating, 

“If you try hard enough, you can expand a game’s volume as much as you want,” he said. “For example, you can add errand-type substories in which the player needs to set up flags to progress, and the more prerequisites you put in, the more you can extend playing time. However, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii came out longer than Gaiden without us 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. I think the difference in price is the best indicator, as it costs 10 dollars more than Gaiden.”

Even though the title isn’t as long as previous installments, there isn’t a lack of content to explore. Given that Hawaii is the setting of the game, we can expect to see a wide variety of locations within the title, which is always a treat for fans. The series has always delivered on being authentic to the experience while also being outlandish. Its personality has been a huge part of its success and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii isn’t looking to hold anything back when it launches in February.