175: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (with Brian Edwards)

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Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has risen to the gaming mainstream with its beloved Like a Dragon series, and when a hot streak occurs, a heat check often follows, and there is no bigger heat check than a game where you play through a Hawaiian pirate adventure starring the series' lovable maniac, Goro Majima. So why has Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii fallen out of the conversation, even among series diehards? Did the heat check connect, or is it the beginning of a downturn? All that and more in this great conversation.

Guest info: Brian Edwards

• Listen to the Cane and Rinse podcast https://caneandrinse.com/
• Listen to the Character Issues podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-character-issues-podcast/id1530881747
• Follow Brian on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/characterissues.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:20 Intros
• 5:45 Personal Histories With Yakuza Series
• 9:53 The Yakuza Secret Sauce
• 14:12 Opening Thoughts about Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
• 20:34 Like a Dragon Series Fatigue?
• 35:15 Story Setup, Majima the Leading Man
• 45:40 Framing Device, Substories, Goofs
• 1:11:18 Pirate Gameplay, Ship Combat
• 1:33:51 Action Combat
• 1:44:59 Mini-Games and Side Activities
• 1:52:36 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations
• 1:57:57 Character Issues, Cane and Rinse
• 2:02:33 Spoiler Wall/Patron Thank-Yous
• 2:04:37 Spoiler Section- Substories
• 2:18:42 Spoiler Section- Main Story and Ending

Music used in the episode:

• Anchors Aweigh (Saori Yoshida)
• Nameless Traveler (Saori Yoshida)
• Palekanian Dance (Yuri Fukuda)
• Mad Dog (Keitarou Hanada)
• Echoes of Hope (Kazuki Takagi)
• Masaru's Love Journey (Mitsuhara Fukuyama)

Check out the King of Games 1999 tournament on Retro Hangover! https://linktr.ee/retrohangover

Social Media:
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Instagram
Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

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