Hiroyuki Sakamoto and Ryosuke Horii, Chief Producer & Director of RGG Studio, Explain How Majima Became the Fan-Favorite Mad Dog That He Is (Interview)

The Like a Dragon franchise has exploded in popularity in the West in the past few years. My first time venturing into the franchise may have been with Yakuza 3 on the PlayStation 3. However, it’s had a devoted fanbase since its inception on the PlayStation 2. We’ve seen many graphical changes come to the franchise since its creation. But, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: how much fans love series mainstay Goro Majima. His recent escapades in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii may be his wildest yet. Fans just can’t get enough of the man behind the eyepatch.

I spoke with Hiroyuki Sakamoto (Chief Producer) and Ryosuke Horii (Chief Director) of RGG Studio about the popular character. Find out what drives Majima to be the Mad Dog of Shimano — all while learning about his secrets to looking so good in his 60s.

We’ve seen Kiryu become a secret agent, and now we’ve seen Majima become a pirate. Somehow, it makes perfect sense within the lore of the ‘Like a Dragon’ franchise. What was the reason that RGG went with a pirate theme for Majima’s first solo adventure? 

Sakamoto: This project started from the idea of depicting what happened to Majima after the events of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, in the form of a side story (Gaiden). When we imagined what would happen if Majima went to the tropical paradise of Hawaii alone, the idea that it wouldn’t be surprising for him to become a pirate naturally led us to use pirates as a motif. The development team was enthusiastic about this, and we were eager to depict something surprising that hadn’t been done before.

Goro Majima has been a major player in the franchise since its inception. But over the years, he’s quickly become a fan favorite. Was that originally anticipated, or did you believe that fans wouldn’t love Majima at the start? 

Sakamoto: Our development team became certain of Majima’s popularity right before creating the original version of Like a Dragon: Ishin! When we held a character popularity poll, Majima came in first.  

Up until then, we knew he had a loyal fanbase as an eccentric and quirky character. But, seeing him beat the protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, in terms of number one in popularity made us realize just how popular he really is.

Karaoke has been a major part of the ‘Yakuza’/’Like a Dragon’ franchise for a while. Majima has some of the best songs available. What are some of your personal favorites? I have to admit, I’m a bit partial to “24-Hour Cinderella.” 

Horii: I love all the songs, but “24-Hour Cinderella” is one of the most cherished tracks for me. However, I think the new song we added this time, “The Sun at 36.5°C,” has some of the best lyrics I’ve ever written in my career. I like it as much as — or even more than — “24-Hour Cinderella.” Then there’s “hands,” “TONIGHT,” and “harukaze.” I love all the songs so much that I can’t choose. You don’t include songs in the game if you don’t like them in the first place, do you?

Majima had one of the most tragic backstories, brought to life in ‘Yakuza 0.’ Throughout the franchise, he’s grown and changed so much. What was the creative reasoning behind making him go from seeming antagonist to charming secondary protagonist? 

Sakamoto: In Like a Dragon, regardless of being an ally or enemy, by delving deep into the characters, anyone can have a drama worthy of a leading role. This is true not only for Yakuza 0 but also for the main characters that have appeared throughout the series. I think our approach to consistently making characters appealing and exploring them in-depth leads to these kinds of ideas. 

When it came to making the combat system for ‘Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii,’ the two styles Majima uses to fight couldn’t be any more different from one another. What went into making the combat even faster than normal, while still being easy to pick up and difficult to master?

Horii: Since it’s a pirate game, we decided from the start to create a “Pirate” style as a symbol, and a “Mad Dog” style to have users savor the essence of Majima. Creating exhilarating action was a given. But, we also thought players would be excited about “being able to control Majima.” So, we brainstormed ideas to incorporate Majima’s speed, agility, tricky moves, and uniqueness to make the action feel true to him. 

The introduction of the jumping action came from that time. Majima is a character for whom it’s not surprising to have superhuman moves. We were able to incorporate a wider variety of actions compared to Kiryu, which made it easier for us to develop. We have prepared various attack methods, such as pirate tools, and we paid particular attention to designing them so that each can be seamlessly connected to regular combos. As a result, we were able to differentiate the Mad Dog style, which allows you to savor Majima’s essence, and the Pirates style, which is full of special new elements like pirate tools. 

The enhanced exploration was one of my favorite parts of ‘Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.’ I never expected we’d get a grappling hook we could use to find new gear. As well as all of the other fun tools I got to play with. When it came to designing the world, what brought that sense of additional verticality and wide-open exploration to the forefront? 

Horri: We decided early on to implement a Chain Hook to give it a pirate feel. If we were going to include it, we thought we might as well include elements that allow players to progress through battle stages and climb buildings using this tool, which led to the current design. We added more features little by little since we were thinking that if there is a wire hook, we should allow the players to be able to do more and not just climbing. So, we added more features like catching fish or bugs with it. 

Hawaii is a vast stage. Since it’s a stage we had just used in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, we wanted to implement a different kind of exploration fun than in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. I believe that the vertical exploration with the Chain Hook ended up being a great spice for the adventure. And it created an opportunity to expand the possibilities and enjoyment of adventures in the Like a Dragon series. 

Treasure Island was also a nice little surprise, functioning like a mini-roguelike to help keep things exciting. Combined with the semi-open world of the ocean, ‘Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii’ is one of the best pirate games we’ve had in years. How did you make everything come together so well? 

Horii: Since the Like a Dragon series is a game where you enjoy brawling action, we thought it would be good to have some brawler battles during the sailing mode. That’s where the idea of Treasure Island and ship battles on enemy decks came from. By intentionally mixing familiar battles and adventure elements like Karaoke and Party Chat into the completely new ship adventures, we aimed for a game design that would be new but still familiar to the Like a Dragon series fans. In the end, I think we managed to achieve a good balance that’s both comforting and fresh.

I can’t gloss over the fact that we can play dress-up in this entry. Getting to see new styles, paired alongside older styles and the return of the iconic ponytail, was great. Why did we get to finally change appearances beyond just gear this time around? 

Horii: The Outfits feature was something we first introduced in Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. It was very well-received. Also, we felt that it offered more enjoyment than we had initially imagined, so we decided to implement it again. We created variations like pirate-like items, Hawaiian-themed ones, and ex-Yakuza ones. Then, we added iconic parts from past titles, such as Majima’s ponytail. We thought core fans would want to dress like Majima from past titles. So, we decided on the final lineup without overthinking it and tried to meet expectations as much as possible. 

As this is Majima’s first solo expedition, can players expect to get more side-character escapades in the future? Both ‘The Man Who Erased His Name’ and ‘Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii’ were loved by fans. I already know I’d be signing up for when Majima eventually becomes a Ninja or something like that!

Sakamoto: We can’t say for sure at this stage. But, while we are creating these side stories (Gaiden), we’re also working on a new game. So, we would be happy if you look forward to that. I’m sure it’ll surprise you.

The flow of time doesn’t stop anyone, and Majima is now officially in his 60s. What does he do to keep himself looking so young and healthy?

Sakamoto: We’ll leave it up to your imagination (laughs). But if I had to say, it’s probably that he doesn’t live by the sensibilities of an ordinary person.

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I would like to thank both Sakamoto-san and Horii-san for taking the time to respond to my questions about Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.