Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Director explains why they decided to go with Majima’s amnesia plotline
The decision was made fairly early in the game's development.
Aside from asking how they develop games as fast as they do, we also asked Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii’s Chief Director and Producer why they decided that Majima gets amnesia in the game.
On its own, Majima getting amnesia can seem a bit too convenient. After all, a character getting amnesia in stories can be seen as lazy writing by some. After playing the game though, I understood why Majima’s amnesia was the right call for the story. In fact, it was one of my main points when we explored why Pirate Yakuza might just be the perfect Majima game.
To sum my point up briefly, Majima losing his memories is almost necessary to make him the protagonist work. If he didn’t, Majima would be too intimidating (or even one-note) if he stayed as he is from Infinite Wealth. Given how wacky the Pirate Yakuza story gets, it’s important that there’s a way to take Majima’s mask off to show his more kindhearted side.
As I found this plot point to work quite well in the game, Majima’s story is what I asked the game’s Chief Director/Producer Ryosuke Horii during a recent interview with SEA gaming press. To be exact, I asked about the decision behind Majima’s amnesia and if there were any debates within the Pirate Yakuza development team regarding the decision.
In response, Horii said that the decision was made early in the game’s development. While there were plenty of ideas, the final story we got in the game was a result of what made the most fun.
“We made the decision after consulting with the scenario writer, Tsuyoshi Furuta, said Horii. As we were consulting, we came up with a lot of concepts and premises. So, when we decided to make Majima a pirate, we thought about how to do it including, for example, diving into Majima’s past.
When we decided on what the game is now, the key was simply thinking about what would be the most fun.”
It’s interesting that there weren’t any big debates within the team regarding the amnesia storyline, though the game does acknowledge this plot point. There are certain times when it seems characters are directly acknowledging how crazy and convenient it is that Majima lost his memories.
In the end, the story we got was a ton of fun, so the devs at RGG Studio succeeded in their goal (if you ask us at least). Of course, it’s a bit of a shame that we didn’t get more of Majima’s past as this was among the concepts the team have though of. Hopefully, we see some of these concepts pop up in future Like a Dragon titles (or maybe in another Gaiden Majima game).
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is available now on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.
Want to know more about the game? Check out our full review here.