The Like a Dragon series is one of the longest running JRPG franchises and is known for its mix of serious crime drama and absurd, over-the-top minigames. With Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, that formula is very much present with minigames from managing a pirate crew to cooking, go-kart racing, and even tending a garden. But could it also be too much?
Well, for longtime franchise fans, this is expected, even welcomed. But what if you’re a new player and this is your first Like a Dragon game? There’s a very real scenario where all the side content is too overwhelming. Minigames make the world feel rich and interactive, but it has to be balanced.
Like a Dragon is known for minigames, but how many is too many?
The sheer variety of activities in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is crazy. Within the first few hours, players can cook, tend gardens, manage businesses, and even play Sega Genesis classics. The game actively encourages us to explore these side activities, often to the point where it feels like we’re playing a different game entirely.
This is how I feel about Yakuza tbh. That franchise’s flaws are things that I actually really like,
Like for example so many people have issues with pirate Yakuza’s chapter 2 for introducing all the minigames and forcing u to play em, I get the critique (thread) https://t.co/GAYV7ffmOy
— Vishgod (@vishgod69) February 22, 2025
At some point, the game seems less like an RPG and more like a giant collection of side activities disguised as an open-world experience. We’ve seen a lot of open-world games pad out their content with repetitive fetch quests, this game instead offers wildly varied minigames that feel handcrafted. And that’s because they often are.
Minigames have always been a staple of JRPGs and are designed to be a break from the main storyline. The community opinion for them is also equally divided. Some fans enjoy them as a way to break up the core gameplay loop, when they’re required for progression, it also gets a bit annoying.
I agree with this completely. I think Yakuza’s blend of substories, main story, and minigames are unique to it and the medium of video games. https://t.co/TFTGBs32O3
— PlayStaySherwin 5 🎮Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (SOON) (@PlayStaySherwin) February 23, 2025
For veterans of the Like a Dragon franchise, this level of content overload is nothing new. Karaoke, batting cages, shogi, and real estate management have always been part of the series. And that’s where the potential problem is. Because if you’re a new player, there’s a chance all of it turns you off from playing the game.
Bloated side content is a known issue, but JRPGs have balanced it well enough before
One of the biggest criticisms of modern open-world games is their tendency to overload players with unnecessary content. Franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry often fill their worlds with repetitive side activities that feel more like checklists than meaningful experiences.
The side content in JRPGs has never been bad to that extent, but this is also not the first game to receive this criticism. Last year’s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was criticized for a similar issue. Many players found the sheer volume of optional content exhausting, leading to burnout before they could even finish the game.
For context, in FF7 Rebirth, we had 28 minigame options, and some of them were required for progression. And that’s really the highlight of the issue. Yes, side activities can add depth, they shouldn’t come at the expense of the player’s enjoyment. Even more so, it shouldn’t be at the expense of the story.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
