Is Kiryu Kazuma in Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii?

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii takes place after the events of Infinite Wealth, but what about Kiryu Kazuma? Can players expect him to make an appearance?

While Kasuga Ichiban is the new main protagonist of the franchise, fans the world over miss Kiryu, and all of his stoicism. However, for story reasons, he’s in a hospital in Tokyo, being treated for cancer. Does that mean we can expect the Dragon of Dojima to not show up in this game?

Well, it’s complicated, and I warn you now, this will have end-game spoilers in it. The good news is that Kiryu Kazuma is sort of in Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, as a character that enters combat. The bad news is that it requires the Digital Deluxe Edition. What about in the story itself? Well, that’s a little more complicated - the answer is technically yes, but actually no.

Note: This article contains major spoilers for the ending of Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

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Kiryu Kazuma is not in Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii - sort of

If you bought Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Kiryu Kazuma joins your pirate crew as a combatant/crew mate. He’s incredibly strong, just like everyone else in the pirate crew pack that joins up. You can have him and Kasuga Ichiban searching for treasure with you, which is a really cool feeling. But what about the story?

This is as close as you're going to get (Image via SEGA)

Kiryu Kazuma is technically not in Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. However, in the ending of the game, Majima and Saejima head to the hospital where Kiryu is being treated at, in order to regale him of their tales in Hawaii. It turns out, he was only in Hawaii to try and find The Heart of the Dragon, a legendary miracle cure said to cure anything and grant eternal life.

Thus, Majima wanted to head to Hawaii in order to find this, and cure Kiryu, so he doesn’t have to die of cancer. Unfortunately, this means you won’t hear any new dialog from Kiryu Kazuma’s amazing voice actor (Takaya Kuroda), or his new English voice actor (Yong Yea). He’s kind of in the game, in that you can have him on your pirate ship. However, if you’re expecting brand-new dialog or cutscenes, then unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.

If there is something involving the Dragon of Dojima, we’ve not found it at this time. However, the game does end on a cliffhanger, with a “To Be Continued…”, so there’s no telling what the future will hold. Personally, I’m not convinced that we’ve seen the last of Kiryu Kazuma in a Like A Dragon game, but if you’re looking for something concrete in this latest release, then sorry - he’s not here.

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Check out our other Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii guides and features

• 7 things to know before playing Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
• Is Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii an open-world game?
• Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii system requirements