Mad Dog Vs Sea Dog: What Stance Is Better In Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

Most Yakuza games give players multiple stances to equip. These were replaced with classes in Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth but the concept remained the same in principle. This latest spinoff starring Goro Majima, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, only gives the zany criminal two stances.

Players will begin Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii with Mad Dog, giving Goro control of a knife and his fisticuffs for brawling in the sand and streets. Once players unlock their ship, Goromaru, they will unlock the second stance: Sea Dog. This pirate-based stance doubles Goro up with two swords and eventually a gun and grappling hook. Of the two, which stance is more efficient for taking out baddies?

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Tricks: Mad Dog

A More Versatile Moveset

Playing as the Sea Dog can be fun as a pirate but Goro’s OG Mad Dog stance gives him a lot more Tricks to work with. Tricks are special moves that don’t need any resources to be deployed, unlike other RPGs that use MP for their magic systems. For example, Mad Dog Trick: Serpent allows players to charge up the Square button, on the PS5 controller, to punch enemies into the air.

While airborne, players can juggle enemies with ease which even works on bosses. Another great one is Mad Dog Trick: Frenzy which charges up the Circle button to spin at enemies which is great for controlling areas.

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The Outfit: Sea Dog

Fits The Theme Of The Game

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the first game that turned the series into a turn-based RPG and also added Jobs. Ichiban Kasuga and the rest of his crew dressed up to fit the occasion for their classic RPG Jobs and this system continued into Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. So, having the Sea Dog stance for Goro reflects the Job systems from the previous two entries which seems fitting thematically for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

Goro is a wild character and he goes whole hog into emulating a classic pirate captain. Technically players can make Goro look like a pirate captain in Mad Dog stance or dress the Sea Dog stance in street clothes, but it’s just more natural for the Sea Dog and it plays into the story.

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Melee Output: Mad Dog

Faster Punches And Stabs

The Mad Dog stance is a lot faster overall. The Sea Dog’s twin cutlass blades are amazingly quick and they can slice through dozens of enemies like Goro was in a Musou game. That said, Mad Dog is slightly speedier as Goro can use his fists or dagger to destroy enemies with ease.

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The franchise’s original star, Kazuma Kiryu, has always been stronger than his rival Goro physically. However, Goro’s scrawnier, snake-like build gives him an edge with quickness in battle and it just feels more natural in his Mad Dog stance in this game.

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Range Output: Sea Dog

Three Ways To Stay Away From Danger

The only thing missing from Mad Dog’s melee superiority is range. The Sea Dog stance has several ways to keep Goro away from any harm. First, the form will automatically have a Trick allowing Goro to throw his blades like boomerangs. They will stay in place for a few seconds allowing Goro to pummel enemies until they return. Besides that, a pistol will unlock which can be shot via charges.

It’s slow but with enough distance and upgrades, it can become useful. Finally, the hookshot can trip up enemies along with bring Goro straight to them which is the opposite of ranged attacks but still good overall.

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Special Moves: Mad Dog

Gadgets Vs The Madness Gauge

The ultimate attack for Goro will fill in a circle gauge next to his health bar. It takes a long time to make it useful for the Sea Dog stance, automatically giving the Mad Dog stance the win. Mad Dog’s Madness Gauge uses shadow clones to aid Goro in battle like he was a character from Naruto.

Players can upgrade this technique further in the skill tree. So, while the excess of gadgets is nice for the Sea Dog stance, the raw power of the Madness Gauge wins here for the Mad Dog stance.

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Heat Actions: Sea Dog

Become A Swashbuckler Like Jack Sparrow

A blue bar beneath the health bar is called the Heat Gauge which is a traditional mechanic in the Yakuza series. Each stance can unlock a plethora of moves and they are all flashy. However, all of the Sea Dog Heat Actions fit the game more and are just more fun to pull off.

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For example, while sailing on the ship, Goro can take command of the wheel with Essence of Piracy: Deadly Skies to rock the worlds of enemies. Likewise, Essence of Piracy: Rain of Blood will blast foes into oblivion with his pistol. It will be hard not to liken Goro to Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise after seeing some of these Heat Actions.

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Counter Maneuvers: Mad Dog

There are a plethora of ways to avoid or counter enemy attacks with each stance. The two legendary ways, unlocked with skills, will help Perfect Guards and Ultimate Counters. The selections for the Mad Dog and Sea Dog stances are comparable.

Players can also use quicksteps with the R1 and X buttons together to dodge enemy attacks for both stances. Mad Dog, however, can improve the quickstep mechanic via Mad Dog Mastery: Perfect Quickstep. Even though it helps both stances, the win goes to Mad Dog for unlocking the potential.

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Verdict: Mad Dog

Old School Is Best

Old-school fans of the Yakuza series may not want to get into the changes made in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii fully. That may be why Mad Dog can feel superior to Sea Dog as developers may have known that.

Both stances offer two ways to play Goro and they are fun to swap between. On a technical level though, even though swashbuckling feels more natural for this spinoff, it is more beneficial to use Goro in his Mad Dog stance for most of the game. As with most versus matches, the victory is only marginal.

Released

February 21, 2025

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Engine

Dragon Engine

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ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol

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Steam Deck Compatibility

Unknown

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X|S Optimized

Yes

File Size Xbox Series

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45.03 GB

Number of Players

Single-player

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OpenCritic Rating

Strong

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PC Release Date

February 21, 2025

PS5 Release Date

February 21, 2025

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Xbox Series X|S Release Date

February 21, 2025

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