Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

New Game+

Start a New Game+ in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Carry over progress, face new challenges, and maximize your crew's potential in Honolulu.

New Game+

Congratulations, Captain! Having navigated the treacherous waters of Honolulu and brought order (or glorious chaos) to the Hawaiian underworld, you're ready to embark on a fresh voyage with the power of New Game+. This mode allows you to replay the main story with many of your hard-earned progress carried over, offering new challenges and opportunities to maximize your crew's potential.

Unlocking New Game+

New Game+ becomes available immediately after you complete the final main story chapter and view the credits. Simply return to the main menu, and you'll find the "New Game+" option prominently displayed alongside "New Game" and "Continue." Selecting this will prompt you to choose a save file to carry over. We highly recommend saving your completed game data in a separate slot to avoid accidentally overwriting your progress.

What Carries Over?

Prepare to hit the Hawaiian shores with a significant advantage! The following elements will transfer to your New Game+ playthrough:

  • Character Levels and Stats: All your party members retain their current levels, HP, MP, Attack, Defense, Magic, and Agility stats. This includes any bonus stats gained from equipment or permanent upgrades.
  • Job Ranks and Skills: Every Job you've unlocked and leveled up will carry over, along with all learned Job Skills and Abilities. This allows for immediate access to powerful combat options from the start.
  • Equipment and Inventory: Your entire inventory, including weapons, armor, accessories, consumables, and crafting materials, will be available from the moment you regain control in Chapter 1. This is crucial for tackling early-game challenges with high-tier gear.
  • Money (Yen): All your accumulated Yen will transfer, giving you a healthy financial cushion for purchasing new gear, healing items, or investing in your businesses.
  • Bond Levels: The Bond Levels between your party members will remain intact, ensuring all Bond Skills and benefits are active.
  • Completed Substories: Any substories you've finished will be marked as complete. You won't be able to replay them for their initial rewards, but some may offer new challenges or dialogue in NG+.
  • Minigame Progress: Your high scores and progress in various minigames (e.g., Darts, Mahjong, Hawaiian Poker) will carry over.
  • Crafting Recipes: All crafting recipes discovered at the Aloha Works will be available from the outset.

What DOES NOT Carry Over?

While much of your progress is retained, certain elements reset to ensure a fresh narrative experience:

  • Main Story Progress: The main story chapters, objectives, and associated cutscenes will reset, allowing you to experience the narrative again.
  • Side Quest Progress (Uncompleted): Any substories or side quests that were not completed in your previous playthrough will reset and be available again.
  • Dungeon Progress: Any progress within dungeons or specific combat arenas will reset.
  • Key Items (Story-Specific): Items crucial for main story progression will be removed from your inventory and must be re-acquired as part of the narrative.
  • Character Introductions: While Bond Levels carry over, character introductions and initial party formations will follow the main story's progression.

New Game+ Exclusive Content and Strategies

New Game+ isn't just a simple replay; it offers unique opportunities and challenges:

1. Higher Difficulty Options

Upon starting New Game+, you'll be given the option to select a higher difficulty: "Hard" or "Legend."

  • Hard Mode: Enemies have increased HP, Attack, and Defense. They may also use more advanced tactics and skills. This is a good stepping stone for players who found the base game manageable.
  • Legend Mode: This is the ultimate challenge. Enemies are significantly tougher, deal massive damage, and often have unique resistances or immunities. Healing items are less effective, and critical hits from enemies are more frequent. Only attempt Legend Mode if you have fully optimized your party and gear.

2. Exclusive Equipment and Crafting Materials

Certain powerful weapons and armor pieces, along with rare crafting materials, only become available in New Game+ on Hard or Legend difficulties. Keep an eye out for:

  • Legendary Pirate Cutlass: Found in a hidden chest within the Black Coral Grotto (Chapter 7 location) on Hard difficulty. Requires 3x Rainbow Pearl and 5x Ancient Gold Coin to fully upgrade at Aloha Works.
  • Yakuza Captain's Coat: Drops from the optional boss "Crimson Kraken" in the Deep Sea Trench (Chapter 10 location) on Legend difficulty. Offers significant stat boosts and a unique counter-attack ability.
  • Dragon's Eye Gem: A rare crafting material that can only be obtained by defeating specific "Ex-Boss" encounters that appear in previously cleared dungeons during NG+ on Legend. Use these to craft ultimate accessories like the Amulet of the Dragon King.

3. "Ex-Boss" Encounters

In New Game+ (especially on Legend difficulty), certain dungeons and areas will feature "Ex-Boss" versions of previously defeated foes. These bosses are significantly stronger, have new attack patterns, and drop exclusive items or crafting materials. For example:

  • Ex-Captain Blackheart: Appears in the Pirate's Den (Chapter 4 location) on Legend difficulty. He now has a second phase with devastating area-of-effect attacks. Defeating him can drop the Blackheart's Eyepatch, an accessory boosting critical hit chance.
  • Ex-Shark God's Avatar: Found in the depths of the Sunken Temple (Chapter 9 location) on Hard or Legend. This version has increased elemental resistances and summons powerful shark minions. Drops Shark God's Tooth, a material for high-tier weapons.

4. Maxing Out Jobs and Abilities

New Game+ is the perfect opportunity to fully max out all Job Ranks for every character. With carried-over levels, you can quickly gain Job experience from even early-game encounters. Focus on:

  • Unlocking all Inherited Skills: Ensure every character has access to the most powerful skills from all their Jobs.
  • Grinding for Job XP: Utilize the increased difficulty and Ex-Bosses for faster Job XP gains. The "Aloha Coliseum" (unlocked in Chapter 5) also offers excellent Job XP rewards on higher difficulties.

5. Completing the Encyclopedia

If you missed any enemies, items, or substories in your first playthrough, New Game+ provides a chance to fill out your in-game encyclopedia. Pay close attention to:

  • Rare Enemy Drops: Some enemies have very low drop rates for unique items. Repeated encounters in NG+ increase your chances.
  • Missed Substories: Consult a substory guide to ensure you don't miss any this time around.

Embark on your New Game+ adventure with confidence, Captain! The seas of Hawaii await your renewed challenge.