In *Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii*, building the best pirate crew is key to progressing through the game's story swiftly. Here are the top crew members to recruit early on, helping you move forward in *Pirate Yakuza* with ease.

During Chapter 2, Goro and his crew first explore Madlantis, a Pirate Sanctuary known for its Naval Colosseum battles. Here, you delve deeper into the backstories of crew members Jason and Masaru, learning of their disbanded crew due to a betrayal during the Colosseum battles. This revelation sets Goro on a quest to upgrade his ship and recruit more members to compete in the arena. However, before diving into the battles, Goro needs to repair his ship, which costs $10,000, and recruit five additional crew members to advance in the main storyline.

To help you bypass this hurdle quickly, here are five crew members you can recruit with minimal effort:

Nickelle Kidman

Nickelle Kidman, a playful nod to Nicole Kidman, can be found lounging near Honolulu's beach. To recruit her, your crew, the Goro Pirates, simply need a two-star rating. Achieving this is straightforward: complete all the main story missions up to this point, and you'll likely already have the required rating. If not, you can boost your rating by finding treasure, fighting thugs, and engaging in naval battles.

Hammerhead

As you explore recruitment options, you'll find three common methods: paying the recruit, giving them a desired item, or defeating them in combat. Hammerhead, located on the second floor of Honolulu's shopping center, falls into the combat category. Defeating him in a fight is quick and easy, making him one of the fastest recruits to secure. His relatively low health makes this task even more manageable.

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Kenzo

Kenzo, a ship hand at the Honolulu beach dock, can be recruited by either providing him with raw materials you've gathered on your journey or by paying him a few thousand dollars. This is an easy and fast recruitment option, as you'll likely have accumulated plenty of building materials and money from treasures by this point. Kenzo is a reliable crew member well worth the minimal cost.

Lucas

Lucas, found in Madlantis, can be recruited through a straightforward fistfight. His humorous interaction with Goro precedes the challenge. While his melee weapon makes his attacks slightly more potent than Hammerhead's, the fight remains manageable, especially after the boss battles you've faced in the preceding chapters.

Obispo

Recruiting Obispo involves dining at his restaurant in Honolulu. With enemies frequently spawning nearby, you can engage in battles, reduce your health, and then purchase a meal at his establishment. Repeating this process five times will secure Obispo's allegiance to the Goro Pirates. Though slightly more tedious, this method is still simpler compared to recruiting others with more demanding tasks or higher rating requirements.

While *Pirate Yakuza* offers many impressive crew members across its islands, these five are your best bet for quickly advancing in the early game. As the challenges escalate and more crew members become necessary in later chapters, you can then focus on recruiting those with superior stats and more complex recruitment processes.

These are the top crew members to recruit in the early stages of *Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii*.

*Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is now available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.*