Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth manages to mostly avoid the pitfalls that come with being a direct sequel of a video game. While the story can sometimes have pacing issues and feel bloated, its incredible cast of characters, fun gameplay, and amazing side content make Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth an unforgettable adventure.
In many ways, Infinite Wealth is very similar to its predecessor, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, except much bigger in scope. Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku doubled down on what made the first game great. But because Infinite Wealth is a bigger game, it feels less focused this time around. However, its attempt to split the cast of characters between two parties helps to stomach the experience.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is releasing during a hugely stacked period on January 28, 2024, along with upcoming games like Tekken 8, Persona 3 Reload, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. After playing 45 hours of it, Infinite Wealth is certainly a game you don’t want to miss.
A tropical breeze
Our lovable and goofy main protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, makes his return as he tries to work an honest job as a recruiter to help other fellow Yakuza integrate back into Japanese society by giving them work. One day, however, he gets an assignment that sends him to Hawaii in order to find his birth mother who was presumed dead.
Credit: Ryu Ga Gotoku StudioKasuga encounters the franchise’s previous protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, who also happens to be looking for Kasuga’s mother, too. As their goals align, they work together to track her down. For the majority of the game’s first half, both Kasuga and Kiryu explore Honolulu. The refreshed setting was an excellent and convenient way to introduce brand new allies, as Kasuga’s buddies from the first game are still in Japan.
However, the sunny adventure is repeatedly interrupted by the introduction of mini-games, though it's genuinely impressive how well thought out they are. There are two main ones, the first being Sujimon League, which is a Pokemon-like mini-game where you try to collect the various types of enemies you encounter throughout the game and have them battle each other.
The second one is called Dondoko Island, an Animal Crossing game mode. These are fun and you'll sink dozens of hours into them. But you’re forced to go through their tutorials during the story, which kills the pacing and destroys the story's immersion.
Credit: Ryu Ga Gotoku StudioLater on, when the story takes dark turns, your time is split between both Hawaii and Japan in a sort of dual-protagonist structure with Kasuga and Kiryu, similar to Alan Wake and Saga Anderson in Alan Wake 2. This allows you to easily keep up with the events that unfold in both places since they’re now being experienced by two different parties.
Splitting the party also lets each of them have their own smaller, sentimental moments between the characters while still keeping the story’s scope as grandiose as it is. Furthermore, it uses this as a great opportunity to reintroduce Kasuga’s previous buddies and get them acquainted with Kiryu.
Don't fix what isn’t broken
After 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon overhauled the franchise’s traditional real-time action gameplay into turn-based combat like classic Final Fantasy, Infinite Wealth continues that trend. This is where it gets incredibly silly, as we have Kasuga pretending his baseball bat is a sword and Nanba, his friend, throwing birdseed at enemies to summon a flock of pigeons to attack enemies.
Credit: Ryu Ga Gotoku StudioEvery single skill that these characters have is imaginative and heartful, making me genuinely laugh when I use them. My personal favorite of mine is former police officer Adachi; one of his attacks literally has him making a citizen’s arrest and has a chance of permanently removing an enemy from the battle. The way that realistic moves are reimagined into RPG attacks makes for a truly unique aesthetic and had me engaged throughout the entire game.
However, the main issue I had with the battle system is that multi-target attacks were very hard to aim precisely as everyone constantly skirted around the battlefield. While positioning is an important factor in battle, it was frustrating trying to find the right angle for my attack so that I could hit as many enemies as possible.
Sometimes, I would even wait a few seconds to see if a nearby enemy would come back into my attack’s proximity. It was also equally obnoxious when I was ready to fire off my attack and one enemy just decided to run to the opposite side of the field at the last minute. Unfortunately, Infinite Wealth doesn’t make any improvements to this at all from the previous game.
Infinite Wealth also takes cues from its inspirations and has a job system. Characters can switch professions, learn different attacks, and earn stat upgrades. It keeps the gameplay fresh and you can experiment with different formations to see which best fits your playstyle. Are you a cautious player? Switch your female characters to the Idol class and unlock their healing abilities!
Exploring the city
Most of Infinite Wealth takes place in Hawaii, a vast departure from the traditional Japan setting we’ve seen throughout the entire Like a Dragon/Yakuza franchise. I was tired of seeing the typical Kamurocho and Ijincho cities for the past several games. When I saw the bright Hawaiian sun, it gave me a sense of renewed vigor and optimism I haven’t felt in ages. The change in scenery also let me appreciate what the developers were able to showcase. The towering palm trees, soft beaches, and gorgeous sunsets make me feel like I was in a Grand Theft Auto-like adventure.
Credit: Ryu Ga Gotoku StudioAs you explore the cities, you’ll come across sub-stories, which are unserious and fun side excursions that help balance the story’s serious stone. In one side quest, Kasuga works as a stunt double for a maniac director who doesn’t believe in CGI and wants him to dodge incoming cars to preserve the realism of the movie.
Throughout the cities, whenever the parties come across certain buildings or landmarks, they’ll make comments about them and chat amongst themselves. These conversations are non-intrusive and take place even as you’re still moving, making you feel immersed in the environment.
There’s also an incentive to seek out these conversations, too. As you engage with more side content and conversations, you’ll earn money and obtain rare items. Furthermore, your friendship meters with your party members will increase. Once they reach certain levels, you can sit down and have drinks with each of them, which unlocks their ultimate skills and ability to do follow up attacks in battle.
It’s rare to find a game with this much budget behind it while also having a tremendous amount of heart. Insomniac’s Spider-Man games and their New York settings are some of the only ones that can actually compare.
However, unlike those more concise experiences, Infinite Wealth will easily take up over a hundred hours of your time if you intend to explore everything it has to offer. It comes close to buckling over the sheer weight of its own content, but Infinite Wealth has many high highs and very few low lows.
