The Like a Dragon franchise, known in the West as Yakuza, has a long and storied history in gaming but has been, for the most part, a niche title to Western audiences. Following the story of Kazuma Kiryu, the franchise never became a mainstream hit outside of Japan, whether due to the lack of an English dub, poor marketing or the progressively higher barrier to entry as the series went on. Enter 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon, featuring new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga and turn-based combat, which proved to be a brilliant entry point for players to get into the franchise with wacky summons and crazy sidequests to distract them from the ongoing pandemic. Interest in Like a Dragon has grown exponentially with the subsequent release of the spinoff remake Like a Dragon: Ishin!, the Kazuma Kiryu-led Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name and now Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Infinite Wealth picks up three years after the events of the last game and we find Ichiban working for Hello Work, trying to help former Yakuza find jobs after the dissolution of the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance. After being accused of starting his own crime ring by a VTuber, Ichiban is tasked with finding his birth mother in Hawaii to give her the remains of his biological father, Masumi Arakawa. As he lands in Hawaii, he soon finds that his mother is missing and is a person of interest for many different crime syndicates. With the help of Kazuma Kiryu, who has been sent on a mission to Hawaii while battling cancer, and new friends, Kasuga must find his mother to get to the bottom of a conspiracy that spreads across the Pacific Ocean.
If you couldn’t tell from that premise description, Infinite Wealth is by no means the entry point into the franchise that Yakuza: Like a Dragon was. The main story has direct ties to the previous game, makes frequent references to plot points and many substories feature returning characters. While playing the first game is a requirement, you should at least watch or read a recap before diving in, even just to refresh your memory as a returning player.
There are also a lot of references to Kiryu’s games with him reflecting on his past experiences. As someone who never played those games, there was often a feeling of having missed out on some of the importance of these moments or cameos but the nostalgia never overpowers the experience. If anything, it only grew my desire to visit those titles one day.
Like a lot of JRPGs, Infinite Wealth takes a while to get going. The prologue section of the game is extensive and those itching to explore Honolulu may struggle to maintain their patience. The wait is certainly worth it as the story that follows is topnotch, filled with twists and turns, betrayals and redemptions, and seamless tonal shifts between emotional moments and the most absurd. It will have you so engrossed that you’ll quickly lose track of time.
The reason that a lot this game works is down to the character of Ichiban Kasuga. Brought to life perfectly in the English version by Kaiji Tang, Ichiban is a person that we all kind of wish we could be. While he is far from the brightest protagonist you’ll ever play as, he is one of the most giving, helpful and optimistic characters I’ve come across in gaming. His ability to see the best in those around him and his unbreakable belief in the good of his friends and others make him very compelling to embody. His capacity to forgive and sense of right and wrong is something we should all aspire to.
Kazuma Kiryu is also a compelling figure in his own way. Much of his story sees him looking back on his life as he has never been closer to having to face his own mortality. Yong Yea does a solid job of showcasing a man who for so long has been the strongest, now having to rely on others. While I can’t say for certain that this is the last we will see of him, this would be a very fitting final appearance for the Dragon of Dojima.
The turn-based combat of Like a Dragon returns and continues to be simple to learn, and hard to master. The option is there to just have Ichiban and the party auto attack, but if you dive into the system with the variety of knockback, grapple and elemental attacks and weapons, you’ll find a really rewarding and deep system to try to exploit to your advantage. Jobs return, allowing you to unlock a variety of special moves that you can carry over to another job if you increase your character bonds, allowing you to build your perfect class. Many new Hawaiian-themed jobs are introduced but some of the female jobs are a little bit questionable, with less variety than their male counterparts.
If you don’t feel like battling goons in Honolulu or Yokohama, Infinite Wealth has plenty of other activities for you to entertain yourself with. There are the usual Yakuza staples like karaoke, batting cages, gambling dens and arcade games as well as an assortment of new minigames. You can deliver food across the town Crazy Taxi style, meet the singles in the area with a dating app called Miss Match, take photos of the sickos plaguing the city while on Honolulu’s trams in the style of Pokemon Snap or try to conquer the Discreet Four and become a Sujimon master in what is sure to be the best Pokemon parody released this year. The other major side quest is Happy Resort Dondoko Island which sees Ichiban managing a neglected resort that he has to try to bring back to prominence by gathering resources and crafting a resort visitors would like to stay at. While I didn’t put a lot of time into this Animal Crossing-like mode, I saw enough to know that people will happily devote many hours to making the most beautiful resort you’ve ever seen.
Infinite Wealth is a beautiful game with the two contrasting cities at its core beautifully rendered and filled with lots of interesting places to visit and secrets and objectives to find. The special attacks and Pound Mate summons are some of the most wonderfully overtop things you’re likely to see this year. So much effort has been put into crafting each of the main characters that is jarring to interact with a person on a sub-story who has not had that same care put into them. While it isn’t immersion-breaking, it is at least one nitpick you can have against the game.
Having put 70+ hours into Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, I can safely say that this title is going to give more bang for your buck than many other games this year. With an engrossing story, compelling characters and more side activities than you can poke a bat at, the value alone on this title makes this well worth picking up. But more than that, this feels like a true passing of the torch for this franchise and I eagerly await the next adventure with Ichiban Kasuga.
