Much like new series protagonist Ichiban Kasuga, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a game that wears its heart on its sleeve, delivering a gorgeous sendoff for long-time franchise icon Kazuma Kiryu while solidifying its future on the shoulders of one of the most charismatic and lovable RPG protagonists I've ever had the pleasure of spending my time with.
Infinite Wealth's story is still undoubtedly an Ichiban-led one, delving into the aftermath of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The Dragon Quest-obsessed ex-yakuza is shipped out to Hawaii out of the blue, with the sole mission of meeting his presumed dead mother, Akane Kishida, only to find himself dealing with muggers and arrested by the local authorities for public indecency almost immediately.
Along the way, Kasuga runs into the Dragon of Dojima himself. Perhaps as faith would have it, Kiryu also finds himself enjoying the beautiful tropical scenery of Honolulu for the personal reasons explored in Like a Dragon Gaiden, or so we're led to believe.
The story takes some time to build up as we discover there's a more sinister reason for Ichiban and Kiryu's run-in in Hawaii than mere coincidence, but it's by no means a bad introduction. It carefully sets each piece of the puzzle, and builds up an interesting, intriguing aura around Akane and why she's of the utmost importance for Ichiban and seemingly every crook in Hawaii.
Those early hours are also heavily carried by the sense of wonder that Honolulu brings to the table. The series goes international for the first time, doing it with the charm and attention to detail that Ryu Ga Gotoku is known for.
Real-life convenience shops like ABC Stores are aplenty, you can even indulge yourself in fine dining at 53 By The Sea. Despite the franchise not being known for cutting-edge (or at times even serviceable) visuals, it's hard to deny that Honolulu looks nothing short of gorgeous, an impressive feat considering series vet Masayoshi Yokoyama has gone on record stating that the Dragon Engine is getting "a bit old."
If you've never played a Yakuza/Like a Dragon game, the elevator pitch most people default to is calling it "Japanese GTA," which in all honesty, couldn't be farther from the truth. The game has open-world conventions, especially after the series grew past the limitations of previous console generations, but it never centred around massive sandboxes where players could immerse themselves by doing mundane tasks — rather, RGG Studio creates playgrounds filled with ridiculously fun and addictive side activities as well as plenty of characters to interact that range from the wholesome to the absurdly bizarre.
You'll immediately want to start exploring everything the city has to offer and believe me, it's a ton. Luckily RGG knows how to ease you into what otherwise could be an overwhelming experience. The initial area in Little Japan will offer a bite-sized piece of what's to come — substories that will give you a glimpse into the characters you'll run into, shops to purchase items and gear, and of course, the minigames.
Side content is integral to a good Like a Dragon game, and Infinite Wealth met the expectations I had from previous ones. While I missed the addictive nature of micromanaging Ichiban Confections, the hilarity of Crazy Delivery, a Crazy Taxi-inspired minigame in which Ichiban has to hand deliver food while popping wheelies, doing backflips, and jumping over buildings, quickly made me forget about it.
Then there's Dondoko Island and a whole set of substories dedicated to Sujimon. The first could very well be worth the price of the game on its own — featuring in-depth building mechanics, you can design your dream paradise in a small, abandoned island as you try to revitalise a forgotten tropic paradise and turn it into a five-star resort. You'll do so by gathering resources, cleaning up areas, crafting buildings, purchasing recipes, and inviting people you meet across your adventure to come and enjoy the resort you've built from the ground up.
If the Animal Crossing vibes of Dondoko Island aren't your thing, then becoming a Sujimon master might be right up your alley. If it wasn't obvious enough, yes, this is a riff on Pokemon, with Ichiban being thrown into the morally questionable world of Sujimon battles.
Expanding upon Like a Dragon 7's idea of a Sujidex where you could register every type of enemy you encountered, Infinite Wealth has actual Pokemon mechanics tied into its regular gameplay.
You can capture Sujimon after you defeat them in regular turned-based battles and use them in 3v3 Sujimon combat, level them up until they're ready to evolve, earn items via Suji Spots, capture special Sujimons via raids, and even take on an elite society of trainers named the Discreet Four, any of that sound familiar?
Dondoko Island, Sujimon, and Crazy Delivery are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to side content. You can fish, you can get catfished on a Tinder-like app, play Virtua Fighter at arcades, lose your money and patience at crane games, shoot some darts, play poker, make friends via Aloha Links, take photos of sickos doing sicko things (this sentence makes sense with context, trust me), go to hostess clubs, keep ignoring shogi because no one knows how to play shogi and naturally, hit the karaoke bar where you can play classic Yakuza/Like a Dragon tunes and new certified bangers (shoutout to Honolulu City Lights). In fact, karaoke isn't the only returning fan-favourite minigame, but I won't spoil some of the surprises the game holds.
Once you've enjoyed the true Like a Dragon experience, it's time to jump into what many call the true side-activity — the combat. The turned-based gameplay that started with Yakuza: Like a Dragon has been refined almost to perfection in Like a Dragon 8.
Rest assured that turn-based combat is here to stay, despite the return of Kiryu as a playable character in a main Like a Dragon entry following the smaller spin-off Like a Dragon Gaiden. So let's get that out of the way, if you didn't enjoy the gameplay in Like a Dragon 7, you won't find much enjoyment in what Infinite Wealth has to offer.
The refinements range from little quality-of-life improvements that give players more authority over how combat plays out to more battle mechanics that spice up the experience. Instead of being static, you can now move your characters in a small circle, which will increase in size as you level them up.
Positioning is key to taking advantage of different situations — maybe you want to pick up a bicycle that's nearby, get a damage boost by performing an attack from the back, pair up with another party member to do a combo attack or deal serious splash damage to a large group of enemies with area-of-effect attacks.
Another interesting addition to the game is that enemies will no longer interrupt your attack if you decide to go for someone who is far away. It was frustrating to deal with constant interruptions during gameplay in Like a Dragon 7 without feeling completely in control over it — you would lose your turn and take damage, breaking the flow of combat when you tried to land a finishing blow on a downed enemy that just happened to be slobbering all over the floor right behind their impish companions.
Hype Meter and Tag Team attacks also spruce up the combat. Tied to bond levels, a neat system that makes its return from LAD7 and lets Ichiban and Kiryu get to know the rest of the party members better, Tag Team attacks are powerful tools that can save you from a tight spot if used correctly.
The Hype Meter serves a different and much cooler purpose for Ichiban and Kiryu, however. For the former, it gives him access to Ultimate Tag Team attacks, some of the flashiest, most outlandish, powerful attacks in the entire game. For Kiryu, it lets him trigger the Dragon's Resurgence ability, which allows the Dragon of Dojima to literally break the contraptions of Infinite Wealth's turned-based system and go full brawler for a set amount of time.
Overall, combat feels smooth and fun, incentivising experimentation thanks to the plethora of jobs at your disposal and the ability to inherit skills, creating your own combos and synergies. Think of jobs as typical class systems in other RPGs, just that instead of being a Cleric, you're a J-pop Idol. Each character has its own exclusive starting job and can take on multiple ones throughout the course of the game.
Ichiban in particular has three exclusive jobs, one of them being the Sujimancer, which uses Sujimon to dish out serious damage. While not the most optimal job, the fun factor of becoming an actual sorcerer made up for it.
Having a ton of jobs does wonders for combat variety, as well as an expanded cast of playable characters. Seonhee, first introduced as the stoic leader of the Geomijul in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, is now playable. Fan-favourites Zhao, Joongi, Saeko, Nanba, and Adachi also return, joining newcomers Chitose Fujinomiya and Eric Tomizawa, for a total of eight party members that will aid Ichiban and Kiryu at different points in the game.
Depending on your playstyle you'll gravitate towards some characters more than others, but I highly recommend you take the time to deepen the bonds with all of them as you'll get to see one of the best parts of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth shine — the dialogue.
Each character feels fleshed out with surprisingly compelling backstories that add more nuance to who they are and how they came to be. Won't into too much detail but Seonhee's relationship with Kiryu was a particular standout.
Of course, Ichiban's gleeful, earnest nature stands above the rest and Infinite Wealth keeps reminding us that Kasuga's biggest strength is not his overactive imagination, battle skills, or unique fashion sense but his ability to look on the brighter side of things and his unbreakable desire of finding good even in the worse people he encounters, like a true shonen protagonist.
During my time with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, I hardly found anything to dislike or hate about it. However, the game's pacing could have been better. RGG Studio did a commendable job in managing two protagonists, but the game suffers a bit while trying to balance both their stories simultaneously.
Experiencing a shocking revelation at the end of a chapter and then being thrown back into Yokohama to continue reminiscing about Kiryu's life creates a bit of a whiplash effect. Still, I feel those quiet, laid-back moments you get to experience with Kiryu away from the main plotline if just for a few hours, are worth it in the end, since I couldn't think of a better way to pay tribute to a character that's become larger than the franchise itself.
Seeing such an imposing persona like Kiryu deal with the inevitability of death after learning he has cancer is fascinating. There's plenty of surprises for fans, from old comrades making a return to perhaps places you'd thought you'd never see again, with Kiryu having his own set of tasks to complete via a bucket list. Tears were definitely shed and I'm pretty confident I won't be the only one.
I wish that pacing was the only complaint I had, but sadly, the complete absence of New Game Plus, which is tied to the Deluxe version of the game, has left a sour taste in my mouth.
It's particularly egregious for a game like Infinite Wealth, which keeps introducing new features halfway through, robbing players of a potential second run with all the tools at their disposal unless they fork out the extra cash.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is one of RGG's finest and most ambitious titles, the consecration of Ichiban Kasuga as the perfect heir to Kazuma Kiryu, and a love letter to those hardcore fans who have stuck with the franchise for the past 20 years.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was reviewed on PS5 with a code provided by the developer.