Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has fans excited for several reasons, like the return of likable protagonist Ichiban and a ton of new mini-games. However, fans are curious about the fate of previous Yakuza protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, who won’t be rotting away if this producer interview is anything to go by.
A trailer for Infinite Wealth revealed that Kiryu would be battling cancer in this new installment, making a ton of fans concerned for the character. While we don’t know what Kiryu’s fate in the RPG is, producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto told The Gamer he won’t just “rot away.”
“We also don’t want the story to be so bleak and predictable. We don’t want Kiryu to rot away or anything like that or end in that kind of dark tone, so we have a lot of excitement. The story has a lot of hope. It's what you want to see from Kiryu, right? Turning things around, having hope, figuring out what would be best for him and what would make him the most happy,” Sakamoto said.
It’s fair to say that Kiryu has been through the wringer in these Yakuza games, getting framed and almost murdered multiple times. However, those are situations he always found his way out of, usually through punching, so cancer is a much more real situation. Whatever happens, the devs will have to handle this situation delicately, since cancer is no joke.
Thankfully, Infinite Wealth will be packed to the brim with jokes to distract fans from Kiryu’s impending doom. Bringing back the amusing turn-based battle system is always fun since these moves tend to be over-the-top. Infinite Wealth also has a ton of mini-games that fans can spend hours on, including an Animal Crossing-style island sim that should be plenty of fun.
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Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC on January 26.