The Yakuza series has a vibrant and long-spanning past. With Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth being the ninth main entry in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, it seems like it would be an extraordinarily lengthy process to get into the series to this point. But Infinite Wealth adds in neat ways to make you feel less left out if you are new to the series. That being said, there is an overarching plot to the entire Yakuza / Like a Dragon franchise that starts off as a mafia drama and eventually turns into something that is heartwarming and worth experiencing.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth picks up with Ichiban Kasuga one year after the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which saw the warring yakuza groups in the Yokohama district of Isezaki Ijincho disband and all the yakuza thrown into the wild. Kasuga sees it as his personal mission to take up the cause of his mentors and help them all out by trying to find their daily work.
Eventually, we see this come back to bite him, and he is left unemployed, as are his returning friends Koichi Adachi and Yu Nanba, while Seako Mukuoda remains unaffected. This is the starting point for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s main thrust: Kasuga must travel alone to Hawaii to reunite with his long-lost, long-presumed-dead mother.
“Kasuga has such a charismatic, goofy charm to him that you can’t help but root for him no matter the stakes, and it helps that he is just a good person.”
With Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth being a Yakuza game, the story is full of hilarious situations in which we find Kasuga, and soon, he gains a new group of friends, all with the same goal in mind: to find Akane Kashida. Like a dragon: Infinite Wealth brings back Kiyru Kazuma, the protagonist of the first seven Yakuza games, but this time as a permanent member of the party.
As I mentioned before, there is a long history of fantastic storytelling in the Yakuza series, but no game prior had me on edge like Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has. The number of times I cried, got angry, and was just genuinely excited for the reveals and surprise moments in Kasugas’ journey during Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth surprised me. Kasuga has such a charismatic, goofy charm to him that you can’t help but root for him no matter the stakes, and it helps that he is just a good person. He does whatever he can to help others, no matter the crazy antics they get up to. He is always there to help.
Having said that, a significant twist takes place around the halfway point of the game that oddly interrupts the momentum. That’s not to say it wasn’t welcome because, given the slow nature of this chapter, once it gets going, it’s some of the most heartfelt storytelling the series has ever done. Again, your mileage may vary.
As a fan of the series, this halfway point is where the callbacks start to kick in hard, and without having played the previous games, I could see this effect leading to some players checking out. For me, though, it was one of the most prolonged payoffs I’ve played, and I couldn’t help but sob and be fully invested in the moments as they came back to back.
“Turn-based combat makes a return in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, with your party having their basic exclusive job.”
Turn-based combat makes a return in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, with your party having their basic exclusive job like Kasugas’s Hero job or Eric Tomizawa (Kasugas’ new friend) having the cabbie job. At a certain part, pretty late into the game, you will be able to visit Alo-Happy Tour Agency to be able to learn new jobs as long as you meet some personality requirements which are raised by how you respond to your teammates and through the returning vocation school by taking quizzes based in both real world and in sega games.
It’s all well and varied, with some of the jobs being incredible, like the Gunslinger and Samurai. My issue comes with that I was roughly fourteen hours into the game before I was able to change jobs. It just made it a little harder to start playing around with jobs since they all start at rank one. But, the cutscenes that accompany the tours available were some of my favourites as they show Kasugas’ party just enjoying their time in Hawaii when suddenly an idea strikes them.
Yakuza and, more broadly, Like a Dragon are also known for their side content, not just in the form of quests but full-blown side activities, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth takes this to a whole new level. I easily lost fifteen hours on Dondoku Island, where your goal is to clear the island and turn it into a world-famous island resort. Think Animal Crossing, the stars meant you could get more money from guests and place new items.
It’s incredible; clearing the land gives you materials to craft furniture and buildings, increasing your crafting skills and unlocking new items to craft. Placing these items increases certain statistics of your island, such as whether it is more rustic, poppy or sleazy. Each guest has different requirements that will maximize the amount of money you get from them.
That’s not all there is to Donduko Island because, of course, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth couldn’t stop there! When you first arrive, and as you unlock new areas, the island is overrun with garbage pirates. To deal with them, all you have to do is take out your bat and swing it at them, but be careful, they will hit back. To increase the amount of HP you have, you need to equip your house with the same craftables as the island, so there is a bit of a balancing act involved.
“Between its incredibly touching story, engaging and addictive gameplay, the amount of joy it brought me daily was something I will never forget.”
The other huge side activity to Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is its own Pokémon game called Sujimon Battles. After a certain point, as you walk around, you can see raids where you and the Kasuga group will fight a group of enemies, and the leader will stay around after the fight, where you can ask them to join your Sujimon team. There are also other trainers to fight and a whole gatcha machine to help you get the rarer Suijimon.
Fighting Suijimon is just like fighting Pokemon, except it is 3v3, with each type having a weakness and a strength. Each Suijimon has its own unique abilities and gets stronger as it levels up and wins battles. Once you have enough growth, you can evolve them, which is just incredible that this is all just a side thing. Once you get to a certain level of trainer, you can take on gyms and eventually become a Suijimon master. The way it is just casually integrated into the exploration of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is incredible.
The crazy thing is that outside of their brief introduction in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, you can simply ignore these activities if you wish, which is wild and don’t do it, but it is an option. Doing them both also helps with what is probably the hardest thing to do in the game: make money. Getting involved in these and other sub-stories, which are little bitty stories about meeting wild characters in the world, is not only a way to get more involved in the world, but it will also help to line your pockets quite easily.
There was a lot to take in during my nearly seventy hours of playtime with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. And that’s without even mentioning the other activities that appear in the second half, as that would spoil the big twist. Or the weapon crafting and upgrading system that returns. But apart from last year’s Baldurs Gate 3, there are very few games that I enjoy to the fullest. Even my complaints about the longevity of the job system are more of a gripe than a complaint. It allowed me to get to grips with the roles I wanted each character to play before allowing them to specialize in certain trait roles, such as the Samurai’s incredible strength.
I have enjoyed the Yakuza and Like a Dragon series for a few years now, but I love Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Between its incredibly touching story, engaging and addictive gameplay, the amount of joy it brought me daily was something I will never forget. Not only is it an amazing game, but It is easily one of my favourite games of all time.
