Review of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Like a Dragon is one of the rare series that successfully balances tone. Each game in the series requires a careful balancing act between lighthearted minigames and dramatic cutscenes, which may be quite mistake-prone. The eighth major game in the series, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, is the epitome of that delicate balancing act. Its gameplay and ideas alike revolve on the idea of balance.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is directly followed in every way by Infinite Wealth. Though earlier Yakuza/Like a Dragon games were mostly stand-alone affairs with the exception of sporadic callbacks, Infinite Wealth assumes that the player has already played Ichiban and Kiryu's travels and makes allusions to prior events in each and every chapter. This also holds true for the substories, many of which had characters Ichiban is acquainted with from Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
If this is your first Like a Dragon game, you can still follow along just fine (and there's a helpful refresher for novices), but if you're not a lifelong fan, you'll miss out on a lot of the story's significance. A lot of emotional gut punches in Infinite Wealth—from significant plot beats like fists flying between old friends to subtle callbacks like the Kamurocho fight music being a remix of the original Yakuza battle theme—just won't hit if you aren't a series regular.
Infinite Wealth feels, in more ways than one, like the true end of an era. For instance, longtime franchise face Kazuma Kiryu has had several sendoffs at this point, with Yakuza 6 supposedly marking the end of Kiryu's story even though he showed up to pass the torch to Ichiban in Yakuza 7 and then got yet another last hurrah in Like a Dragon Gaiden. Due to his cancer struggle, the Dragon of Dojima travels along a nostalgic path filled with familiar faces and feelings of nostalgia.
Throughout Infinite Wealth's main plot, Kiryu struggles with the legacy he is leaving behind, but his portion of the game really shines in the side content. Memoirs of a Dragon fill the streets of Isezaki Ijincho and Kamurocho, ranging from brief flashbacks to extensive substories. For Kiryu, every structure, every corner, and every dim alleyway contains unique memories. Fans will treasure every single one of Kiryu's recollections, which is evidence of the series' enduring appeal. Kiryu's journey is about rediscovering what it means to be a dragon, whether he's battling waves of thugs or having a peaceful conversation with an old friend.
Since Infinite Wealth signifies the actual passing of the torch between the two characters, understanding the real meaning of being a Dragon is also crucial to Ichiban's narrative. The two protagonist structure in the game is much more than just a marketing ploy. While Ichiban's version of the narrative is on the younger generation looking to the future and striking a balance between tradition and advancement, Kiryu's version of the story is about the older generation making amends for their wrongs and recognizing that there is a better way for everyone. Infinite Wealth tells an all too familiar story in the era of video games, but it does it in a manner that only a Like a Dragon game could—complete with dramatic naked fight scenes and excessively emotional karaoke sessions.
The show's first-ever venue outside of Japan is another way it looks to the future. Hawaii, the tropical paradise that Ichiban and company go to for the novel, serves as much more than simply a setting. The tale of Infinite Wealth is inextricably interwoven to Hawaiian history and culture. The game takes the time to examine the nuances of Hawaii, the exploitation of its culture and native inhabitants, and the reality of a tourism-dominated economy among the backstreet brawls and criminal drama. Naturally, because this is Like a Dragon, most of these issues are resolved via physical altercations, but Ichiban and the group's handling of Hawaii's cultural milieu greatly contributes to the character development of each of them.
Aside from the main plot, there are a ton of other things to do in Hawaii's streets. Infinite Wealth's primary side games are Dondoko Island and Sujimon. Sujimon is a cooperative fighting game heavily influenced by Pokemon that allows you to acquire the opponents you face in regular matches via a gacha system or by participating in sporadic raids around the wide world. Ichiban may construct structures and ornaments on Dondoko Island, an island builder modeled after Animal Crossing, to aid in the reconstruction of a failing resort that is under attack from the Washbucklers, an environmentally destructive gang.
Along with brand-new minigames like Crazy Delivery and Miss Match, you may also engage in standard activities like karaoke, but the real draws are Sujimon and Dondoko Island. Considering how extensive they are, it seems insulting to refer to them as "side content." The degree to which these activities are incorporated into the main game, however, is the true highlight of them. Sujimon raids, for instance, are common across Hawaii, and it's difficult to go more than a few blocks without coming across a Sujimon gacha machine. Additionally, you may invite friends and subplot characters you meet across Hawaii to stay as guests on Dondoko Island.
In actuality, the strongest point of Infinite Wealth is how effectively all its systems reciprocate with one another. You may employ Sujimon you catch using Ichiban's Sujimancer Job in regular fights. Your friendship with the other members of your party grows via dialogue and minigames, which opens up additional combination and tag team attack options. Look for recipes from Dondoko Island when you buy for medicinal supplies. Ichiban's personality levels may be raised by doing something as easy as saying hello to NPCs throughout the city. This will give him new fighting skills and unlock new Jobs.
The fact that there is little friction between all of the systems is the true triumph, even if this is nothing new for RPGs in general or Like a Dragon games specifically. Having natural discussions while strolling around the city and even earning points for bonding over hobbies like karaoke make bonding easier. Additionally, the game rewards connection-building via an enticing friendship bingo system. Sujimon stations entice you to make a few pulls and strengthen your squad by giving you free goods just for approaching them. Since every character gains experience—even those who aren't in your active party—leveling jobs are simple.
Picture: SEGAThe architecture of side missions and substories has also been altered to emphasize brief interactions with multi-stage stories. You won't have to spend more than a few minutes on them, and you'll want to move on to the next section as quickly as you can since they're so good. Playing Infinite Wealth will almost never cause you to think, "I don't have time for this," which is a huge accomplishment.
The fact that the basic mechanics are exciting also helps. Although Yakuza: Like a Dragon successfully made the switch from action to turn-based combat, Infinite Wealth improves upon that concept to create one of the greatest turn-based fighting systems seen in any role-playing game. It gives environmental assaults and positioning a lot of weight. Now that party members are allowed to travel about the battlefield throughout their turn, battles have more strategic depth. Aside from the fact that foes suffer greater damage when struck from behind, additional features include the ability for friends to make combo strikes by positioning themselves close to one another, the ability to pick up and utilize objects as weapons, and more.
All things considered, the fighting system is just outstanding, particularly when it comes to the ability to customize the Job system and add a new Skill Inheritance system. This mechanism allows you to apply talents from any Job to any character. It is feasible to have the damage output of a Kunoichi and the healing powers of an idol. As your party connections level up, you'll be able to inherit even more abilities, which will allow you to construct some very special builds.
It was a risk to introduce so many new features and give its side material such a strong emphasis, but Infinite Wealth exudes confidence in everything that it offers, making it difficult not to fall in love with it all. Similar to its lead character, the game blatantly displays its emotions. Reuniting estranged friends or helping a stranger find love can still be done, even while you're on the perfect Hawaiian vacation.
SEGA