Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the latest in the Like a Dragon/Yakuza series, developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by SEGA. While the name may have changed following Yakuza 7, the newly monikered Like a Dragon has taken everything that made the original Yakuza series fun but switched the combat to turn-based and involves having a party of friends. These games are known for their immersive storytelling and unpredictable twists, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is no different. The game features a returning Kiryu Kazuma as a party member for Ichiban, and with these two combined, players will feel almost invincible.   

The game starts slowly, don’t don’t worry as it suddenly becomes more action-packed once you reach Hawaii in the second chapter. Ichiban is working at a job centre, trying to help ex-Yakuza members find employment. He feels a sense of responsibility towards them, given his role in disbanding the Yakuza. He knows that it will be difficult for them to reintegrate into society and find regular jobs, so he’s going above and beyond to help them rehabilitate. However, he loses his job after being sabotaged, which makes him feel defeated. Later, an old Yakuza acquaintance informs him that his birth mother might still be alive and wants to meet him. She’s living in Hawaii, so Ichiban is given tickets to visit her. This is where the story takes unexpected and thrilling turns.

The vibe of Infinite Wealth is generally quite light-hearted. Ichiban is a kind, selfless, free spirit of man always caring about others. He is incredibly naïve and it is hard for us to hate him, though there are plenty of people who do have a beef with Ichiban for no reason and there is always a fight around the corner. This series as a whole has a unique way of distracting you with lots of entertaining side quests and mini-games and suddenly when the main story progresses you forget you are still dealing with the gritty Yakuza world. You can go from helping a kid deliver lemonade and protecting a tourist from getting ripped off to witnessing the brutal murder of a random person who was walking about at the wrong time.

                Looks wise it is incredible; from the busy city look of Japan to the bright beach life of Hawaii, everything looks shiny and detailed. The cutscenes look incredible and for the amount of content pumped into the game, the graphical standards are still very high. The maps you play on are pretty large so there is plenty of ground to cover and thankfully the taxis are still in the game to fast-travel to certain areas. But you have also been given tram-like trollies to help you get around too. Once you progress in the story you also get your very own Segway to get about which is a novel little vehicle to use that you also get to customise, though you do have to pay to charge it up now and then.

Second Opinion

After finally being pulled into the Like a Dragon universe with The Man Who Erased His Name last year, I was keenly anticipating trying this new entry out. Turn-based combat is a bit of non-starter for me usually, but the way it is implemented here is actually incredibly engaging, and I’ve found myself actively going towards fights to try and get a better handle on it.

I’ve also found myself heavily invested in what’s going on despite not really knowing too much about how we got here. The cutscene work and acting is top notch (though I must agree with Graham on Kiryu’s voice acting not quite hitting the spot for me) and it’s both hilarious and deadly serious at the same time.

I’m only a little way into chapter two so far (there’s too many damn games already this year) but it has absolutely got its hooks into me. It’s silly, fun, heart-wrenching, packed with things to do, and…it’s gonna take me a while to fully appreciate the entire game, but you can bet I’ll be plugging away at it over the year in between other, less time consuming titles.

Jamie-EIC

The voice acting for the Japanese voices is as decent as it always has been. From Kiryu’s low, stoic tones to Ichiban’s relentless chatter, they are still on point. For the first time I can remember they have added in English-speaking voice acting which does make it more accessible to the English-speaking market but for someone like me who has played a lot of the games in this series, the English-speaking voice for Kiryu does not fit. It’s not that it is bad voice acting, it’s just for someone with such a recognisable tone to sound so different I didn’t enjoy it. Imagine Darth Vader had the voice of Mickey Mouse, it just didn’t work for me so I am happy with English subtitles to keep the Japanese voices.

                The combat is similar to Yakuza 7 game in that it is a flowing turn-based system. The order of who attacks when is decided by the stats, but rather than just standing one side facing another, the game allows some movement to make it feel more real-time. You can move your character before attacking to make use of angles to knock an enemy into another or to pick up a nearby item to use as a weapon which is a nice unique take on turn-based combat. You have items that you can use to restore health or MP which is needed to use skills or battle items to hurt or give an enemy a debuff. The skills are depending on your character and the job role they have assigned. This works similar way to fantasy games where you can learn skills as a mage and then change jobs to an archer for example, except in this case, the jobs are more connected to their lives; Ichiban’s job is a hero and Kiryu’s is the Dragon of Dojima, for example. But as you level up Ichiban and develop his personality by completing tasks and making friends eventually you will have the chance to switch to different jobs to learn more battle skills.

                Let’s not beat around the bush; what makes this game popular is the volume and variety of content to enjoy in and outside of the main story. A lot of the regular activities from the previous games are still there like golf, baseball, the arcade, darts, karaoke, the grabber machine and visiting a hostess. The games in the arcade have been changed up this time and you can now play Sega Bass fishing, SpikeOut and Virtua Fighter 3tb as separate games within this game. There are also so many activities to enjoy like taking photos of weirdos whilst riding the trollies, delivering fast food in the style of Crazy Taxi, and cleaning up trash from the beach.

The most in-depth of them is the new Sujimon battle system. Quite obviously a parody of Pokémon but with Sujimon, you battle with the enemies you have fought along the way alongside some familiar faces. The idea is that after you have had a normal fight/battle with an enemy there may be an occasion where you can capture the enemy to use as a Sujimon. Just to play on the parody there are raids and even leaders to beat to progress your Sujimon skills.

                It’s safe to say that RGG Studio have done it again, delivering a game that is insane value for money. There is a lot of content to enjoy with the main story, the mini-games, side quests and activities and I haven’t even mentioned them all.  There is an encouragement to indulge in a lot of the side fun to help level up your party as the main quests advise you to only try and progress if you are at a certain level. But they have made so many side activities that you are bound to find something you enjoy.

Conclusion

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a wonderful sequel and I can’t speak highly enough about how this game looks and plays. The story plays with your emotions like always, but it keeps you enthralled throughout. Even if you want to take it easy the game just can be played for the side activities which can just as easily keep you busy.  The fact there is so much content in here is honestly staggering, and I can see players both new and old finding at least something in here to enjoy.

This game was tested and reviewed on Xbox Series X/S. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.