Getting old is never easy, something the Yakuza series’ long-running protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, is well aware of. His hair’s gone grey, his frame is thinner, and though his punches may be just as lethal, the (under)world around him is changing.
A far cry from its humble real-time brawler beginnings, the Yakuza series, like Kiryu, is also changing. The latest instalment, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, commits to the turn-based role-playing game (RPG) pivot established in 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon, finessing just about every element introduced in its predecessor. But more than that, Infinite Wealth holds the series’ past and future in both hands, raising the stakes in a tour de force thrill ride that reckons with the history of its characters and the series at large.
Infinite Wealth is set in the wake of the dissolution of two of Japan’s most prominent Yakuza clans, leaving the streets full of ex-mobsters unable to find work and creating a power vacuum that draws in old and new villains. This stirs up trouble and unites dual protagonists Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu in Honolulu, Hawaii. As Kasuga searches for his biological mother in the Aloha State, an ageing Kiryu resurfaces after faking his own death, forced to face his mortality once again. Alongside a string of new and old companions, Kasuga’s crew uncover a string of murky political scandals and strive to shine a light on a sensationally seedy underbelly.
To pull this off, Infinite Wealth has you forming a party of characters and exploring an open world full of hilarious substories and dangerous overworld mobs, with some formidable dungeon crawls peppered in between. As you build momentum, levelling character jobs and earning cash, Infinite Wealth’s network of symbiotic systems urges you to push on and reach the next moreish milestone. Setting goals is like opening Pandora’s Box. What begins as a simple hunt for crafting materials can lead you to a lengthy side quest, eventually twisting into hours of minigame antics – prepare to say goodbye to your sleep schedule.
Part of what makes Infinite Wealth so hard to put down is its overhauled combat system, which iterates carefully on the static turn-based battling introduced in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Your rota of teammates now has a circle of free movement to line up shots and grab environmental clutter to smack their enemies with, taking advantage of new proximity and knockback bonuses on top of the conventional Pokémon-esque weaknesses and resistances.
Positioning a clever shot to the back of your target will cause extra damage, whereas decisive directional hits can catapult enemies into other enemies or, even better, your teammates so that they can be chain-kicked across the battlefield. In this bad-guy baseball, tactical thinking is essential and plenty of fun, especially when you’re dealing with some of the game’s more eccentric enemies. Combatants range from greased-up lilo riders to douchebag ukelele strummers and sleeping bag snakes, and that’s just the tip of the character design iceberg – wait until you meet the giant shark.
Party dynamics have also been freshened up for Infinite Wealth, with deeper combat rewards – like punishing follow-up attacks and secret tag team abilities – tied to the bonds you build with your crew. Hitting the cabaret club and singing ‘Baka Mitai’ will bring your cohort together, and you can collect juicy tidbits about your compadres via collectable conversations scattered across the map, which amount to a heartwarming bingo board of friendship. What begins as a way to boost battle stats quickly becomes meaningful as the spotlight shifts from the game’s dual protagonists and onto their teammates, highlighting the complexities of their lives through unlockable side quests.
As if the tearjerking and action-packed campaign wasn’t enough, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth delivers a smorgasbord of side content to sink your teeth into. From comic relief crustaceous romances to devastating final requests, the substories are a feast of both silliness and sincerity. When it comes to optional boss fights, no animal or even inanimate object is off the table. Yet despite the short amount of time you spend with the game’s optional NPCs, many still have the capacity to worm their way into your heart and stay there long after the credits roll.
This memorable approach to worldbuilding is best recognised in Kiryu’s ‘Memoirs of a Dragon’ substories, which take you on a profound trip through the catalogue of developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, referencing iconic characters and moments from the series. It’s a complex emotional undertaking that highlights Infinite Wealth’s broader moral concerns, that of found family, legacy and what it takes to be vulnerable. As well as rewarding devoted players with some teary-eyed nostalgia, this sidecar acts as a clever way to get newcomers up to date on the library’s worth of lore attached to the series.
Our only concern with Infinite Wealth is that it could feel a little unwelcoming to new players, especially during the opening hours, given how much it relies on the lore of its predecessors. Callbacks to Kasuga and Kiryu’s previous appearances may not stick the landing without more context than is initially provided. Still, the game offers plenty of flashbacks, character profiles, and exposition to actively address this issue, which ramp up as you get deeper into the narrative and unlock Memoirs of a Dragon.
We’d be remiss not to mention the oxymoronic self-aware ‘minigames’ Infinite Wealth packs in alongside all of the above. Dondoko Island is a fully-fledged Animal Crossing-inspired island resort management simulator where you fish, catch bugs, craft furniture and host visitors. The Sujimon League, on the other hand, is a genuinely enthralling Pokémon dupe where you collect and battle surreal baddies in the open world.
Fortunately, Infinite Wealth blends its scale with consistently captivating combat and so many moments of heart and humour that we struggled to recall any particularly dull moments across its epic runtime. Like Kiryu, Ryu Ga Gotoku has embraced change, refining and modernising the Like a Dragon format, all while keeping the human core that makes the games stand out amongst its peers. This is an RPG for the ages and a heartfelt, accessible reset of a formidable series.
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth launches on January 26 for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. We played on PS5.
Verdict
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth evolves to deliver a refreshing RPG brimming with emotional sincerity. The tactical turn-based combat keeps you on your toes as you fall deeper in love with its cast of unconventional heroes, accompanying them on a memorable quest for reconciliation. And no matter how long our to-do list has become, thanks to its veritable treasure chest of exciting content, we’ll be coming back to soak up every last ray of Hawaiian sunshine.
Pros
- Revamped turn-based tactics breathe new life into the combat
- An emotive, unforgettable narrative
- A stupendous amount of quality side content
Cons
- The established history of the series could be overwhelming for newcomers