Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Over the years, Sega’s Like A Dragon series, which was once known as Yakuza in the west, has grown from being a niche game with a small but devoted fan base to something of a global sensation. This most recent installment of the criminal series maintains this trend, building on Yakuza: Like A Dragon from 2020 to create the largest and most bizarre chapter yet.
Beginning in the well-known Yokohama of the previous game, Infinite Wealth follows Ichiban Kasuga, an ex-yakuza member, as he attempts to do good by assisting other ex-offenders in finding gainful employment and reintegrating them into society at large. Soon enough, though, he finds himself lured back into the world of crime when he is dispatched to Hawaii in order to find his biological mother, whose destiny is linked to the yakuza clan that Kasuga formerly belonged to.
The series’ first overseas venture is set in a tropical location, offering a sunny escape from the neon-lit alleys of Kamurocho that typified previous installments. This isn’t an attempt to westernize the series, though; instead, Infinite Wealth draws on the lengthy history of Japanese immigration to Hawaii to preserve the distinctive character of earlier games while also giving Kasuga plenty of room to explore his role as a “fish out of water” as he investigates the darker side of paradise. He is a truly delightful main character who is both endearingly innocent and ferociously heroic, and it’s wonderful to watch him grow over the game. The game is full of jokes, including an extended Austin Powers-style scene in which a drugged-out Kasuga awakens on a beach; his modesty is preserved by strategically placed objects and camera angles. However, the game is interspersed with moments that still have the power to shock, whether through visceral violence or poignant drama, making for an unexpectedly emotional rollercoaster.
The way combat is handled in the game is less developed. Yakuza: LAD’s return turn-based system is slightly refined, leading to bouts that provide a generally pleasing mix of skill and strategy. For instance, it’s now easier to arrange your party members such that they may smash opponents with the objects around, and a better party relationship system enables a wider variety of combination and team-up assaults. The way that JRPG mainstays like magic and status effects are subtly incorporated into the actual world is also always entertaining. For example, Tomizawa, a recent ally, can act as a “mage” and launch electric attacks by hot-wiring a car battery or setting off flares in an opponent’s face to create a fire one.
However, some elements—like the Jobs system—feel constrictive. Although Kasuga and his group can assume a variety of fighting roles, such “Aquanaut” (beating enemies up with a surfboard), the ability to swap jobs is offered so slowly that it almost seems like an afterthought. This is a small element of a larger pacing issue that has long dogged the series; even the very basic feature of upgrading equipment isn’t introduced until chapter four, which may take up to 25 hours to complete if you’ve been pursuing every side quest and piece of content.
Although the combat style of the game easily fits into the JRPG category, the series’ true strength has always been the enormous number of play possibilities it offers. This is elevated to a new level in Infinite Wealth, which offers entire games within games in addition to the standard selection of minigames like karaoke, arcade games, and darts.
Yakuza: LAD’s insanely bizarre Sujimon makes a reappearance, transformed into a full-fledged Pokémon parody in which you list all the weirdos you’ve been taking down in Hawaii and then engage in combat with them in a fighting league to see who can be the best. In other places, Dondoko Island is similar to Animal Crossing in that it is a trash-filled island that is transformed into a five-star resort by clearing, tidying, and building. Would you rather play a dating simulation? Check out Miss Match, where the awkward Kasuga uses text messages to court suitable bachelorettes in Hawaii. There’s also a minigame like to _Pokémon Snap-_ where you have to take pictures of masked perverts that are hiding about Hawaii, and a Crazy Taxi-style game where you have to perform absurd acts in order to get tips as a bicycle courier. Both the quantity and quality of side projects in Infinite Wealth are astounding; several of them could easily stand alone as stand-alone releases, and the way they’re incorporated into the game’s overall structure is flawless.
But even with so much material, Like A Dragon is hindered by the constant pacing issue. Infinite Wealth sometimes feels padded and constrictive because of its propensity to drip-feed players features and some incredibly lengthy cutscenes and chat segments. Nonetheless, Like A Dragon has the potential to take the globe by storm if creator Ryu ga Gotoku Studio can ever get past their inclination toward extremely cautious handholding.