As the “Like a Dragon” (formerly “Yakuza”) series has gained momentum, anticipation for the next mainline entry has grown. “Infinite Wealth” improves on many of the gameplay elements from the previous game, and it’s absolutely packed with content. The downside is that its inconsistent pace and story dilute what is otherwise a great game.
The end of the previous game resulted in an event called “The Great Dissolution,” which dismantled Japan’s two biggest yakuza groups, forcing all its members to live as civilians. Protagonist Kasuga Ichiban works to help former yakuza find employment, and he’s soon sent to Hawaii to find his biological mother whom he’s never met. Things, of course, go off the rails like they always do in these games, and Kasuga gets wrapped in a global conspiracy.
While the game’s story starts off intriguing, it takes some obvious and cliched turns that make it harder to connect to. Hawaii is great as a setting, but it also presents challenges when translating a Japanese game set in a place where most people speak English. Many non-Japanese characters can speak fluent Japanese but have heavy accents when speaking English. The English dub of the game is fine, but definitely a step down from the original dub.
The saving grace is that the story’s conclusion is satisfying.
Kiryu Kazuma, the series’ former main protagonist, is also featured in this game. Eventually, the game focuses more on his tale as he tries to help Kasuga while dealing with a terminal cancer diagnosis. Kiryu’s struggle with his impending death gives the game a lot more emotional weight. If this is truly the last time we see Kiryu in one of these games, then it’s at least a beautiful sendoff.
The game’s turn-based combat system is mostly the same as it was before with some slight changes that make it more interesting. Positioning is now very important as enemies can be knocked into each other or your teammates to increase the damage. Part of the strategy is to set things up to pinball enemies around in order to maximize a turn and it’s pretty fun to exploit to this system.
The game also makes it easier to integrate skills from different job classes into one character so a player can create some incredibly powerful builds for their party.
These games are also known for being stacked with side content. On top of a load of sub-stories, “Infinite Wealth” adds two deep side games with Sujimon and Dondoko Island. The former is a “Pokemon” clone, and the latter is a “Stardew Valley” clone where you build up an island resort.
Both are introduced with tutorials, and while the Sujimon one was fine, the Dondoko Island introduction is like a brick wall that brings the game’s pace to a halt. While one can sink a couple dozen hours into the island, going through all of its content can be slow and tedious.
Overall, the side content in the game is a mixed bag — while some of it is great, the other chunk feels like a waste that doesn’t offer any fun gameplay or even humor.
The highs of “Infinite Wealth” are great so it’s a shame that its lows make the overall package feel less consistent than the last game, “Yakuza: Like a Dragon.” Combat is better, Kiryu’s story has fantastic payoffs, but the story is poorly paced and struggles to juggle two protagonists doing different things. “Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth” scores four stars out of five.