Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review (PC)

Like a dragon: infinite wealth brings back Ichiban and his crew for another outing, this time to Hawaii. Yakuza 7's transition to a turn-based RPG had the potential to backfire. However, it ended up being extremely popular and I was excited to see if the series could keep that momentum going. Even though we've seen three Ryu Ga Gotoku titles in the last year, this is the one franchise that makes me want to know more. Infinite Wealth was no different, which is an even more meaningful statement when you consider its generous runtime.

Aloha Yokohama, Aloha Hawaii!

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth continues the story of Ichiban Kasuga, the hero of Yokohama who has spent the three years since Yakuza 7 as a contractor at Hello Work, helping former Yakuza find gainful employment. The Great Dissolution of the Omi Alliance and the Tojo Clan left thousands of Yakuza without the means to make a living, and strict laws and social stigma left many of them desperate. As a result, these men flock from all over Japan to Yokohama to seek Ichiban's help.

Unfortunately, Ichiban's altruism ends up backfiring on him. Shortly after the game begins, Tatara Channel, a real criminal VTuber, publishes a defamatory article accusing him of taking bribes and using the ex-Yakuza to run a criminal network. As a result, Ichiban loses his job at Hello Work, and several of his friends are affected as well.

However, afterward, an old acquaintance hires Ichiban and tells him that his mother, Akane, is still alive and wishes to meet him. With mixed feelings, he travels to Hawaii to finally meet the woman who left him in a locker over forty years ago.

Along the way, Ichiban crosses paths with Kazuma Kiryu, who is also searching for Akane on behalf of the Daidoji faction. When it becomes clear that she is in danger, the two men join forces to find her before the elements of Hawaii's criminal underworld can.

Hawaii Blue

Unfortunately, Ichiban's character regressed somewhat in Infinite Wealth. Part of the catalyst for the events of Yakuza 7 was the betrayal of several people very close to him. You'd think he would have learned to be more wary of people's intentions in the three years since, but that's not the case. This time around, Ichiban's naivety isn't so much charming as confusing. For example, a major character betrays the party no less than three times during the game, one of which ended with the death of several allies. Despite this, Ichiban is ready to welcome them with open arms at the first sign of an apology.

This regression also extends to the plot as a whole. We often have the impression that the party has little power. You pursue a lead, it fails, and the gang is stuck waiting for an outside force to push them toward the next scene. Several times in the story the group gets stuck in a dead end and decides to go to the beach or something.

It's a bit strange, considering how often you're reminded that time is running out. The pace improves as the game progresses and you get the bigger picture. Yet it is sometimes comical to see how indifferent the party is to its main objective.

Luckily, the instant interactions between group members are still gold. So I decided to abandon the big picture and hang on to the ride rather than trying to understand the main plot. After all, when you're capturing homeless thugs as if they were Pokémon as part of a side quest, it should be easy to suspend disbelief as a whole.

The Dragon of Dojima says goodbye…. Again

Including Kiryu as a deuteragonist is also a baffling decision. Yakuza: Like a Dragon felt like a clear generational break. We saw the giants of the underworld, Kiryu, Majima, Saejima, Dojima and Watase, all come together and disband the major Yakuza alliances, bringing a climax to the story arcs we followed featuring the Tojo clan and the Omi alliance throughout the series. This also served to show that Kiryu is still there to do his job but the torch was being passed.

Instead of letting him go out on a high note, Kiryu was brought back as a shadow of his former self. Due to his considerable strength and influence, the plot constantly finds ways to nerf him. So he has cancer and can't use his real name because he faked his death. The result is that much of the game centers around him and the group mopes and laments his sad fate.

What's irritating is that everyone constantly reminds him that he shouldn't drink. Drink Links returns as a mechanic in this game, and almost every one of Kiryu's includes one or more comments about how he should watch his drinking due to his delicate condition, despite no murmuring about the ten times he has been shot, stabbed or beaten. the sidewalk during the last hour.

Tacticool

Combat, on the other hand, sees a huge improvement over Yakuza 7. Although battles are still turn-based, you can move each character a limited amount of space on each of their turns. Additionally, each skill now affects only one enemy or has an area of ​​effect. The fights are therefore much more tactical since you try to align your enemies so that your attacks do the most damage. You also get extra damage to your regular attacks from being close to them or attacking them from behind, making your party placement even more important.

Of course, not every fight will be exciting, so auto-battle remains an option. The AI ​​was pretty good at finding the optimal location and distance from which to attack, but if you leave it to its own devices, it tends to use skills every turn, which quickly depletes your MP. As such, I left it on “Don't Use Skills” when I used this feature for most of the game.

Enemy levels are much better balanced in Infinite Wealth than in Yakuza 7. They no longer end up being pathetically weak in one area and obnoxiously strong in others. Instead, enemy level scaling increases on each map at several points in the game. However, this doesn't scale for players (like Final Fantasy 8), so you'll still find that there are more difficult parts of the city. If you want, you can always outclass and make fools of all your enemies.

A slight but welcome quality of life improvement in Infinite Wealth is the Smackdown ability, which allows you to instantly defeat any group of enemies significantly weaker than your party. In the previous game, your best option was to enable auto-combat and exit zone, so I appreciated that this speeded things up.

Games within a game

It wouldn't be a Yakuza title without mini-games, and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has gone above and beyond in Infinite Wealth. You have the standard arcade games, Mahjong, Shogi, Poker, Blackjack, Koi-Koi, baseball cages, etc., which are staples of the series. You can spend hours playing it alone. However, the two big attractions are the Sujimon League and Dondoko Island.

If you've played Yakuza 7, you'll remember Sujimon Sensei and his quest to fill the Sujidex. This time you can do more than just observe these strange inhabitants; you can capture and fight them. That's right, this game offers a complete parody of Pokémon. You can catch, upgrade and evolve them in your quest to become the best trainer in the Sujimon League. This lengthy side quest is masterfully integrated into the main game but could easily be a separate title.

A huge side quest would have been awesome, but Ryu Ga Gotoku went bankrupt and developed Dondoko Island. Ichiban is taken to this destitute seaside resort and takes it upon himself to fight the pirates, polluting it with waste and restoring it to its former glory. Again, this is essentially another game within a game reminiscent of Animal Crossing. You clean up the island, unlock new areas, and eventually invite guests to visit your resort. Each guest has specific preferences that you will need to respect to please them, and you may be able to ask them to settle permanently on the island. There are a huge amount of props and structures you can build on the island, and you can let your imagination run wild.

These are my two favorite side activities so far in the series, and it's impressive how well they're integrated into the main game.