2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon was a refreshing pivot for Sega’s epic series about the Japanese underworld. It traded in fun yet repetitive brawling for Dragon Quest-inspired turn-based role-playing game battles. Now, new series protagonist Ichiban Kasuga is back for his second go-around in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, a sequel that successfully polishes its combat and takes the franchise to new heights in fantastical ways.
Picking up where last year’s Like a Dragon Gaiden left off, the sequel finds both Ichiban and original protagonist Kiryu on a sprawling misadventure taking place in both Japan and Hawaii. The Hawaiian setting is one of Infinite Wealth’s biggest assets, serving as a unique backdrop and giving the developer a whole host of different enemy archetypes to throw at players. It does lead to a few goofy elements — why does nearly every Hawaiian know Japanese fluently for the game’s side stories? — but getting to run up and down Aloha Beach is well worth a little clunkiness around the tropical edges.
As trailers have shown, Kiryu is not operating at full capacity as he’s losing a battle with cancer. This, alongside Ichiban looking to meet his mother for the first time, serves as the emotional ground for what is quite possibly the series’ most over-the-top entry yet. How ridiculous am I talking? The boss fight against a giant Jaws-like shark isn’t even the game’s wildest encounter — which says something for a series that has seen Kiryu take on a giant octopus, a fearsome bear, tigers, and more. It’s great to see a series that is in its ninth main installment still as creative and boundary-breaking as before while simultaneously taking players down an emotional path that celebrates Yakuza’s history.
The biggest improvement from Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the core battle system. Things are mostly the same from a system level, but it’s the quality of life changes and small additions that really make the combat shine. From showing where enemy knockback is going to explaining when a team-up attack will occur, there are more visual cues that help make it both intuitive and thrilling to set up your strategy. Even if you’re not using character skills (which are all incredible and fit the goofy character classes you can customize), you can have a strategic encounter that winds up being highly fulfilling. It’s a refreshing step up from the last game, where things would sometimes happen at what seemed like random.
The game’s overall structure has also changed for the better. There are no sudden difficulty spikes to fear — it even gives warnings in the form of level recommendations during several parts of the story. The process of leveling up your party and gear is particularly satisfying, as nothing beats getting an electrically charged bat that pummels foes. Ryu ga Gotoku Studio has really fine-tuned the gameplay loop from the first game, and it’s a more satisfying experience for it.
As always, there’s a lot of intriguing social commentary throughout the story. Both Ichiban’s infectious cheeriness and Kiryu’s search for a reason to keep on living lead to some incredible scenarios in the main game and its side content. Particularly interesting is how it tackles social media, livestreaming, and getting our news from personalities. For a game that can be quite silly, there sure are a lot of important life lessons and reminders to be ascertained from Infinite Wealth. That combination of heart and intelligence has been the series’ calling card, and it still shines brightly here.
Fittingly, there’s an infinite wealth of side content on display as well. From a Pokémon-style mini-game that sees you collecting ruffians and outcasts and pitting them in battles to an Animal Crossing-like island simulator, there are some fantastic diversions that will take dozens of hours of your life up after the lengthy story has concluded. I particularly loved the Pokémon Snap knock-off, which sees you photographing perverted sickos strutting their stuff in public while riding a trolley. It’s just as silly as it sounds and winds up being a total blast.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a resounding success. Ichiban and Kiryu both go on incredible adventures that broaden their characters while simultaneously telling an exciting crime story spanning two countries. Featuring much more polished gameplay and an improved structure, Infinite Wealth is one of the best JRPGs ever made.
SCORE: 9.5/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 9 equates to “Excellent.” Entertainment that reaches this level is at the top of its type. The gold standard that every creator aims to reach.
Disclosure: The publisher provided a PlayStation 5 copy for our Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth review. Reviewed on version 1.011.000.
