I ’m look at a leisurely stroll throughLike a Dragon : Infinite Wealth ’s digital Honolulu City when I catch a eccentric sight . An honest-to-god man runs up to a food stand , regulate a shaved ice with no seasoning , and keep to toss it into the aura . He bolts off in a scare , and I preserve with my walk of life , chuckling at the aspect . Hours later , I ’m on the scepter of tears . It turns out that man is desperate to show his ail wife snow one more time before she passes away , a desperate attempt to make up for the lost time he spent act instead of cherishing the time he had with her .
Likethe best Like a Dragon substories , the self - incorporate narration sums up the massive RPG ’s sprawling level in a fraction of its runtime . Like a Dragon : Infinite Wealth , a sequel to 2020’sYakuza : Like a Dragon , is a complex epic poem about two grinder struggling to compute out what to do with the limited time they have left on Earth . One ’s simply facing a midlife crisis after a life - modify layoff ; the other is staring death directly in the typeface thanks to a sudden cancer diagnosis . Those two journeys come together to tell a life - affirming story about how it ’s never too previous for your life to begin — and it does that between engagement with a rogue Roomba with a taste for human blood .
Like a Dragon : Infinite Wealthis the most emotionally impactful chapter in gaming ’s best goop opera . It struggles to stay fully engaging from showtime to finish due to a supersized runtime filled with exhausting exposition dumps , but developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio birth a profoundly personal story that ’s serious without sacrifice its mettle . If any video game could get out you with a young rental on life , it ’s this .
A tale of two himbos
Like a firedrake : Infinite Wealthpicks up a few years afterYakuza : Like a Dragon , where Ichiban Kasuga successfully dissolve multiple Yakuza families in an consequence now known as The Great Dissolution . Life has been great for the affirmative hero since then . He ’s got a new caper assist reformed outlaw repay the workforce , and he ’s working up the courage to take his pal Saeko on a date . All of that , unfortunately , comes crashing down thanks to a serial of mishaps . Thus begin an enthrall narration that intersects with the remaining Yakuza families , a religious organization , and an animated VTuber with a hang for dig up dirt .
WhereasYakuza : Like a Dragonwas a “ ragtime to rich ” story , Infinite Wealthchronicles a more relatable climb up from rock bottom . Put all of the overpowering deep nosedive into the criminal netherworld apart , and you ’re left with a profoundly moving story about Kasuga trying to find a unexampled purpose in life after tying so much of his personal identity to a erratic job that did n’t bed him back . That journey takes him all the way to Hawaii as he searches for a female parent he never met ( who just so happens to be a novel target for the Yakuza ) , the first step in rebuilding his spirit .
That touching journeying works as well as it does , thanks to Infinite Wealth ’s duple protagonist setup . Yakuza Heron Kiryu Kazuma joins Kasuga ’s company this time , though he ’s still run in the shadows after faking his death inLike a flying lizard : The human beings Who Erased His Name . Kiryu sour out to be the perfect foil for Kasuga , and not just because he ’s a pessimistic loner . The Dragon of Dojima divulge that he ’s suffering from Cancer the Crab and only has six months to live , time he intends to spend work himself to death . It ’s through those two approaching to life and the ways we often have to fight to pull round that Infinite Wealth deport a poignant fib of hope . It ’s like theanti - Last of Us Part 2 .
While that frame-up does bring on plenty of self - reflective moment that are indisputable to stick with me farsighted - terminus , it does sell Kiryu ’s write up just a little short . The iconic hero act second fiddle to Kasuga throughout , only bring three of the game ’s 14 chapters fully dedicated to his fib . Ryu Ga Gotoku spends much of that runtime waxing nostalgic by tie off plot duds from Kiryu ’s previous adventure . Though a touching testimonial to Kiryu , there are time when it feels like a spot of self - indulgence for the studio as it reminisce on its history with the series and passes the flannel mullein to its raw hero . Less meter is spent in the present with Kiryu , which call for some power out of his loaded story .
Kasuga and Kiryu ’s weave journey make for a true video plot epic …
Even then , one could contend that the structural decision underlines the looming tragedy even more . Kiryu himself turn down to live for the second . He ’s self - medicate by wrap himself up in another criminal underworld conspiracy that dredges up a account he ’s perhaps too frightened to go out behind . Though his few chapters leave me desire , it ’s enough to deliver Kiryu ’s most sinewy intestine punch yet as he struggles to regain the one pail list item that weigh to him . He ’s not so dissimilar from that man throwing shaved ice into the air , desperate to create one staring consequence before it elapse him by .
postulate as a whole , Kasuga and Kiryu ’s interweaving journeys make for a true telecasting game epic that ’ll make you desire to put down your controller and call your mom .
The power of friendship
To reward those radical further , Ryu Ga Gotoku repeat down on its RPG systems introduced inYakuza : Like a Dragon . That game traded in real - meter wrangle for round - based conflict to underline Kasuga’sobsession with RPGsthat permit player grow over time . While that meta layer is less enounce here , the system is fine-tune just a bit to speak to a different theme : the major power of friendly relationship .
Everything that worked inYakuza : Like a Dragoncontinues to digest out inInfinite Wealth .
Interplay between party member is a bigger part of battle this time . By leveling up social bonds through collectible conversation and bar elbow room chats , political party member reach peaceful perquisite that work alongside traditional plan of attack and charm . They ’ll auto - attack pour down enemy more often and be able-bodied to pull off jazz band attacks with right positioning ( another organization Infinite Wealth smartly tweaks by letting character move within a rotary radius during tour ) . It ’s all another cagy reflection of Kasuga ’s character . He ’s a smart - eyed hero who holds his sleep with ones close and believes in the office of teamwork . conflict well emphasize that in the reworked system .
That does present a small missed opportunity when it comes to Kiryu ’s chapters . One would think that his isolated attitude would be a pure chance to leave his half of the story in Yakuza ’s old , solo brawling combat style . While that ’s not the case , Ryu Ga Gotoku ingeniously calls back to that in Kiryu ’s ultimate ability , in which he break out of go - base fight and start punch in real - clock time for a moment . That move interchange Kasuga ’s contrasting power , where his full party team up for a gamey - damage blast that evaporate big boss bars . It ’s a small modification , but one that effectively tot up up the difference between both submarine .
Everything that worked inYakuza : Like a Dragoncontinues to stand out inInfinite Wealth . Gear customization goes deep , Poundmates make for consistently hysteric summons , and wizardly animations are always a wild ride ( my personal favorite spell has to be Essence of Human Grating , a chef - themed onset that ’s exactly what it vocalize like ) . The late game ’s signature occupation organisation return with a bit of Hawaiian flair , too , bringing more playful absurdity to bash . Who does n’t want to see surfer Kiryu bashing foe with a rocket - powered surfboard ?
While there are plenty of left - arena additions like that that see the subsequence espouse the concept of “ jumping the shark , ” Ryu Ga Gotoku heavily relies on recall this time around . The eye - popping jest that madeYakuza : Like a Dragonsuch a delectation largely get recycled and duplicate here . Evil Roombas ? Animal - control tractor ? Helpful crustaceans ? A mint of memorable gags get an encore , go forth less room for Infinite Wealth to surprise in the same way its predecessor did . You ca n’t charge Ryu Ga Gotoku too much for going back to the well when the urine is this near , though .
Endless vacation
ThoughInfinite Wealthdoes play the hits , it makes one impactful change that get Kasuga and Kiryu ’s adventure feel special . The majority of the tale take piazza in Honolulu City , Ryu Ga Gotoku ’s biggest open - world locating to date . The Hawaiian locale is a welcome holiday from the streets of Japan , filled with sprawling beach and tangible local business sector that make it feel like a loving ode to the substantial city . The core geographic expedition has n’t changed , but the change in scene is a breathing spell of fresh air that has me hop the series keeps globe - trotting from here .
Switching to an American context give the studio more quad to encounter with social satire , too . Some of its good substories read as fierce capitalistic commentaries as the city ’s inhabitant grift one another or work themselves to the ivory to get by . One touching side - pursuit has Kasuga help a small boy run a dewy-eyed lemonade stand so he can give to buy his mentor a endowment before she go away town . That unassuming tale turns into a commercial enterprise repugnance story , complete with a avaricious “ political boss ” pocketing the net income .
Infinite Wealth is Ryu Ga Gotoku ’s biggest biz yet , and that ’s both its undecomposed and worst character .
WhereInfinite Wealthreally endure for broke , though , is in its minigames . TheLike a Dragon serieshas always been bonk for its over - the - top side content that seems to get large with each instalment . Memorable plus let in a hysterical Pokémon Snap parody about photographing perverts and a disorderly date app game that ’s one of the series ’ most laugh - out - gimcrack creations yet . Not every piece of side cognitive content is a winner ; the Pokémon - instigate Sujimon is a play concept that ’s a bit of a repetitive grind to in reality play . Even so , there ’s so much to do here that player can entirely ignore an entire side plot and still spend 100 hr exploring the flakey mankind ( I strike credit at 60 hours after taking in a punishing serving of side content , but I still had much more to do after ) .
Infinite Wealth ’s most important new addition is also its biggest . midway through the story , Kasuga detours to Dondoko Island , where players are introduced to anAnimal Crossingminigame . Actually , that word undersells the mode ; it ’s a macrogame . Dondoko Island is a full - on management simulator that has player turn a trash - filled island into a prosperous city . It ’s somewhat repetitive at first , with its emphasis on invariably collecting resource to craft items ( and it ’s an absolute impulse killer when it break the story ) , but it grows to a shockingly in - depth degree once visitors set out moving in .
It ’s Ryu Ga Gotoku at its most creatively energized , and it leaves me wondering what the studio could carry out if it select a break from the constant churn of the long - running serial . At the rate at which Like a Dragon is spring up , the studio apartment ’s hereafter feels unsustainable . Infinite Wealthis its biggest game yet , and that ’s both its best and high-risk quality . Everything is supersized like an American Meal Deal , properly down to discharge exposition that often grind the exciting story to a halt . The dual protagonist frame-up only exasperate that job by suffer players repeat the RPG ’s most tedious tasks , like retentive social link conversations , when swop party at the halfway mark . There ’s a running irony to the fact that players will have to expend so much time labor through a game about a torpedo who ’s determined to shape himself to death .
Put the sprawling criminal Hades saga aside , and you ’ll ascertain a much more focused account at the heart ofLike a Dragon : Infinite Wealth . It ’s a poignant tale of two middle - aged mankind fighting to reclaim their identities from a world that marries our self - worth to our job . Perhaps it ’s easier to drown ourselves in piece of work than to arrest down how we in reality desire to spend our short lives and with whom . Do n’t think of it as a somber send - off for Kazuma Kiryu ; reckon of it as an chance for one of gambling ’s best tale to find itself .
Like a flying lizard : Infinite Wealthwas test on a PS5 hook up to aTCL 6 - Series R635 .
