Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is already a franchise highlight, receiving the highest metascores the series has ever received.
04.01.2024 - 17:21 / destructoid.com
In 2020, the Yakuza series took a bit of a leap with its seventh entry, Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The lens shifted away from longtime series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu to newcomer Kasuga Ichiban, swapping out its real-time action for turn-based RPG combat in the process. It was, by most accounts, a rousing success. But there was still room to grow.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, then, seems like even more like a passing of the torch than its predecessor. And it was this shared custody of the spotlight that made me a bit nervous, going into a preview session way back in October. How would the focus manage both Kiryu and Ichiban? Why, after seeing one character hand the reins to the next, did we need to retread that ground?
After playing a hefty amount of Infinite Wealth, it seems like Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is going to try and pull this off in the grandest fashion possible. Two protagonists, two storylines, even multiple locales. And that’s not counting the added minigames and activities. This might just be the biggest world we’ve seen in the series yet.
But it’s the attention to little details, and the small tune-ups from its predecessor, that have me interested in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. RGG is going big, and so far, I think it’s panning out.
The basis of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is simple enough. From trailers alone, we already saw Ichiban trying to live out a normal life after the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. He works a job, picks up beer from the convenience store, and even goes on dates. But his past seems destined to return and haunt him again.
When I first took control of Ichiban, he’d made his way to Hawaii, retracing his mother’s footsteps. Kazuma Kiryu was already accompanying him, as well as two newcomers, taxi driver Eric Tomizawa (heck yes, more Erics) and health expert Chitose Fujinomiya. In the section I played, there were some opportunities to advance the plot forward, and also the chance to just mosey around in the open world.
Y’all, let me tell you now, I strayed as far from the objective marker as I could. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see more of Infinite Wealth’s story; in fact, the cutscenes I watched were quite good. A particular highlight was Ichiban and Chitose having a heart-to-heart on the beach, after helping out some locals.
But I wanted to see all the ways in which RGG was expanding this world, both in its side activities and in the RPG combat. Good news is, both are pretty robust. Hawaii is huge, beautiful, and there is so much to do in it that RGG has even added Segways as a transport option, just to get around a little faster.
Much like Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Infinite Wealth has a job system that takes the “job” part quite literally. Chitose, for example,
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is already a franchise highlight, receiving the highest metascores the series has ever received.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the highest-scoring game in the Like a Dragon / Yakuza series.
As soon as the trailer dropped showing Ichiban rolling through Hawaii on a segway in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, we knew we had to experience that for ourselves. While the real things are not all that exciting anymore, they are actually extremely useful within the game. If you expect to be given one as part of the story, you’ll end up with sore feet from hoofing it across the island. If you want to explore Hawaii in style, you’ll want to grab a Street Surfer as soon as possible. Here’s how you can snag one and get rolling!
There’s a new way to travel in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. While you can still pay taxis to get around Hawaii faster, you can also use a Segway-like device called the Street Surfer. This battery-powered standing travel device lets you zip around the streets, and you can mount it at any time. There’s just one downside. The battery life is limited and gets used up, so you’ll need to recharge at stations located all over the city. Using the Street Surfer is very simple and it can be summoned (or put away) at any time. You can even purchase higher capacity batteries from Hawaii Pawn Shops. The Street Surfer isn’t just limited to Hawaii either, you can use it when you travel back to Yokohama.
It’s easy to get breathless talking about Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
The best healing items in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth can be acquired right at the start of the game — the tricky part is just farming all the materials you’re going to need to make them. As soon as you arrive in Revolve bar in Little Japan, you’ll be able to bring ingredients to the owner to mix drinks and other healing items. These are by far the best healing items in the game, able to heal your entire party or heal both HP and MP at the same time.
Jobs are back in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth and they’re even more ridiculous. Instead of dressing up like Hosts and Idols your party can become fire dancers, hula girls or gun-wielding desperados. Some of the jobs are truly ridiculous, including a surfer that swings his board around like a club.
To craft the best gear in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, you’ll need rare materials called Geodes and Crystals. Geodes become easier to find in the very late portions of the story, but Crystals are always hard-to-find. If you’re looking for an easier and earlier way to get Fragments, Geodes, or Crystals — there’s a hidden vendor you need to check out. Here’s what you need to know about crafting late-game weapons and getting infinite crafting materials.
There are two major side-stories in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth — and the first you’ll find is the Sujimon League. In this extended parody of Pokemon you’ll catch various criminals, creeps and perverts and pit them against each other in pit fights. Battles are relatively simple, but the league gets harder the further you progress up the ranks. If you’re looking for a few tips to help you become Sujimon Champion, we’ve got the info you need. After completing the league, here are five details we wish we knew way earlier.
There’s no real explanation for it in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, but in the time between it and the preceding title, Ichiban has lost almost all of his skills, levels, and jobs. Even his personality stats are back to zero! That’s to be expected coming into a new game and just means we get to earn all those levels all over again in the tropical paradise of Hawaii.
Few phrases in video games send chills down one’s spine like, “It gets good after eight hours.” With that much time, you could beat Bowser in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, watch most of The Bear, or read The Great Gatsby — twice. It should be no surprise, then, that those six cruel words hang like an albatross around the necks of countless role-playing games collecting dust in my backlog.
In Chapter 9 of Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the Tattoo Parlor lady will demand $10,000 USD before she gives you any information you need about your missing person. That’s a lot of cash, but it isn’t impossible. Returning to Hawaii in Chapter 9, the enemies are much tougher and cash is easier to come by. There are multiple ways to earn the money you need, but there are a few ways that are extremely easy.