Blake Hester is hard at work on Game Informer’s full review of the exceptionally long Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, but while he is gathering his final thoughts, I wanted to share my impressions so far.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth can be deathly serious when it wants to be. A character with a negative first encounter with the game’s protagonist, Ichiban, soon reveals he is in over his head with the local Yakuza and spends time in jail, leading to heartbreaking difficulties with his significant other. Ichiban is sympathetic and builds him up with his unique and often excessive brand of optimism. The moment is well-written and genuinely moving. Those moments (at least in the first 11 hours) are rare and hit hard.
The majority of the game is an absurdist fantasy in a believable (and this time, surprisingly American) setting, and I am learning from my early hours that maybe this is precisely what I want from video games as my real-life age nears Ichiban’s. Riding around the city on a Segway with new friends as we beat up locals who pick fights for nearly no reason is a bizarre joy. After approximately 10 Like a Dragon games (a few of which I have played), the team at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has basically perfected the bizarre tone of its series to create an experience that manages to feel grounded when it needs to but silly at every single moment it doesn’t. And it’s exactly the kind of story I want now – a tale of adults in a city just trying unsuccessfully to stay out of trouble.
Perhaps it’s a product of finally rushing to the end credits of Final Fantasy XVI so that I could dive into Infinite Wealth guilt-free, but I have grown weary of the high-fantasy (and science-fiction) melodrama of the typical RPG. Where Final Fantasy XVI felt like an impression of a video game for adults with its liberal use of profanity, violence, and brooding protagonist, Infinite Wealth feels strangely relatable despite being a game where you have a pet crawfish named Nancy that can help you in battle. Ichiban has to find his lost passport, make friends as an adult, deposit money in a bank, and learn how to establish boundaries and not take on too many benign requests from strangers (a seemingly impossible lesson for him to learn). I aspire to be him not because he’s a badass but because he’s nice and makes everyone feel good about themselves. And all that is happening alongside a turn-based combat system that is fun to watch play out.
These are all lessons we learned about the new face of the Like a Dragon series from Yakuza 7 in 2020, but with Ichiban’s rolled-up pants, sandals, and Hawaiian shirt, he’s more casual and inviting than ever. Infinite Wealth is a game for players with fond memories of the RPG genre who
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Honk-Honk NPCs are scattered all across map locations of Hawaii and Japan in and trade character buffs for money. Inspired by Puff-Puff side quests from the series, tracking down these people can make you stronger. However, it can be hard to find some Honk-Honk characters since they spawn randomly on your map.
The original NES console has a fatal flaw in the form of an unreliable pin connector that can make getting cartridges to work a massive pain on aging systems. Various aftermarket solutions have existed for some time, but they've all come with compromises and caveats. Now, at last, it looks like a group of modders have finally gotten to what might just be the perfect solution.
has a New Game Plus mode, but not all progress is transferred into it. New Game Plus is a common feature in RPGs with level-based progression. It allows players who have beaten the game to restart it, maintaining some of their progress. NG+ can include extra content, new difficulty levels, or, at the very least, an opportunity to make different story and character choices. In short, it's a way to keep repeat playthroughs fresh, and has been a staple in the series for quite some time.
Kuwaki is the first boss of and he serves as a tutorial challenge to ensure that you understand the fundamentals of battle. Trying to fight him head on can be dangerous, but use of various combat systems can make him manageable.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth received widespread critical acclaim from critics in the lead-up to its release, becoming the highest-rated game in the series to date, and it seems that’s being reflected in how the game is performing. Having launched earlier today, the game has got off to a solid start, if its Steam numbers are any indication.
Dondoko Island is a significant part of 's appeal, but how and when the experience can be accessed in-game isn't immediately obvious. The series, formerly published as in the west, has long been known for featuring memorable and unique side content and mini-games to accompany its more dramatic main stories. promises an even longer and more robust experience than any of the past games have ever delivered, and Dondoko Island might be the selling point that jumps out the most.
continues the saga of Ichiban Kasuga, heading up his second installment in the series formerly known as. Following up on Ichiban's introduction in and original series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu's brilliant reintroduction in , focuses on the dual heroes as they travel to Honolulu separately, but on the same mission: to find Ichiban's long-lost mother, Akane. The two eventually meet up and combine their efforts, discovering much more than they bargained for as they near the center of a seedy plot.
Unlocking jobs in is a vital part of the gameplay experience, as it allows players to focus their abilities and specialize in how they engage with the various situations presented in the title – be they humorous or simply tragic. is another installment in the series formerly known as, developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. The game is a direct sequel to the events of and follows both Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu in a joint adventure.
The goofiest boss in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is totally optional — but if you want to level up and prepare for the game’s biggest ultimate endgame boss, you’ll need to conquer the Robo Michio Rangers first. Instead of fighting just one Robo Michio, you’ll take on an entire team of color-coded rangers. Each one of these warriors has a different ability, and they’re incredibly annoying if you don’t defeat them in a very specific order. Grab your best Hero Bat because you’ll need everything you’ve got to defeat these killer mascots.