Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review
23.01.2024 - 15:11
/ ign.com
/ Danny Trejo
/ Kazuma Kiryu
As a longtime fan of the series, 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon came as a bit of a shock to my system. Fun as it was, the sudden switch to stop-start, turn-based JRPG attacks was a lot to get my head around after more than a decade of enjoying the series’ signature combo-based beat ‘em up action – a bit like spending over 10 years getting really good at thumb wrestling and then being asked to play chess. Thankfully its follow-up, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, substantially retools the combat system: it’s still turn-based, but the tactical decision-making introduced by its predecessor is enhanced with more flexible movement and proximity-based attacks that better reflect the rough-and-tumble tactility of the traditional Yakuza street fights. As a result, Infinite Wealth’s brawling feels more like the best of both worlds, and its stunning new Hawaiian setting provides the perfect playground in which to unleash its superior style of smackdown.
Main hero Ichiban Kasuga returns from Yakuza: Like a Dragon and remains the loveable human labrador that he was before – unwaveringly upbeat no matter how often he’s beaten down – and this time he’s paired up with series stalwart Kazuma Kiryu, who we find in a more reflective mood due to his recent cancer diagnosis. This odd couple travels to Hawaii in search of the biological mother that Kasuga has never known; however they soon find themselves caught in a compelling conspiracy involving a local religious sect and multiple crime syndicates. The ensuing mystery quickly takes some dramatic twists and turns without ever becoming as tangled as some of the more convoluted plots of the series’ past. Along the way a number of contemporary issues like environmental mismanagement and the spreading of online misinformation are explored, and all of those themes mixed together to give me more to chew on than a konbini bento box.
The core supporting cast from Yakuza: Like a Dragon are also along for the ride, joined by likable locals Eric Tomizawa and Chitose Fujinomiya, and there are some wonderful scene-stealing villains to encounter. That includes a mob boss played by a gruff-as-ever Danny Trejo, whose contract may or may not have stipulated that his character, Dwight Mendez, wields a pair of machetes. Despite the fact that some of the lengthier conversation cutscenes took longer to wrap up than a phone call from my parents, by and large I found the writing in Infinite Wealth to be some of the strongest in the series to date, whether it was during the heightened moments of serious drama or the many lowbrow bursts of comic relief. As was the case with the gang’s previous adventure, I particularly enjoyed the idle banter between them as I roamed the streets – whether they were
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