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| By https://www.xbox-now.com/en/game/20146/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth-standard-edition, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75041798 |
I am not going to write a full-on review about the newest entry in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise. I have already written posts about the Yakuza franchise, including why the Yakuza games are so brilliant, as well as talking about Yakuza: Like a Dragon (the previous main-line entry in the franchise). If you have played Infinite Wealth (or any other Yakuza game), then you already know what to expect: excellent storytelling, bonkers side-quests, and fleshed-out side activities. I will spend most of this post talking about the new stuff in Infinite Wealth, and then also talk about the potential direction of the franchise. I am going to talk about spoilers in this post so this is my warning to you.
For a big chunk of Infinite Wealth, Ichiban Kasuga and company get to explore a brand-new city in the Yakuza franchise, and that is the city of Honolulu in Hawaii. I want to preface this by saying that I went to Hawaii a couple of years ago and I stayed in Honolulu for a few days. Speaking from first-hand experience, the Honolulu re-creation by the Infinite Wealth developers was fantastic. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio completely nailed everything about Honolulu, from the atmosphere and buildings to the areas of Waikiki Beach, the Ala Moana shopping mall (called the Anaconda Shopping Center in the game) and Chinatown. I remember one morning in Honolulu walking to the Ala Moana Shopping Center and crossing the bridge to get to the mall. I can make that same crossing as Kasuga in the game to get to the same shopping mall, and I thought that was the most surreal thing I have experienced. Infinite Wealth also had a Hilo Hattie shop in the game, which was a store in the same mall I went to while I was in Honolulu.
One of the signature features of the Yakuza franchise is having sizeable side content that can be as big as full-fledged games. Infinite Wealth has two big side-activities. The first one is Sujimon, which makes a return from Yakuza: Like a Dragon, but along with filling out your Sujidex, you now get to capture and battle your Sujimon (just like you do in Pokémon games). The second side-activity is a parody of Animal Crossing called Dondoko Island where you must build your resort island and make your guests feel right at home during their stay. Both activities have a significant amount of content and can get rather addictive at times, but also a bit tedious with their objectives. Regardless, they are a nice distraction from the main story in a game full of distractions from the main story. I also want to highlight that there are activities that parody Crazy Taxi and Pokémon Snap, which I thought were cool to complete.
Overall, I thought the story of Infinite Wealth was solid, right up until the ending where I felt like the ending was the weakest part of the story. I think Ichiban Kasuga is a great protagonist and can more than fill the shoes that Kazuma Kiryu has left, but I also feel like the developers are reluctant to let go of Kiryu as well. If there was a game where the developers should have closed the chapter of Kiryu, Infinite Wealth should have been that game, but the developers did not pull that trigger, and I am a little bit disappointed by that. Infinite Wealth had the whole “Bucket List” side content for Kiryu, and I was fully expecting him to die in this game, but that was not what happened in the game.
If I were to judge this game on its own, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is an excellent RPG that was a modest improvement over its predecessor. Even in the context of the whole franchise, Infinite Wealth is a top three game. However, I have been feeling a sense of fatigue playing Infinite Wealth. Maybe it is the over-reliance on reusing assets from previous Yakuza game where I felt like I was not playing a truly unique Yakuza game. Maybe it is the fact that there has been an overload on Yakuza games, remakes, and spin-offs in a relatively short period of time. The Yakuza franchise deserves all the praise that comes their way, but the franchise currently has something like the Marvel Cinematic Universe problem where there is too much, too soon. I think I need an extended break from Yakuza games for a few years. Hopefully, the developers can come back with something truly fresh for their next game in the franchise.
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