5 dumb (and AWESOME) things to look forward to in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
The Yakuza series might be silly at times, but it's also great.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is simultaneously the first, second, ninth, twentieth and twenty-third game in the Like a Dragon/Yakuza series.
It’s the first main game to carry the title “Like A Dragon” without Yakuza (the last spin-off was “Like a Dragon Gaiden, smartass), the second in the rebooted, now turn-based RPG leg of the franchise, the ninth main game overall, the twentieth if you include spin-offs and the twenty-third if you include remakes.
If that state of affairs didn’t clue you in, it’s all very silly. But because there’s so much backstory, we're past the point where you could reasonably catch up. So even if you’ve never played any of the other games, it’s always a good time to get involved.
Check out our video below for five more great, dumb things to look forward to in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Silly Jobs
In Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the jobs are like classes, giving your characters hilarious powers within the turn-based battle system.
Ichiban Kasuga can take on the role of a Scuba Diver, Fire Dancer, Cowboy and a Samurai across his adventure, as well as many more. The unlock scenes for each job are huge highlights and help to give the deluge of battles more variety.
There's an Elmo mascot with intense Gritty energy
One of the big additions in Infinite Wealth is that part of the game’s story is set in Hawaii, the first time the series has left Japan. One extra element of this is a big new mini-game called Dondoko Island, where you clean up a tropical island and turn it into a tropical paradise; just like Animal Crossing.
But the best part of Dondoko Island is a giant Elmo-looking mascot called Mukku whose ferocious, staring eyes and gormless mouth are strongly reminiscent of the legendary Philadelphia Flyers mascot, Gritty, and crack me up every single time.
The SEGA/Nintendo feud is back on
It’s not just Animal Crossing though, there are loads of parodies in Infinite Wealth, many of which happen to be Nintendo-related. In Yakuza: Like a Dragon you filled up a database of “Sujimon” like a Pokedex, but in Infinite Wealth there’s a full-on battle system.
This is just one of the things that shows RGG Studio isn’t satisfied with simply making up the numbers and having the same old systems in every game, but has tried to iterate on them to keep things fresh.
You have a segway
Another example of RGG’s commitment to expanding systems and making smart quality of life improvements in Infinite Wealth is the addition of the greatest vehicle known to mankind: the Segway.
Honolulu City is the biggest environment that’s ever been in a Yakuza or Like a Dragon game, so scooting around the larger streets is not just a bit of stupid fun, but much more convenient from a gameplay perspective too.
Kiryu is very sad
In its generosity, Infinite Wealth has not one protagonist but two.
Throughout the game you play as both Ichiban Kasuga and Kiryu, the original main character of the rest of the Yakuza games. Much of Kiryu’s story is based in Yokohama, the port city south of Tokyo in Japan, but because of the situation Kiryu finds himself in, he’s feeling very nostalgic.
Scattered as collectables around his map you can find memories of melodramatic moments from previous Yakuza games - serving as a solid history lesson if you’re lacking context or a super bit of fan service if you’ve played every minute.
For more on our impressions of minute-to-minute gameplay, check out our Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth preview!