Yakuza: Like A Dragon was an excellent foray into turn-based chaos, however a few of its RPG components did not fairly lead anyplace. Nicely, in swaggers the frankly ginormous Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth to tie off the unfastened ends and provides us a follow-up that hyperlinks all the perfect bits of Yakuza into a much more satisfying reward loop. A few of the refinements make for excellent silliness, whereas others are a bit eh – not every thing is ideal. However spending time with Ichiban and his buddies within the sun-soaked Hawaii and past is the true deal with. It is a fantastic, comfortable JRPG and it’ll by no means fail to brighten my day. Thank goodness for Yakuza.
Infinite Wealth begins with Ichiban and his buddies main regular lives, having escaped the chaos of organised crime… that’s, till they’re dragged again in by an opportunity encounter. I will not get into particulars, as I would somewhat not spoil a great deal of story beats for you, however I would say the inevitable pull of the yakuza is especially nicely completed right here and avoids leaning on the basic “we have damaged out of jail once more, lads” crutch of the previous. As a substitute, it entails the yakuza’s dwindling presence in Japan – an indication of the occasions – and has the emotional hook of a familial thriller. Seems Ichiban’s mom is on the coronary heart of issues, with the primary clue putting her someplace in Hawaii.
Ichiban’s arrival on Hawaii’s sunny shores delicately pulls him away from his established occasion and, at first, cleans the slate. Not solely is it thrilling if you recruit new buddies – a taxi driver who robs you at gunpoint, and a woman who additionally robs you – it is fantastic to find how their tales intertwine with Ichiban’s previous, and probably, his future. Oh and Kiryu’s again, too! Besides it is truly actually unhappy as a result of he acknowledges early on that he is affected by most cancers and does not have lengthy to dwell. I used to be frightened he’d been shoehorned in as a playable protagonist and occasion member for the sake of it. However no, not solely does he make for a superb dad of the group, his inclusion is a farewell in the perfect form of sense: 1) He will get to hurl bicycles at thugs; 2) He lastly accepts his vulnerabilities; 3) He is surrounded by pals outdated and new.
What’s fantastic about Hawaii is the way it completely compliments Ichiban’s character and, to some extent, Yakuza as an entire. It bursts with color – maybe an excessive amount of, because the distinction would possibly blind you in the course of the day – and has numerous districts with shiny malls, surf shacks, sleaze, and an azure sea you may truly swim about in. It simply sits as one among my favorite Yakuza locales ever, as a result of it additionally embraces the gradual life (a bit like Y6’s Onomichi, my all time fave), as you stroll alongside its coastal paths or hop in a tram with nothing in thoughts apart from basking within the orange glow of the solar set. Simply as Ichiban radiates positivity, so does Honolulu.
Later, you may spend time with Kiryu in Yokohama as he ticks off issues on his bucket record. It is a neat approach to remix the familiarity of Yokohama by way of the lens of a legend bowing out – a person who not solely imparts information to Ichiban’s unique gang, however shines a light-weight on how a lot everybody else has matured round him, too. For these invested within the story, each Ichiban and Kiryu’s paths make for all of the melodrama and occasional suits of silliness you would ask for.
And because the devs’ second crack at a turn-based RPG, I would say Infinite Wealth refines what got here earlier than, by making it in order that plenty of the character stats from LAD now feed right into a tighter reward system. As an example, Ichiban’s character traits (ardour, mind, and so on) now tie closely to unlocking new jobs (lessons), and your bond stage with buddies now determines what number of slots you might have out there for inheriting abilities from different jobs. In impact, Infinite Wealth has wrapped Yakuza: LAD’s unfastened finish stats right into a extra motivating loop.
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have additionally added new strategies to stage up all of these items, besides right here the standard varies from strong to shoulder shrug. Waving to the identical NPCs as you roam Hawaii helps you to step by step befriend them, however there is no substance to it past seeing bars go up. On the flipside, a hilarious relationship app mini sport helps you to stage up your stats by sending “passionate” advances with fast button combos and final ditch choices. Succeed and also you would possibly meet somebody good! Fail and also you would possibly get catfished by an oily perv. Or, if the sport requires a little bit of grinding, you may complement it with a roguelike dungeon referred to as the Labyrinth, with procedurally generated halls and rooms of loot to plunder.
You see, there are moments all through the story the place the sport’s like, “Hey, you would possibly wish to attain stage 13 and have this form of gear earlier than you enterprise onwards”. Infinite Wealth tweaks are additive, positive, nevertheless it’s nonetheless very a lot an RPG with a straight trajectory, the place the story follows one monitor and will not veer off track it doesn’t matter what you do. And in a standard JRPG sense, it is reliant on the occasional grind, as a result of it is solely your occasion’s stage that really helps you to push forwards.
Yakuza LAD’s had a mid-game hunch due to this, and it was a bit naff, however the Labyrinth’s roguelike hook, mixed with tweaks to basic EXP rewards, has dialled down Infinite Wealth’s want for levelling excursions. Or, when you choose, remodeled these journeys from barely insufferable to a welcome jaunt. However Infinite Wealth remains to be a Yakuza sport with Yakuza-isms that can grate for some. In addition to the grind, count on some exceedingly lengthy cutscenes, repetitive strings of fights by way of places of work, and the incitement of rage from seemingly everybody on the streets.
Whereas east Hawaii’s ruffians are weaker than your west selection, it is troublesome to inform how a lot everybody’s ranges carry. There have been occasions once I went up in opposition to some brutes round 4 ranges larger than me and obtained obliterated. Then there have been occasions once I tackled a gaggle of goons seven ranges larger and emerged unscathed. Truthfully, I do suppose the extent stability is slightly borked, and it may be particularly irritating as enemies’ ranges do not truly seem till a combat kicks off. Do not do a me of us: save usually, lest you get battered.
However I do suppose my shock successes are, partly, because of turn-based tweaks to Yakuza: LAD’s setup that allow you to higher bend a drawback to a win. Now you are capable of transfer in a small zone throughout your turns, which feels like slightly change however provides a lot wanted selection. Rotate behind an enemy and you’ll lay down further “Again Assault” injury, or you may sidle over to a close-by visitors cone so as to add a spot of thermoplastic to your slaps. The most effective factor about it, although? Fights flip right into a sport of skittles, as most foes might be smacked in direction of a pal, who’ll then carry out a follow-up haymaker (relying on the bond stage, and subsequently advantages, that you’ve got with them).
Spells and assaults have been tuned a bit too, making everybody’s suite of talents extra helpful. Adachi’s suplexes break guards, stopping enemies from hunkering behind titanium forearms, whereas Chitose’s fragrance bottle can spray a number of lads with a pungent debuff. And it is fantastic with the ability to inherit any talent from any Job afterward, making it really helpful to have enjoyable and experiment. The additional choices aren’t at all times sufficient to make common battles much less of a chore, however in opposition to more durable hoodlums they shine. Infinite Wealth’s lastly discovered the appropriate mix of turn-based and chaos to graduate from an experiment that went nicely, to a sequence staple that feels uniquely Yakuza.
Whereas some niggling Yakuza jank lingers, Infinite Wealth additionally retains what I consider to be the sequence’ most essential power: comedy. Identical to the remainder of the sequence, the sport vaults between absurdity and seriousness with confidence. Nancy the crawfish is now Ichiban’s pet, and has a full on love story within the midst of every thing. And I like how the devs have infused lots of the facet tales with Hawaiian tradition and vacationer silliness. I’ve helped a rockstar conjure a storm for his music video by going to an area shaman, and form of laugh-cried at an outdated man attempting to fulfil his spouse’s last want to see snow. His method of going about it? Chucking shaved ice into the air. However it does the Yakuza factor! It goes so a lot deeper than shaved ice in essentially the most sudden of the way.
Yakuza’s at all times been massive on further facet stuff and Infinite Wealth has taken it up a number of notches, to the purpose the place I may in all probability write two separate critiques for each of its choices. The primary is a Pokémon parody referred to as Sujimon, the place you seize, stage up, and battle bizarre goons. The second is Dondoko Island, an Animal Crossing parody the place you rejuvenate a polluted island and switch it right into a vacationer attraction. I believe Sujimon’s the lesser of the 2 (nonetheless a superb chortle), whereas I can see myself shedding a whole bunch of hours to what’s a little bit of a mash between AC and Yakuza’s actual property mini video games of the previous. What’s neat is you do not have to have interaction with both of them past their intros, however can reap massive advantages when you do (further forex, the odd particular transfer, a Sujimancer Job).
Infinite Wealth is every thing I needed from a Yakuza: LAD sequel. It refines and expands on lots of Yakuza: LAD’s RPG unfastened ends or underexplored bits, whisking you away to the fantastic Hawaii within the course of. Sure, it might be a bit too expansive for some, retains a few of Yakuza’s extra annoying quirks, and is not an RPG within the sense of creating Ichiban’s story completely your individual. However the story it does inform, and the adventures you do go on, are heartfelt and humorous and informed with such wealthy element. I am going to say it once more: thank goodness for Yakuza.
This assessment is predicated on a assessment construct of the sport offered by publishers Sega.
