The Like a Dragon series successfully reinvented itself as a turn-based RPG with Yakuza in 2020, and on January 26, it’s returning with its next mainline instalment- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Starring both Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kirya as co-leads, Infinite Wealth is making some mighty bold promises in the lead-up to its release, and here, we’re going to talk about a few key details that you should know about it before you jump into its offerings.
SETTING
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is going to be a major shift for the franchise as its first ever game to be set outside of Japan. The game will start off in the familiar district of Yokohama, which was first introduced in Yakuza 7 and returned in Lost Judgment and Like a Dragon Gaiden, though Ichiban, Kiryu, and company will eventually find themselves in Honolulu City, Hawaii, which is where the bulk of the game is going to be set. Meanwhile, players will, of course, also be visiting the ever-present Kamurocho.
STORY DETAILS
Infinite Wealth is set in present day, four years after the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and by now, Ichiban has straightened himself out and is working a normal job. His past catches up with him once again though, leaving him broke and jobless, and soon afterward, he receives a tip from former allies that his biological mother, Akane, is something in Honolulu. Penniless but determined to find her, Ichiban heads down to Hawaii, where he is aided in his search for his mother by Kazuma Kiryu himself, who is wrestling with a crisis of his own in the form of a cancer diagnosis.
COMBAT
Like its predecessor, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is set to be a turn-based RPG, and its combat will once again revolve heavily around its robust and varied job system, with different jobs giving unique attributes, strengths, and weaknesses to characters in your party. The Poundmates summon system returns as well, and will feature the likes of Yakuza 7’s giant, red lobster, as well as other familiar characters like Shun Akiyama and Kaoru Sayama.
COMBAT IMPROVEMENTS
Infinite Wealth is building on the foundations of its predecessor’s combat with a number of improvements. Chief among them is characters now being able to move about the battlefield freely, and from combo attacks with allies to how much damage you deal to your foes, plenty will be impacted by your characters’ positioning. Speaking of which, combo attacks can also be performed by moving in close proximity to allies that you have a strong bond with, while players can also look forward to new area-of-effect attacks and improvements to perfect attacks and knockbacks. A new mechanic known as Smackdown will also let you instantly defeat enemies that are far lower-level than you, though that’ll net you lower quantities of experience.
KIRYU’S COMBAT
Specifically where Kiryu is concerned, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will throw some interesting wrinkles into its combat mechanics. That will come primarily in the form of the Dragon of Dojima job, which, as its name implies, will be exclusive to Kiryu, and will allow him to switch between multiple different fighting styles, as he’s been known to do in past Yakuza games over the years. Interestingly enough, his unique job will also allow Kiryu to temporarily activate real-time brawler combat in line with the old Yakuza titles.
NEW JOBS
A number of new jobs have also been confirmed for Infinite Wealth. Male-exclusive jobs include the likes of Samurai, which lets you use katanas and bows in combat; Desperado, which allows you to use dual pistols, dynamite, and rope; and Aquanaut, where you will utilize marine-themed items and creatures to your advantage. Meanwhile, some of the female-exclusive jobs are the magic-focused Geomancer, which is focused on dances; Kunoichi, which emphasizes speed, agility, and badass ninjutsu moves; and Housekeeper, with which you will use tools like vacuum cleaners and brooms to unleash multi-target attacks.
PARTY MEMBERS
As you might expect, Infinite Wealth will be bringing back Ichiban’s party members from Yakuza 7, which means we will once again be adventuring with Tianyou Zhao, Koichi Adachi, Yu Nanba, Joongi Han, and Saeko Mukoda. They will be joined by Seonhee, who had an important role to play in Yakuza 7 and will be playable in Infinite Wealth; Chitose Fujinomiya, who is Akane’s personal maid; and Eric Tomizawa, who drives a cab in Honolulu City.
CRAZY DELIVERY
The Yakuza series is, of course, known for its excellent minigames and side activities, and unsurprisingly, there will be plenty of that to dive into in Infinite Wealth as well. One particular side activity that’s likely to catch your eye is Crazy Delivery, which is essentially Crazy Taxi in Yakuza form. The minigame will task you with delivering food while riding a bicycle to earn money. Pulling off tricks and stunts will net you with greater quantities of cash.
HAPPY RESORT DONDOKO ISLAND
Perhaps the single most substantial side activity in the game is going to be Dondoko Island, which will task Ichiban with overseeing the island-cum-landfill’s transformation into a proper five-star resort. You will do that by destroying garbage and converting it into resources, which can then be used to construct furniture, buildings, and all-around infrastructure improvements. The more you improve your island and boost its popularity, the more attractive it’ll become as a tourist spot, while on occassion, you’ll also have to defend it against a group of no-gooders known as the Washbucklers.
SUJIMON BATTLE
While Dondoko Island is Infinite Wealth’s take on the Animal Crossing formula, the Sujimon Battle side activity, as its name suggests, instead sets its eyes on Pokemon. Honestly, that’s all the explanation you need. You’ll grow your roster of Sujimon by defeating them and storing their information in your Sujidex, after which you can take on other Sujimon trainers in battles in order to become the Sujimon Master. It’s pretty much literally Pokemon.
THE BUCKET LIST
With Kiryu reeling with a cancer diagnosis and not knowing exactly how long he has to live, Infinite Wealth will give him a dedicated side story line in the form of the Bucket List, which will see him attempting to tie up any loose ends before he goes. That will mean he’ll be meeting a lot of characters from his past, and fans will get to see many returning, familiar faces. That’ll include the likes of Detective Date, Akiyama, Sayam, and others.
SIZE
The Yakuza series has always prioritized density and quality of content over the actual size of its maps, and while we’re confident Infinite Wealth will do the same, it is set to be the series’ largest ever game in terms of pure real estate as well. The Honolulu map is going to be three times larger than Yokohama, and will comprise a number of unique locations and districts, from the pristine waters of Aloha Beach and the always-busy Chinatown to the small, local Japanese community of Little Japan and Anaconda Shopping Center, Hawaii’s largest shopping complex.
LENGTH
Yakuza games have always been known to deliver lengthy experiences, but Infinite Wealth is taking that to even greater extents, as you may have guessed from its larger size. In a recent interview with Game Watch, series producer Masayoshi Yokoyama called said it’s the studio’s longest game to date, calling it a “monster-class” experience and promising that players who attempt to marathon it and finish it quickly will literally “get sick”. Is that something to be excited about or scared by? You decide.
ENGLISH CAST
While the full English cast for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth hasn’t yet been revealed, a lot of actors who were involved in Yakuza 7 will be reprising their roles. That will mean the return of Kaiji Tang as Ichiban, Andrew Morgado as Adachi, Greg Chun as Nanba, Elizabeth Maxwell as Saeko, Keong Sim as Joon-gi Han, Robbie Daymond as Tianyou Zhao, Matthew Mercer as Goro Majima, and Ron Yuan as Taiga Saejima, among others. Crucially, Darryl Kurylo, who provided the English voice for Kiryu in the original Yakuza and in Yakuza 7, won’t be returning, and has been replaced by YouTuber and voice actor Yong Yea. Debi Derryberry, who voiced Haruka in the original game, is also returning to the role after nearly two decades.
PC REQUIREMENTS
Yakuza games have never been too demanding where their PC requirements are concerned, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth won’t be any different. To play it on minimum settings at 1080p and 30 FPS, you’ll need either an i5-3470 (3.2 GHz) or a Ryzen 3 1200 (3.1 GHz), along with either a GeForce GTX 960 (4 GB), a Radeon RX 460 (4 GB), or an Intel Arc A380 (6 GB), and 8 GB of RAM. Meanwhile, on recommended settings, which will run the game at 1080p and 60 FPS, you’ll need either an i7-4790 (3.6 GHz) or a Ryzen 5 1600 (3.2 GHz), along with either a GeForce RTX 2060 (6 GB), a Radeon RX 5700 (8 GB), or an Intel Arc A750 (8 GB), and 16 GB of RAM. On either setting, you’ll also need 82 GB of free storage space.
