As a fan of the Yakuza series, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth's announcement felt like fondling a Christmas present and trying to discern the quality of its contents by the grooves of its packaging. Although Infinite Wealth appeared to have the makings of another top-notch game, its story had an uphill battle to persuade me, seeing as how this would be the second time a mainline game has advertised itself as the Kiryu's final adventure alongside new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga. The first time around was disappointing, to say the least, so the pressure was on developer Ryu Ga Gotoko to deliver a story that warranted taking another stab at Kiryu's swan song. Having finished the game, I can say Infinite Wealth exceeded my expectations and is a strong contender for one of the best games in the series.

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth takes place roughly six months after the events of Yakuza: Like A Dragon and sees both characters navigating uncharted waters in their lives. Ichiban now works as a social worker who helps find jobs for the laid-off gangsters affected by the great dissolution in the previous game. However, life finds a new way to test Ichiban, like he's a new pair of Jordans to be broken into when he discovers his long-lost mother is alive and very much in danger in Honolulu. Now, Ichiban must trek to the United States—a first for the series—to save her.

Respectively, Kiryu's life is akin to a scuffed pair of worn dress shoes with weathered laces and a smushed collar from habitually forcing them on to defend the mean streets of Kamurocho for the umpteenth time. After faking his death and becoming a secret agent under the Daidoji faction, Kiryu's new mission is to locate Ichiban's mother while keeping his yakuza past a secret from both civilians and his loved ones. Things take a turn for the worse when it's revealed that Kiryu has cancer and that he must choose his battles wisely for his health.

Ryu Ga Gotoko has proven that sometimes less is more when it comes to releasing engrossing yet shorter video games like the recently released Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. However, with Infinite Wealth, more is more, because the game is chalked full of occasionally downright overwhelming with the breadth of side content interspersed with its main story.

Before its release, director Masayoshi Yokoyama told Automation-Media it would take players roughly three to four days without sleep or "detours" to complete Infinite Wealth's main story. Instead of saying so as a challenge, Yokoyama encouraged players to take their time with the game as they would a "TV Drama" for two to three hours daily to not "harm their health." Having logged 99 hours and 25 minutes to "beat" the game, I can say that there's still more to do in it in terms of side content. In fact, towards the seventh chapter on my Steam Deck, I audibly yelled, "There's still more game?!" when it threw even more activities to do after I'd just dipped my toes into its verbose Animal Crossing game mode.

Fortunately, the game acknowledges the overwhelming nature of its side content by having characters gently remind you to take a breather and allowing you to revisit substories later. All that to say, Infinite Wealth is most enjoyed not blitzing toward its credits but basking in the depths of its detours. Some of these detours include deep-pull callbacks to popular and niche moments and character appearances spanning the series' mainline games that had diehard fans like myself pump my fist in the air.

My favorite detour, outside of its titular wacky and occasionally heart-wrenching pastiche of substories—which are now marked on the map instead of being random encounters to alleviate the sheer magnitude of the game's content—is the time I spent getting to know Ichiban and his party members and revisiting Kiryu's past.

Very rarely do a game's story and gameplay mechanics gel so well with one another than in Infinite Wealth is most enjoyed not blitzing toward its credits but basking in the depths of its detours. The life-sim aspect of Infinite Wealth is most enjoyed not blitzing toward its credits but basking in the depths of its detours. Infinite Wealth's RPG mechanics sing more brilliantly than they ever have in any other Yakuza title. For instance, Ichiban's level-up mechanic, personality builder, buffs, battle abilities, resistance, and coordination with his party members are based on your decisions while exploring Honolulu. These can range from trying out new foods, making friends with the local Hawaiians, battling various street thugs, or going on Drink Links dates—Like A Dragon's take on Persona's Social Links—with your party members.

Whereas dialogue dates in other games feel gamey in the sense that you have to virtually become a different kind of player in your responses to curry their favor or "pick the right option," this isn't the case in Infinite Wealth. Personality builders work more as a means to flesh out the kind of person Ichiban and Kiryu are rather than a mechanic to correctly dialogue tree your way to gain affinity with your party members.

For example, doting on characters when like Seonhee by responding to an inquiry of hers in a way you'd assume she'd take a liking to won't just result in her divulging more personal information about herself. Instead, your range of responses, whether soulful, charming, intelligent, or kind, will result in your different combat stats evolving in battle.

Suffice it to say, two hours would suddenly go by in a flash once I entered a flow state to gallivant about Honolulu to clear each party member's Drink Links and learn more personable tidbits about them. It also doesn't hurt that the game incentivized me to deepen our bonds by rewarding me with better cooperative combat abilities.

Speaking of combat, Infinite Wealth's turn-based combat is as tight as ever, with a revamped focus on tactical positioning, follow-ups, and combo amongst party members. I got a particular kick out of Kiryu's special ability to forgo the confines of turn-based combat (for a limited amount of time) to perform the series' classic beat 'em up fighting style. A move made all the cooler when you see him initiate it by assuming a pose similar to Luffy's iconic Gear Second pose from One Piece.

More important than the novelty of Kiryu partaking in turn-based combat is that Infinite Wealth uses its party-based antics to teach the battle-worn hero that he doesn't have to continue to shoulder the weight of his endeavors alone. A huge component of Kiryu's portion of the game revolves around visiting old haunts and, more importantly, finally putting his needs first instead of casting self-care by the wayside. It was particularly refreshing to witness his party tough love him out of his stubborn tendency to self-sacrifice for the past 40 years in-game.

This isn't the first time Like A Dragon has had two protagonists in a game. In 2017, Ryu Ga Gotoko Studio released Yakuza 0, a prequel game that explored the humble beginnings of its two popular characters Kiryu Kazama and Goro Majima. Many fans, myself included, admire it as one of the best entries in the series. Although Yakuza 0 effectively made Kiryu feel like a more realized character with more depth than he had in Yakuza Kiwami, the remake of the first game, the game is by and large viewed in the fandom as Majima's game more than Kiryu's for how often Majima's story would downright outshine his own. I was nervous that Ichiban's presence would suffer a similar fate when I learned he'd play as a dual protagonist with Kiryu in Infinite Wealth.

Thankfully, Ryu Ga Gotoko spared no expense taking lessons it learned from making Yakuza 0 while fine-tuning the turn-based action from Yakuza: Like A Dragon to deliver an Avengers: Endgame level of both spectacle and emotional payoff for both its new flagship protagonist and its stalwart hero that will be remembered for years to come.