21 October 2023 , 11:00
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I got my hands on Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for the first time at EGX, and I'm already sold on the next instalment.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon took me by surprise more than any game in recent memory, one of the few remaining beat 'em up franchises – a genre I've historically loved – was being turned into a turn-based RPG – a genre I've historically disliked. Not only that, but a new batch of characters took up the mantle, with Kazuma Kiryu being replaced by the new face, Ichiban Kasuga. Despite all of that, Like a Dragon became my absolute favourite game in the series, and Kasuga quickly rose to the top of my favourite protagonists in gaming history.
Three years on and the series formerly known as Yakuza is finally ready to follow it up with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which marks the series first outing to the US, with the squad heading to Hawaii – which is where this demo took place. Kasuga is joined by Kazuma Kiryu, and newcomers Chitose and Tomizawa. You're immediately accosted by some thugs who swiftly get an ass kicking and send you on the hunt for the corrupt cop who tried to put Kasuga away... so naturally I went straight to the Karaoke bar.
Double dragons
Kiryu and Kasuga couldn't be any more different, Kiryu has always been a stoic character whose stern demeanour even during the wildest situations could provide some excellent comedy. Meanwhile, Kasuga is a high-energy and emotional protagonist as well as being the goofiest guy on the planet. While I trusted RGG Studio to pull it off, I was shocked by just how natural their relationship felt. When they met in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, it was more to give Kasuga one last kick in the ass at his lowest point, whereas Infinite Wealth has the two as a comedic almost-father-son duo at times (as a reminder, Kiryu is a 55-year-old man, and Kasuga is 46). Things even got unexpectedly emotional when Kasuga joined Kiryu in a rendition of Yakuza 0's karaoke classic Judgement. Given that Kiryu is battling cancer in Infinite Wealth, and how emotional Yakuza: Like a Dragon got towards the end, I can imagine the relationship between the two will only get more emotional as it goes on.
Combat is a souped-up version of the turn-based combat introduced in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the major new additions are the ability to freely move your character to position attacks that knock them back into other enemies or obstacles, as well as the hype meter which allows you to perform tag-team attacks with any of your party members.
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However, Kazuma Kiryu is a unique beast. In certain Yakuza games, Kiryu had access to different fighting styles, this trait has carried over to his normal attacks in Infinite Wealth. You have access to the fast attacks of Rush Style, the all-rounder Yakuza style, and the hard-hitting grappling of Beast Style. However, Kiryu's biggest gambit is Dragon Resurgence, in which he sheds the constraints of turn-based combat and can run around and freely beat up enemies like in the classic Yakuza titles. This move seems all kinds of busted, but you can only use it when all of the hype meters are full, so hopefully it balances out as the game continues.
A bit on the side
As always in the Like a Dragon series, the side content is packed. Aside from the usual suspects like Karaoke –which features one of my new favourite tunes in the series with the city pop-inspired Honolulu City Lights – and the always-terrifying Mahjong, there were two new minigames on show at EGX. The first is called Crazy Delivery and blends Crazy Taxi and Deliveroo, as you roll around Honolulu collecting pizza, burgers, and sushi while doing tricks in an attempt to make it the craziest delivery possible.
Meanwhile, the other new one is a game called Sicko Snap. The best way to describe Sicko Snap is that it's Pokemon Snap but instead of taking pictures of small creatures, you're taking pictures of gyrating weirdos in spandex bodysuits. This may sound weird to those who have never played a Yakuza game before, but long-time fans will know it's pretty par for the course.
It's hard to judge a likely 80+ hour RPG from playing such a small snippet, but from a mixture of trailers and my time with it, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is shaping up to be my most anticipated game of 2024 and I'm desperate to see more.