17 November 2023 , 07:00
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Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is set to be the biggest game in the series, with RGG Studio writer Masayoshi Yokoyama dubbing it a "monster-class" game.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name has only been out for about a week, and already RGG Studio is talking about what's next – which is only natural considering Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is only 2 months away. While most Yakuza titles are around the 30-hour mark, the series' shift to a full turn-based JRPG with Yakuza: Like a Dragon made the adventure even bigger with a runtime closer to the 60-hour mark. And now RGG Studio is poised to surpass that with its next Like A Dragon entry.
In an interview with Japanese outlet Game Watch (translated via Automaton) RGG Studio's writer Masayoshi Yokoyama went into detail about the depth of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, saying: "Infinite Wealth is a monster-class game longer than anything we’ve made so far. If you go at it continuously, you’ll get sick."
He then cited the length of the game as the main reason for the game's increased marketing presence with a self-proclaimed "festival-like atmosphere around the game", with the game showing up at trade shows like EGX (where I previewed it) and a demo being available in Like a Dragon Gaiden. Yokoyama also said: "This means that a lot of people are going to hesitate to play the game or will end up having it wait on their shelves. I found the possibility of that kind of outcome sad, so I thought, we have to get everyone hyped up enough to play it.”
Infinite time
Even before Yokoyama's comments, I knew we'd be in for a massive game with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Considering you'll have two separate protagonists, you'll have a lot of story to play through. Plus, if you zoom out on the Hawaii map in the Infinite Wealth demo found in Like a Dragon Gaiden, it looks like possibly the biggest map in Like a Dragon history.
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Considering Sega is putting this out on January 26, 2024, and then releasing Persona 3 Reload the following week on February 2, 2023, JRPG fans are in for an amazing 2024. But, both of those games are likely to be 100+ hour experiences, so maybe don't plan on playing too many games outside of those two.
As someone who hesitates to play super long games (I still haven't played Baldur's Gate 3!), I'm still dying to dig into Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth when it launches. Yakuza: Like a Dragon took over my life when it first came out, I've put in around 100 hours of game time in a month and have done everything in it. If Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth's story and side content is as good as its predecessor, I can absolutely see myself doing the same again.