For the past 6 years, I've played the crap out of every Yakuza games in the list. After this, what was left was Lost Judgment and picking up Like A Dragon: Gaiden from act 2. I have to say, it's not looking good for the Yakuza writers in Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.
But let's simmer it down a bit, right from the beginning of the story. The tall tale of Ichiban and his friends, old and new, as well as a returning character for who we all got on board. I like how the gameplay takes a backseat to let a strong prologue to the story carry the weight. I love where it was going, the high stakes, pacing, subversions, and big reveals.
That is up till chapter 4, but I have a tendency to get distracted, so right after coming to Hawaii, I got pretty busy with the mini-games, greeting the locals, and touring for the special cuisine.
Captured in PS5
- Being the hero of the story
Ichi does his thing again helping people, after the whole Bleach Japan, Ryo Aki fiasco, he now assists former Yakuza in Hello Work after the great dissolution have left them unemployed. Especially ones who tried to bribe him, he doesn't take em, he won't need to.
But the stick in the mud, dear god, was when he tried to date Saeko, it wasn't bad, it was much worse than I expected. Cringe inducing absolutely. But I'm getting ahead of myself, the game enters a turning point where not only Ichi, but Adachi and Namba have all lost their jobs. What's even more, Sawashiro sents Ichiban off to Hawaii to find and meet his mother.
Yeah, there's not a chance this wouldn't bring these guys together, with a cutscene of them LARPing. Before Ichi sets off, he takes one last tour in Ijincho, earning a little bit of cash while tussling against thugs, and get this, you not only deposit money, but have to withdraw to use it as well. Whatever happened to VISA or credit cards? This change is pretty stupid. Right, so off he went, alone.
The same guy who blew the chance to be with his girl, now heads off being a clueless goofball, and getting caught in all kinds of screwed up shenanigans. Turns out he forgot he was in America. Yes, that kind of America. After a cab driver robs him, he meets Eiji, a paraplegic.
One thing leading to another, a girl named Chitose drugged and took his stuff, got arrrested, Kiryu helps him get out, and the guy who mugged me while working for a crazier ringleader, is now one of us. Why such a development in the span of 10 or so hours? Well remember, our goofball is literally "friendship is magic" mantra in human form.
The last game was a little polarizing for old school fans, but Infinite Wealth massively improved the RPG combat of the game by a long shot. You can now reposition your characters, using both the environment and characters to maximize damage, without the overreliance on skills.
A lot of real-time mechanics added to the use of skills, requiring you to pay attention and press the prompted buttons for higher damage. Enemies aren't pushovers either, like I'm just taking chances at things and man, even early on, things are difficult as it is. You have to be an RPG fan to fully utilize everything at its disposal, including items, gears, boosts, etc.
- Taking too many chances
Putting it in a round-about way, Infinite Wealth is also a far bigger game than its predecessor. Look, after Yakuza 6, and what transpired, taking the grounded aspect of the series is pretty much out of the question. Which was why I was getting confused where the story was heading.
But nevermind that, if you want real fun, look at all the mini-games, there are important ones like the Sujimon tournament, and Dondoko Island game. They're stupidly big on their own, to the point that the studio might as well release their own spin-off games. Trust me, having powerful Sujimon's important for the future, especially for a specific job role you'll take that'll help massively.
What's also important is how deep your relationship with characters become. Evolving the friendship also evolves their battle readiness. I'm talking auto assistance, tag and team ultimates, and so on. I've had tons of fun experimenting with the skills, and trying to farm to purchase better gear. Which, turns out, can be found around Hawaii if you look well enough.
Much like the other Yakuza games, there's a grand conspiracy, and oh yeah, the girl robbing you blind all of a sudden is on Ichi's team later as well. But last of all, the best part is Kiryu. His three fighting stances: Brawler, Rush, and Beast works perfectly in an interspliced RPG way.
I also started to care less about the narrative, the combat is too jolly fun. I had a ballad dancer who does Yoga flipping dudes twice her size, a dude with a baseball bat and hero complex, a cabbie who throws wrenches, and an ex-Yakuza legend just tossing them like bowling balls.
Who doesn't want to play this game for the silly absurdity, unimaginably possible? You know what's even better, the new Jobs I'll be taking. The Sujimon battles, the crazy taxi rip-off game, filling the friendship bingo cards, sipping Mai Tais with the fellas. The crazy boss battles, I want it all and more.
Above screenshots and GIFs are from personal recordings only
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