We’ve been hecking excited for the latest Like a Dragon (formerly Yakuza) game for a long time. Well, I have at least.
Developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Published by SEGA, Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth has finally dropped. Let’s look at everything you’ll need to know about this ball of insanity in a game, including my thoughts after playing through the first few chapters.
A Rollercoaster Story
Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth primarily takes place four years after the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. We are again put in the shoes, well sandals, of Ichiban Kasuga, an instantly likeable former Yakzua just trying to get by in life and honour his deceased boss’ last wish. However, Ichiban and his friends’ lives are shattered by a viral video posted by a V-Tuber, twisting everything he has tried to do in a bad light.
From this wild opening, we follow Ichi as he travels to Hawaii in search of his mother who he thought had been dead since she had to hide him as a baby in a coin locker at a bus station. If that made you go “Nani?!”, you’ll just have to play Yakuza: Like a Dragon to find out Ichi’s backstory. I highly recommend that, it’s a fabulous game as well.
On the group’s journey, there are highs and lows. Ryu Ga Gotoku has perfected the art of storytelling, keeping you hooked. From fun points, such as Ichi asking his friends how to go on a date, to touching moments where you’ll need a second or two to recover. Including a revelation that is sure to forever break the hearts of any long-time Yakuza fans.
A Colourful Cast
While on Hawaii, Ichiban meets an eclectic group of friends, both old and new. The new faces include Eric Tomizawa, a taxi driver with a tragic past, and Chitose Fujinomiya, an heiress with mysterious dealings. Meanwhile, the whole cast from Yakuza: Like a Dragon, such as Nanba, Adachi, and Saeko, all return and are joined by the legendary Dragon of Dojima himself, Kazuma Kiryu!
Standing in the gang’s way are the colourful denizens of both Japan and Hawaii. Thanks to Ichiban’s vivid imagination, seemingly mundane enemies, such as a salaryman walking around in a suit or a beachgoing sunbather, can transform into all manner of insane characters. So far, I haven’t come across a boss as crazy as a chimpanzee driving an excavator, but there have been some interesting characters, such as the new and improved Sojimaru.
Gameception
No matter what you enjoy playing, Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth is more than likely going to have something to satisfy you. The main gameplay is a classic turn-based JRPG, akin to the early Final Fantasy games or more recent Persona series. Ichi and his party each have access to multiple “jobs”, such as Hero, Heiress, Taxi Driver, and Sujimon Master. As the group travels around defeating enemies, they’ll gain experience which is used to level up both the characters and their jobs, providing stat increases and new abilities.
Alongside this traditional style of gameplay, Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth packs in enough minigames and side activities that you could spend hours, even days, just playing them and not advance the story at all.
What’s more, many of these games are inspired by other gaming titles. The following is a list of games that Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth pays homage to:
- Pokémon
- Pokémon Snap
- Theme Park
- Crazy Taxi
There are many more, but some of these are very deep. For example, the Pokémon style game is called Sujimon. It has an entire storyline dedicated to it. Ichiban must travel the streets, seeking out new Sujimon to capture and add them to his team, and then battle rival trainers in the hopes of defeating the Discrete Four to become the Sujimon Master.
In addition to these homages, there are a tonne more to enjoy, including arcade games such as claw machines, SEGA Bass Fishing, and Virtua Fighter 3tB. If you want something a bit more adult, then you could head to a bar and whack on the karaoke where you can belt out some classics from past Yakuza games. Baka Matai, anyone? Just be warned, the autotuning has gone a bit wonky on these tracks, so hopefully a patch can fix those in the future. After a drink and sing along, you could then turn to finding some company, with a full-on dating sim style game and some gravure content, if that floats your boat.
An Easy to Play Masterpiece
Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth was released on the 25th of January 2024, for PC, PS4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The game has been fantastically optimised for all platforms by Ryo Ga Gotoku, ensuring it boasts silky smooth frame rates so you can fully immerse yourself in the brilliant story. In fact, both the minimum and recommended specs for this game are quite generous, meaning even more people will be able to experience the insanity on offer.
| Component | Minimum Specs | Recommended Specs |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10: Build 18362 | Windows 10: Build 18362 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 3470 3.2GHz or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz | Intel Core i7 4790 3.6GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz |
| Memory | 8GB | 16GB |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 4GB or AMD Radeon RX 460 4GB or Intel Arc A380 6GB | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX5700 8GB or Intel Arc A750 |
| Storage | 82GB Available Space | 82GB Available Space |
| Additional Notes | 1080p low @ 30FPS with Balanced FSR 1.0 requires a CPU which supports the AVX and SSE4.2 instruction set | 1080p high @ 60FPS without FSR requires a CPU which supports the AVX and SSE4.2 instruction set |
My Thoughts
I’ve been a fan of the Yakuza series for several years now since picking up Yakuza 0, then going back and playing the other titles. In my opinion, Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth is a game anyone could enjoy. There’s something for everyone here.
The game delivers a fantastic story that holds you in its grip from the get-go, and hardly lets up. It runs phenomenally well, as it uses its resources well. The graphics are a good example. Ichiban and the crew have received gorgeously detailed models, allowing them to be highly expressive, whereas a passing NPC looks very basic in comparison. Doing this ensures that the game plays super smoothly. I’ve yet to experience any lag.
The soundtrack is superb, with music perfect for any occasion. My favourite is the new battle theme which is quite Dubstep inspired. Plus, the voice cast is excellent. Now, it may pain some of you to hear but I went with the English voice cast. This is because I played Yakuza: Like a Dragon with the English dub, and really fell in love with the actors. I can’t separate Ichiban from Kaiji Tang’s excellent performance, where he perfectly captures the emotions of a scene – the lowest of the lows, or highest highs. As much as he got backlash, Yong Yea also performs very well as Kiryu. But, if you’re a purist, the Japanese voice cast is still there with Kiryu’s original actor Takaya Kuroda.
The gameplay is just the right sort of crazy for a Like a Dragon game, with plenty to keep you hooked no matter what you enjoy. You’ll easily get dozens of hours of fun, thanks to its compelling main story, multiple side quests, and loads of mini games. My playthrough of Yakuza: Like a Dragon took around 80 hours, and I’m sure this game will offer just as much.
Best PCs to Play Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth
Here at Overclockers UK, you don’t need Infinite Wealth to be able to play your games as we have gaming PCs to match any budget. We’ve picked a fantastic gaming PC and laptop that are perfect for playing this amazing RPG.
Refract Gaming Amber
The Refract Gaming Amber is a pre-built gaming PC perfect for kicking ass on the streets of Hawaii. It boasts an AMD Ryzen 5 7500F processor, that features 6 cores with clock speeds of up to 5GHz, ideal for playing the latest AAA gaming titles. What’s more, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU can deliver graphics closer to real life than ever before, with third-generation RT cores that render realistic lighting effects and NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 technology to dramatically increases your frame rates.
Plus, with our comprehensive three-year parts and labour warranty, you can rest easy. If anything should go wrong with the Refract Gaming Amber, we’ll have your back.
MSI Cyborg 15 Gaming Laptop
Get away from it all and play Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth on a trip of your own. With the MSI Cyborg 15 gaming laptop, you can enjoy gaming on the go. It features an Intel Core i5-12450H CPU, boasting Intel hybrid architecture that easily handles any workload, including gaming. This is then paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, delivering exceptional graphics with silky smooth frame rates in your favourite gaming titles, even during the most epic battles. Moreover, with a 53.5Whr battery, the MSI Cyborg 15 can provide hours of flawless gaming.
Sumimasen, douzo
If we’ve managed to pique your interest in this crazy RPG, then let us know in the comment section below.
PC specs are subject to change.
- 9 min read
Simon Procter
Author
Having been a gaming nut for longer than he cares to think, Simon landed his dream job over a year ago at Overclockers UK. Since then, he has written many product pages and category texts. He even gets released from the basement to write the odd cheeky blog post. When not working, you can often find him entrenched in World of Warcraft, visiting friends to have his butt whooped in a board game, or with his nose buried in a book.
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