Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth’s launch is true across the nook and we just lately obtained invited to get some early hands-on time with many alternative components of the sport. Gripping emotional story? Test. Animal Crossing-inspired life sim mode that is going to take up numerous hours of my time? Huge verify. A wild boss battle with a monster shark the dimensions of a ship? You higher imagine it, fellow crime buddies. Infinite Wealth is already my most anticipated sport for 2024 so I used to be excited to dive proper in.
Additionally, a small spoiler warning, there are going to be some story issues talked about in right here for the collection. Very similar to Gaiden earlier than it, Infinite Wealth is a sport that you shouldn’t bounce into as your first sport within the collection because it depends closely on figuring out these characters. With that heads up out of the best way, let’s discuss Ichiban and Kiryu’s Hawaiian journey.
We started our day sitting down and getting an outline of the whole lot new in Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth. Ichiban and his discovered household crew are again together with some new faces, together with a taxi driver named Eric Tomizawa and a mysterious housekeeper named Chitose Fujinomiya. Ichiban has made the journey to Hawaiii to search out his organic mom Akane, who was initially considered deceased, however is seemingly alive and someplace on the islands. This revelation units our journey in movement and permits Ichiban to return into contact with the legendary yakuza, Kazuma Kiryu.
It simply so occurs that Kiryu can be on the island on the time getting some well-deserved relaxation after the occasions of Gaiden and making an important cease at a church. He joins up with Ichiban’s social gathering and is likely one of the playable characters all through the sport, bringing his personal Kiryu-style mechanics to the desk. His assaults will be modified by swapping between three completely different stances and may even drive his method out of the usual turn-based fight for a brief period of time and convey the ache in real-time brawler fight, mirroring how Kiryu could be managed in basic Yakuza video games. It is a intelligent strategy to break up conventional RPG fight whereas nonetheless remaining true to Kiryu’s character, and it melds very nicely with the methods already in place.
Our preliminary time within the open world was spent exploring a few of what’s the largest particular person map ever seen in a Yakuza game–think “we will match Kamurocho in right here and have room for an additional complete map” large. It’s big, however it would not come at the price of the extent of element you’d anticipate, and developer RGG Studio visited Hawaii to make sure its model is genuine. It even labored with native shops to function them within the sport, much like what it did with earlier places in Japan. Some examples are 88 Tees and ABC shops that you’d discover on the islands. It actually provides an additional degree of authenticity and immersion to the sport’s setting. It is spectacular how densely packed and alive the map nonetheless felt even with such an unbelievable enhance in measurement. Whether or not it is your complete social gathering narrowly dodging vehicles whereas cruising on segways or telling all of the native residents to hold unfastened whereas throwing shakas to everybody you see, the world feels so alive and populated.
There was additionally no scarcity of actions and all of the collection’ signature facet quests. I met and impressed a Hollywood movie director with a ardour for sensible results by turning into a part-time stuntman, and simply down the highway, I bumped into a well-recognized scientist who remains to be engaged on creating the proper, large AI-driven Roomba to maintain the streets clear. Based mostly on what we noticed, it appears secure to say that sub-stories are nonetheless going to be as pleasant and memorable as they’ve been within the collection’ previous. These all work nicely into the bond and drink hyperlink methods which can be returning, the place you construct up and strengthen your friendships with not simply your social gathering but in addition others all around the island. Now, additionally, you will fill out a type of bingo card to study particular issues about every lovable character.
It was additionally this a part of the demo that I obtained to essentially fiddle with the adjustments to the fight system, which lets you transfer round in a small space now. This may increasingly appear to be one thing insignificant at first, however it performs nicely into all the cool new methods you’ll be able to have your social gathering crew up and take out no matter stands in your method. Positioning in fight is essential. Assaults will inform you their space of impact and what method they could push whoever is unlucky sufficient to be receiving the hit. This may result in cool moments the place you’ll be able to stand subsequent to a different social gathering member and execute a correct crew assault, and even hit them over to a different social gathering member who will react robotically and pile on extra injury. It is all very satisfying and looks like a wise evolution for RGG’s already-fun tackle turn-based RPGs.
One other main change that caught out was how far more there may be to Sujimon. In Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Ichiban might go round cataloging individuals you battle like they’re Pokemon. (It sounds weirder than it truly is in context.) This function now appears to have drawn inspiration from Pokemon Go. Across the open world, you can see Poke Cease-style places the place you’ll be able to gather gadgets and even participate in Sujimon raids. All of it works very nicely and looks like an amazing addition to flesh out that elective portion of the sport.
The final little bit of my demo time was spent studying all about Alo-Blissful Excursions, a Japanese journey company set as much as assist Japanese vacationers get probably the most out of their journeys to Hawaii, and which lets you study new jobs or lessons in Infinite Wealth. One in all my favourite components of Yakuza: Like a Dragon was the best way lots of its fight lessons have been primarily based off of an actual job that you’d get from the temp work company, Hiya Work. This time round, your social gathering will discover job inspiration from taking island excursions and collaborating in deliberate actions on the island. These are often accompanied by brief, enjoyable cutscenes displaying how the inspiration for the category you unlock took place. For example, spending time on the seashore along with your social gathering and having a water gun combat will encourage Ichiban to change into an Outdated West-style gunslinger. The entire course of jogs my memory of the outdated revelations system the place Kiryu would witness one thing wild occur and uncover a brand new Warmth motion after running a blog about it. I might solely carry myself to observe a couple of as a result of I did not wish to change into totally spoiled, however what I did see was the whole lot I might hope it might be, and it has me so excited to see what else there may be as soon as I get my fingers on the total sport.
Subsequent, we obtained to take a look at the brand new life-simulation mode being launched in Infinite Wealth, one that can appear similar to followers of video games like Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, and even Remaining Fantasy XIV On-line’s Island Sanctuaries. Each arduous working hero wants an opportunity to relaxation! We might have solely gotten half-hour to play the opening of DonDoko Island, however I might already really feel how simply I’m going to lose many hours enjoying this–it feels prefer it might have nearly been a sport all by itself. I really like that the island itself mirrors Ichiban and his character arc, the “Rock Backside Dragon” rising up out of the darkness to one thing higher and higher. Your important activity is to rebuild the island from nothing to one thing individuals wish to go to. You’ll go from cleansing out trash to elevating skyscrapers and golden statues. There’s even a storyline to assist carry you thru your island restoration journey. We did not get to see a lot of it, however I can say it entails serving to Gachapin and Mukku, two mascots from an outdated Japanese kids’s present that Granblue Fantasy followers will acknowledge, combat off pirates and reclaim components of the island again when you clear it out.
You get to design each a house of your individual and quite a lot of the island itself, too. Each part you filter offers you free rein to drop in any furnishings you craft or buy from the island’s retailer. You can discover new crafting recipes and construct issues with all the supplies you collect whereas clearing out the island. This technique flows nicely and capabilities precisely how you’d anticipate when you’ve got performed comparable video games. I obtained good use out of the music participant function blasting “Friday Evening” whereas I bashed timber and rocks or fished the day away. It seems to be an exquisite mode, and I can not wait to see extra of what it has to supply.
We additionally obtained to dive right into a preselected part of the story from late within the sport that centered on Kiryu. He’s again in Yokohama with Nanba, Saeko, and fan-favorite Seonhee (who’s lastly a playable character now) and doing his greatest to navigate his ideas and emotions after studying that he has most cancers. In an try to assist Kiryu course of his prognosis, the crew suggests writing up a bucket record for the previous yakuza legend and units off to attempt to get as lots of them finished as they’ll. This record accommodates the whole lot from having the ability to get pleasure from some tamago with out having to look over his shoulder to singing his coronary heart out at karaoke or apparently attempting sweets for the primary time. Kiryu has had a tough life and a number of the issues on his record actually drive that residence.
As soon as he drafts this bucket record, a brand new menu possibility permits you to monitor all of Kiryu’s unfinished enterprise. Ending gadgets on this record assist him to awaken his talents and change into stronger. My favourite a part of the bucket record must be the interplay factors that get added to the map and supply flashbacks to necessary occasions in Kiryu’s life. I actually admire this type of reflection, particularly with a personality that’s as fleshed-out as Kiryu, who many followers have spent nearly 20 years with. This was the purpose that made me suppose that, despite the fact that this can be a shared journey with two protagonists, Kiryu’s facet could also be the principle focus (not in contrast to Yakuza 0 being extra Majima’s sport). That is additionally why it looks like Infinite Wealth could possibly be arduous to suggest as a place to begin for individuals who wish to get into the collection. There’s a lot that leans on that prior information and can make the expertise much more impactful, particularly on Kiryu’s facet.
After the story section, we obtained to participate in a boss combat with no context for what was taking place: an encounter on the again of a small ship going through down a large shark–like, as large because the boat we have been on. It’s a wild spectacle and I could not assist however surprise the entire time I used to be combating it, how did Ichiban and everybody get on the market? What had introduced them out right here to this spot to get in a wild fist combat with a mega shark? The combat itself was set as much as not be too arduous for us; we have been a bit overleveled and had tons of things if we would have liked them, however even with that, I might nonetheless see the advantages of enjoying sensible, making use of buffs and debuffs, and utilizing the correct elemental assaults to hit its weak factors. It felt wonderful to chain stuns and see the excessive injury numbers pop up. It makes me excited to see what kind of wild fights we might run into and to see simply how nicely mastery of the fight system will actually repay. I do not know how they will handle topping a large shark, however I wager they may somehow–they all the time do.
After attempting Infinite Wealth, it was arduous to not mirror on how far this collection has come, all of the locations it has gone, and the whole lot all of its characters have been via. This looks like it’s going to be particular, and I’m so excited to see it via.
We do not have to attend too lengthy to hang around with Ichiban, Kiryu, and all of our different crime buddies, as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is popping out on January 26, 2024.