Preview
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the beast that will surprise in 2024
We played the sequel that aims to be Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s maximum opera.
After some interesting years in the franchise (from a name change in the West, from Yakuza to Like a Dragon, and a change in the main character), Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is more than ready to take the series to the next level. About two months ago, thanks to an invitation from SEGA, we had the opportunity to travel to New York City to experience first-hand a preview of what Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, an incredible title that will undoubtedly be one of the big surprises of this 2024.
A sequel that will surpass Yakuza: Like a Dragon by far.
For those who had the opportunity to play the spin-off, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, this installment will tie the plot of that game to Like a Dragon, as we will once again be playing as Ichiban Kasuga, this time in Hawaii in search of his mother. On the other hand, we will have the story of Kazuma Kiryu, the protagonist we already knew from the Yakuza series, who is now in a battle to overcome cancer.
This new structure within the plot makes it one of the biggest and most complex stories in the series, as we will see these characters find new allies in a foreign land to fight an international conspiracy that will add to the already-known lore of the saga.
A full-fledged Yakuza role-playing game
During this presentation, we played in 4 different sessions to understand what producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto said were the three main pillars of this new release: the story, the gameplay, and the levels.
The first session lasted about 90 minutes, and here we were able to focus on the controls. The mechanics have been tweaked based on player feedback, and now both the combat and customization elements have changed.
The game focuses on a simpler control system, as the character can move during the fight and select commands in real-time. This allows us to expand the combos depending on the direction of the attack, as well as the position of our allies to have better interaction with the team. Of course, some things remain, such as the ability to pick up objects amid battle to use in combat.
Another of the changes is that it will now be possible to change jobs during the game, for example, the characters we have as samurai or ninjas (even with the western ones) will also be able to learn new skills in Hawaii, which will allow us to have interesting permutations.
As for activities, Ichiban will be able to participate in Hawaiian activities such as surfing, dancing with fire, racing electric bicycles, and others.
The challenge during development
Those who have played the previous titles in the series know that they always have realistic elements of Japan, from shops to products and other minute details. Despite the change of scenery, the development team has tried to bring everything related to Honolulu to the same level.
To do this, they visited several shops and locations to capture them in the best way possible, although this time the coronavirus pandemic made it difficult to study these places. However, this did not prevent the team from researching the island to capture its essence as much as possible in the final months of development.
The surprise of the game: DonDoko Island, Like a Dragon’s Animal Crossing
For the second session of the preview, of which we had barely 30 minutes, we delved into one of the most ambitious contents of the franchise, as it can be considered a standalone game per se.
DonDoko Island consists of taking an island that is literally a garbage dump and turning it into a tourist attraction. To do this, we will have to collect garbage and transform it, supplementing it with materials or animals that we can collect.
With these resources, we will be able to earn money to buy or build materials to restore the island. As we progress, we will be able to offer other types of services and build and develop the rooms until they become real tourist chains.
The success will not only be to transform this island and give it a new life but also, part of the surprises that we will see is that there will be visitors that we have already seen in previous games.
Understanding a Dying Hero
The third part lasted no longer than 45 minutes, and here we were able to play with Kazuma Kiryu. During this session, we were able to explore the plot a bit more to understand what tone this part of the story will have. To avoid spoilers, we will only say that more than one of us will be brought to tears with a list of things he wants to do before he dies. However, the classic funny sequences that have characterized the series will not be missing.
Monstrous enemies
Finally, in the last part of our preview, we were able to face a giant shark. A little more to understand how the battles with these bosses will be, here we can advance that in addition to having spectacular movements, it is full of challenges, and the fact of having to fight in real time injects a dynamism that will undoubtedly keep us on the edge of our seats.
Approximate story length of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
When Hiroyuki Sakamoto was asked about the length of the main story, he replied that it could be more than 40 hours. But with multiple side missions (as has always been the case with the series), you can expect many more hours to truly complete the game.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will be released on January 26 and will be available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.