2023 has already been a stacked year for games, and 2024 doesn’t seem like it’s letting off the gas. Ichiban, Kiryu, and the whole gang are back for another adventure with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth on January 26, 2024.
The news premiered last night, as part of the RGG Direct ahead of Tokyo Game Show 2023. In it, we got a pretty lengthy look at the story of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. No, seriously, it’s 10 minutes long. There are some major plot beats in this trailer. It’s a mini-film in its own right.
Alongside some shocking revelations about the state of longtime Yakuza protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, as well as how Kasuga Ichiban winds up in Hawaii, we get a very important confirmation: that Infinite Wealth will have quite a large cast.
Everybody’s here in Infinite Wealth
I had initially worried that, with the inclusion of Kiryu and the switch in perspective, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth might not see every member of Ichiban’s original party return. So I was pretty psyched to see the whole crew is back, and then some; Ichiban, Nanba, Adachi, Saeko, Joon-gi, and Zhao are all here.
Seong-hui, the Geomijul leader who was not a party member in Like a Dragon 7, also looks to be joining the party. There are also newcomers Tomizawa and Chitose, and we see some cutscene appearances of series favorites like Taiga Saejima and, of course, Goro Majima.
Seriously, the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series was already full of surprise cameos that made me jump a bit in surprise. But seeing all of this cast together, hanging out? Nanba giving sage advice to Kiryu? What looks like a party split, as they each tackle their own problems in two different locations? I’m really, seriously invested in whatever is happening here.
Wait your turn
Alongside the story trailer, we also got a big look at gameplay for Infinite Wealth too. It is maintaining the turn-based RPG battles from Yakuza: Like a Dragon, albeit with some new twists. Crucially, you can now control a character’s movement on their turn, which is a huge quality-of-life upgrade from the prior game.
The party can execute special Kiwami attacks and, of course, Poundmates is here to deliver the pain through summon attacks.
And it wouldn’t be a Like a Dragon game without minigames, right? Ichiban can play his own bike-powered of Crazy Taxi, or swipe on the apps in Miss Match, or even go on a photo scavenger hunt. Plus, a wealth of leisure games and arcade classics, with the trailer spotlighting Sega Bass Fishing and, somehow, SpikeOut.
All of this together makes Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth look like a frankly massive follow-up to RGG’s new RPG branch of the series, and it’s not far off either. January 2024 is just a few months away. Even closer is November 9, when Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Without a Name goes live, which will have a special trial of Infinite Wealth. We’re really not going to be hurting for yakuza action in the coming months.
