Wall Jump Games Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review

Easily in my top 5 games of all time and in a very close race (that it’s currently winning) with Metaphor: ReFantazio for my Game of the Year. I adore the Yakuza series with all of my heart, easily my favourite of all time, and though it’s not quite as consistent as my second favourite, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, it’s highs are just so high that it’s still my overall favourite. From a pure gameplay perspective, it’s basically a straight upgrade over Yakuza 7, especially in terms of combat. It feels so much more robust and it’s crazy how much they’ve improved over the course of a single game and have reached top tier JRPG combat on their second go. The movement system adds so much depth and tactility to Infinite Wealth’s fights, which was already the greatest strength of 7’s combat, and especially the Dragon of Dojima job is just a really interesting job to use. One thing this game does that is really impressive, especially on the DoD job, is making basic attacks worthwhile and fun to use, and the ways it does that is something every JRPG in the future should learn from. Beyond combat, it’s a bit more of a mixed bag. Honolulu is a great map, the biggest in the series and also the most varied, and with some really visually impressive stuff like the beach, the shopping centres and the hotel. I don’t feel like you grow the same connection to it as says Yokohama in 7, Kamurocho in all of them and Sotenbori in 0, but it’s still a great map. The mini games (Sicko Snap, Crazy Delivery, etc) are by far the best in the series but I found Dondoko Island and the Sujimon League to be a little underwhelming, both falling far short of Business Management in 7. The substories are pretty good, not the best in the series but not falling below quality standards either. I didn’t have too much in depth to say in the paragraph above because, unlike seemingly a lot of people who play the games but wouldn’t consider themselves apart of the fandom (I would consider myself apart of the fandom), I play these games primarily for story. This is my favourite story in the series, but if I tried to take a more detached (NOT objective, objectivity doesn’t exist in art criticism) view, it’s probably only the 3rd or 4th best of the games. The reason for that disconnect is because whilst it has a lot of plot messiness, with slightly undercooked twists and a very mixed bag of villains, the emotional moments, especially from Kiryu, are the best in the series. This is my favourite cast of characters in gaming, they all have such strong and great personalities and get their chemistry built up really well over the course of the game, although to be fair Adachi in particular gets quite shafted in this game so most of my love from him comes from 7. In conclusion, this game isn’t perfect, but I cannot help but love it with all my heart.