Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the best Yakuza game, in my opinion at least. I think it perfectly expands on the combat from Yakuza 7 creating a simple but incredibly rewarding turn-based system. I think it contains the best overworld in the series and one of my favorite overworlds in any game ever. The game is filled with likeable characters that all represent the game's main themes in one way or another. The one shortcoming the game has, and it's a pretty big one, is the 3rd act of the story which fumbles it's way through a rushed conclusion which leaves so many unanswered questions that it makes me wonder if this was meant to be setting up for a direct sequel making a trilogy. But overall this is one of the most enjoyable and memorable JRPGs I have played in a long time.

Let's go back to what I liked. The combat is a major step up from the last game. In Yakuza 7, combat was simple, it mostly consisted of each character doing their one big move over and over and using heals or buffs when you needed to. Combat in Infinite Wealth was revamped to place a heavy emphasis on positioning, of both you and your enemies. The ability to move freely on your turn creates a system of always trying to get the smallest advantage over your enemy at all times, which is incredibly fun for me because I like to do that in RPG's anyway.

They also reverted the strange decision to tie major stat increases to job level. I really love how this game encourages you to switch jobs regularly and get as many useful skills as possible while making it easier for you to do so by adding the ability to switch jobs at multiple locations. I also like the new skill inheritance system where you can only inherit a certain number of skills from different jobs. Not only does this clear up the move list and create more interesting decisions to make while building your characters, it makes it so the jobs themselves can feel more varied and individually powerful. Many jobs in Yakuza 7 were straight up terrible but pretty much every job in 8 has at least one really good move that would make it worth it to switch for a while.

The Honolulu map is my favorite city in the Yakuza series. I've always loved tropical, beach-themed places so I was very excited when I heard this game would take place at least partly in Honolulu and I was not disappointed. It just feels so good to walk around this city, everything is so vibrant and colorful while still having a laid-back, chill vibe. This probably comes more from my personal love of areas like this, but I just adore this map and I hope they use it again.

The characters were once again a home run in this game. The returning characters were just as good as before and their stories continue in a logical and satisfying way. The newcomers were great with Tomizawa and Yamai being two particularly stand out additions. Only complaint I have is that I am absolutely baffled why they waited to add Joon-Gi Han to the party so late especially when they had the perfect opportunity to do so when Zhao joined.

Now on to things I didn't like.

They really really need to retire Kiryu for good at this point. As someone who started with Yakuza 0 and played through every mainline game, I can feel myself starting to get sick of him as much as it pains me to say. This is the 233,409,216,745th time they've done "Kiryu's final stand" and I think it's time to fully pass the franchise over to Ichiban who I think is a perfect successor to Kiryu. The two are complete opposites while still holding the same core values. Granted, Kiryu still had unfinished business because of that frankly idiotic deal he made with the Daidoji faction in Yakuza 6, but at a certain point you have to recognize when a character arc reaches it's natural conclusion which thankfully I think it did here. Kiryu deciding to live for the people who he loves and regaining his name (somehow) is the perfect ending for him. I don't mind him playing a supporting role, maybe a mentor figure or something, but I will be sorely disappointed if Yakuza 9 ends in Kiryu climbing Millennium Tower to fight a corrupt Yakuza boss who wants to destroy that way of life. As a final note on Kiryu in this game, I think the decision to have Tatara reveal Kiryu is alive is the single worst plot point in the story because almost nothing comes from it. Kiryu hiding his identity was already pretty flimsy because it feels like every old Yakuza character besides the kids at the orphanage ran into Kiryu and immediately recognized him which makes you wonder what the point is. But once his identity is revealed, nothing really changes. The Daidoji act like him being alive is still a top level classified secret, none of the old characters ever react to the news, and Kiryu himself still tries to hide the fact that he's clearly alive and running around. I think it's fine we didn't get a scene of Kiryu and Haruka reuniting but at least show us how she and the other kids felt about the news that the guy who is basically their father is not only still alive but has been in hiding for the better part of a decade. It just felt like it went nowhere which makes me question why they even included it in the first place.

The Ichiban side of the story on the other hand felt like it was missing a few cutscenes after the credits. It just leaves so much left unanswered. What happened to Bryce? What happened to Akane? How's Yamai doing? Did Ichiban and the others get their jobs back after Tatara exposed herself? Does Saeko actually love Ichiban? I just wish there was a bit more closure.

I've heard a lot of people say they don't think Ichiban should have forgiven Eiji but I thought that was fine. Ichiban didn't even really forgive him he gave him a chance to atone which is what he was doing at Hello Work at the beginning of the game. I think it made sense for him.

The last couple of chapters felt strange, almost padding but not quite. I don't really know how to explain it but it felt like a lot of what you're doing feels inconsequential.

Overall I enjoyed the story, I just think the party split made the whole thing pretty wonky and we ended up with a lackluster but not terrible 3rd act and a decent ending.

I am big fan of this game, I had a great time playing it and I think it serves as a good conclusion to Kiryu's character. I hope the next game is more Ichiban focused and the story is a bit more smooth. I'm definitely looking forward to the next project from RGG.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the best Yakuza game, in my opinion at least. I think it perfectly expands on the combat from Yakuza 7 creating a simple but incredibly rewarding turn-based system. I think it contains the best overworld in the series and one of my favorite overworlds in any game ever. The game is filled with likeable characters that all represent the game's main themes in one way or another. The one shortcoming the game has, and it's a pretty big one, is the 3rd act of the story which fumbles it's way through a rushed conclusion which leaves so many unanswered questions that it makes me wonder if this was meant to be setting up for a direct sequel making a trilogy. But overall this is one of the most enjoyable and memorable JRPGs I have played in a long time.

Let's go back to what I liked. The combat is a major step up from the last game. In Yakuza 7, combat was simple, it mostly consisted of each character doing their one big move over and over and using heals or buffs when you needed to. Combat in Infinite Wealth was revamped to place a heavy emphasis on positioning, of both you and your enemies. The ability to move freely on your turn creates a system of always trying to get the smallest advantage over your enemy at all times, which is incredibly fun for me because I like to do that in RPG's anyway.

They also reverted the strange decision to tie major stat increases to job level. I really love how this game encourages you to switch jobs regularly and get as many useful skills as possible while making it easier for you to do so by adding the ability to switch jobs at multiple locations. I also like the new skill inheritance system where you can only inherit a certain number of skills from different jobs. Not only does this clear up the move list and create more interesting decisions to make while building your characters, it makes it so the jobs themselves can feel more varied and individually powerful. Many jobs in Yakuza 7 were straight up terrible but pretty much every job in 8 has at least one really good move that would make it worth it to switch for a while.

The Honolulu map is my favorite city in the Yakuza series. I've always loved tropical, beach-themed places so I was very excited when I heard this game would take place at least partly in Honolulu and I was not disappointed. It just feels so good to walk around this city, everything is so vibrant and colorful while still having a laid-back, chill vibe. This probably comes more from my personal love of areas like this, but I just adore this map and I hope they use it again.

The characters were once again a home run in this game. The returning characters were just as good as before and their stories continue in a logical and satisfying way. The newcomers were great with Tomizawa and Yamai being two particularly stand out additions. Only complaint I have is that I am absolutely baffled why they waited to add Joon-Gi Han to the party so late especially when they had the perfect opportunity to do so when Zhao joined.

Now on to things I didn't like.

They really really need to retire Kiryu for good at this point. As someone who started with Yakuza 0 and played through every mainline game, I can feel myself starting to get sick of him as much as it pains me to say. This is the 233,409,216,745th time they've done "Kiryu's final stand" and I think it's time to fully pass the franchise over to Ichiban who I think is a perfect successor to Kiryu. The two are complete opposites while still holding the same core values. Granted, Kiryu still had unfinished business because of that frankly idiotic deal he made with the Daidoji faction in Yakuza 6, but at a certain point you have to recognize when a character arc reaches it's natural conclusion which thankfully I think it did here. Kiryu deciding to live for the people who he loves and regaining his name (somehow) is the perfect ending for him. I don't mind him playing a supporting role, maybe a mentor figure or something, but I will be sorely disappointed if Yakuza 9 ends in Kiryu climbing Millennium Tower to fight a corrupt Yakuza boss who wants to destroy that way of life. As a final note on Kiryu in this game, I think the decision to have Tatara reveal Kiryu is alive is the single worst plot point in the story because almost nothing comes from it. Kiryu hiding his identity was already pretty flimsy because it feels like every old Yakuza character besides the kids at the orphanage ran into Kiryu and immediately recognized him which makes you wonder what the point is. But once his identity is revealed, nothing really changes. The Daidoji act like him being alive is still a top level classified secret, none of the old characters ever react to the news, and Kiryu himself still tries to hide the fact that he's clearly alive and running around. I think it's fine we didn't get a scene of Kiryu and Haruka reuniting but at least show us how she and the other kids felt about the news that the guy who is basically their father is not only still alive but has been in hiding for the better part of a decade. It just felt like it went nowhere which makes me question why they even included it in the first place.

The Ichiban side of the story on the other hand felt like it was missing a few cutscenes after the credits. It just leaves so much left unanswered. What happened to Bryce? What happened to Akane? How's Yamai doing? Did Ichiban and the others get their jobs back after Tatara exposed herself? Does Saeko actually love Ichiban? I just wish there was a bit more closure.

I've heard a lot of people say they don't think Ichiban should have forgiven Eiji but I thought that was fine. Ichiban didn't even really forgive him he gave him a chance to atone which is what he was doing at Hello Work at the beginning of the game. I think it made sense for him.

The last couple of chapters felt strange, almost padding but not quite. I don't really know how to explain it but it felt like a lot of what you're doing feels inconsequential.

Overall I enjoyed the story, I just think the party split made the whole thing pretty wonky and we ended up with a lackluster but not terrible 3rd act and a decent ending.

I am big fan of this game, I had a great time playing it and I think it serves as a good conclusion to Kiryu's character. I hope the next game is more Ichiban focused and the story is a bit more smooth. I'm definitely looking forward to the next project from RGG.