I have some idea as to why this game was called "Infinite Wealth" in the West. Perhaps it's the wealth of knowledge from a lifetime of mistakes, and the desire to atone. Perhaps it's the wealth of courage that it takes to continue to move forward with your head held high.

Or, more likely, it's the wealth I accumulated from using my Poundmates to cheese battles with multiple enemies. Spend money, make money back. It felt infinite to me.

This game was amazing. The Hawaii setting was thoroughly enjoyable as a break from the Japanese metropolitan cities of past games. It brought me back to Okinawa in Yakuza 3, which very much focused on the day-to-day life of Kiyru at Morning Glory, and that is fitting, because a lot of this game is about enjoying the time we have left.

The game is full of brilliant satire of contemporary life, wild concepts, and most importantly of all - the battle system is a great step up from 7. From the position-based moves to the new jobs and party members to experiment with, it's a great time.

Moreover, Kiyru is not only my favourite party member, but this game also has a huge focus on him. It's funny, considering he's had like 3 different games that could be considered "endings" by now, but I feel this game was a true conclusion, and to carry Kiryu on past this point would be distasteful. By chapter eight, I was trying to cross off every item on his bucket list and see all of the life links. Chapter eight and its lingering elements might just be some of the best things I've ever seen in a Yakuza game. As someone who dealt with cancer in the past, I understand the desire to not be treated any differently, as well as finding that desire to keep going and live on. I have not faced death as Kiyru has, but it certainly reshapes your view on life itself and your desire to see it through. Kiryu's illness did not define him, and that's what I resonated with most.

I don't think the A-plot was really anything special in comparison to 7, but what it stood for was far more important. Without spoiling anything, the way this game resolves was more about the protagonists than anything else, and that is why I fell in love with it. It doesn't always make for an exciting narrative, and it does have a similar issue to other Yakuza games with its expository dialogue, but its themes were strong enough for me to appreciate what it was going for. Also, this game made me love Ichiban even more than I already did.

All in all - this is an excellent game. Certainly one of the best games RGG Studios has ever made. It's not perfect, but it's damn close, and well worth experiencing if you want to laugh and have a good time just as much as you want an emotional gut-punch to round things out. And that's always what I'm looking for in a game.

I can't believe I waited this long to play this game. The world Obsidian created has so much depth, giving the player so much agency to explore consequences, but the game operates outside of the realms of explicit good and evil. I never felt truly, fully satisfied with the morality of all of my actions, and I don't see that as a bad thing - quite the opposite, really. Every single decision you make really does have far-reaching positive and negative effects on the world, and more than that - you have so much freedom to approach quests however you like. I have so many stories about my first playthrough that I know are going to stick with me.

I feel like Bethesda will never be able to outdo what Obsidian achieved with this game, and it's a shame it was rushed. Even with the depth of its world, it could have been so much more, which is hard to believe in its own right. The combat might not be anything too amazing, but the exceptional amount of player freedom, dialogue options, and layered complexities to its world make it one of the best RPGs I've ever played. I'll likely be playing this game again someday, and I'll cherish my first playthrough forever.