Ichiban Kasuga is simply one of the best protagonists a video game has ever had, i love him so much. the previous game's narrative was one of my favourites in any game - so when it was revealed that Ichi would be sharing protagonist duty with Kiryu, i was upset. i know this is sacrilegious to Yakuza fans but there are like ten other games where you play as Kiryu and one of them released three (3!!!) months before this one! i've had enough of his ass and wanted more of Ichiban. unfortunately, my fears that the story would more-or-less throw Ichiban to the sidelines so that Kiryu can have one last ride (again(again)) were proven correct.
Kiryu's story is the beating heart of this game. he has a beautiful narrative about coming to terms with is own mortality, fragile after years being the underworld legend of coolguy action and masculinity (positive), learning to rely on others and forgive himself so that he can fight on. Infinite Wealth tells you loudly, just like with Ichiban's impassioned tear-jerking ending monologue in LaD, that you have to live. i haven't played the entire Yakuza series, but Kiryu's sections with Date were really strong. old, lonely men learning to finally reach out and find a reason to keep going. i can't imagine how rewarding his 'bucket list' stuff must be to longtime fans, it had me tearing up over the pocket fighter guy. its villains are pretty weak, but its side-characters and themes are spectacular.
Ichiban's story, sadly, just isn't as fleshed-out or strong as Kiryu's. which sucks! it starts off strong but loses its focus as it goes. the early shit with police brutality, Hawaii's colonial issues, and poverty really felt like it was going somewhere special. when the true villain is revealed, a religious cult lead by a creepy white dude with violent fanatics shipped into every upper echelon of society's hierarchy (notably including the police) it really seems like Infinite Wealth is about to say something. but once that villain is revealed, and after the Vtuber twist, it feels like its story runs out of ideas. especially considering how Kiryu's side has a villain with far more personal relevance to Kasuga (which barely even registers in the plot), it's odd how much this side flatlines. i love its main characters, Tomizawa and Yamai are great new additions, and i love the side-stories. i love hearing these characters just chill out, i love them!!! its setting is wonderful, even if Hawaii more-or-less feels like Japan 2. after a certain point though, it didn't feel like taking place in Hawaii really had much relevance at all.
there's gameplay with that story, too. they fixed every issue with 7's combat and made one of the most fun RPGs there is! i love how it plays, though i think some of its balancing is questionable. cash goes from something so hard to get it's brutal (in a great way) to comically overabundant past the midpoint of the game, especially post-Dondoko Island. i really enjoyed Dondoko Island though! genuinely more fun than New Horizons was. there's so much to do in this that it's almost nauseating at points. honestly, it might've made some complaints i have with the story's pacing exist in the first place - i spent five days just on Sujimon and Dondoko. i just love that these are big RPGs now though. there's so much goofy, creative shit it does.
the ending was extremely heartwarming, i'm very excited to play as Ichiban and never as Kiryu again. leave him alone!!!!!!! let me play go on more Kasugadventures please!!!!!!!!
Kiryu's story is the beating heart of this game. he has a beautiful narrative about coming to terms with is own mortality, fragile after years being the underworld legend of coolguy action and masculinity (positive), learning to rely on others and forgive himself so that he can fight on. Infinite Wealth tells you loudly, just like with Ichiban's impassioned tear-jerking ending monologue in LaD, that you have to live. i haven't played the entire Yakuza series, but Kiryu's sections with Date were really strong. old, lonely men learning to finally reach out and find a reason to keep going. i can't imagine how rewarding his 'bucket list' stuff must be to longtime fans, it had me tearing up over the pocket fighter guy. its villains are pretty weak, but its side-characters and themes are spectacular.
Ichiban's story, sadly, just isn't as fleshed-out or strong as Kiryu's. which sucks! it starts off strong but loses its focus as it goes. the early shit with police brutality, Hawaii's colonial issues, and poverty really felt like it was going somewhere special. when the true villain is revealed, a religious cult lead by a creepy white dude with violent fanatics shipped into every upper echelon of society's hierarchy (notably including the police) it really seems like Infinite Wealth is about to say something. but once that villain is revealed, and after the Vtuber twist, it feels like its story runs out of ideas. especially considering how Kiryu's side has a villain with far more personal relevance to Kasuga (which barely even registers in the plot), it's odd how much this side flatlines. i love its main characters, Tomizawa and Yamai are great new additions, and i love the side-stories. i love hearing these characters just chill out, i love them!!! its setting is wonderful, even if Hawaii more-or-less feels like Japan 2. after a certain point though, it didn't feel like taking place in Hawaii really had much relevance at all.
there's gameplay with that story, too. they fixed every issue with 7's combat and made one of the most fun RPGs there is! i love how it plays, though i think some of its balancing is questionable. cash goes from something so hard to get it's brutal (in a great way) to comically overabundant past the midpoint of the game, especially post-Dondoko Island. i really enjoyed Dondoko Island though! genuinely more fun than New Horizons was. there's so much to do in this that it's almost nauseating at points. honestly, it might've made some complaints i have with the story's pacing exist in the first place - i spent five days just on Sujimon and Dondoko. i just love that these are big RPGs now though. there's so much goofy, creative shit it does.
the ending was extremely heartwarming, i'm very excited to play as Ichiban and never as Kiryu again. leave him alone!!!!!!! let me play go on more Kasugadventures please!!!!!!!!