I don’t know where to fit this into the rest of the review, so let me just get this out of the way first: Yamai put this game on his back. One of the best new characters in gaming this decade. This guy is a REAL yearner. He loves dusty old women and wants you to know it.
Infinite Wealth is a prime example of how to use a sequel to make thoughtful improvements to a solid formula. The turn based combat has been retooled to give the player more control over unit positioning and areas of effect. The new job progression means less fussing over stat growth and encourages experimentation. The expanded social link system gives party members ample opportunity to display on-screen chemistry outside of the main story— enabling the player to buy into the game’s characterization of its protagonist as a man with an uncanny ability to unite people.
Speaking of Ichiban Kasuga, I don't think there's any doubt that he takes a backseat to Kiryu in this game. Despite Ichi being the new face of the series and having the torch passed to him in Yakuza 7, Infinite Wealth funnels all of its juicy character development and opportunities for true drama to the ol’ Dragon of Dojima. Who am I to complain, though? I loved every second of it. But it struck me as odd that Ichiban didn't get the same treatment. He has one opportunity to demonstrate true personal growth, and it’s played as a gag that sets him back to square one. He is made out to be a caricature— a cartoonish, idealistic hero. Meanwhile, Kiryu is portrayed more like a real human than ever before-- flaws and all.
With all of the thematic emphasis on closure and solidifying legacies, I’m surprised by how many loose ends Infinite Wealth leaves us with. In some ways, this makes the game feel like the second installment of a trilogy, which is fine. But in other cases, there were plot details simply left out or things that I would have liked to see fleshed out that probably never will be.
My final complaint is minor. There is a trophy for reaching level 70. After finishing all of the content in the game, my party was in the low 50s with few options for grinding. Outside of the achievement list, there is no reason to push the party past level 60. The hardest bosses in the game can be beaten far below that. The game’s most natural path to level 70 is locked behind paid DLC, which grants access to high level end-game dungeons.
I’m ultimately giving this game a slightly lower score than Gaiden. Gaiden didn’t have much to engage with outside of its extremely tight, well-told main story. Infinite Wealth, on the other hand, has engrossing side content that could warrant its own games. I was constantly entertained by a variety of activities. However, the weirdly paced story— despite many highlights— and mishandling of certain characters left me scratching my head at times. To me, no Yakuza game has managed to create the perfect blend of narrative and gameplay quite like Yakuza 0. But these two most recent entries have been thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless.
Infinite Wealth is a prime example of how to use a sequel to make thoughtful improvements to a solid formula. The turn based combat has been retooled to give the player more control over unit positioning and areas of effect. The new job progression means less fussing over stat growth and encourages experimentation. The expanded social link system gives party members ample opportunity to display on-screen chemistry outside of the main story— enabling the player to buy into the game’s characterization of its protagonist as a man with an uncanny ability to unite people.
Speaking of Ichiban Kasuga, I don't think there's any doubt that he takes a backseat to Kiryu in this game. Despite Ichi being the new face of the series and having the torch passed to him in Yakuza 7, Infinite Wealth funnels all of its juicy character development and opportunities for true drama to the ol’ Dragon of Dojima. Who am I to complain, though? I loved every second of it. But it struck me as odd that Ichiban didn't get the same treatment. He has one opportunity to demonstrate true personal growth, and it’s played as a gag that sets him back to square one. He is made out to be a caricature— a cartoonish, idealistic hero. Meanwhile, Kiryu is portrayed more like a real human than ever before-- flaws and all.
With all of the thematic emphasis on closure and solidifying legacies, I’m surprised by how many loose ends Infinite Wealth leaves us with. In some ways, this makes the game feel like the second installment of a trilogy, which is fine. But in other cases, there were plot details simply left out or things that I would have liked to see fleshed out that probably never will be.
My final complaint is minor. There is a trophy for reaching level 70. After finishing all of the content in the game, my party was in the low 50s with few options for grinding. Outside of the achievement list, there is no reason to push the party past level 60. The hardest bosses in the game can be beaten far below that. The game’s most natural path to level 70 is locked behind paid DLC, which grants access to high level end-game dungeons.
I’m ultimately giving this game a slightly lower score than Gaiden. Gaiden didn’t have much to engage with outside of its extremely tight, well-told main story. Infinite Wealth, on the other hand, has engrossing side content that could warrant its own games. I was constantly entertained by a variety of activities. However, the weirdly paced story— despite many highlights— and mishandling of certain characters left me scratching my head at times. To me, no Yakuza game has managed to create the perfect blend of narrative and gameplay quite like Yakuza 0. But these two most recent entries have been thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless.
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aipom
2 months ago