A beautiful journey from start to finish. Not a moment where I felt let down, disengaged or negative about this story whatsoever. The game tells you pretty explicitly it's about the past and future of the yakuza, both literally and on a metaphorical level. While Like a Dragon had some cool theming of passing on the torch, this game truly feels like the end of Kiryu's era and the rise of Ichiban's.

Ichiban's side of this story is exhilarating, fun and introduces some new characters with wonderful emotional depth. A yakuza with a soul, seeing the good in people where others don't, helping those in need that can't seem to help themselves, Ichiban serves as a beautiful new protagonist to the Yakuza series. His parallels and bond with Kiryu are believable and feel stronger with every scene they're in together.

On the other hand, this is very clearly Kiryu's last game, or at least the last game he will have a major role in. His journey is over and after all he's been through, he makes a final hoorah with Ichiban and his friends, finally relying on others in a life where he tried to take on everything on his own. Throughout Kiryu's story in Infinite Wealth, he regains the will to live and be himself. Always being ready to die and fall for others, he finally chooses to live for himself and regains his name as Kiryu Kazuma, the Dragon of Dojima.

The way these stories intertwine and compliment each other constantly is something beautiful, reminiscent of Yakuza 0, where Kiryu and Majima's stories slowly came together in a masterfully written way, yet Infinite Wealth feels a lot more intimate and emotional. Personally, I can't count the amount of times I've teared up, cried or just gotten emotional from this story.

This game is truly special and will forever have a place in my heart as one of my favorite stories in fiction.

"...So long, old friend."