Comme un dragon : richesse infinie – Critique de Yakuza : Infinite Wealth

After an excellent Yakuza 7 that offered new groundwork, Sega and Ryū ga Gotoku are back with Infinite Wealth, the second game to be released under the Like a Dragon label. And it is safe to say that the Japanese have mastered this one.

The release of a Yakuza-branded video game is always a phenomenon in itself. It was in 2005 when the very first episode of a franchise that would become a cult classic was released in Japan on Playstation 2. In fifteen years, seven episodes have been developed by the Japanese at Ryū ga Gotoku Studio, before a reboot of the series initiated in 2020. Like a Dragon thus laid the groundwork for a new gameplay, moving away from the beat ’em all side for turn-based RPG.

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In Yakuza 8, or more officially Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, we find the protagonist from the previous episode, Ichiban Kasuga, accompanied by the legendary Kazuma Kiryu, the main hero of the series who was at the center of Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. This time, the focus is on Kasuga’s origins. The duo goes to Honolulu to find the hero’s biological mother and protect her from criminal organizations that mean her harm.

Ryū ga Gotoku offers us a complete change by taking us to Hawaii. The landscapes are more lush, sunny, and pleasant to look at. The gray and dreary streets of Ijincho give way to Honolulu City, a city that would make many dream and that is incredibly imposing in size. Imagine Ijincho and Kamurocho combined into one map. A large map, yes, but one in which you won’t get bored. On one hand, because of the number of citizens in the streets.

Every corner is conducive to making new acquaintances, whether it’s people to bond with or who will give you one or the other side quest, or with criminals who will want your skin. Honolulu is in the grip of major gang wars, and it’s your character who gets mixed up in it. You walk down the street, you come across a group of thugs who, if you get too close to them, will initiate a confrontation with you. So yes, it is entirely possible to avoid them by moving as far away from them as possible. But since Infinite Wealth is an RPG, if you want to gain experience and earn money, you will have to go through this.

On the other hand, and this has become the hallmark of the saga, if you don’t get bored for a moment in Infinite Wealth, it’s because of the almost endless number of mini-games on offer. And in this episode, it feels like the offering is even more complete than in previous titles in the franchise. Some mini-games are even quite memorable, like Dondodoko Island !, an ultra-complete Animal Crossing-like game, or the Sujimons. Does that name ring a bell? It’s no coincidence…

In essence, a complete Pokemon game is integrated into Infinite Wealth. Everything (or almost everything) is copied from Nintendo’s famous franchise, except that here you have American gangsters, ninjas, statues… In short, ultra-stereotyped characters who fight for you against other Sujimons belonging to trainers and… champions. As in Pokemon, you will have to conquer an arena, capture several of the 300 Sujimons found in nature… You get the idea, it’s literally a full game within the game, which will keep you occupied for several dozen hours on its own.

Like any good J-RPG and as has been the case in the series for almost always, Infinite Wealth gives you the possibility to shape Ichiban Kasuga’s personality as you see fit. Through different choices that you will have to make in your conversations with other characters, you can accentuate Kasuga’s charisma or intelligence. What is striking is that you can feel that it has a real impact on how people feel about your hero.

The characters around you all benefit from extremely careful staging. Generally, in JRPGs, the emphasis is certainly not on the protagonists, but rather on the story. For years, Ryū ga Gotoku has proven that it is possible, for a Japanese studio, to offer deep characters. Whether it’s the protagonists or the antagonists, all have a real life and show a well-defined character.

On the combat side, we remain on the same combat system as that initiated in Like a Dragon. After an interlude in The Man Who Erased His Name by returning to real-time combat, Ryū ga Gotoku once again proposes turn-based battles. During battles, players can choose from different actions such as attacking, using items, parrying, or executing special actions requiring mana points. Although the first battles may seem unexciting and the enemies not very formidable, it is only with the progression of the plot that the battles fully reveal their potential, offering a more immersive and dynamic gaming experience. Our heroes also have their own special and quite stylized special attack.

Visually, the game is quite disappointing, albeit very faithful to previous installments. The graphics engine has never been the strong point of the franchise, and this is also felt in this episode. The cutscenes are quite uneven (neither too ugly nor very beautiful) and the landscapes are nice without being mind-blowing. In 2024, for a AAA of this caliber, we are entitled to expect more. However, it is mainly on the side of the soundtrack that Infinite Wealth stands out the most. The Japanese dubbing is of impressive quality, and the melodies are always very appropriate, never out of step with the situation.

Finally, one detail was very irritating for us. The base edition of the game, which is still sold for 69.99€, only contains the game. While this is clearly not theft considering the gigantic content of the title, there is a real ethical problem with the collector’s editions. Traditionally, studios offer a New Game+ mode for their game after release in free additional content. Here, Sega has decided to offer only this mode (and a few bonuses for Sujimon) in the Deluxe edition, sold for… 85€. This is clearly theft and is on the verge of being unforgivable. Sega has never accustomed us to this and the studio’s image takes a hard hit. Even if, as we repeat, the base game exceeds 60 hours of playtime, offering a New Game+ mode in exchange for fifteen euros is simply scandalous.

Conclusion

Where the first Like a Dragon timidly laid the groundwork for an important renewal for the combat system of the series, Infinite Wealth is practically its culmination. Everything offered here is of higher quality than in the previous episode: the combat, the content, the story, the finish… Simply put, Infinite Wealth is a Like a Dragon 2.0. Ryū ga Gotoku has brought all its expertise to offer one of (if not the) most accomplished Yakuza games in 20 years. Some very good ideas introduced in this episode hit the mark, notably the Sujimon mini-game, but some elements stand out and prevent Infinite Wealth from being simply the perfect Japanese RPG. This is the case of the technical aspect, sometimes very weak given current standards, or a lack of precision in some subtitles. It might be a detail to you, but for us, the content of the collector’s editions is a real problem, especially the New Game+ mode, generally free, sold in the deluxe edition for 85€… Despite this disappointing point, Infinite Wealth is undoubtedly the most accomplished title in the franchise.

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