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Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

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Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Developer(s)Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Ryosuke Horii[1]
Producer(s)Hiroyuki Sakamoto
Programmer(s)Yutaka Ito
Artist(s)Nobuaki Mitake
Writer(s)Masayoshi Yokoyama
Kazunobu Takeuchi
Tsuyoshi Furuta
Composer(s)Chihiro Aoki
SeriesLike a Dragon
Platform(s)
ReleaseJanuary 26, 2024
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth[a] is an upcoming role-playing video game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It is the ninth mainline entry of the Like a Dragon series, and a direct sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2020) and the spin-off title Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name (2023).

Infinite Wealth stars Ichiban Kasuga, protagonist of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Kazuma Kiryu, the original protagonist of the series, and takes place in the franchise's first-ever overseas locale, Hawaii, in addition to familiar settings in Japan. Together with old and new allies, Kasuga and Kiryu team up to help the former find and reunite with his mother in Hawaii.[2]

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is set to release worldwide on January 26, 2024.[3]

Gameplay

In Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, players control Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu, and their respective party members, as they explore the Isezaki Ijincho district of Yokohama, as well as Honolulu City in Hawaii. Similar to Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the game employs a turn-based combat system for all playable characters. Each character can choose from a multitude of "jobs", which act as classes that grant them distinctive perks and playstyles.[4] Kiryu's unique job also allows him to temporarily perform real-time combat, similar to the brawler gameplay from previous Like a Dragon titles.[5] The Poundmates summon system returns, featuring a variety of new and returning franchise characters, such as Shun Akiyama and Kaoru Sayama.[4]

In addition to returning minigames such as Karaoke, Darts and Mahjong, new minigames are introduced in Infinite Wealth, such as Crazy Delivery, which is inspired by Sega's Crazy Taxi franchise; Sujimon Battle, a Pokémon parody game; and Miss Match, a dating app for Kasuga.[4]

Premise

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth follows former Tojo Clan yakuza members Ichiban Kasuga (Kazuhiro Nakaya/Kaiji Tang) and Kazuma Kiryu (Takaya Kuroda/Yong Yea) as they embark on a new adventure in Isezaki Ijincho, Yokohama and Honolulu City, Hawaii. Following a tip from a former comrade, Kasuga travels to Honolulu in search of his biological mother, Akane Kishida, who he thought had died many years ago. Meanwhile, Kiryu is also present in Honolulu in search of Akane per the Daidoji faction's orders, and teams up with Kasuga to find and protect her from various local criminal organizations. In the process, Kasuga also learns that Kiryu has contracted cancer, and has an undetermined amount of time to live.[2]

Kasuga's party members from Yakuza: Like a Dragon return, including: Yu Nanba (Ken Yasuda), Koichi Adachi (Akio Otsuka), Saeko Mukoda (Sumire Uesaka), Tianyou Zhao (Nobuhiko Okamoto), and Joon-gi Han (Yuichi Nakamura). Joining the playable roster are Seonhee (Hana Takeda), leader of the Ijincho-based Geomijul syndicate and a supporting character from the previous title; Eric Tomizawa (Satoru Iguchi), a corrupt taxi driver who is initially hostile towards Kasuga; and Chitose Fujinomiya (Anju Inami), Akane's personal maid.[3] Other supporting characters include: Eiji Mitamura (Ryo Narita), a disabled individual who Kasuga meets and befriends at Honolulu; Goro Majima (Hidenari Ugaki), Taiga Saejima (Rikiya Koyama), and Daigo Dojima (Satoshi Tokushige), former Tojo Clan officers and Kiryu's long-time allies.[3][2]

Infinite Wealth features a multitude of antagonists, including: Jo Sawashiro (Shinichi Tsutsumi), former right-hand man of Kasuga's biological father Masumi Arakawa (Kiichi Nakai); Masataka Ebina (Hiroki Hasegawa/Daniel Dae Kim), captain and acting chairman of the Ijincho-based yakuza organization Seiryu Clan; and Dwight (Danny Trejo), leader of the Honolulu-based Barracudas gang.[3] Also appearing in the game is Tatara Hisoka, a VTuber who uses her platform to defame Kasuga and expose Kiryu's status to the world.[2]

Development and promotion

File:Like a Dragon 8 Trailer Kiryu Kasuga Reveal.jpg
A screenshot from the "Like a Dragon 8" announcement trailer, revealing Kiryu and Kasuga as the protagonists. Kiryu's new design was a notable highlight from the trailer.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was announced in September 2022 during Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's Summit livestream, initially named Like a Dragon 8. The teaser trailer featured voiceover from various characters in the game, followed by the on-screen appearance of both Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu. Kiryu's design was a notable highlight due to the major contrast with his past appearances.[6]

In early 2023, RGG Studio hosted a Cabaret Club Grand Prix competition, in which five models were chosen to appear as live-action hostesses for the cabaret club minigame in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, while the Grand Prix winner is chosen to appear as an in-game character in Infinite Wealth. Among the five finalists, VTuber Kson ultimately won the Grand Prix.[7]

An announcement trailer premiered at Xbox Games Showcase 2023, teasing a new setting outside of Japan, while also confirming the new title.[8] RGG Studio Director Masayoshi Yokoyama explained the Infinite Wealth subtitle as a direct tie to the themes in the story, and also as a differentiation between the international version of the game and the Japanese version, which is simply titled Ryū ga Gotoku 8.[9]

In September 2023, RGG Studio hosted a second Summit livestream, detailing the story and characters, as well as gameplay features of Infinite Wealth via two new trailers. The studio also revealed Japanese cast members of the game, and announced actors Danny Trejo and Daniel Dae Kim as part of the English voice cast.[3]

Release

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is set to release worldwide on January 26, 2024 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.[8][3] A demo for the game will be included with the release of the spin-off title Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, on November 9, 2023.[10]

Notes

  1. ^ Known in Japan as Ryū ga Gotoku 8 (Japanese: 龍が如く8, lit. "Like a Dragon 8")

References

  1. ^ https://ryu-ga-gotoku.com/studio/en/
  2. ^ a b c d Parker, Jason (September 20, 2023). "Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth story breakdown: What was learned during LAD Direct". GamesHub. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Romano, Sal (September 20, 2023). "Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth launches January 26, 2024". Gematsu. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Sinha, Ravi (September 20, 2023). "Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Gameplay Showcases Combat, New Jobs, Summons and More". GamingBolt. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Gerblick, Jordan (September 21, 2023). "Don't like Yakuza's new turn-based combat? Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth lets Kiryu switch to real-time brawling". GamesRadar. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  6. ^ Ngan, Liv (September 14, 2022). "Like a Dragon 8 officially announced". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  7. ^ Lada, Jenni (May 28, 2023). "VShojo's Kson Wins Yakuza Grand Prix To Be in 2 Like a Dragon Games". Siliconera. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Marks, Tom (June 12, 2023). "Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Revealed, Coming 2024". IGN. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  9. ^ Price, Leighs (June 15, 2023). "RGG Studio Director Explains Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth's Name". Siliconera. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  10. ^ Ramsey, Robert (August 18, 2023). "Like a Dragon Gaiden Looks Awesome, Includes Trial Version of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth". Push Square. Retrieved August 18, 2023.

External links

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