Summary
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealthbuilds upon the success of its predecessor in many meaningful ways. Most of these can be categorized as minor quality-of-life changes that, on the whole, add more to the experience than the sum of their parts. With improvements to combat, character bonding,and traversal options, among other mechanics,Infinite Wealthis the perfect starting point for newcomers, as well as the peak of Ryu Ga Gotokugames.
The listed entries below willserve as an overviewof some of the most significant changes thatLike A Dragon: Infinite Wealthhas employed overYakuza: Like A Dragon, and how they have contributed overall to a smoother experience for the player. As such, improvements in the visual and storytelling aspects of the sequel, although commendable, are not in the scope of this article.
6Incentivised Standard Attacks
Yields MP Regeneration, Bonus Damage And Combo Attacks
A big chunk of what constituted the combat inYakuza: Like Dragonwas the usage of skills for each character to do any real damage. This was due to the extremely underwhelming standard attacks in the game, so there was no real incentive to use them at all. Moreover, because all the combat was focused on skills, the player’s MP would deplete fast, leading to anover-reliance on Mana regeneration items. InLike A Dragon: Infinite Wealth,however, there are multiple reasons why players might use standard attacks actively in their combat strategy.
Firstly,all standard attacks in the sequel will replenish a certain amount of Mana, regardless of character traits, job traits, or gear. This means players can get out of tricky battles even when they are out of MP. Secondly,Infinite Wealthintroduces bonusproximity damage for standard attackswhen in close range, and also critical damage when attacking from the back. Lastly, standard attacks will sometimes chain with attacks from other party members for increased damage. More on that in the next point below.
5Positioning In Combat
Adds Accessibility And Strategic Layer To Combat
Another significant piece of feedback from theYakuza: Like A Dragoncommunity that has been addressed in the sequel was the inability of characters to move around for positioning purposes during combat. This meant that in the previous game, player attack animations would often go incomplete or miss entirely due to being interrupted by obstacles or enemy units, leading to a lot of damage left on the table.Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealthallows players to freely move and position themselves in a decently sized ring area.
Not only can the player make full use of this positioning to dish bonus Proximity Damage and Back Attacks, but they can alsomove closer to their other party members to ensure the player’s attack will lead to a chain combo. There are arrows to indicate the direction of the pushback on the opponent from the player’s attack, which is certainly helpful to maximize damage.
4Dealing With Enemies
Better Indicators To Prepare For Battles
There are some moments of huge difficulty spikes inYakuza: Like A Dragon, which, though expected of an RPG, can still be an unpleasant surprise when players first head into a battle. The sequel does a great job of always providing a heads-up before long encounters and boss fights, so players can have a good idea of exactly how they’ll fare. With a simple pop-up message, players will be informed about the level requirement of the player and their gear.
A small change that really helps is that enemy groups inInfinite Wealthhave a meter above their heads which slowly fills up as you move closer to them during free roam. This is a welcome change as opposed to its predecessor, where there is no indication of when enemies detect the player’s party before a battle starts.There have also been additional indicators to show the difficulty of the enemy group,so players always know not to take on the hardest ones(purple icons) until they’re prepared. Moreover, those groups with icons below the player’s level (blue icons),can be wiped by a single button, Smackdown, in the sequel, as opposed to fighting each one in the group inYakuza: Like A Dragon.
3Personality Traits And Bond Upgrades
More Diverse Options To Upgrade Paths
Progressing inLike A Dragon: Infinite Wealthis generally more accessible thanks to several paths that players can take for upgrading the game’s many systems. In addition to completing task lists to increase Ichiban’s personality traits like in the previous game, players can now also make use of theAloha Linksfeature to raiseeach of the six personality attributes:Kindness,Intellect,Charisma,Style,Passion,and Confidence. All they have to do is emote at certain NPCs to befriend them and earn a gain towards their personality traits.
Similar accessible options are in place for increasing bond levels with other party members as well. Apart from having dinner conversations and engaging in mini-games with the party,players can gift itemsand playBond Bingoby interacting with theWalk & Talkicons on the map to further increase the party’s bond levels.
2Traversal Options
Ride, Drive, And Explore Till Hearts’ Content
In addition to taxi services from traditionalYakuzagames, includingYakuza: Like A Dragon,Ichiban can now use a rechargeable segwayin theHawaiiregion ofInfinite Wealthto traverse the map at a pace faster than walking but not as quickly as fast travel. If a market has been placed on the map, players can also enter the“Auto-Cruise”mode of the segway for a completely automated stress-free journey.
Moreover, players can also ride trams for a better sightseeing approach to traversal in the new setting. A little feature that is all for accessibility is the ability to move directly to a taxi stop by pinpointing it on the map. This completely negates the hassle ofordering a taxi from the phone to the taxi stopat the player’s current location and then riding to their destination stop.
1More Forgiving Death Mechanic
Less Severe Penalty For Dying In Battle
Players fromYakuza: Like Dragonwill know the pain of losing their hard-earned cash whenever Ichiban dies in battle.Upon every death, players would lose 50% of their cash. Hence, it was always important to securely deposit the money in ATMs around the map. WhileInfinite Wealthstill has this mechanic, the penalty for Ichiban dying is not nearly as severe as in the previous game.
Instead, only 20% of the total amount of cash that players have on hand will be deducted upon death. Sure, this still means ATMs are the way to go, but the loss does not hit as hard as when the total amount was halved.
