A Reflection on Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

Every creative medium is better suited than others for telling specific kinds of stories, and video games are no exception. You’d be hard pressed to properly translate the feeling of exploring a fictional world as a space than in games, for example. The potential for worldbuilding and displaying the consequences of actions within that world is possibly the greatest strength of the medium, despite it being one that is so rarely utilised to the fullest extent.

By contrast, the weakness of games in storytelling is that they are incredibly difficult, time consuming, and costly to make, especially when aiming for their unique potential. As such, it is very rare to actually see a sequel to a game that continues the narrative hooks through in a convincing and well-realised way. Series may aim for a trilogy, but it’s rare that they’re able to capitalizecapitalise on the potential they offer even within that span of time, as crucial members of the creative staff may end up leaving or being removed from the project at various stages of development. If Mass Effect comes to mind, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.

Consider: there are book series that span well over a dozen books, and within that framework can cover multiple generations of character birth, growth, development, and eventual passing. Worlds can be born and razed multiple times over, and sometimes with a single character at the forefront or as the central point to events. By contrast, doing so is a tremendously difficult task for games, to the point that is rarely if ever even attempted. Part of this is attributable to the medium just not being used for storytelling as opposed to its gameplay possibilities; the most prolific games series don’t really have much in the way of a cohesive narrative through line, or else frequently meddle with their own worldbuilding and events to suit the need to make and sell more titles. Looking at you, Assassin’s Creed.

It’s a rare thing indeed for a game series to actually stop and take the time to reflect on its own timeline and characters in any meaningful way. Some manage it retroactively; God of War’s Kratos was never written to last more than a single game, let alone be taken as a serious and sombre character that sees significant growth and development over a long period of time. Yet that is exactly what Santa Monica Studios’ God of War 2018 and sequel Ragnarok managed to do, and it’s to be commended. This isn’t the strength of games as a storytelling medium, yet they attempted it and made it work well.

But what about series that were narrative focused to begin with? Of that, I can think of only two examples.

The first is the Legend of Heroes franchise. Starting with Trails in the Sky, every subsequent release in the series has been written in the same persistent world, gradually building up its history, lore, and geography. Individual mini-series within the franchise will focus on specific regions and have a set cast of characters there, but the events of other games are frequently referenced, and the characters commonly show up when it would make sense for them to do so. There are now a dozen games in the series, with more on the way, and each of them have remained a tour-de-force in writing consistency and worldbuilding.

The Trails series is great and you should play them. That said, it’s the other series example that I find the most fascinating to study, especially given the nature of its latest release. 

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the 8th “numbered” game in the Like A Dragon (or previously Yakuza in the West) franchise, and the ninth in the chronology once the prequel is factored in. It is a fantastic game, and a frontrunner for my personal 2024 Game of the Year at the time of writing. What truly makes it stand out is that, like the Legend of Heroes, it has remained relatively consistent in its narrative throughout the series runtime; albeit with each entry being a more self-contained story that just happens to build on the mythology of its world and the history of its leading character.

Infinite Wealth, then, is special because it takes the time to self-reflect on its own existence and the life of aforementioned lead character. The Like A Dragon franchise is always written as contemporary to the time of each game’s release, with the original set in 2005. Infinite Wealth is set in 2023. Throughout that timeline, the character of Kiryu Kazuma has been the frontrunner for (almost) all the games and many of the spinoffs. And unlike many game series, the contemporary nature of Like A Dragon means that time has not stood still for Kiryu. Stepping onto the streets of Kamurocho for the first time in 2005 saw him as a 37-year-old, and thus he’s well into his 50s in the latest title. And that lifetime has been hard fought, and his victories often coming at great cost, all of which is reflected in the narrative.

I’m a big fan of the entire series at this point, even if I’m a relative latecomer to playing it, as I didn’t begin until 2016’s Like A Dragon 0. But I’ve since played each mainline game, and my attachment both to the recurring location of Kamurocho and its resident ass-kicker Kiryu has only deepened with time. I’ve walked these streets countless times, and each new entry is a welcome chance to see what’s changed since I last visited the fictionalised streets of the Kabuki-cho that never was. I can navigate it without a map, often with the street names well memorised, and could serve as a passable tour guide to anyone exploring the series for the first time.

Eighteen years is a long time for a game series to persist, but for a game with a strong narrative and a consistent main character throughout the entire franchise? That’s almost unthinkable. It wouldn’t have been hard for Infinite Wealth to simply rest on its laurels and tell a story similar to what past entries have told. It does, in fact, still tell that kind of story! But running parallel and interspersing from time to time is a more personal story that deals with Kiryu’s history, both positive and negative. For the first time ever, he’s facing an enemy he can’t simply punch away: his own failing body and a terminal diagnosis.

It’s here that the dual protagonist aspect of the game is at its strength. Kiryu has made peace with his diagnosis and is content to live out the rest of his limited days doing what he can. But Ichiban? He’s having none of that, and is urging Kiryu to take care of himself and to keep living. With this as the backdrop, the complex crime drama that the Like A Dragon series is known for unfolds, taking place across two countries and with two parties, each led by one of our protagonists. And it’s here that some of Kiryu’s deepest personal reflections can take place.

As the ass-kicking Dragon of Dojima, Kiryu has stood up against many threats and become a legend of the yakuza. But he has done so the entire time with a stoic personality, always being the one to shoulder the burdens and tough things out directly so that others don’t have to. But that’s not how Ichiban does things, and the entire genre pivot from brawler to turn-based RPG hinges heavily on how Ichiban is a team player. Kiryu is part of that squad now, to the point that he even starts to see aspects of the world in the same way that Ichiban does by the end of the story. This is reinforced constantly throughout the game, with Kiryu’s body failing or the battles taking a toll, but his party members step up to aid him and even protect him from blows.

It’s a fantastic blend of ludonarrative harmony, as the game’s mechanics line up with what is happening both directly and thematically in the story. And if Kiryu simply learned to be a team player and accept that he need not shoulder the burden alone, that would’ve been a point credit to its writing. But the game goes so far beyond this, and it’s why Infinite Wealth continues to stand out so strongly to me months after finishing it.

During the chapters focusing on the specific protagonist and their respective parties, there are a number of side features, quests, and mini-games that are unique to them. While Ichiban is off playing his own degenerate form of Animal Crossing (I love Dondoko Island), Kiryu instead has something far more intimate: Memoirs of the Dragon, and Life Links. The former is fairly simple, as these are brief memories and flashbacks of past games that Kiryu will reminisce on in certain locations or when the conditions are correct. They’re small little vignettes, but for someone who’s been here for the whole ride, it’s a great collection of call backs that further add opportunities for Kiryu to reflect on his life and everything he’s done.

It’s the Life Links that stand out the most. More than just small shoutouts to past events, these are extensive cameos from characters that have meant something to Kiryu in his life. At the core of it is Makoto Date, a long-time recurring character from the first game in the series and possibly Kiryu’s oldest remaining friend. Date arranges a number of situations where Kiryu can meet both directly and indirectly with these figures from his history, and they are frequently some of the most deeply personal and incredibly hard hitting emotional gut-punches in the game, if not the entire franchise.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I teared up at multiple points throughout these. The final Life Link, in fact, had me speaking out loud to my screen, trying to will Kiryu to act and to open the damn door. If you know, you know.

While this is all technically side content, it was what I came to crave and work towards whenever new ones became available in my playthrough. Even so, the reflection on Kiryu’s history and the series’ legacy and past events continues in the main plot as well. These may be optional, but there are multiple moments during the story that similar encounters intersect with major events and force Kiryu to reflect on them. Better yet; these lessons and sentiments have a foil in the main antagonist, who in many ways mirrors Kiryu’s feelings on his mortality. So it’s there, at the climax of the story after the epic boss fight between the two, that Kiryu is able to deliver a monologue to the antagonist and drive home the lessons he’s learnt to both of them. The scene is pitch perfect, and was a cherry on top of a gigantic and extravagant ice cream sundae that is Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

It’s such a rare thing for a game series to be in a position where it can do this, and I’m sure plenty that would love to attempt it wouldn’t stick the landing. But Like A Dragon had the balls to attempt it, and the performance and execution was fantastic. It would likewise have been easy for it to just be call backs and self-aggrandising celebrations, but the reflective and occasionally sombre tone of them shows just how deft Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has become in writing the franchise. It straddles the line between nostalgia and genuine plot and character development in a masterful way.

I love Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. I’m not sure if it’s my favourite game in the franchise, but the fact that it’s easily in contention speaks to its quality in and of itself. I could talk at great length about the game, and some of the moments and scenes I’ve alluded to, but I’ve tried to avoid significant spoiler moments in this piece. Frankly, they’re worth going in and experiencing for yourself; a statement that is true of the entire franchise. Go play the Like A Dragon series, seriously. There’s nothing else quite like it in games, and it’s proven unafraid to tackle challenging tasks of game writing and yet pulled it off with aplomb.

A series reflecting on the passage of time in both the real and fictional worlds and with a continual protagonist is absolutely not the sort of storytelling that games have as a strength. Yet Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth managed to pull it off regardless. Few games will ever have the luxury to even make the attempt, but the game embraces the challenge and succeeds spectacularly. It’s a quality game from top to bottom regardless, but it’s this factor that makes Infinite Wealth truly special; not just for the franchise, but in games as a whole.

It might very well be the last time Kiryu ever features as a protagonist again — and for real this time. Frankly, I couldn’t imagine a more perfect send-off for the Dragon of Dojima. At the same time, the series has proven that it has the quality and chops to continue and persist even without him. Even Kiryu learned not to shoulder all the burdens alone by the end of the title, after all. But come what may, his legacy will live on both in and out of his game series, and I’ll remember the many adventures I’ve had with the character.

Dragons don’t have the luxury of dying forgotten, after all.