Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth – The Final Preview

ign.com:

Kiryu Kazuma and Kasuga Ichiban are two sides of the same Like a Dragon coin. Their personalities could not be more different — Kiryu, a world-weary lone wolf, and Kasuga, a Dragon Quest-loving golden retriever — but they live by a similar code of ethics and share a similar past, both locked up for crimes they didn't commit to help out their yakuza families. It was a bummer that Kiryu didn't stick around longer when he came around in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The two men would sure as hell have a lot to talk about.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth finally brings the two mainline protagonists together for an ultra-compelling and sprawling game that lives up to its subtitle. The three-and-a-half-ish hours I spent roaming Honolulu and Yokohama, sprucing up the trashed Dondoko Island, and battling a Megalodon-sized shark felt like a drop in the Pacific Ocean in terms of the game's scope. And that's just speaking to the gameplay. Having both Kasuga and Kiryu as playable protagonists place the story on a broad emotional spectrum that plays to the strengths of each character's worldview: Kasuga and his ridiculousness, Kiryu and his legacy of struggle. It's a great balance between the past and future of the Like a Dragon franchise.

Over in Honolulu, Kasuga and his pals are out searching for his mother once thought dead. The map here is something to behold. It's Ryu Ga Gotoku's biggest-ever area for the series, beautifully designed, and the amount of detail put into it is staggering to take in. More restaurants, shops, minigames, and substories are available, and locations to unlock bond conversations with Kasuga's teammates are now conveniently marked. A bigger map also means more transportation options. Aside from the taxi stands,