The Like a Dragon series, formerly known as Yakuza in the west, is nothing if not innovative. It’s still the only series in gaming where you can go from a hardboiled, gritty yakuza story worthy of Takeshi Kitano (and actually involving Takeshi Kitano, if you’re playing Yakuza 6) to competing in a nationwide singing contest or running a cabaret club without batting an eye.
This ludonarrative dissonance seems to be cranked up to a new level in the upcoming Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which earlier today revealed an expansive side mode that just seems to be middle-aged protagonist Ichiban Kasuga’s psychedelic, psychotic take on Animal Crossing.
How does Kasuga, a low-level yakuza enforcer, go from the seedy streets of Kabukicho, Tokyo to running his own resort island in Hawaii? Beats me, but we’ll find out next year when Infinite Wealth hits shelves.
