As a result, for a handful of the campaign’s 14 chapters (totaling around 50 hours) you get to explore both the Yokohama and Kamurocho maps from previous games in the series, each complete with a unique set of substories and side activities that see the gravely ill Kiryu reminisce about his many earlier adventures and make amends with some of the survivors he’s left in his wake. That said, the Honolulu map – which is so vast you could apparently fit nine Kamurochos inside it – isn’t the only location to explore in Infinite Wealth, and after spending the bulk of the story’s first half helping Kasuga’s search through the streets of Waikiki, Kiryu eventually returns to Japan to try and unravel the mystery from a different angle. As was the case with the gang’s previous adventure, I particularly enjoyed the idle banter between them as I roamed the streets – whether they were musing about the limited battery life of Sega’s Game Gear handheld or debating the differences in taste between Japanese and Hawaiian soy sauce. Despite the fact that some of the lengthier conversation cutscenes took longer to wrap up than a phone call from my parents, by and large I found the writing in Infinite Wealth to be some of the strongest in the series to date, whether it was during the heightened moments of serious drama or the many lowbrow bursts of comic relief. That includes a mob boss played by a gruff-as-ever Danny Trejo, whose contract may or may not have stipulated that his character, Dwight Mendez, wields a pair of machetes. The core supporting cast from Yakuza: Like a Dragon are also along for the ride, joined by likable locals Eric Tomizawa and Chitose Fujinomiya, and there are some wonderful scene-stealing villains to encounter. Along the way a number of contemporary issues like environmental mismanagement and the spreading of online misinformation are explored, and all of those themes mixed together to give me more to chew on than a konbini bento box. The ensuing mystery quickly takes some dramatic twists and turns without ever becoming as tangled as some of the more convoluted plots of the series’ past. This odd couple travels to Hawaii in search of the biological mother that Kasuga has never known however they soon find themselves caught in a compelling conspiracy involving a local religious sect and multiple crime syndicates. Main hero Ichiban Kasuga returns from Yakuza: Like a Dragon and remains the loveable human labrador that he was before – unwaveringly upbeat no matter how often he’s beaten down – and this time he’s paired up with series stalwart Kazuma Kiryu, who we find in a more reflective mood due to his recent cancer diagnosis.
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