This article contains spoilers for Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s Bucket List substory
Side missions and optional content have changed a lot in the last decade. There’s been more and more of a push into having quests that have an emotional impact, whether that’s for the player or the main character. A lot of games are still compared to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It’s still a contender to the pinnacle of optional content that felt too important to pass up. While mechanically, it was a lot of the same go here, kill this, move on, each mission had something special. Whether it was world-building, emotional character moments, tough fights, or important lore, it was awesome finding out what was waiting around the next corner.
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The thing is, Yakuza, now known as Like A Dragon, has been doing excellent side content for years. The main narratives drip with melodrama and serious moments, but the extra quests were genuinely special. Ridiculous encounters, heartfelt moments, and everything in between made each substory a constant guessing game, in the best way. RGG fans know to invest in the world around the main story, but Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth has something no other game has: Kiryu’s bucket list.
Infinite Wealth finds long time protagonist Kazama Kiryu teaming up with new kid on the block, Ichiban Kasuga. Kiryu was supposed to end his journey with Yakuza 6, but ended up appearing in Yakuza: Like A Dragon and Like A Dragon: Gaiden. All this set the stage for his return. In the early hours of Infinite Wealth, players discover Kiryu has cancer. He’s avoiding treatment and doesn’t have much time left. It’s an awful discovery for a legendary character who’s been fighting his whole life.
Once Kiryu returns to Japan, his friends encourage him to think about himself for the first time, in a long time. They urge him to consider what he, himself, actually wants out of the remaining time he has. Kiryu’s spent the last few years isolated from the people he loves most. Thought dead by most of the world, a deal meant to keep his family safe. With the clock ticking, Kiryu faces the ultimate question: what does he still want to do before he dies?
What follows is genuinely one of my favorite pieces of storytelling and optional content, in any game, ever. Kiryu has no idea where to start, unable to even answer what food is his favorite. He hasn’t thought about his own wants or needs in years. Watching him start to rely on others and letting them help hits right in the heart. His requests begin simply: going to the batting cage, singing karaoke. Things that many of us may take for granted, but are luxuries he’s been unable to enjoy with people he cares about.
After doing the first few, story-mandated entries on the Infinite Wealth bucket list, the rest becomes optional. You’ll find glowing spots on the ground in certain places that flash back to different memories. They’ll all be pieces from older games, screenshots through time showing how much Kiryu has changed and gone through. I hunted these down with fervor, excited to remember pieces of old adventures I may have forgotten, just as Kiryu may have. After spending year effectively alone, it felt like I was watching Kiryu’s life return to him, even as he was losing it.
At one point, Date, an old friend of Kiryu’s, shows up to let him connect with friends from the series. Raising Kiryu’s stats help his Awakening level go up. Leveling up allows him to reclaim parts of himself that have lain dormant and brings a new connection for Kiryu to revisit. Each one of these is genuinely heartwrenching and beautiful. Date will set up situations where Kiryu can see and hear his loved ones, but unable to interact with them. The world thinks him dead outside of a chosen few, he can’t actually talk to them. Even with him dying, he can’t say goodbye. Kiryu remarks at one point that it’s like attending his own funeral, hearing what they think of him.
I’m not a completionist by any standard, but I WILL see this through. I feel personally connected to Kiryu after spending hundreds of hours with him. He’s been a part of my life for years now. I actually want to help him and take the walk down memory road with him. Most of the bucket list items and memoires are simple in terms of their gameplay, but feel important with every box checked. I know how many fights he’s been through, I’ve been right alongside him for many. A fight against cancer is not one I can help him win, but I’ll be damned if I’m not going to help send him off.
This is RGG capitalizing meaningfully on the player’s connection to Kiryu and the entirety of the series. These snippets wouldn’t pack the same punch without the history that came before. The gameplay is secondary, helping an old friend is what matters most. I want to see all of these through even after finishing the campaign. I’m invested in Kiryu and his story. It’s in these moments that what could be looked at as a simple side quests transcends it entirely. I’ll 100% his bucket list not out of obligation, but out of care. I want him to have a happy ending.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
