Summary
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealthis one of the wildest concepts in the series to date. The franchise has gone to some cool places in Japan and it even went to the past viaLike a Dragon: Ishin. However, Ichiban coming to the United States via Hawaii is quite the turn.
He went there to find his long-lost mom and in the process, he discovers a litany of gangs trying to find her too. Amidst all of the drama and action is a lot of comedy too. These are some ofLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’sbest lines from the cast. There will be spoilers.
8“Check It Out, He’s Doing It!”
Nanba
The concept ofYakuza: Like a Dragon’sturn-based battles was that IchibanlovedDragon Questand other RPGs growing up. When battles started, he imagined random street thugs looking more wild, and the same for his party members. When Ichiban takes hold of his bat again in this sequel, Nanba and Adachi get excited. They know Ichiban is about to start hallucinating again but in a fun way. It’s a bit of a spoiler to say but even Kazuma uses his imagination later in the game to do the same thing once he separates from Ichiban.
7“His Blood, My Blood, It Doesn’t Change A Thing.”
Ichiban
Before leaving for Hawaii, Ichiban wants to pay his respects to his former master at the cemetery. At this point, it is known that his former master was actually his dad but there is no DNA test to prove it. Nanba and Adachi ask Ichiban why he doesn’t get his blood tested which is when he says this line. It’s a great way to show that a person who raises someone doesn’t need to be blood-related for it to matter. Ichiban had two dads growing up and he is happy just knowing that he was cared for, blood relation or not.
6“If You’re Gonna Take Us Out Now, Get Ready To Carry That Wait For The Rest Of Your Life.”
Kazuma
Kazuma has a lot of great linesin the game which shouldn’t be surprising considering he is the franchise’s original badass. He says this line to Tomizawa after Yamai tells him to kill Kazuma and the others. Tomizawa hesitates because he doesn’t want blood on his hands, a point that Kazuma drives forward with this quote.
Tomizawa has a real anime turn in this moment like when Vegeta joins Goku and the others inDragon Ball Z. It’s a trope in anime wherein villains turn heel often and it works forLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealthtoo.
5“Well, There’s Your Problem, That’s Not A Car.”
Julie
One of the best aspects ofLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’sweapon systemis that they can all be upgraded. Eventually, the party will meet up with Julie who runs garages around town. Her cover is that she is a mechanic, so when Ichiban first comes to meet her Julie assumes he needs a car checkup. When Ichiban explains he needs an upgrade for his bat instead, Julie says this line back dryly which is great. As wild as this game is, no one uses a car as a weapon but characters come close with the use of bikes.
4“Ninjutsu For The Win, Believe It!
Nathan’s Crew
Samurai, May We Walk Together is one of the bestSubstories inLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. In it, a film crew follows Ichiban around town as they try to goat him into Japanese activities from eating rice to throwing ninja stars. With that latter example, everyone on set gets excited and screams this line once he picks up a throwing star. It’s a reference to the English dub ofNarutowherein the titular Naruto yells, “Believe it!” on a constant loop. There are a lot of good quotes in this Substory but that one one sticks out like Naruto’s bright orange jumpsuit.
3“So, You’re Itchy Balls Kasuga.”
Sodachi
This game is like a comedy of errors because a lot of bad things happen to Ichiban upfront. He loses his job, gets held up at gunpoint after arriving in Hawaii, and then gets arrested after being drugged. Of all those things, this guy getting Ichiban’s name wrong feels like icing on the cake.
Sodachi is a karate master and also aSujimon which isLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’sversion ofPokemon. He is the first one to join Ichiban’s team so that he can one day become a Sujimon Master.
2“You Think Money Is Gonna Bring My Kid Back…Bring You Back?”
Tomizawa
There are a lot of great voice actors in the English dub of the game. There are also great actors in the game who lend their faces and voices to characters. Danny Trejo is a great example who plays Dwight, the leader of the Barracuda gang. After defeating him, Tomizawa looks like he is going to butcher Dwight to pieces with a machete while giving this speech. Even though Dwight was directly involved with ending Tomizawa’s family, he isn’t willing to go down to Dwight’s level. It’s a lesson Tomizawa learned from both Kazuma and Ichiban earlier inLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
1“Let’s See Whether The Dragon Breathes Fire Or His Last Breath, Shall We?”
Yamai
Yamai is like the newversion of Majimawho is obsessed with both Kazuma and Ichiban. Things come to a head when Yamai and his men chase Ichiban’s crew into the forest after they escape Wong Tou’s casino. Yamai even lights the forest on fire so that they cannot escape without a fight. He wants to see if Kazuma is still the Dragon of Dojima or if he is nothing but a shell of his former self. Even with cancer, Kazuma proves to have a lot of metaphorical fire still left in his body even though he loses this bout technically.
