SEGA’s Like a Dragon series continues its momentum after the conclusion of Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth soon to release worldwide on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4|5, and PC.

After completing the main story of the recently released Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, players will be given access to a trial version of the upcoming Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, due out in January 2024. This demo provides a little sample of what’s to come in the game’s full release.

The story takes place after the events of 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and 2023’s Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, where the stories of both games happened simultaneously from two different perspectives. Kazuma Kiryu and Ichiban Kasuga both arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii, for their own reasons. Even though they already met each other before during a big announcement with the Omi Alliance in Yokohama, they somehow cross paths again and get mixed up in each other’s affairs. Working together, they make some new friends along the way, who join and aid them on their quests.

In this demo, players can access either the Story Mode to get a sneak peek of the game’s plot, or Hawaii Mode, where they can explore more of Honolulu. Story Mode starts off with Kiryu, who soon meets up with Ichiban. They both explain to each other why they’re in Hawaii of all places and decide to help one another while getting familiar with their new surroundings, and of course, getting into random fights. Trouble seems to follow them no matter where they go. Story Mode also acts as a tutorial, teaching the basics of exploring, performing simple tasks, and the battle mechanics. Even for a demo, there are plenty of cutscenes to enjoy, getting fans deeper into the latest of both men and getting them excited for the next chapter of Like a Dragon. Story Mode ends when the plot really thickens and fans will be eagerly awaiting the game’s full release to see what happens next.

Hawaii Mode focuses more on exploring the franchise’s new setting of Honolulu. It features the same tutorials in Story Mode, but it also explains everything you can do in the city. Players control a group of four, including Ichiban as the leader, along with Kiryu, plus the newcomers, Chitose Fujinomya and Eric Tomizawa. Other than getting into fights with the locals, there are also a few activities to do, such as some small jobs to earn some extra cash and side missions.

Everyone’s favourite activity, karaoke, is back yet again, and there are a few songs available. Hopefully ‘Baka Mitai’ will be added in the full game. Players can also deliver food while racing against the clock, try their luck gambling, and even try to remember everyone’s orders while waiting tables at a restaurant. Swimming in Aloha Beach is also possible, letting you enjoy the crystal clear waves, and you can even collect some treasure, although it’s mostly trash, but you can trade in what you do find. More activities are set to be included too, such as arcades, pool tables, and more, and I really hope surfing will be possible too. Being able to ride Segways is a really fun addition and it helps traverse around the city quicker.

The city of Honolulu is a fresh and brand-new setting for the franchise, and it’s the first time the series has gone outside of its home country. It’s a big change from Japan with a very different culture. The currency is now in American dollars and the locals speak English, with the addition of some Hawaiian phrases. A lot of Japanese and people from other parts of Asia relocate to Hawaii, so there will be areas where the main characters will feel right at home.

Thanks to the Dragon Engine, the graphics are the best they’ve ever looked, and Honolulu really benefits from this, looking bright, colourful, and vibrant, with so much going on whether it’s night or day. The game also really captures that iconic Hawaiian sunset from the beach From surfers carrying their boards around, people sunbathing on the beach, and families with children can be seen playing around. The game also really captures that iconic Hawaiian sunset from the beach.

Hawaii is a very multicultural American state, even though it feels like and should rightfully be an independent country, so it’s really nice see to people of different backgrounds walking around, but it does feel odd that there don’t seem to be many native Hawaiians or other Polynesian people roaming the streets. They do exist in the game, but they seem to be very few and far between, and this could change in the official release. Looking at the in-game map, there looks to be a lot of Honolulu to see, but is blocked off in this demo, so it’s going to be a lot of fun to explore the new sights and beautiful scenery in the full game.

With Ichiban back as the main protagonist, the latest game will use the same turn-based strategy gameplay during battles, as seen in Yakuza: Like a Dragon from 2020. There are a lot of new additions to the combat system as well, and each character has their own unique abilities. Ichiban comes equipped with a weapon, Chitose uses her dancing background, and Tomizawa wields a wrench, and hilariously, even a taxi. Kiryu himself has three different styles – Brawler, Rush, and Beast. A throwback to his past games. He even has the unique ability of entering a beat ‘em up phase, where players can step out of the turn-based strategy format and use the classic combat mechanics for a limited time, dealing some big damage.

The characters can also perform their own special moves for bigger damage, taking out a group of enemies at once, and even healing their teammates and boosting their stats, some with very entertaining cinematic cutscenes. Team-up moves can also be performed, and Poundmates make a return, called into battle to assist with beating down the enemy team. Three different Poundmates were available in this demo, including a female bodybuilder with spiked steel balls for hands, a food delivery person riding his bicycle, and Nancy, an innocent lobster who suddenly becomes the size of a Kaiju.

The enemies come in all different shapes and sizes too, with very interesting themes and quirks. From common thugs and surfers with boards in hand to street performers and, of course, Yakuza. There is already a wide variety of enemies to battle, and likely even more later in the story.

Just like the 2020 game, the playable characters can also have their own whacky themes as well, depending on the careers they choose at the job agency. They don’t actually work in these jobs, but it changes their move sets depending if they want to be a Samurai, a surfer, or a hula dancer, and there’s even more to be added. As ridiculous as this all sounds, it is damn entertaining to see all of this unfold on screen.

Some of the voice actors return from the 2020 game, reprising their roles in Japanese, English, and even Chinese. The Japanese characters sound just as good in any of the available languages. The English voice of Kiryu, however, doesn’t feel like it fits. Only a few Yakuza/Like a Dragon games have English dubbing, and Kiryu actually sounded really good in them. Darryl Kurylo was the original English voice for Kiryu in the very first game and the 2020 game, and his performance really felt like the ideal counterpart to the Japanese voice of Takaya Kuroda.

Yong Yea is now the English voice for the Dragon of Dojima, and while they don’t sound terrible, they don’t feel like they suit the character’s personality with what we’ve seen so far in this demo, and fans online aren’t impressed either. Only time will tell if Yong Yea’s performance improves in the full game. A patch update for a full English dub in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is also set to be added sometime soon, so we’ll also be able to hear Yong Yea’s work there too.

The Like a Dragon series has always gone all out with their storytelling and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth looks to keep that momentum going. This demo has already given us a good idea of what to expect in the full game and the story is looking to be another epic emotional rollercoaster. The turn-based mechanics has a lot of new additions making it more entertaining than before. Seeing Ichiban and Kiryu team up, plus a whole cast of characters new and old, will surely be a treat for longtime fans as they explore and fight their way through the streets of Honolulu, Hawaii. Be sure to also read our review of Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, which sets things up for the next chapter, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, due out on January 26th 2024.

Written by: Sammy Hanson