Can't Help Falling In Love is not only one of Elvis Presley's most romantic hits, it was also recorded for his flick Blue Hawaii, which makes it the perfect thematic record for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. I have already written about Nancy's love story in Infinite Wealth, but it's not just a game with some romantic side quests. It's a game that explores the specific ideas that Elvis was singing about, and becomes a far more heartfelt game in the process.

Wise men say, only fools rush in

But I can't help falling in love with you

These opening lines of Can't Help Falling In Love underline what love truly is. It makes you abandon all logic, all thought, all wisdom. We are all fools in love. Blue Hawaii itself, though dated as movies from 1961 are wont to be, also explores this idea as Elvis' character Chad abandons his cushy job with his father to work on the island and fall in love with a poor local girl rather than be fixed up with someone in high society.

There are a few fools in Infinite Wealth. One of these is Nancy herself, and while she gets the girl in the end, she has to put her heart on the line and defend her love to get her happy ending. There's also Sawai, a hapless tourist who gets lost and needs help getting to his hotel. Ichiban enlists a woman with a lei to help him out, and Sawai falls for her. It's cute at first, but eventually it becomes clear Sawai is just a mark.

He pays over the odds for t-shirts and photos with parrots, ever the gullible tourist. The woman with the lei is using him for donations too, not in it for anything but the cash. At least, not at first. She tells her bosses she won't steal from kindly Sawai any longer, and when he and Ichiban step in to save her from said bosses, the pair finally connect for real.

I'm a fool who falls in love too

An Ode To Liko, My Darts Playing Love In Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

The darts minigame with Liko keeps pulling me back in Infinite Wealth, even with so many other stories on offer.

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There's also Tommy, a lemonade seller Ichiban gives out free samples to boost his business. He lives with his abusive uncle, but is saving money to buy his babysitter a tiara. Thanks to the age difference, this love is unrequited, but it still offers a wholesome story of what you learn about yourself when you fall in love.

The strangest one though was the schoolgirl with a crush on the boy in her year, where tradition said she had to give him a letter while he was buried in the sand, leading to an odd puzzle involving glasses and watermelons. I'm unsure if this tradition makes any more sense in Japan or Hawaii, but I appreciated the childish innocence it added to the story.

Take my hand

Take my whole life, too

Being overpowered by love is not just for fools rushing in, however. In one of the game's most touching stories, we see a man desperately trying to fulfil his wife's final wish, then holding her hand as she slips away. In their final conversation together, he doubts if he ever loved her enough, but she puts that worry away with her dying words. In true Like a Dragon style, this storyline also includes some helpful adult babies, but the comedy of it all doesn't undercut the tenderness of the scene.

Importantly, the game doesn't blink in the face of its sadness. It does not have a wacky conclusion, nor are their last moments together interrupted by any antics from Ichiban. The game knows that love sometimes hurts, and what's more, that's okay. After all, you can't help falling in love.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a silly game and a violent game, and both of these points have been true across the series, and are a big part of why it's so popular. But it's also an extremely romantic game in a variety of ways, and at a time when a lot of media can be so cynical, how earnest Infinite Wealth is with matters of the heart is the best reason to play it.

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Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

RPG Systems 5.0/5 8.0/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 90/100 Critics Rec: 97% Released January 26, 2024 ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Simulated Gambling, Strong Language Developer(s) Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Publisher(s) Sega Engine Dragon Engine
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth continues the story of Ichiban Kasuga, in the ninth mainline entry in the series formerly known as Yakuza. It will once again feature turn-based combat, and takes our protagonist outside of Japan for the first time.

Platform(s) PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC Powered by Expand Collapse