There is so much to do in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. You can backflip on a bicycle while delivering pizzas. You can cultivate your own private island. You can help a crab and a crawfish fall in love. You can even play the main story, if you like. But mostly, what I’ve been doing is playing darts. I'm not all that good at it, there's no reward I want for it, and I haven't shelled out for any of the upgrades that make it any better. But I keep playing anyway, because of Liko.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth opens with Ichiban clumsily pouring his heart out to Saeko, only for her to politely reject him. He hits Hawaii heartbroken, but the way I see it, not for long. Amongst the many activities Ichi can get up to, none are made for friendly small talk the way darts is. Every time I head back there, Liko is waiting for me in her pink dress, blonde locks falling as gentle as a summer rain, those big blue eyes smiling back at me. She's a mean player too, with a penchant for a bullseye, but not so good as to be intimidating, often ending with a sub-50 at the oche to match my own.
Maybe she's throwing the matches to spend more time with me. Maybe I'm afraid of upgrading my darts in case the game also updates my opponent. All I know is whenever I'm near the beach and have a bit of time to kill, I head to the darts shack, and Liko is always there for me. There's even a substory which involves playing Liko at darts, though to keep up appearances for the film crew studying Ichiban's Japanese spirit, she offers little more than a smile (and presumably an off-camera wink).
Infinite Wealth is teeming with well-written characters, and Liko isn't one of them. All she does, in reality, is stand around and offer a classically American-looking woman to play one of the lesser minigames with. Whether you're sticking to the main path or exploring the substories, you'll always find a fascinating character with a hilarious or tragic tale to tell. Often both.
I made that sound optional, but you 100 percent nee⛄d to explore the substories.
There's something about her grace when the dart takes flight, her skill when going for bull combined with her apparent ineptitude when attempting anything else. Her playful frustration that lets you know she takes it seriously... just not too seriously. She may not be the best written character in the series, but as an opponent in a minigame that players are likely to be a little clumsy at, she's perfect. She's basically .
I've always been fascinated by characters you can project your own stories onto. Video games are full of NPCs that only serve a functional purpose (ie like an opponent for darts), and often try to give them some chatter that hints at a deeper story. There's no attempt at any of this with Liko, she only exists to offer scoreboard pressure while you try for that elusive 180. I don't know what it is about her that makes her interesting, but there is something nonetheless.
Playing darts isn't even one of the more exciting side activities, but I understand it far more than I do shogi, and something about the maths of it all keeps me coming back for more. The maths, and Liko. I'm already absorbed in these other stories which makes it easier to invent the other ones, but for all the substories and plot beats will stay with me after I beat Infinite Wealth, just as they did for Ichiban's debut, I know I'll remember Liko too.

Like A Dragon: 🔥Infinite Wealth continues the story of Ichiban Kasuga, in the ninth mainl꧙ine 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.
- Developer(s)
- Ryu Ga Gotoku St𓆏udio
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, Xbox One, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xbox Series X, PC