Kyodais Unite! Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth Officially Launched in PH
SEGA and RGG SEA recently created a special event to welcome the release of their latest game Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
While its no longer called Yakuza 9, it really is the ninth game in the main story plus a direct sequel to 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon as well 2023’s Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. What’s cool about this game is it takes the adventure and the story away from Japan and puts our protagonists Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu in Hawaii. The game is set for release today, January 26 and to hype up the event, SEGA actually brought in the game’s long-time producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto to interact and meet with Filipino fans of the game.
Like A Dragon Media Q&A
Hiroyuki Sakamoto was game enough to answer a number of questions from the gathered media including my own question:
Q: During the production for the game, was there any element that gave you such a hard time yet like classic Yakuza characters, decided to stick it out till the end?
Sakamato: I had a hard time designing the characters. I had to work on a lot of characters from the previous game but for this game I still wanted to make a new character that would stand out.
Q: What was the most interesting part of the development of the game?
A: I have been making the game since Yakuza 1 but with every game that was released, it made me really happy. The really interesting part of the development for the past games (Like a Dragon, The Man Who Erased His Name) was seeing the reaction of the people who played the game.
Dressed Like a Dragon
This special event was held at “The Island” in Bonifacio Global City and I must say, they did a fantastic job of dressing the place. Outside you’ll already spot lines that follow the LIKE A DRAGON Theme including the text fonts. Totally wanted to bring home those standees or those tarps.
They even set up a photo booth featuring standees of the game’s leads Kasuga and Kiryu
Walls were lined up with all the main characters for the game…
Like a Superstar
Also in attendance are some of the local gaming industry’s brightest stars and talents from differing segments. Gloco was there not just as a guest but also as as big fan. He even got to run around as Majima Goro…
Meanwhile Myrtle Sarrosa was also in attendance cosplaying the Infinite Wealth character “Tatara Hisoka” who also happens to be a vtuber in the game.
Other guests included Cherizawa, Een Mercado and a good pal of ours here, Extra Rai
Of course a friend of the site and a dear close friend Timzster – Tim Villasor was also there dressed for the occasion…
The guests who were lucky enough to be invited to this special event, definitely had it easy for them as they have actually found an event where they bring out their inner “kyodai” or “yakuza”. I tip my hat to SEGA for actually being able to gather as much LAD or Yakuza fans in such a short amount of time.
Like I wanna shed manly tears
One of the best feeling for a gamer and a fan of a big game franchise is to actually be in the same room as somebody involved and Sakamoto-san just gave the biggest fan service and the biggest courtesy by actually spending an afternoon with the fans who poured from all over Metro Manila and even outside just to share a common experience. The beloved game producer not only took the time to answer questions but also spent the time doing a demo for the game particularly in the Hawaii segment of the game with Ichiban.
He was also gracious enough to play with the KOLs / Influencer guests as well as some of the invitees onstage, with the winners getting some sweet, sweet Infinite Wealth swag including a bucket hat and a towel.
For me that was the biggest highlight for the event and something not everybody can say happened in their lives. The other thing was probably the brotherhood vibe for the event, even with such a limited crowd, everybody turned up and wore something that’s in line with the game and the event. Everybody posed, laughed and had fun while waiting outside and lining up to get in. Everybody was calling everybody “kyodai”. Maybe somebody did even call Sakamoto “kyodai” at one point during the event.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth arrives January 26 on the Playstation 5, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC via Steam,
