Summary
Fans ofLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealthrecently discovered a reference toShenmue, with characters discussing an incident revolving around its protagonist, Ryo Hazuki.Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealthlaunched earlier this week, featuring the same open-world exploration and turn-based RPG battle mechanics as its predecessor,Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Prior toYakuza: Like a Dragon, the franchise was a beat-em-up action brawler that saw players exploring open-world cities. Many fans believe that a lot ofLike a Dragon’s mechanics can be traced back to fellow Sega IP,Shenmue.
Shenmuewas an action-adventure game series that was originally released for the Sega Dreamcast, consisting of exploring open-world 3D environments mixed with combat. The first two games were lauded for their ambitious design, withShenmuebeing the first pioneers of an open-world setting. When the firstLike a Dragongame (originally titledYakuzain the West) was released in 2006, many gamers christened it asShenmue’s spiritual successor due to how similar both games were.Infinite Wealthappears to be paying its respects toShenmuebased on an Easter Egg found in the game.
What Is The Shenmue Reference in Infinite Wealth?
On the r/Shenmue subreddit, user RelaxAlixx posted a video ofInfinite Wealth’s gameplay, showingIchiban and his partywandering the city while listening to a podcast. In this episode of the podcast, one of the hosts, Mike, tells the story of a “strange kid” he met at the harbor. He explicitly remembers being asked, unprompted, “excuse me, do you know a place where sailors hang out,” much to his confusion. He then recalls how the kid would go around and ask every other person in the harbor the same question, with Mike being exasperated at him asking if there were sailors nearby when harbors are a pretty logical location where they would be.
The host then notes he had this striking leather jacket that was adorned with a tiger on the back, which matches the description ofShenmue’s protagonist, Ryo Hazuki. Mike then recalls how he was later asked about a warehouse, with Ryo apparently approaching him and several other people on the street about the same question. The third time he saw Ryo Hazuki was when he was asking about who could give him a boat ride, witnessing this from his porch as Ryo ran door-to-door to ask each of his neighbors.
This incident was likely inspired byShenmue’s lack of direction in its open-world, which saw players getting lost inShenmueand having Ryo ask about sailors in the early game. Many fans loved this reference, seeing it as a respectful way for theLike a Dragonseries to honor one of its predecessors. The podcast can be found by going through the mp3 player item in the player’s inventory. According to RelaxAlixx, these podcasts contain other references, which could lead to some more fun discussions in the near future.
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
WHERE TO PLAY
EPIC EMOTIONAL DRAMATwo larger-than-life heroes brought together by the hand of fate, or perhaps something more sinister…Ichiban Kasuga, an unstoppable underdog who’s no stranger to crawling up from rock bottom, and Kazuma Kiryu, a broken man facing down his last days.BEST-IN-CLASS RPG ACTIONExperience one-of-a-kind combat with dynamic, fast-paced RPG battles where the battlefield becomes your weapon, and anything goes. Adapt your party’s skills to the situation with outlandish jobs and customizations to strategically subdue enemies with over-the-top moves.INFINITE ADVENTURELive it up in Japan and explore all that Hawaii has to offer in an adventure so big it spans the Pacific. Unforgettable moments await at every step of the journey with a unique mix of quests and activities to enjoy at your leisure.
