The Yakuza series - of which Infinite Wealth is the latest entry, despite a confusing name change - has a reputation for slow starts in which the story drifts from one expository cutscene to the next, gradually setting the stakes of a melodramatic plot about bureaucratic negligence, post-incarceration societal reacclimation, or the fragile formation of a found family. But no prior entry has asked so much of the player so early.
The opening of Infinite Wealth isn't a bad video game; it's an entertaining TV show. The plot moves at a popcorn pace, deftly introducing lovable characters and a catchy hook: Our hero Ichiban, having just lost his job and spoiled any romantic hopes with his longtime crush, takes a trip to Hawaii to find his mother, whom he's never met. But when he arrives, he gets drugged, jailed, and stripped of his belongings (quite literally!) while learning he's not the only person looking for sweet mom.
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