Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Is the Real Pokémon Game Palworld Wished It Was

Look, I get it. When Palworld exploded onto the scene in early 2024, the internet practically shook from the sheer force of discourse. Every chatroom, every Twitter thread, every desperate gaming journalist trying to meet a deadline had something to say about 'Pokémon with guns.' And me? I shrugged. I’ve never owned a Nintendo console, so my Pokémon knowledge flatlined somewhere around the Pokémon the Movie 2000 era. Pocket monsters shooting firearms did nothing for me—it was just another survival-crafting game wearing a familiar skin. Fast forward to 2026, and I’m 200 hours deep into a crime drama epic about middle-aged men rediscovering hope. Somewhere along the way, I caught myself yelling “Go, Hobo with a Knife!” at my monitor, and that’s when it hit me: I’d stumbled into the best Pokémon game ever made.

That game, of course, is Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Not exactly the first place you’d look for a monster-collecting RPG, right? After all, the series is famous for suplexing goons onto bicycles and singing heartfelt karaoke ballads about shrimp. But RGG Studio, in its infinite (wealth) wisdom, decided to lean all the way into the bit. What was a cute side-activity in Yakuza: Like a Dragon—a Professor cataloguing ‘Sujimon,’ basically street thugs with attitude—has blossomed into a full-blown Pokémon parody that eats Palworld’s lunch two years later. And I’m not being hyperbolic; I have the Sujidex entries to prove it.

Let me paint you the picture. It’s 2026, and I’m wandering Honolulu’s Anaconda Shopping Center when a dude in a shiny tracksuit challenges me. Instead of pulling out my Hero’s Bat, I summon my carefully curated team of Sujimon—Cyber Samurai, Burnout Junkie, and yes, a sentient pile of garbage that breathes fire. The battle system isn’t a direct copy of Game Freak’s formula; it’s more like an auto-battler that still makes you feel like a tactical genius. I’ve raised these weirdos from the moment I caught them (via post-battle snags or Sujimon Raids, which are literally just Pokémon Go gym battles in a Yakuza game). I’ve fed them level-up items, evolved them into even more absurd forms, and sent them to a farm to grind XP while I go play darts. Tell me that isn’t Pokémon Day Care with extra steps.

Then there’s the Sujimon League. Professor Morikasa—bless his lab coat—dubs your quest to dismantle the Discreet Four the “Gen 2” chapter. That’s right, they named it after Pokémon generations. The Discreet Four are the elite cabal standing between you and Sujimon mastery, and honestly, they’re tougher than any Elite Four I’ve actually seen in a Pokémon game post-childhood. You know why? Because every battle feels personal. When I finally took down the last Discreet member, I felt the same rush I got from beating Lance back in the day—except now I was an ex-yakuza with a heart of gold, celebrating by buying a new swimsuit for my crawfish.

But wait, there’s more! Infinite Wealth didn’t stop at battling and collecting. It threw in a Photo Rally mode that is quite literally Pokémon Snap on a tram. You hop aboard a trolley and frantically snap pictures of half-naked weirdos striking poses in bushes, on rooftops, and mid-fountain. The goal is to collect points and trade them for items, all while trying not to question your life choices. It’s unhinged, it’s hilarious, and it’s a better photography experience than anything Palworld offered with its generic Pal spheres. I mean, have you ever seen a Snorlax doing jazz hands? No. But a Sujimon called ‘Lusty Lumberjack’? Absolutely.

Now, let’s circle back to the elephant—or should I say the wooloo—in the room. Palworld positioned itself as the edgy Pokémon alternative. It had monster-shaped buddies that you could arm with assault rifles. The public lost its collective mind. But once the initial shock wore off, everyone realized the actual gameplay loop was less about monster bonding and more about building a base while your Pals toiled in a labor camp. I’m not judging; it just isn’t what I’m looking for when I crave that creature-collecting serotonin. Infinite Wealth, on the other hand, wraps its parody in so much genuine love for Pokémon that it becomes a tribute. It captures the spirit of the old anime and Game Boy titles: the thrill of discovery, the goofy monster designs, the rival battles, the feeling that your team is an extension of your own weird journey.

By 2026, the hype around Palworld has largely cooled, replaced by the next viral early access sensation. Meanwhile, I’m still hanging out in Dondoko Island (which is Animal Crossing, but that’s a different therapy session), giving Sujimon gacha pulls a spin, and wondering why Game Freak hasn’t hired RGG to consult. The irony is thick: a series about hardened criminals has a purer, more joyful monster-collecting heart than the game that literally had “Pokémon-with-guns” as its elevator pitch. So, if you’re like me and missed the boat on catching ’em all, or you’re tired of the discourse about what’s a \u201creal\u201d Pokémon-like, take it from a guy who just spent an hour trying to photograph a Sujimon in a banana hammock: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is right here, waiting to indoctrinate you. Just watch out for the Giant Squid boss. He might not be a Totem Pokémon, but he’ll make you miss Charizard.

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