Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Side content sprawl is usually where I check out of an RPG, too many collectibles, too little reason to bother, but Infinite Wealth earns almost every detour with actual jokes and genuine heart. One minute you're running a business sim, the next you're deep in a genuinely moving story about family and reinvention, and somehow both halves work. Hawaii as a setting adds real visual variety after so many entries set in Japan. It didn't crack the top 10 mainly because this list already leans hard on massive RPGs, and something with this much side content needed to make way. Newcomers can start here without missing much.

Infinite Wealth is the warmest game in this entire group. The Like a Dragon series has always had eccentric charm, but this entry balances comedy, genuine emotional weight, and a turn-based combat system with surprising depth. It sits here because the main list already has strong RPG representation and this one is narrower in audience than BG3 or Elden Ring for players unfamiliar with the series. If you have any history with Yakuza or Like a Dragon, this is an easy recommendation. If you are new to it, the story still works but takes a few hours to earn your patience.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a massive JRPG that sits just outside the top ten mostly because Persona 5 Royal already covers the long-form turn-based RPG space, and both serving the same fantasy in a single list felt redundant. That said, Infinite Wealth has an argument for being the more immediately accessible of the two: Ichiban is a warmer protagonist and the Hawaii setting is fresher. If you have already played Persona 5 Royal, or turn-based combat in a more grounded setting appeals more than a stylized Japanese fantasy, this belongs at the top of your download queue.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is enormous. Not just in hours, which run well past sixty, but in personality. Ichiban Kasuga is one of the most likeable protagonists in recent RPG memory, and the Hawaii setting gives the game a visual warmth that most JRPGs do not reach for. The side content is genuinely good rather than filler, which is rarer than it should be. It sits outside the main ten because the list already leans heavily on RPGs, and Infinite Wealth's broad recommendation strength is a step below Rebirth. If you have already played Rebirth and want another hundred hours of JRPG quality on PS5, this is the obvious next stop.

I came to the Like a Dragon series late, which means I got to play Infinite Wealth without the weight of every previous entry. That turned out to be fine. The game does not punish newcomers. What it does is bury you in content: side quests that are genuinely funny, a job system with real build implications, and a Hawaii setting that gives the whole thing more visual variety than I expected from an urban Japanese RPG series. The party banter during turn-based fights alone kept me entertained through dungeons that would have felt routine in another game. A 2024 release landing on PS Plus with this much content included is genuinely unusual. Take advantage of it.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is not a traditional open world in the way Skyrim or Ghost of Tsushima are, but dismissing it on those grounds would be shortsighted. The Hawaii setting is dense with side activities, mini-games, and character interactions to a degree that most open-world games do not approach. I have not finished it, which is the honest answer, but the hours I spent wandering Honolulu finding bizarre substories and part-time jobs felt like genuine exploration rather than map-clearing. It sits in the honorable mentions because the open-zone structure is more district-hub than true free roam, and the JRPG systems will genuinely put off some players before the world opens up.

Infinite Wealth is absurdly generous. Hawaii as an RPG setting should not work this well, but the writing is sharp enough to pull it off, and the sheer volume of side content would justify full retail price on its own. This is a very long game. Not a warning, just a fact worth knowing if your gaming happens in ninety-minute evening windows. The turn-based combat rewards patience rather than punishing it, which puts it well ahead of most JRPGs for time-limited players. The tone swings from genuinely funny to quietly affecting without losing either register. One of the catalog's most distinctive recent additions, and it earns every hour it asks for.