Next year’s Like a Dragon: Infinite Weatlh will introduce an all-new mode in which players can build their own community of NPCs along the lines of Animal Crossing…

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth unveiled an exciting new mode during the Xbox Partner Preview. The latter reminds fans of Nintendo’s hugely popular Animal Crossing franchise.

Last month, developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio announced that the highly anticipated eighth mainline instalment of the popular action RPG franchise formerly known as Yakuza will be released on January 26.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon, released in 2020, marked the beginning of a new era for the series. It introduced new, eccentric heroes led by Ichiban Kasuga and brought turn-based combat to the franchise for the first time. This year, the Like a Dragon franchise was hyperactive, with two titles released in 2023. Like a Dragon: Ishin, a remake of the 2014 spin-off set in the mid-1800s in Kyo. It was released earlier this year to considerable praise. Another spin-off, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, will be released in November. This picks up the story of franchise icon Kazuma Kiryu ahead of next year’s mainline Infinite Wealth, where he reunites with Ichiban Kasuga in Hawaii.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is essentially just an arm’s length away in January. The game popped up in the Xbox Partner Preview alongside other big upcoming third-party games. At the event, a new trailer for Infinite Wealth was shown. It showed off a brand new mode called Dondoko Island.

An entire island that essentially works like Animal Crossing, allowing players to build and furnish houses and populate an entire community with NPCs.

At the beginning of the three-minute trailer, Ichiban jokingly rides a dolphin across the sea to arrive on Dondoko Island. From there, it’s revealed that players can collect resources by exploring, fishing, quarrying and catching bugs around the island. These materials can be used to build structures and furniture for NPCs. The video also hinted at the possibility of defending Dondoko Island from unwanted pirates. It is unclear how far players will have to go in the game’s story to gain access to the island. Modes like this in the series, such as the business management mode in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, usually only become available at the end of several long chapters of the game.

The Like a Dragon franchise is no stranger to slightly goofy and eccentric side modes, and Dondoko Island fits right into that goofy tone.

It’s possible that the mainstream success of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in early 2020 inspired Ryu Ga Gotoku to try something similar in Infinite Wealth. However, Ishin was released earlier this year. But Like a Dragon fans have plenty to look forward to in the coming months. After all, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is due out in a few weeks, and Infinite Wealth launches in 2024.

Source: YouTube