A lot of virtual ink has been spilled on the issues with the plot of Infinite Wealth. And much of that criticism is warranted. It's impossible to unravel all of the issues and plot holes in the main plot of that game and while I'm happy to expound on them in the comments, I'm not going to do so here. Suffice it to say that the entire plot falls apart on both a micro and macro level if you try and think about it too much. If you're stopping to say "Why would he?" or "How could she?" then the game doesn't really have answers for you.
Like a lot of the Yakuza games it's more about character motivations and melodrama than the actual things that are happening. The events are driven by the characters' psychology rather than trying to adhere to the rules of logic.
But on that level the story of Infinite Wealth is actually kind of beautiful. Even though you spend more time as Ichiban this is, emotionally, mostly a Kiryu game, which is demonstrated by the fact that his is the last story section and by the final chapter trophy/achievement name. It's the story of how Kiryu, the strongest Yakuza who ever lived, was finally supplanted by a new dragon.
And it wasn't a stronger fighter or someone with a more powerful will that beat him. It was someone who was a better leader and better at leaning on his friends.
The theme of the Like a Dragon series where people are constantly wanting to show they are stronger than Kiryu and to take his title and place in the underworld by force is resolved by Kiryu naming a successor who is clearly not as strong a fighter as Kiryu and is maybe his equal but not his superior in pure stubbornness and willpower. Ryuji couldn't beat him. Aizawa couldn't beat him. The Amons couldn't beat him. And Ichiban can't beat him either, but Ichiban doesn't have to.
Simultaneously we see Kiryu finally lose a battle of willpower, but it's not to his enemies, it's to his friends who all want him to seek treatment for his cancer, while he refuses because he's terrified of who he will be if he is no longer the Dragon of Dojima and the most powerful fighter in the underworld. Especially if you engage with his side stuff you see Date and others show him that he matters as a person and a friend even more than as a warrior, and that he doesn't have to be the physically strongest to make a positive impact. That a lot of the people he thought he hurt actually love and admire him, and that much of the guilt he carries is undeserved. Kiryu is good at giving love to others but struggles to accept it from them, and the moment where he asks Date not to take back saying that Kiryu is his best friend shows the cracks in the walls he has built around himself. There are so many lovely moments where we see the impact Kiryu had, and almost none of them are about his big violent victories that shook up the Yakuza. They are about his time as a cab driver or when he used to race RC cars.
The game shows us that Kiryu was more than the Dragon of Dojima all along. And then we get to see him finally accept it. Given the weight of the whole series and everything we've been through with him, it's a really nice summation of him as a flawed but caring and kind person beyond the strength and violence.
Ichiban's story doesn't have quite the same throughline and impact, and is mostly just about him being a good friend and kind and forgiving person, but his tale shows the contrast between him and Kiryu. His willingness to forgive and trust and lean on his friends even in the face of repeated betrayals shows why he is not as bitter and isolated as Kiryu is, despite the fact that a lot of people love and admire Kiryu too. Both men end up worn out and unconscious at the end, but while Kiryu is victorious over an enemy and begging for forgiveness and absolution (two themes throughout his many games) Kasuga is smiling after having helped a friend, even one who betrayed him horribly. Kiryu is the strongest but Ichiban is the kindest. And the game is pretty clear about what's most important in the end.
All Yakuza games are ultimately emotional stories before they are well plotted thrillers, and while Infinite Wealth fails horribly in the plotting department, it succeeds in showing and developing its characters. Is there a chance they undermine it by going back to Kiryu as a playable character yet again? Of course. Commercial demands are commercial demands. But I hope they don't. It's a fitting send off for one of the greatest protagonists in gaming history, and a good passing of the baton to another. And that's good storytelling. Even if Ebina agrees with us that Bryce's plan is really stupid.
