Highlights

  • Palworld has faced more controversy and scrutiny than Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for its similarities to Pokemon, sparking debates about plagiarism.
  • Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth features a parody version of Pokemon with its Sujimon mini-game, but has avoided criticism due to its playful and tongue-in-cheek approach.
  • Unlike Palworld, which focuses on capturing and taming Pals, the Sujimon mechanic in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a small side activity in the overall gameplay experience.

With how massive the Pokemon franchise is, it's not surprising that other games would pay homage to the series with their own takes on Pokemon's creature-collecting mechanics. Two recent titles that feature a version of this system are Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth with its Sujimon mini-game, and the viral hit Palworld, described as "Pokemon with guns." However, despite these two titles clearly having their own parody versions of Game Freak's iconic franchise, Palworld has been the subject of far more scrutiny than Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

Pokemon clones are nothing new in gaming, with a game like Dragon Quest Monsters being one of the first titles to follow Pokemon in the creature-collecting genre. In the modern era of gaming, the indie scene has produced tons of these games, with some of the most popular being titles like Cassette Beasts, TemTem, and Nexomon. Palworld is another indie creature-collector that has far surpassed these other titles in popularity, as well as controversy, but Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth quietly features its own take on the creature-collecting genre within its greater turn-based RPG gameplay, showing two sides of the conversation surrounding this genre.

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While the Like a Dragon series has changed a lot over the years, there are still some ways Infinite Wealth parallels Yakuza 3 in its themes and plot.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Palworld Both Parody Pokemon with Very Different Results

Palworld has been a very controversial title within the online gaming community since it was released in early access earlier this year, with many players taking issue with how closely some of the designs of its Pals match certain Pokemon. While the game has broken Steam records and garnered the attention of millions of fans, it has also sparked debate as to what is an acceptable amount of design inspiration and where it crosses the line into plagiarism. Some fans believe Palworld doesn't infringe on the Pokemon series any more than other creature-collecting games, while others point towards examples of Pals blatantly copying existing Pokemon designs.

On the opposite end of the spectrum of Pokemon clones is Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth's Sujimon mini-game which sees players recording data on different types of enemies featured in the game in their Sujidex. This mechanic was first introduced in the previous entry in the series, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, but has been expanded in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth to include Sujimon battles, where protagonist Kasuga must collect Sujimon and battle different Sujimon Gyms around Hawaii. While this feature in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is an even more obvious allusion to the Pokemon franchise, the game hasn't received nearly the same amount of criticism for it as Palworld has.

How Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Avoids Scrutiny with Sujimon

While Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth makes some direct references to Pokemon with its Sujimon Gyms, the Sujidex, and Sujimon Sensei, it hasn't been the subject of the same discussion of plagiarism as Palworld has, nor has it reached the same levels of controversy. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is likely able to sidestep these same issues due to the way Sujimon are presented in the game. Rather than being actual creatures, the Sujimon that players will find are simply other people dressed in a variety of wacky outfits, unlike Palworld which features Pals as a species of critters separate from humans.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth also treats this mini-game as more of a tongue-in-cheek joke than a serious Pokemon competitor, making it seem more good-humored than an attempt at plagiarism. Engaging in Sujimon battles is also just a small side activity compared to the core gameplay of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, unlike Palworld where capturing and taming Pals is a central part of the gameplay loop. The combination of these factors helps Sujimon feel like a playful parody of Pokemon, rather than a cut-and-dry copycat like Palworld has been accused of being.