The Yakuza series is known for its in-depth and absorbing minigames, and the series’ latest entry, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, is no exception. If you’re playing Infinite Wealth, you’ve probably already heard about its Animal Crossing-inspired island life sim, Dondoko Island, where you can create a tropical resort for fun and profit.
The minigame unlocks in Chapter 6, so you probably won’t get to it for quite a while if you’re exploring everything that Honolulu and Yokohama have to offer. It’s (mostly) optional, but it’s pretty darn fun and a handy little money-maker as you enter the mid-game.
Here’s everything you need to know about making the most of Dondoko Island.
Why play Dondoko Island in Infinite Wealth?
During Chapter 6, Ichiban will be stranded on Dondoko Island for several days. You’ll be able to head back to Oahu after you get your island to one-star rank by cleaning up trash and learning the basics of DIY crafting. (It won’t take long.) After that, the extent to which you participate in this minigame is entirely up to you. If you don’t click with cozy sims, Dondoko might feel like more of a slog than a dream getaway. But the real fun begins once you’re able to accept paying guests, and you can start crafting loads of cool buildings and attractions for those guests. For each three-day tour you book, you’ll get a slice of the action in good old-fashioned U.S. Dollars.
That means spending time on Dondoko Island can be a great way to earn piles of money to use for stronger weapons and equipment for your squad. Funds can be tight in the first few chapters of Infinite Wealth, so devoting a few hours to a serious cash infusion can set you up nicely for the midgame. If you’re a cozy sim veteran, you probably don’t need our help here. But the Dondoko dabblers among us can get a lot out of this optional content without sweating the small details.
Pick up everything, especially early on
There’s a whole lot of critters and resources to grab on Dondoko Island, especially as you’re clearing out garbage-filled fields. Grab anything and everything you see, whether it’s rocks, seashells, bugs, or carrots. If you run out of space, dump it in the storage boxes dotted around the island. The more you collect of each item, the higher sale price it will command from your friendly neighborhood vendor, Matayoshi. Which brings us to our next point:
Sell all the fish, bugs, and minerals
With few exceptions—mostly vegetables and precious metal like gold—you’ll want to sell everything you gather during your daily forages. Yep, that means fish, too—with the exception of the one-star Dondoko Scuttler, which is used to craft numerous types of souvenir items. (More on souvenirs later). Once you start building farming plots, you’ll automatically get loads of veggies, eggs, and mushrooms each day. Whack those into storage for later use, and sell all the tuna, truffles, and coral you can get your hands on. Gold and silver flora and fauna are worth even more.
Prioritize upgrading your bat
Eventually, you’ll want to upgrade your fishing spear and bug net, too. But you’ll get the most bang for your buck out of saving up for upgrades to Ichiban’s bat as soon as you can. It’ll help you clear rocks, trees, and garbage faster, and you’ll get more resources out of each. It’ll also come in handy for clobbering unwanted visitors who sneak onto your island to cause trouble.
Each tool can be upgraded twice. The first upgrade is a whopping 50,000 Dondoko bucks, and the final one is 150,000. The second-tier bat should be enough to see you through a three-star resort, though once your island’s in the four- and five-star range, there’ll be more baddies for Ichiban to deal with. After all, the best defense is a good offense.
Build anything
Once you hit the three- and four-star level, it can be tempting to think you need to design your island around one of the four main themes: rustic, sleazy, pop, and elegant. As you build, especially early on, your island’s vibe will change. Guests do have unique preferences, but it’s a more straightforward (and profitable!) long-term strategy to have something for everyone, prioritizing high-end accommodations and large structures that maximize your satisfaction stat.
Oh, and don’t be shy about plonking down large buildings. You can always move them later, and they’ll slot handily into Ichiban’s inventory like any other item. Also, if you’re sick of a particular building—or are upgrading to something better—you can sell buildings and any other DIY items you no longer need to Matayoshi, often for a pretty hefty sum. Just make sure that any building or object that is for guest entertainment is adjacent to an existing pathway, or be prepared to do a little paving of your own.
Hide resource-generating structures
As your island paradise grows, you’ll be able to purchase crops and recycling plots from the General Store to generate resources for crafting. While anything guests interact with must be adjacent to a pathway, that isn’t the case for resource-generating structures. You won’t need to tend to crops or recycling centers in any way to reap the benefits, so feel free to stick them in the awkward spaces behind buildings where nothing else will fit—even if they’re mostly hidden from view or access. Instead, prioritize your space for buildings and objects your guests will enjoy. You’ll still be able to collect your crops and crafting materials outside the general store as usual—even if you don’t remember where they are.
Ichiban the hoarder
In addition to clearing trash out of every region of Dondoko Island and building fancy guest accommodations, you’ll also need to spend some time and resources making Ichiban’s house the best it can be. The more items you have in there, the higher your Livability score. That directly translates to the number of health hearts Ichiban has—and once you’re in the running for a five-star rating, you’re going to want as many as possible.
Some folks might want to make Ichiban’s home into his castle, putting the utmost care into all the decorative flourishes. But if you’re simply looking to raise your Livability score and make more money, just stuff the rooms full of all the Elegant furnishings you can manage. There’s no penalty for turning his house into a hoarder’s storage unit in order to get that score as high as possible.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is out now on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
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