Does Kiryu die in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth?
Kazuma Kiryu is the long-running protagonist of the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series, and while developers Ryu Ga Gotoku tried to kill him off before, the Dragon of Dojima keeps showing up as the protagonist in games. He shares the protagonist roles with Ichiban Kasuga in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth with his own story that puts his life in jeopardy.
Read on to find out what happens to Kazuma Kiryu in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. As you might expect, this article contains heavy spoilers for Infinite Wealth, so read at your own risk.
Kazuma Kiryu’s story Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
We found out from the trailers that in the story of Infinite Wealth Kiryu has cancer. When Kiryu tells Ichiban and Tomizawa about this, he explains that he has been diagnosed by a doctor, but he is refusing treatment. His reasoning is that he wants to spend the rest of his life fighting, and worries about the side effects of treatment.
Despite his refusal of treatment, there are certain big fights throughout the story where we see Kiryu’s health decline. While he can participate in battles normally, he often pushes himself past the limit and is incapacitated afterward. This leads to him being easily kidnapped at the end of a rather difficult fight.
We learned that Kiryu has cancer in Infinite Wealth from one of the game's story trailers.
Sega
Following this, Kiryu returns to Japan to ‘rest’, but ends up continuing to fight. While here, his friends, most notably Nanba, Seonhee, and Date, try to give him a reason to live, encouraging him to write a bucket list, and helping him to see some important figures from his past. Throughout, Kiryu insists that he has no interest in seeking treatment, and is ready to die.
At the end of the final boss fight, Kiryu reaches his limit. While giving a final speech, he coughs up blood, and a helicopter is called to take him to the hospital. As the credits roll, we are left unsure as to the fate of the Dragon of Dojima.
Kazuma Kiryu in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Sega
However, if you watch the post-credit cutscene, then you will find out what happens to Kiryu. We see Haruka and Haruto visit the hospital where Kiryu is staying. Not only is the name on his bed Kazuma Kiryu – instead of his pseudonym Taichi Suzuki – but we know that Kiryu is attending regular appointments. Before the scene ends, we see a sick Kiryu, looking much older and more frail than usual, in a wheelchair being pushed into his appointment with a radiologist.
Does Kiryu die at the end of Infinite Wealth?
Kiryu is alive at the end of Infinite Wealth, but he is clearly still very sick. However, the game does show that he has finally decided to go in for treatment, and there is a chance that he could recover from his cancer.
