Summary
It’s surprisingly easy to overlook Drink Links inLike A Dragon: Infinite Wealthif you simply forget they’re something you can do. After all, there’s so much stuff to do in the game that nobody can really blame you for getting side-tracked. I spent five hours mucking around in Dondoko Island before remembering there was a main storyline. I’ll chase down every Bond Bingo and substory with single-minded furor. I’ll zig-zag the map several times to defeat every Sujimon trainer I can find. I’ll play a couple rounds of knockoff Crazy Taxi, why not? Yeah, I’ll hop on the tram and snap some photos of half-naked dancing perverts, I’ve got nothing else going on.
So, yes, you will be forgiven if you forget about Drink Links. They’re not as obvious as substories, after all, since they can only be executed in a single location on the map and you might not end up going there all that often. Personally, it took me ages before I remembered they were even a thing – I’d decided to go check on Rei at Revolve because she’d sent me a message about how many Aloha Links I’d gotten, and I figured she’d give me something cool for my efforts. After talking to Rei, I spun Kasuga around and saw icons over all my companions’ heads, and realised I’d been skipping over the mechanic entirely.
You might not know what a Drink Link is if this is your first Like a Dragon game. Basically, you may strengthen your friendships (called bonds in the game) with each member of your party by doing activities with them. Bond Bingos, which I mentioned earlier, are an easy way to increase your bond with specific characters – go to the map, find the pink icon with a heart on it, and go to the marked location to start chatting with your companion about that topic. Each character has a four-by-four Bond Bingo card, and unlocking every Bond Bingo conversation in a row will give you a ton of Bond Points for that character.
you may go to restaurants as well, and by creating meal combos and having the right people in your party, bond with everybody present at the same time. Singing karaoke, going to a hostess club, giving your friends gifts, and even just fighting together also increases your bonds.
You can do this in the other settings you’ll unlock later in the game as well!
When your bond level with a character is high enough, you’re able to talk to them in Revolve and have a drink with them – that’s a Drink Link. Every Drink Link you complete will give you a huge amount of Bond Points with that character, and they’ll also fight better. Becoming closer friends with your party means they’ll be more likely to chain attack downed enemies, and also unlocks tag team attacks. All of these, of course, make battles more efficient and more fun, which means you definitely should be doing them.
You’ll also have the chance to choose what Kasuga says in conversation with his friends, and each option boosts different personality traits.
However, while improved battle mechanics is a huge incentive to do Drink Links, that’s not why I love them. Every Drink Link is an opportunity to talk to your party members about their lives outside of you and what they’ve been through before you showed up. These characters will confide in you – Chitose tells you about her grandfather, and Tomi his missing wife – and you get to do your best to be a good friend and give them good advice.
As you unlock more Drink Links, you see your crew grow and develop as people through the things that happen outside of your interference. It fleshes them out as not just allies to Kasuga’s cause, but people with their own histories and complicated relationships. They’re strong, talented fighters, but they’re also working their own problems out as much as Kasuga is. These conversations make them more than what they are, adding stronger characterisation to already well-written and compelling characters. Drink Links are easy to forget about, but you shouldn’t. Drop in to Revolve the next time you boot up the game and get to know the people you’re fighting beside, because they have lots to say.
