Lost Judgment is an action-adventure game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega. It’s the second installment in the spin-off series set in the same setting as the studio’s popular Yakuza franchise. This sequel is a strong step forward for the Judgement series as it provides endless amounts of entertainment through its thrilling story, fast-paced combat, and addicting side activities. This new installment also adds new gameplay mechanics that weren’t in its predecessor, which also helped fix some grievances I had with the first game.
Once again, you take control of Takayuki Yagami, a former defense attorney turned private investigator who has been surviving in the dangerous streets of Kamurocho thanks to his self-made fighting style and perceptive prowess. Following the events of the first game, Yagami is still doing odd jobs at his small detective agency with his partner and ex-Yakuza member, Masaharu Kaito. While the two of them are on a case, Yagami receives a call from some old friends about a job in Yokohama, the stomping ground of Ichiban Kasuga from Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Yagami is tasked to investigate signs of bullying within an esteemed high school, Seiryo High. Meanwhile, Saori Shirosaki and the rest of Yagami’s old co-workers from the Genda Law Offices find themselves in the middle of a messy case when their client, Akihiro Ehara, is accused of groping a woman on a crowded train. Suddenly at the end of the trial, Ehara reveals hidden knowledge of a dead body that’s been decomposing for months in an abandoned building in Yokohama. After Ehara’s statement sends the court into an uproar, Saori contacts Yagami and asks for his assistance in solving this bizarre case.
Lost Judgment’s plot is incredibly well-written and impactful as once you dive deeper into the mystery of this case, you’ll feel even more determined to uncover the truth. In the beginning, the case will introduce you to many different factions and key people surrounding this incident, which will make you wonder about their involvement, but this game somehow manages to fit all these pieces together towards the end. Yagami is once again further developed as the protagonist as his sense of justice and determination to uncover the truth is put to the test many times as he’s thrust into many dangerous obstacles. The only downside is that while the plot introduces new faces with intriguing backstories and motivations, characters you’ve warmed up to in the previous game sit on the sidelines for the most part not adding much to the overall plot. Even so, the game’s story will certainly keep you invested towards the very end.
The combat reverts from the turn-based system, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, to the classic beat ‘em up style that we all know and love. Not that Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s combat wasn’t engaging but being able to quickly pummel your enemies into submission is very satisfying. Like the previous game, Yagami can switch between different fighting styles that are more effective in certain combat scenarios. First, there’s the Crane style which helps when dealing with crowds of enemies as it utilizes long and fast kicks to put your opponents at a distance. Then, you also have Tiger style, a fighting style that is best used against stronger enemies since it uses hard-hitting punches that are meant to deal with enemies one at a time. Finally, there’s the Snake style, a new style that Yagami developed and probably my favorite one of the three. With Snake style, you’re able to counter your enemy’s attack before they land and also disarm them of any weapon they’re carrying as well. For all you Yakuza fans out there, it reminded me of an upgraded fighting style to what Tanimura uses in Yakuza 4, which focuses on defeating your enemies with powerful throws and fast jabs.
Yagami also has a vast asternal of powerful, and sometimes hilarious, EX Actions that can be used to finish off his foes. Another thing that makes the Snake style so enjoyable to use is that Yagami can show mercy towards frightened thugs with these unique EX Actions which never get tiring to watch. After completing a task or battle, you’ll also be rewarded with SP, which you can use to upgrade your fighting styles, attack damage, alcohol tolerance, etc. In this installment, the game makes it so much easier to level up due to the amount of SP they give after each event which was always an issue for me in the first game. However, some skills don’t seem as necessary as others, to be honest, and it’s important to distinguish these before using your SP. For example, many of the skills involving Yagami tailing a target don’t feel as vital because the game honestly doesn’t use this mechanic as often as you might think. The game’s combat never gets boring for the most part, even when you’re running around the map facing against hordes of yakuza thugs and delinquent students to get more SP unlike Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which can sometimes feel like a grind due to its slow turn-based system.
As mentioned earlier, Lost Judgment also introduces a few new gameplay mechanics such as stealth sections, detective gadgets, and parkouring. Quite possibly the best thing they added was the ability to travel around the map on a skateboard which not only can help you save money on using taxis but will get you to your destination with style. These mechanics are a welcome addition, although you’ll be surprised that a few of them are underutilized than others throughout the game.
If you want to take a break from the seriousness of the main story, Lost Judgment provides tons of side content for you to dig into. During the game, you can take on Side Cases either by discovering them on the map, looking at the job board at the Yagami Detective Agency, or by using the Buzz Researcher App which finds a crime in action by using certain keywords. As you can expect, these cases have the same level of humor and intrigue as many of the substories from the Yakuza games, so they’re very worth your time seeking them out. Later in the main story, you’ll also unlock School Stories which is a side plot where Yagami finds himself wrapped up in a criminal conspiracy involving the Seiryo High and it’ll be up to him to go undercover in different school clubs/factions to uncover the true mastermind behind all these incidents. You’ll most likely be just as invested in the School Stories’ plotline as you are in the main story once you get deeper into that mystery because the characters are all so charming and diverse. Much of this content felt lacking in the previous game, so it was great to see that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio went above and beyond.
Along with these cases, you can also kill time with drone racing, VR games, gambling, and even more. The great thing about the School Stories is that each faction is attached with a different minigame mechanic. While I don’t want to spoil what they are, I will say that each one is very addicting in its own way. Because of this, you can be sidetracked from the main story for hours because of how fun they are.
Lost Judgment left an amazing first impression with its captivating main plot and continued to surprise me with its abundance of side content and classic combat. While it did reuse many of the same world assets from Yakuza: Like a Dragon, it never took me out of the game at all and made the city of Yokohama feel livelier because of all there was to do within it. Even though the plot can become a bit convoluted at times and underutilize many of its supporting cast to a large degree, it’s a story that will keep your attention the whole way through while making you feel like an actual private detective. Overall, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio knocked it out of the park on this latest installment of the Judgment franchise and I’m looking forward to what they next have in store.
9/10
For more information, visit: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10002616/
PlayStation Review
I've loved playing video games ever since I first played Battletoads on the NES when I was a kid. Since then, I've played a wide variety of games on different systems, including Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and have mostly gravitated towards open-world RPGs and action-adventure games with amazing storylines and character arcs. I'm passionate when comes to writing and interested in working as a narrative designer.
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