My introduction and eventual fandom for the “Yakuza” (or “Ryū ga Gotoku” as it’s known as in Japan) series is a saddening reminder just how influential brick & mortar video stores were to my gaming habit. In 2006, I just decided to rent a game for the next few days, but had no idea what was available that I hadn’t played yet as my primary gaming console was still the Playstation 2 – a console whose new releases were drying up thanks to its successor about to hit the market. Walking through the aisle one game cover caught my eye that I hadn’t seen before – “Yakuza”. I didn’t even bother reading the back cover and just gave it a shot. To my surprise, “Yakuza” felt like a 3D side-scroller beat-em-up featuring a fantastic story and pretty enjoyable dub. I poured a great amount of hours into “Yakuza” before seeing the epic ending. Two years later saw the western release of “Yakuza 2” and forced me to pull out my semi-retired Playstation 2 to play through another fantastic entry in this underrated franchise. While there were arguable quality dips during the Playstation 3 era (consisting of three mainline games and a spin-off), my hopes were incredibly high for the next “Yakuza” games that included an overall prequel, remakes of the PS2 entries, and a conclusive iteration to the saga. The developers switched gears to give players something different by focusing not on being inside organized crime, but bringing forth justice even in the court of law. Even if it wasn’t a true “Yakuza” experience I expected “Judgment” to fulfill all the criteria that made its spiritual predecessors so fantastic, if not exhaustive.
Did I Complete “Judgment”?
By playing so many “Yakuza” games in the past it was pretty simple to figure out what “Judgment” entailed from a completion perspective including an extensive story, various side quests (“substories”), and playing mini-games aplenty. Like the other games in the series, there’s a checklist of activities to complete including clearing the menu at every restaurant, playing all the Sega Arcade games like personal favorite “Virtua Fighter 5”, and even making friends in some odd ways. From a trophy perspective, “Judgment” is not only time consuming because of how lengthy the story is, but also features certain requirements that are locked out if the player isn’t aware like finding & photographing all the cats in Kamurocho with some only being available during certain story moments. With a more grind-heavy trophy list compared to other games in the franchise, I stuck to my old goals of finishing the story, taking on all the substories and defeating the best of the best enemies. These goals took over seventy hours to complete with yours truly planning another playthrough with the English dub.
Did “Judgment” Live Up to the Hype?
Though the game is based in the all-too-familiar Kamurocho in Japan, “Judgment” takes a very different narrative approach by putting the player in the gumshoes of Takayuki Yagami – a former attorney turned private detective looking to investigate a series of recent yakuza murders. As expected from any game in this franchise, “Judgment” features lengthy cutscenes, incredible twists & turns, and a thrilling cast that doesn’t have any greatly defining links to its spiritual predecessors (though there are some appearances of smaller “Yakuza” characters). Unlike the “Yakuza” games a great amount of answers to grand questions aren’t solved during or after battles, but Yagami simply having conversations with the player being able to pose questions or offering Takayuki’s opinion during certain conversations. To make this game user-friendlier is the ability to play it fully dubbed in English with a voice-acting cast that mostly does the dialogue justice.
The gameplay is very similar to what was seen in “Yakuza 6” as it too utilizes the Dragon Engine originally crafted for “The Song of Life”. Like Kiryu before him, “Taka” can mix light and strong strikes with the touching of the square and triangle buttons in a timed sequence, grab and potentially toss opponents courtesy of the circle button, and evade with the X/cross button. Yagami can block attacks and even counter with well-timed button presses like springing off the ground for a quick attack when knocked down. With each successful attack dished out by Yagami the “EX Meter” located left of the protagonist’s health bar will rise so the player can hit the R2 trigger to power up and unleash brutal special attacks. With a full “EX Meter” the player can simply tap the triangle button during certain moments in battle to perform an “EX Action” that can range from a simple kick to the face of a downed opponent to pulling off impressive dodges & strikes when Yagami is intoxicated. Fighting styles from “Yakuza 0” & “ Yakuza Kiwami” return here as the player can tap down on the d-pad and switch between the more punch-heavy “Tiger Style” to the kicking oriented “Crane Style” with the latter being better for crowded scenarios where creating distance is important. One of the biggest differences from a fighting perspective that makes “Judgment” standout is “Taka’s” ability to leap over enemies for sudden throws & strikes, wall run into attacks like flying head scissors, and even pull off special “EX Actions” specifically made for leaping & wall running. Weapons, unfortunately, are limited to some of the ones dropped by enemies like baseball bats or items located on the street such as traffic cones. There are also temporary health limitations added to most boss battles called “Mortal Wounds”. “Mortal Wounds” cut off a portion of Yagami’s health upon taking a big attack, only being cured by “Medical Kits” or a sole doctor living in the sewers. Replacing roaming enemies like Mr. Shakedown from “Yakuza 0” are gang raids where a particular gang floods the area with defeating high-powered captains being the only way to end the raid quickly. Thanks to the game’s skill tree, Yagami can learn more “EX Actions”, increase his health & attack power, and even make it easier for the player to complete the action sequences not involving hand-to-hand combat.
Beyond the aforementioned moments of dialogue choices there are remixed and even new gameplay implementations. Chase sequences from the previous “Yakuza” games have more importance to the overall gameplay, as do tailing scenarios with both having slight modifications including more button prompts and hiding spots respectively. Littered throughout the story & substories are investigation scenes usually relying on the player focusing on the right spot (the controller rumble is a great indicator Yagami is looking in the correct area). Photo missions are similar to investigation sequences where Takayuki has to attain the best photo in a limited amount of time. There are also lock-picking moments with one being more cylinder-based and the other having the player rotating the analog sticks (the latter being, arguably, the worst new mechanic in the game). And then there are the drones. Drones not only can be used for investigation purposes, but can also shoot down enemies and be raced (essentially replacing the pocket racing mini-game seen in the “Yakuza” games since “0”). Friendships are also a big part of getting the full “Judgment” experience with the befriending of NPCs opening up side quests and even a few “EX Actions”; with certain friends helping Yagami in street fights. Yagami can even romance a selected few women. Unfortunately for every mini-game usually connected to the franchise still haven’t returned alongside the “Dragon Engine” including karaoke and pool; and some mini-games such as a managing a cabaret club aren’t in this iteration (though it makes sense considering whom the player is controlling).
The base mechanics pulled from other “Yakuza” games including the battle system, the narrative presentation, great amount of substories & mini-games are still strong in “Judgment” with some newer implementations perfect for this game, but not necessarily well executed. “Judgment” provides a great experience that sets itself apart from everything else in the franchise for mostly all the right reasons.
Should You Play “Judgment”?
Like its “Yakuza” brethren, “Judgment” proves to be a genre bending experience – part beat-em-up, part RPG, part party game, part simulator that produces a magnificent story boosted by the consistent quality of action provided by a battle system rooted in a game over a decade old. Players who don’t necessarily care about the action and just want to see how the story plays out will get so much satisfaction from “Judgment”, while “Yakuza” players who enjoy the fights more than anything else may be slightly underwhelmed; though most likely happy about the purchase “Judgment” surely warrants. Newcomers will find a memorable noire piece that doesn’t take itself seriously outside of the main story including trying to stop a twisted pervert from grabbing butts.
