After nearly two decades, the developers behind the cross-generational “Yakuza” series has finally gained recognition for melding solid fighting mechanics with RPG systems in lush 3D environments. But a series can only do so much without losing its luster. Reaching beyond the adventures of Kiryu Kazama, “Judgment” put players in the insightful shoes of Takayuki Yagami and mostly delivered the same quality of its Ryu ga Gotoku studio-created predecessors even in regards to the combat. Now, less than three years after the original “Judgment” was released in Japan comes its sequel across the globe (a first by RGG) – a game that has the promise of being the biggest RGG game yet with more action, narrative intrigue & implementations than someone can shake a stick at and I was ready for mostly everything “Lost Judgment” had to offer.
Did I Complete “Lost Judgment”?
Occurring three years after the events of “Judgment”, players are given the task of taking Yagami back to school in his effort to prevent a bullying epidemic from ending in more deaths as it did years ago. From a trophy & achievement perspective, “Lost Judgment” is not only time consuming because of how lengthy the story is (a narrative that also must be beaten on the highest difficulty for a trophy/achievement), but also features certain requirements that requires the player to fully complete the “TownGo” list including playing all the batting cage missions, getting first in the drone racing Grand Prix tournaments, and completing certain criteria for other larger side missions.
Though not completely required for necessary completion, tackling the newly-implemented “Gauntlet” series of challenges does reward players certain items needed for some achievements/trophies such as a difficult chase mission providing one of the musical records connected to the “Sweet Jams” trophy/achievement. These “Gauntlet” challenges will push players to their limits with particular stipulations added to each scenario if said players see fit to tackle them.
With another grind-heavy trophy list, I stuck to my typical RGG games goals of finishing the story, completing all the substories/“Side Cases”, and defeating the latest Amon on “Normal” difficulty – doing so after ninety-plus hours with the plan of eventually grinding out that platinum trophy in the near future.
Did “Lost Judgment” Live Up to the Hype?
As seen in the original iteration, “Lost Judgment” starts off with the unexpected for Yagami after his talents have allowed him some minor celebrity status. Yagami’s allies in the first game call upon his services in an effort to discover and, hopefully, stop a bullying trend from spreading throughout Seiryo High School where a student took his life due to bullying in 2017. Ironically enough, the father of this deceased victim – Akihiro Ehara – is in the news for his trial focusing on this disgraced police officer grouping a woman while the two road aboard a subway train. It’s during the defendant’s trial that he reveals the uncovering of a decomposing body belonging to his son’s primary bully.
With Yagami’s former law partners working Ehara’s case and Yagami discovering threads connecting the school-wide bullying epidemic to the body found, the player is given the chance to find out the truth in true RGG fashion. The story features monumental twists, turns & surprises topped off by the mop-headed detective coming into his own as a more well-rounded, fleshed out character trying to keep his morality in line with his steadfast belief that vigilantism isn’t beneficial for society.
Though several familiar faces return from the original iteration, the new characters like the aforementioned elder Ehara and current Seiryo High teacher who was in the same class as the deceased Ehara stand out both from a presentation perspective and due to the multiple scenes showcasing their inner turmoil becoming external in nature. If there’s two major problems with the story presentation it’s how long winded certain conversations and cutscenes can be when the characters are simply recapping things that happened only an hour or two earlier for people that already know what’s going on; and the creeping nature of the plot’s first four or so chapters of thirteen overall.
Like most of the “Yakuza” & RGG games, “Lost Judgment” has a lot of things for the player to take part in if they want more story than the main plot offers including forty-two “Side Cases” (“Judgment’s “substories”) that range from absolutely wacky (discovering a body suit used for health classes walking around at night) to genuinely emotional (a bartender reuniting with her estranged father). But the most enormous side implementation in a RGG ever is found in “Lost Judgment”: “School Stories”. After interacting with the head of the high school’s Mystery Research Club, Yagami is convinced to find out the identity of “The Professor” – an unknown, looming figure that put several students on a path for failure in & out of school.
The School Stories also provide gateways to old and new mini-games. Starting off with the Dance Club, the player takes part in the same button-tapping rhythm mini-game seen in multiple “Yakuza” games before it. Then comes something completely out of left field with the Robotics Club – a mini-game featuring the player commanding an upgradable vehicle to collect cubes used to take control of adversarial territories until reaching the enemy’s base while the rival CPU attempts to do the same before the overhead timer runs out.
Boxing Club introduces a boxing mini-game that is one of the best RGG mini-games ever with an arcade-like presentation with full character movement and a separate skill tree that uses Yagami’s money to purchase upgrades instead of experience points. Not to be outdone is the skateboard mini-game that not only allows “Tak” to show off his skills on the half-pipe, but also has separate races and a skateboard Yagami can use to get around town.
The “Biker Gang” School Story is influenced by the “Road Rash”-style races of “Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise” that was released several years ago by RGG. To reach the boss of each motorcycle race, the player must have Takayuki bump into the grunt adversaries with his own vehicle, block thrown items or incoming strikes, and boost his way to the finish line in exhilarating fashion.
Not as remarkable are the eSports Club (where the player just goes through a few rounds of “Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown”), Photography Club (featuring only three short scenarios), “Girl’s Bar” (a drinking club for Yagami to gain “loyal customer” status through repetitive & rather uninteresting conversations – unless Takayuki is completely wasted – while unlocking several Side Cases and a single optional girlfriend), and Casino (another short sequence of events boiling down to rigged gambling sessions both against and in Yagami’s favor). These four clubs last mentioned all suffer from mostly unremarkable stories, lackluster requirements for progression, or just being incredibly brief in comparison to the other clubs – Photography Club is definitely hindered by being way too short.
Arguably the biggest issue with these School Stories is how much time the player must invest in them to finish the overarching story. The nearly two-hour-long conclusion doesn’t feel wholly satisfying considering how much effort is needed to take down “The Professor”. Another critique in regards to the amount of club & extras connected to School Stories is the fact that only half of said clubs & Stories really play into the conclusive mystery’s narrative – meaning a lot more fat could’ve been trimmed in regards to said Stories.
Certain gameplay systems from the original “Judgment” have been fleshed out and expanded upon, though there are a few mechanics removed as well. The chase & tailing sequences from the “Yakuza” and previous “Judgment” games return pretty much exactly the same, though following an enemy in secret doesn’t last as long a majority of the time compared to the previous iteration while also providing better hiding places throughout a following session. Lock-picking has been simplified by lining up a pick with the cylinders that need to be pressed upward in any sequence instead of the analog stick rotation method from “Judgment”.
Added to the stealth mechanics are specific sessions where Yagami will have to avoid detection by throwing coins, smoke bombs and even choking out a distracted enemy that disappears into the environment. Takayuki also attains four gadgets to utilize when trying to solve mysteries or search out collectibles including the returning drone that is customizable for the drone racing mini-game. The noise amplifier helps discover hard-to-hear sounds, while an electronic bug detector finds out if someone is being tracked. And then there’s highly-promoted detective dog that can sniff out treasure as well as help find the whereabouts of someone missing by smelling their recently forgone food.
There’s a new parkour system that, too, pops up from time to time and sees Yagami’s grip strength weaken via a meter above him when going hand-over-hand across a pipe that could snap at any moment. Eating & drinking boosts return as well with certain menu combinations allowing for temporary benefits such as finding more valuable items that can be used to build robotic equipment or craft the extracts that gives Yagami supplementary increases like more strength for short periods of time. Toned down from the last game are the photo missions that are pretty much solely connected to the tutorial section and the three Photography Club missions.
The dialogue choices aren’t as critical as in the last game with Yagami able to verbally backtrack in hopes of getting the right answer. Friendships are pretty much non-existent now – a feature connected to successful Side Cases where NPCs would help unlock more Side Cases and even assist Yagami in battle if they were nearby. From an entertainment perspective, the Sega Arcade is full of games both old & new in regards to a RGG game, not to mention the digital board game, “VR Challenge”.
RGG went out of their way to explain that the “Judgment” games would embrace the fighting system that was popularized with the “Yakuza” games instead of becoming a turn-based RPG. Yagami can mix light & strong strikes, grab & potentially toss opponents, and evade. 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 trigger the “EX Boost”, and Yagami will unleash brutal special attacks and even armor through regular strikes. Of course the “EX Meter” also allows for those patented “Yakuza” special maneuvers including Yagami using a knockdown to perform a spin-a-roonie into a head scissors takedown prior to doing a spinning leg drop on some goon’s face.
What makes fights in “Lost Judgment” fun are Yagami’s fighting styles. “Tiger” and “Crane” styles return with the prior being Yagami’s heavy hitter mode featuring charged attacks where enemies can’t knock Takayuki down when he’s in mid-charge. “Crane” style is made for avoiding attacks and counter-striking by having the protagonist twirling & jumping. Another great aspect of “Crane” style is leaping and unleashing a devastating spin kick on the way down.
Yagami has a third fighting style – the counter-based “Snake” style. By tapping the block button right before Yagami is struck will result in an adversary being swept to the side and left prone to a series of strikes & even a combo-ending body slam. “Snake” style also makes it easy to disarm enemies. Another interesting aspect connected to “Snake” style is enemies stricken with fear. When a visible purple cloud surrounds an enemy’s head, they are struck with fear. If the player uses a EX special attack on a fearful foe, Yagami will perform a maneuver that literally scares them into unconsciousness. Though in crowded environments it may become a little difficult to pull off those sidesteps while in “Snake” stance, when someone is able to get into a good groove, Yagami’s newest tool in his fighting repertoire is one of the best combat modes in the franchise’s history.
Weapons are still limited to some of the ones dropped by enemies like baseball bats or items located on the street such as traffic cones. The temporary health limitations known as “Mortal Wounds” in the last game are replaced with temporary status ailments like Yagami bleeding from being stabbed, or suffering from burns. Major enemies and bosses can perform avoidable attacks that, if they land, do the equivalent of “Mortal Wounds”. These wounds, thankfully, go away after the battle instead of the player needing “Medical Kits” to restore Takayuki’s health.
Technically the game is highly polished with the return of dual audio featuring the original Japanese actors and an English dub with the latter benefiting from a majority of the actors from “Judgment” returning. The game’s biggest technical issue has to be Yagami getting stunned easily due to certain animations, say, him getting punched in the stomach and staying in a bent position long enough for an enemy to near him and strike “Tak” before the player can block.
“Lost Judgment” mostly does everything right by fixing certain aspects that gamers didn’t enjoy when playing the first installment, implementing or subtracting mechanics, and deciding to expand upon the narrative options if the player sees fit. For as great as “Lost Judgment” is in many facets – the combat system, mini-game options, a wild mainline story that starts slow and really ramps up – are some glaring issues in regards to doing too much in certain aspects, and not enough in others including the new School Stories.
Should You Play “Lost Judgment”?
Like its “Yakuza” brethren, “Lost 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 fifteen years old. Players who don’t necessarily care about the action and just want to see how the story plays out and/or enjoy a lot of mini-games will get so much satisfaction from “Lost Judgment”.
Old school “Yakuza” players who think the fights are worth more than anything else may be slightly underwhelmed; though “Gauntlet” mode does well at scratching that tough-as-nails battle itch. And newcomers to the franchise should obviously play the original before jumping into this overall stronger experience. No matter what side of the fence someone is on, playing “Lost Judgment” eventually feels like expressing your love to someone through a fireworks display that everyone including the target of your affection appreciates.
