Base game is Yakuza-like but they added "phoenix wright" features to it. Its story is the good one, they added "Takuya Kimura" as MC, but the mystery solving part was not so hard, and about the combat honestly I'm not a fan of it since I like powerful moves Kiryu does.
The game itself is good but there are some features that makes it not perfect:
- The story is good but its slow and tiring due to some forced side quest and gang invasions.
- One of the main focus of this game that should be the detective part is simple and easy
- It's minigames are well made but when you try doing 100% it becames a really mess. For an example if you try to 100% the SEGA Arcade part you'll have to play Puyo Puyo game a lot to complete "defeat all enemies" cause some of enemies appear only at high win streak and its random appearing.
- The combat part is worst until you take combo speed up upgrade, but when you upgrade 1v1 style well it becomes funny and strong. Another style is a mess even upgrading so I won't recommend to spend your precious point to it.
The game itself is good but there are some features that makes it not perfect:
- The story is good but its slow and tiring due to some forced side quest and gang invasions.
- One of the main focus of this game that should be the detective part is simple and easy
- It's minigames are well made but when you try doing 100% it becames a really mess. For an example if you try to 100% the SEGA Arcade part you'll have to play Puyo Puyo game a lot to complete "defeat all enemies" cause some of enemies appear only at high win streak and its random appearing.
- The combat part is worst until you take combo speed up upgrade, but when you upgrade 1v1 style well it becomes funny and strong. Another style is a mess even upgrading so I won't recommend to spend your precious point to it.
Incredible narrative, incredible villain, fun cast of characters that's all really hurt by its poor pacing. It has by far the most padding of any RGG game and some characters aren't fleshed out enough, mainly Higashi. It also had some very... strange parts which made me incredibly uncomfortable in a way I don't think the writers intended at all, I think they intended it very much the other way.
I love Saori though, messy hair women? awesome. gameplay is also some of the best in the franchise
I love Saori though, messy hair women? awesome. gameplay is also some of the best in the franchise
No es un 5⭐ por las misiones de perseguir y por el combate del Dragon Engine aún sin pulir pero la historia es la mejor en un juego de RGG
The story is easily some of the best work RGG has put out. A solid, engaging mystery drama revolving around a massive conspiracy without any mind numbing plot points. It wasn't a surprise to me when I found out Yokoyama didn't write this...
My story complaints are fairly minor:
The pacing for the first few chapters is quite slow.
A lot of the supporting characters just don't do a lot. Especially Kaito who is presented as Yagami's partner doesn't get much time in the spotlight and feels like kind of an errand boy at times.
The Mole is deliberately lacking in characterization, the story even refers to him as a mere "tool". Would've liked it if he had bit more going on.
Throughout the game there's numerous points you're forced to do random side cases as as a part of the main story despite the side cases being completely unrelated and them clearly not being written with this in mind. Seems like something they just threw in to pad out runtime, not that it was needed.
The side cases as a whole were pretty underwhelming, just a lot of been there done that stuff with some incredibly unfunny comedy thrown in, nothing was really memorable.
The detective gameplay overall isn't great, it's very basic and the trailing and chasing segments definitely overstay their welcome.
I say this in every review of every Dragon Engine game but I fundamentally despise the engine's physics. Everything about it is just so unpredictable and Judgement makes the bizarre decision of having Yagami's attacks "bounce" off the enemy when they're blocked or they have armor which makes things feel even worse. The game also makes the same mistake as Yakuza 6 with it's upgrade system, Yagami starts off extremely weak, your combo speed, damage, abilities are downright pathetic, it makes the early hours a chore to play. The entire SP system is fucked, street encounters give you laughable 9 SP per enemy and the only realistic way to fully upgrade Yagami is through chugging grocery shop SP potions (forgot what they're called) which cost a lot of money.
With that being said, once you do get upgrades the combat does get pretty fun. Yagami is easily the most technical and stylish RGG character, he gets access to so much stuff it almost becomes overwhelming, in a good way. Leapfrog and wall jumps alone add so much by giving you more ways of approaching fights than just doing a rush combo. He feels way more "at home" in the Dragon Engine than Kiryu ever did. The incredibly bizarre thing about Yagami's kit are the 2 styles. Through the upgrades app, tiger style gets like 50 skills while crane style gets... absolutely nothing. Not sure what the thought process behind that was but crane is basically pointless beyond some niche EX switcheroos.
also mortal wounds lol!!
At the start of the game there's very few street encounters which I thought was refreshing but once the Keihen Gang mechanic got introduced that changed very quickly. I thought you'd just beat em once and they'd fuck off but there is literally no way to permanently get rid of them.
If Judgement was only drone racing it'd be the easiest 5/5 stars in my life. Such a fun idea that's executed extremely well. The only slight issue with it is the abrupt difficulty spike in the championship league as the AI racers are straight up faster than you even with S speed. It's still very much doable with a good balance of skill, luck and save scumming between races.
Paradise VR is Judgement's money making mini-game. It's the type of thing I didn't really wanna play again after playing once but considering the amount of money you need for upgrades + quickstarter, that's not really an option (god forbid 100%ing the game with the drone part cost). The Kuro-Nyan mode started feeling more like a punishment because the 2 (two) unique encounters it has get old very very fast.
Great game with some really bizarre design decisions.
My story complaints are fairly minor:
The pacing for the first few chapters is quite slow.
A lot of the supporting characters just don't do a lot. Especially Kaito who is presented as Yagami's partner doesn't get much time in the spotlight and feels like kind of an errand boy at times.
The Mole is deliberately lacking in characterization, the story even refers to him as a mere "tool". Would've liked it if he had bit more going on.
Throughout the game there's numerous points you're forced to do random side cases as as a part of the main story despite the side cases being completely unrelated and them clearly not being written with this in mind. Seems like something they just threw in to pad out runtime, not that it was needed.
The side cases as a whole were pretty underwhelming, just a lot of been there done that stuff with some incredibly unfunny comedy thrown in, nothing was really memorable.
The detective gameplay overall isn't great, it's very basic and the trailing and chasing segments definitely overstay their welcome.
I say this in every review of every Dragon Engine game but I fundamentally despise the engine's physics. Everything about it is just so unpredictable and Judgement makes the bizarre decision of having Yagami's attacks "bounce" off the enemy when they're blocked or they have armor which makes things feel even worse. The game also makes the same mistake as Yakuza 6 with it's upgrade system, Yagami starts off extremely weak, your combo speed, damage, abilities are downright pathetic, it makes the early hours a chore to play. The entire SP system is fucked, street encounters give you laughable 9 SP per enemy and the only realistic way to fully upgrade Yagami is through chugging grocery shop SP potions (forgot what they're called) which cost a lot of money.
With that being said, once you do get upgrades the combat does get pretty fun. Yagami is easily the most technical and stylish RGG character, he gets access to so much stuff it almost becomes overwhelming, in a good way. Leapfrog and wall jumps alone add so much by giving you more ways of approaching fights than just doing a rush combo. He feels way more "at home" in the Dragon Engine than Kiryu ever did. The incredibly bizarre thing about Yagami's kit are the 2 styles. Through the upgrades app, tiger style gets like 50 skills while crane style gets... absolutely nothing. Not sure what the thought process behind that was but crane is basically pointless beyond some niche EX switcheroos.
also mortal wounds lol!!
At the start of the game there's very few street encounters which I thought was refreshing but once the Keihen Gang mechanic got introduced that changed very quickly. I thought you'd just beat em once and they'd fuck off but there is literally no way to permanently get rid of them.
If Judgement was only drone racing it'd be the easiest 5/5 stars in my life. Such a fun idea that's executed extremely well. The only slight issue with it is the abrupt difficulty spike in the championship league as the AI racers are straight up faster than you even with S speed. It's still very much doable with a good balance of skill, luck and save scumming between races.
Paradise VR is Judgement's money making mini-game. It's the type of thing I didn't really wanna play again after playing once but considering the amount of money you need for upgrades + quickstarter, that's not really an option (god forbid 100%ing the game with the drone part cost). The Kuro-Nyan mode started feeling more like a punishment because the 2 (two) unique encounters it has get old very very fast.
Great game with some really bizarre design decisions.
Judgment is like a darker, grittier Yakuza spinoff, and I loved it! You play as a detective investigating a twisted murder case, which takes you deep into the Kamurocho underworld. The combat is super satisfying, tailing suspects is surprisingly fun, and the story kept me hooked the entire time. Some of the minigames and side cases can be a bit hit-or-miss, but if you like crime dramas with a hefty dose of Yakuza flavor, Judgment is definitely worth checking out.
The first few chapters drag a small bit but the rest is amazing, the plot makes sense even with how massive it is and uncovering the story is really entertaining. Also the final boss is amazing and one of my favourites in yakuza. The combat is very fun, intricate and is my 2nd favourite in the series. Very excited to play LJ later today.
How to make a spinoff of the most dramatic line of games about Japanese crime even more dramatic? Show it from the other side, in the form of a justice system, which most often has its threads on the dark side. It seems that this has already been shown in the Yakuza series of games, but this time we are a simple private detective, who was rewarded by fate to achieve the truth using our own methods, digging and diving between the edge of the law and street showdowns with Yakuza clans.
In fact. This is the same “Kamurocho” city simulator as in other parts of the games, funny additional missions, a living city with its own stories, contrary to the main part. There is something in common, there is something completely opposite, the gameplay is once again not boring, hitting faces is very pleasant in almost any part. There is of course a place of boredom, pursuit missions are the most boring thing. which I only saw and played. but the advantages in the form of searching for seals at any place of the investigation were very touching and covered all the shortcomings.
Как сделать спинофф по самой драматичной линейки игр про японскую преступность еще драматичнее? Показать ее с обратной стороны, в виде системы правосудия, которая чаше всего имеет свои нитки на темной стороне. Вроде бы это уже было показано в серии игр Yakuza, но в этот раз мы простой частный детектив, которого наградила судьба добиться правды своими методами, копаясь и ныряя между гранью закона и уличными разборками с кланами якудз.
По сути. это такой же симулятор города "камурочо" как и в остальных частях игр, забавные доп миссии, живой город со своими историями, в разрез идущих от основной части. Есть что-то общее, есть полностью противоположное, геймплей в который раз не приелся, бить лица очень приятно почти в любой части. Есть конечно место скуки, миссии преследования самая скучная вещь. которую я только видел и играл. но плюсы в виде поиска котиков на любом месте расследования очень умиляла и покрывала все недостатки.
In fact. This is the same “Kamurocho” city simulator as in other parts of the games, funny additional missions, a living city with its own stories, contrary to the main part. There is something in common, there is something completely opposite, the gameplay is once again not boring, hitting faces is very pleasant in almost any part. There is of course a place of boredom, pursuit missions are the most boring thing. which I only saw and played. but the advantages in the form of searching for seals at any place of the investigation were very touching and covered all the shortcomings.
Как сделать спинофф по самой драматичной линейки игр про японскую преступность еще драматичнее? Показать ее с обратной стороны, в виде системы правосудия, которая чаше всего имеет свои нитки на темной стороне. Вроде бы это уже было показано в серии игр Yakuza, но в этот раз мы простой частный детектив, которого наградила судьба добиться правды своими методами, копаясь и ныряя между гранью закона и уличными разборками с кланами якудз.
По сути. это такой же симулятор города "камурочо" как и в остальных частях игр, забавные доп миссии, живой город со своими историями, в разрез идущих от основной части. Есть что-то общее, есть полностью противоположное, геймплей в который раз не приелся, бить лица очень приятно почти в любой части. Есть конечно место скуки, миссии преследования самая скучная вещь. которую я только видел и играл. но плюсы в виде поиска котиков на любом месте расследования очень умиляла и покрывала все недостатки.
Some people might complain that Judgement is just like Yakuza but about detectives and I'm like, "Wait, they made a game that is just like Yakuza but about detectives?!"
Its decent. Story is....okay. combat is a lot less janky compared to Y6. juggles are a welcome edition. very unfortunate that the "Detective' parts in the game, suck ass. its like how modern day games handle "stealth". not bad for a spin-off.
Bello, ma troppi pedinamenti.
Ei vaan napannut mul
After finishing Yakuza 7, I was left without any other Yakuza game to play, so I went looking for something similar and found this game. Let me tell you, it's a great find. Just like everyone says, the missions are repetitive, and not just the tailing missions; the game itself has repetitive parts in gameplay. However, the story of this game is really good, and the dynamic between the two main characters is excellent.
The first few chapters drag a small bit but the rest is amazing, the plot makes sense even with how massive it is and uncovering the story is really entertaining. Also the final boss is amazing and one of my favourites in yakuza.