My relationship with Lost Judgement has been a tricky one. I’d put almost 60 hours into the game before my rose tinted glasses started to fog. It’s got everything you could want from an RGG game from the fun combat, charming characters and some of the coolest Boss fight intros to date. There is so much in this game that makes it deserving of a 5 score, it breaks my heart that I can’t give it one. But there’s a good reason why. Shitty box art aside, LJ has a glaring issue that simply cannot go ignored. Imbalance.

Both the main story - which is more interesting and better told than that of its predecessor - and the new secondary School story - arguably also more interesting than that of Judgment 1 :p - both suffer from severe cases of imbalance within. Sometimes the main plot will see an entire chapter go by within which you run down the map for a few minutes at a time between multiple cutscenes, in which you learn information, pass on the information, and then discuss what can be done with said information. Leaving the only action to be found in random encounters along the way, or a short boss fight at the end.

The school story, on the other hand, is engaging at almost all times, just not always in the best way. For example the dance club has only 4 songs which are completed 4 times each and that’s that. Meanwhile, the boxing club has at least 20 opponents, most of which take longer to beat than doing a dance twice, putting you in something of a time sink with no real cause. These aren’t the only imbalanced clubs either, and the boxing minigame is fun, but after a couple hours of grinding it, I was more than ready to be done.

All that said, it would be remiss not to mention that Lost Judgment is a fantastic game. The characters introduced in this are far more memorable than in the first, with more interesting drives and motivations. Amasawa is one of the best characters in the Yakuza series now (okay yeah maybe only like top 50 but shush) and a lot of the frustrating stuff from 1 has been cut out and/or improved upon for the sequel. Hell, even the kids in the school have personalities, and are more interesting than the side characters in the first game.

This game could’ve been perfect for me, and I’m glad to see RGG seem to have found their footing in terms of what they want this spin-off series to be. I really hope they’re able to continue because I’d love to see more.

In conclusion, Lost Judgment is good. Really good. It’s a damn shame it also has just* enough bad to get in the way of that.

[P.S. This is an 'again' review bc I left one before completing it already :)]

It's Christmas day, 2005. The tree is surrounded by wrapped gifts for my siblings and I to open, I don't even know this game exists. Among the gifts are 3 particularly large boxes with no tags on. "Those are for decoration", Mother says, urging me not to touch them for fear of ruining the display. This is the first year we've used fake gifts as decoration, strange.

The day goes on, many a gift is opened and smiles fill the room. But a young Jake can't help but feel a little disappointed that he received no video games for his beloved Nintendo Gamecube console. How much longer must he replay Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, Super Monkey Ball and The Incredibles before his horizon would expand...

But then. The impossible should occur. "Jake, aren't you going to open your last present?" My face becomes the definition of bewildered. "L-Last present? I got them all didn't I?" I ask, naively searching under the tree for the lost gift. "Oh really? Then I suppose you don't want what's in here."

I couldn't believe my eyes. There she was, my own mother, whom I'd learned to trust and rely on, gesturing to the so-called 'decorative' box from earlier. Denial filled my soul. "Ha! I'm not stupid, there's nothing in there" I shake the box to prove its lack of contents. But then, what's this? A rumble. Contact is being made between objects beneath the santa-covered paper.

I can hardly contain my excitement, and tear the paper away in an instant! Inside, a large cardboard box. I open that.. and inside...

... Another box, complete with wrapping paper. Another, another, at least 9 boxes, all individually wrapped and progressively decreasing in size. It was a hard fought battle, but at the end I saw him. It was a face I knew well.

Shadow the Hedgehog. And what's this? He has A GUN!? I threw myself upstairs to play it. And have since forgotten almost every single thing about it.

I cannot rate a game I don't remember, but I do remember how I received this game, so I'm giving it 2.5 stars out of respect.