This review contains spoilers
Judgment is a very decent Yakuza game, but it suffers from incredibly mediocrity. And the worst part is, I really really wanted to love this game and have it be one of my faves of all time.
The combat is your standard Yakuza beat-em-up, though the smooth transition from exploring to combat to exploring is very welcome. But other than that, I felt disappointed with the game.
The streets of Kamurocho are not as lively as they were in Yakuza 0. The side missions can be funny, but do not exceed the prior games in any way. The story feels incredibly bloated and after you've played a few games and are familiar with the trademark Yakuza padding, it will be very obvious with this game.
Worst of all, the gimmick that separates Judgment from the yakuza series - being a detective - is frustratingly underwhelming. Tailing is a chore, but not impossible. ""Investigating"" is a brain-dead 'click things until the story progresses' ordeal, the zoom-in camera mode when you investigate is very annoying, and in terms of puzzles you rarely have to think for yourself (except that one bomber side quest which required a lot of Japanese cultural and language knowledge, which was a jarring shift from the game's usual handholding). Most plot twists are revealed by other characters or in ways that do not feel rewarding, like you earned them through your own wits and skills as an investigator.
Also, for a detective, Yagami is way too hotheaded, impulsive and short-sighted - much similar to a Yakuza than a detective, making the shtick of this being a 'detective game' even less believable. Yagami in general feels like one of the blandest protagonists of the RGG games, which is a real feat considering their usually very colorful cast. He has A personality, but it pales in comparison to his predecessors. I understand the actor for Yagami was too expensive for karaoke, but my god do the side activities in this game feel boring. The dating aspect is a nice break-away, but I started to avoid it since it requires proficiency with the minigames (which admittedly is a skill issue, not the game's fault).
TLDR; Judgment is a decent Yakuza game and a despairingly awful detective game. If you just want the optics of being a 'detective' without actually having to do the legwork, this is your game. Otherwise, play something like LA Noire.
The combat is your standard Yakuza beat-em-up, though the smooth transition from exploring to combat to exploring is very welcome. But other than that, I felt disappointed with the game.
The streets of Kamurocho are not as lively as they were in Yakuza 0. The side missions can be funny, but do not exceed the prior games in any way. The story feels incredibly bloated and after you've played a few games and are familiar with the trademark Yakuza padding, it will be very obvious with this game.
Worst of all, the gimmick that separates Judgment from the yakuza series - being a detective - is frustratingly underwhelming. Tailing is a chore, but not impossible. ""Investigating"" is a brain-dead 'click things until the story progresses' ordeal, the zoom-in camera mode when you investigate is very annoying, and in terms of puzzles you rarely have to think for yourself (except that one bomber side quest which required a lot of Japanese cultural and language knowledge, which was a jarring shift from the game's usual handholding). Most plot twists are revealed by other characters or in ways that do not feel rewarding, like you earned them through your own wits and skills as an investigator.
Also, for a detective, Yagami is way too hotheaded, impulsive and short-sighted - much similar to a Yakuza than a detective, making the shtick of this being a 'detective game' even less believable. Yagami in general feels like one of the blandest protagonists of the RGG games, which is a real feat considering their usually very colorful cast. He has A personality, but it pales in comparison to his predecessors. I understand the actor for Yagami was too expensive for karaoke, but my god do the side activities in this game feel boring. The dating aspect is a nice break-away, but I started to avoid it since it requires proficiency with the minigames (which admittedly is a skill issue, not the game's fault).
TLDR; Judgment is a decent Yakuza game and a despairingly awful detective game. If you just want the optics of being a 'detective' without actually having to do the legwork, this is your game. Otherwise, play something like LA Noire.
Aziamuth
8 months ago
Actually the only thing I don't agree on is on Yagami being a bland character. He has certain qualities that remind me of Akiyama, which is good