Really wasn't into the whole school setting or bullying as a central topic from the get-go and the opening hours are quite slow. Some chapters are very uneventful and short, chapter 6 basically nothing of note happens and chapter 7 is just fighting the same boss 6 times in a row.
It the middle section things do get more engaging especially with Yagami and the main antagonists having a really good dynamic and dichotomy going on, even if Yagami is just screaming "SAWA-SENSEI!!!" half the time.
In the final stretch the story tries to connect a random government conspiracy (because every RGG game needs one) to the bully hunter stuff and it's all just pretty convoluted and incoherent, it makes the whole thing seem unfocused and sandwiched together with the RK stuff feeling like a different game. In the Finale there's a random RK brawl which involves the school students that's just there to remind you of their existence since they haven't been seen in like 10 chapters. It really sucks the tension out of things.
As mentioned before Yagami is kind of an annoying idiot at times, instead of ever really criticizing the broader issues with vigilantism he just endlessly screams "SAWA-SENSEI!!" like a toddler. Just like Judgement, Lost Judgement has a large cast of supporting characters that are never allowed to actually help out. At numerous points Yagami turns them down for no reason and they just lounge around. It's only in the finale where Kaito & Gang actually do things.
I was already a fan of Yagami's general combat in the last game and Lost Judgement fixes the big issue of Crane Style being a complete joke. It also adds the Snake Style, a parry style (basically Tanimura from Y4) which gives Yagami a distinct, flashy, well rounded 3 style moveset. His overall abilities were cranked up to 11, he's op as shit and especially in heat mode he just flies all over the battlefield like it's bayonetta or something. The Dragon Engine physics is still the achilles heel, it's as unpredictable and janky as ever and maybe because of all the new crazy shit I had noticeably more "what was that" moments than in the predecessor. So many boss attack hitboxes are straight up broken (especially if they involve a grab) and the boss in the 2nd to last fight just kept teleporting across the floor on some attacks.
The detective gameplay is still just whatever and not something I ever look forward to. 1 noticeable change from Judgement is that there's fewer tailing missions but now there's new stealth sections which are somehow even worse. The enemies visions is just so unpredictable and stupid and if you're spotted it's an instant game over no questions asked.
"School Stories" is the main side content piece and while the clubs do offer a lot of content, unfortunately said content isn't all too good and the attached story is boring at best, they even bring back the insufferable Keihin Gang from the first game. Not all clubs were created equally either, some have their own fleshed out (admittedly not great) mini-game while others like the esports club have you play a few rounds of Virtua Fighter and the gambling "club" is just a roundabout way of unlocking the casino, it's not even relevant to the overarching story. The 2 most disappointing ones were the dance and bike club, the Haruka rhythm game stuff from Yakuza 5 was pretty fun but the dance club music just simply stinks and the bike club had me thinking it was going to be a racing mini-game, which are usually quite good in the series, but instead it's a boring gimick brawling "racer". The final race deservers special mention as the entire 7 minute long experience is decided by pixel perfect boost usage at the end since the AI cheats and will catch up no matter what.
While the dance songs suck, the rest of the OST is godlike. Easily some of the most memorable boss themes in the series with the final one being especially good.
Paradise VR had some good minor tweaks done but the most noteworthy change was the addition of rivals that turn the mode into a race to the finish line and since they removed the skill that slows down the dice, it's a heavily RNG based race. Ideally you get enough star points each round to activate the turn skip skill which essentially removes the rival from the game.
The story has it's moments but it's so unfocused that it ends up being forgettable and nowhere near as engaging as the first one. Other things do at least somewhat make up for it, alongside the usual QoL changes that come with a sequel, Yagami's moveset has been drastically improved in basically every aspect and Lost Judgement is easily the best playing Dragon Engine game so far.
It the middle section things do get more engaging especially with Yagami and the main antagonists having a really good dynamic and dichotomy going on, even if Yagami is just screaming "SAWA-SENSEI!!!" half the time.
In the final stretch the story tries to connect a random government conspiracy (because every RGG game needs one) to the bully hunter stuff and it's all just pretty convoluted and incoherent, it makes the whole thing seem unfocused and sandwiched together with the RK stuff feeling like a different game. In the Finale there's a random RK brawl which involves the school students that's just there to remind you of their existence since they haven't been seen in like 10 chapters. It really sucks the tension out of things.
As mentioned before Yagami is kind of an annoying idiot at times, instead of ever really criticizing the broader issues with vigilantism he just endlessly screams "SAWA-SENSEI!!" like a toddler. Just like Judgement, Lost Judgement has a large cast of supporting characters that are never allowed to actually help out. At numerous points Yagami turns them down for no reason and they just lounge around. It's only in the finale where Kaito & Gang actually do things.
I was already a fan of Yagami's general combat in the last game and Lost Judgement fixes the big issue of Crane Style being a complete joke. It also adds the Snake Style, a parry style (basically Tanimura from Y4) which gives Yagami a distinct, flashy, well rounded 3 style moveset. His overall abilities were cranked up to 11, he's op as shit and especially in heat mode he just flies all over the battlefield like it's bayonetta or something. The Dragon Engine physics is still the achilles heel, it's as unpredictable and janky as ever and maybe because of all the new crazy shit I had noticeably more "what was that" moments than in the predecessor. So many boss attack hitboxes are straight up broken (especially if they involve a grab) and the boss in the 2nd to last fight just kept teleporting across the floor on some attacks.
The detective gameplay is still just whatever and not something I ever look forward to. 1 noticeable change from Judgement is that there's fewer tailing missions but now there's new stealth sections which are somehow even worse. The enemies visions is just so unpredictable and stupid and if you're spotted it's an instant game over no questions asked.
"School Stories" is the main side content piece and while the clubs do offer a lot of content, unfortunately said content isn't all too good and the attached story is boring at best, they even bring back the insufferable Keihin Gang from the first game. Not all clubs were created equally either, some have their own fleshed out (admittedly not great) mini-game while others like the esports club have you play a few rounds of Virtua Fighter and the gambling "club" is just a roundabout way of unlocking the casino, it's not even relevant to the overarching story. The 2 most disappointing ones were the dance and bike club, the Haruka rhythm game stuff from Yakuza 5 was pretty fun but the dance club music just simply stinks and the bike club had me thinking it was going to be a racing mini-game, which are usually quite good in the series, but instead it's a boring gimick brawling "racer". The final race deservers special mention as the entire 7 minute long experience is decided by pixel perfect boost usage at the end since the AI cheats and will catch up no matter what.
While the dance songs suck, the rest of the OST is godlike. Easily some of the most memorable boss themes in the series with the final one being especially good.
Paradise VR had some good minor tweaks done but the most noteworthy change was the addition of rivals that turn the mode into a race to the finish line and since they removed the skill that slows down the dice, it's a heavily RNG based race. Ideally you get enough star points each round to activate the turn skip skill which essentially removes the rival from the game.
The story has it's moments but it's so unfocused that it ends up being forgettable and nowhere near as engaging as the first one. Other things do at least somewhat make up for it, alongside the usual QoL changes that come with a sequel, Yagami's moveset has been drastically improved in basically every aspect and Lost Judgement is easily the best playing Dragon Engine game so far.