Judgment feels like another one of those highly praised games where I can get behind some of it, but ten outta ten is a bit high. First I will say, I very much enjoy the combat here. It's been a while since I played Kiwami 2 and I don’t own 6, so I dont have much Dragon Engine Brawler combat experience but this feels very satisfying to pull off eloquent combots with both styles. Much better than non DE-Yakuza.
Yagami’s a pretty entertaining character. I think most of the cast here is at the very least decent. I guess my main issue is with the story. Not that it isn’t a bad story, it just doesn’t feel about anyone, you know. I don’t typically enjoy comparisons, but I think Ichiban’s first outing was much more about him than this story is about its main characters. Heck I’m currently playing Yakuza 4, and despite having way more negative things to say about it at the moment, this is one aspect it also gets right about its new characters. I understand Detective Stories are pretty rarely about the Detective but give me something. To give the story praise, I felt there were much stronger characters I was able to latch onto more, namely Okubo, despite their absence from most of the story. A lot of the villains were also tragic, but also they were all tragic in the same kinda way. Most of this didn't come until the end, but the overall mystery I felt was strong enough to carry a somewhat weak early game.
Optional shit review: RGG games normally thrive with this. All of the standard minigames are here and they’re all fun and good. There were three new ones I kinda got attached to but all of them have some negative aspect to them. I liked Kamuro of the Dead. I think my main issue with that is that I wish motion controls were an option, if you are playing with a controller. It's meant to mimic the light gun games you would play in the arcade, where you move the gun around to aim so I don’t think my request is too outlandish. Paradise VR is a good way to get money, and I enjoyed the occasional battle and lockpick challenge they offer but it's admittedly pretty shallow. The main thing I liked is the Drone Race, which is pretty exhilarating, but a lot of the content here is based on customizing your drone and not really on the tracks as there are only 5 of them. The reverse versions switch around the boost panels but I would like some more layouts. Also the difficulty curve is perhaps steeper than it needs to be. Side cases are mostly an excuse to do more detective stuff that you could do in the main story, like searching and deciding(fine), taking some pictures(fine) and trailing missions(ass). I think friendship is a cool mechanic here, especially for some of the more unique friends, like Ryan. I like the benefits they give you even if they aren't mechanically deep. Romance is pretty confusing here. I feel like the girl is always upset at the end of our date and then we just end up together anyway. It’s kinda a waste of time.
Sorry I got a bit rambly at the end. In conclusion, Judgment is a good RGG game, just not their best. That comes out next week(hopefully).
Yagami’s a pretty entertaining character. I think most of the cast here is at the very least decent. I guess my main issue is with the story. Not that it isn’t a bad story, it just doesn’t feel about anyone, you know. I don’t typically enjoy comparisons, but I think Ichiban’s first outing was much more about him than this story is about its main characters. Heck I’m currently playing Yakuza 4, and despite having way more negative things to say about it at the moment, this is one aspect it also gets right about its new characters. I understand Detective Stories are pretty rarely about the Detective but give me something. To give the story praise, I felt there were much stronger characters I was able to latch onto more, namely Okubo, despite their absence from most of the story. A lot of the villains were also tragic, but also they were all tragic in the same kinda way. Most of this didn't come until the end, but the overall mystery I felt was strong enough to carry a somewhat weak early game.
Optional shit review: RGG games normally thrive with this. All of the standard minigames are here and they’re all fun and good. There were three new ones I kinda got attached to but all of them have some negative aspect to them. I liked Kamuro of the Dead. I think my main issue with that is that I wish motion controls were an option, if you are playing with a controller. It's meant to mimic the light gun games you would play in the arcade, where you move the gun around to aim so I don’t think my request is too outlandish. Paradise VR is a good way to get money, and I enjoyed the occasional battle and lockpick challenge they offer but it's admittedly pretty shallow. The main thing I liked is the Drone Race, which is pretty exhilarating, but a lot of the content here is based on customizing your drone and not really on the tracks as there are only 5 of them. The reverse versions switch around the boost panels but I would like some more layouts. Also the difficulty curve is perhaps steeper than it needs to be. Side cases are mostly an excuse to do more detective stuff that you could do in the main story, like searching and deciding(fine), taking some pictures(fine) and trailing missions(ass). I think friendship is a cool mechanic here, especially for some of the more unique friends, like Ryan. I like the benefits they give you even if they aren't mechanically deep. Romance is pretty confusing here. I feel like the girl is always upset at the end of our date and then we just end up together anyway. It’s kinda a waste of time.
Sorry I got a bit rambly at the end. In conclusion, Judgment is a good RGG game, just not their best. That comes out next week(hopefully).