A seamless baton pass from the Yakuza games, Judgment exceeds expectations, even when certain gameplay tropes and a bit of lacking direction are present.
While I'm almost content that RGG will never make a bad game, I was worried that Judgment would follow in the footsteps of Yakuza 6. The Dragon Engine combat would be wobbly. The story would be over something as stupid as a corporation's corruption and Yagami wouldn't nearly be as fun as Kiryu Kazama, to play or to hear.
Well, Judgment, just like 2020's Like A Dragon (haven't beaten it but just under halfway) comes out again with making a likable protagonist with a whole new take on things. I love the way the game balances the Yakuza through the Matsugane backstory, as well as the courtroom drama you witness play out through the game's story. On top of this, Judgment really makes every murder or twist stand out more than any Yakuza game did. I felt like the twists in this game were well-written and earned, unlike the quadruple or quintuple twists we've gotten in cutscenes like games like Yakuza 2 or Yakuza 5. Judgment very well might be the best story RGG has worked on and creates characters that will make you laugh, cry, and seethe. Not to mention the star-studded English VA casting of people like Matthew Mercer (Kuroiwa) and Fred Tatasciore (Shintani). Judgment won't let you down in this department through a thrilling, motivating epic that topples most of the previous Yakuza stories.
So then, where's the beef? Well, the gameplay and progression is probably the biggest mixed bag out there. The gameplay itself is awesome, the style switching allows for huge variety, even if the game tells you to mostly use Crane fighting lots of people, and Tiger fighting one person (also, most previous Yakuza players will most likely gravitate towards Tiger, as it mimics most of the moves franchise players would be familiar with). Wall-running is badass, and the chases are pretty great too when needed.
The few large hangups I have on this game are:
-Following missions. Oh my God, I thought after Assassin's Creed III I'd never have to keep someone within focus for 9 minutes straight as they consistently turn around and go "hey, is someone following me?" before turning around and proceeding on their NPC path. This kind of follow-quest is super dated and deserved to die in the 00s, let alone the fact that the game acts like they're fun here. I sure do hope Lost Judgment and future iterations improve on this, because Lord almighty, almost every substory, and at least 10 times in the main story, involves following someone for 5 minutes as you just peer your 3rd person camera out from around the corner and wait for them to cross yet another corner. It's so damn lame, and I have no idea why RGG (who usually throws out the AAA crap for stuff that's actually fun) threw this into the mix.
-Content drought. While I don't usually cry "where's the content!" and get frustrated by most people who cry for why this game doesn't have Yakuza 0 or Yakuza 5 amounts of content, they have an extremely valid point. There's only about two or three new minigames. The rest are things like Mahjong, Club Sega, Gambling, or Shogi. In a game where the sky is the limit, modern Kamurocho is buzzing with new technology, they're only able to come up with...two new minigames. I was surprised myself as I was going for the platinum. I completed Dice & Cube, Drone Racing, and the Batting Cages, along with all the restaurants, and y'know what I had left? Mahjong, Club Sega, Gambling, and Shogi. The stuff no one really spends a ton of time at in any Yakuza game. Wow, did they drop the ball on getting rid of things like Kareoke and plenty of fun activities even from 6 like Baseball or Spearfishing. I can't believe Yakuza 6 looks like a great game compared to Judgment in this regard.
-Substories/Friendships. They just vary HIGHLY in quality, and I somewhat hate when the game forces you into a substory while you're trying to complete the main story. It just feels like literal padding to a game that's long enough, even if you removed those moments in them. While some substories involve full sleuthing, fun battles, and great twists that Yagami has to uncover, there are plenty that just involves checking in on someone 9 times in a row for a friendship to make them your friend, or doing the same thing for them over and over. This really ruins the mood from previous games where I felt that most substories you uncover are just these fun mysteries that you feel lucky that you even catch. The way Judgment shovels the sidequests and friendships in your face feels wrong, almost like it's telling you how it wants to be played, despite the rewards being much more paltry than grinding Dice & Cube.
Judgment is a great game that still to me is on the upper half of what RGG has made. But don't mistake that for some glowing beacon away from the already great games out there. Just because it's the shiny new toy compared to the "dingy" old Dragon Engine and the original games, doesn't mean it comes with no flaws and a perfect first attempt. But it is really damn good and worth a try.
While I'm almost content that RGG will never make a bad game, I was worried that Judgment would follow in the footsteps of Yakuza 6. The Dragon Engine combat would be wobbly. The story would be over something as stupid as a corporation's corruption and Yagami wouldn't nearly be as fun as Kiryu Kazama, to play or to hear.
Well, Judgment, just like 2020's Like A Dragon (haven't beaten it but just under halfway) comes out again with making a likable protagonist with a whole new take on things. I love the way the game balances the Yakuza through the Matsugane backstory, as well as the courtroom drama you witness play out through the game's story. On top of this, Judgment really makes every murder or twist stand out more than any Yakuza game did. I felt like the twists in this game were well-written and earned, unlike the quadruple or quintuple twists we've gotten in cutscenes like games like Yakuza 2 or Yakuza 5. Judgment very well might be the best story RGG has worked on and creates characters that will make you laugh, cry, and seethe. Not to mention the star-studded English VA casting of people like Matthew Mercer (Kuroiwa) and Fred Tatasciore (Shintani). Judgment won't let you down in this department through a thrilling, motivating epic that topples most of the previous Yakuza stories.
So then, where's the beef? Well, the gameplay and progression is probably the biggest mixed bag out there. The gameplay itself is awesome, the style switching allows for huge variety, even if the game tells you to mostly use Crane fighting lots of people, and Tiger fighting one person (also, most previous Yakuza players will most likely gravitate towards Tiger, as it mimics most of the moves franchise players would be familiar with). Wall-running is badass, and the chases are pretty great too when needed.
The few large hangups I have on this game are:
-Following missions. Oh my God, I thought after Assassin's Creed III I'd never have to keep someone within focus for 9 minutes straight as they consistently turn around and go "hey, is someone following me?" before turning around and proceeding on their NPC path. This kind of follow-quest is super dated and deserved to die in the 00s, let alone the fact that the game acts like they're fun here. I sure do hope Lost Judgment and future iterations improve on this, because Lord almighty, almost every substory, and at least 10 times in the main story, involves following someone for 5 minutes as you just peer your 3rd person camera out from around the corner and wait for them to cross yet another corner. It's so damn lame, and I have no idea why RGG (who usually throws out the AAA crap for stuff that's actually fun) threw this into the mix.
-Content drought. While I don't usually cry "where's the content!" and get frustrated by most people who cry for why this game doesn't have Yakuza 0 or Yakuza 5 amounts of content, they have an extremely valid point. There's only about two or three new minigames. The rest are things like Mahjong, Club Sega, Gambling, or Shogi. In a game where the sky is the limit, modern Kamurocho is buzzing with new technology, they're only able to come up with...two new minigames. I was surprised myself as I was going for the platinum. I completed Dice & Cube, Drone Racing, and the Batting Cages, along with all the restaurants, and y'know what I had left? Mahjong, Club Sega, Gambling, and Shogi. The stuff no one really spends a ton of time at in any Yakuza game. Wow, did they drop the ball on getting rid of things like Kareoke and plenty of fun activities even from 6 like Baseball or Spearfishing. I can't believe Yakuza 6 looks like a great game compared to Judgment in this regard.
-Substories/Friendships. They just vary HIGHLY in quality, and I somewhat hate when the game forces you into a substory while you're trying to complete the main story. It just feels like literal padding to a game that's long enough, even if you removed those moments in them. While some substories involve full sleuthing, fun battles, and great twists that Yagami has to uncover, there are plenty that just involves checking in on someone 9 times in a row for a friendship to make them your friend, or doing the same thing for them over and over. This really ruins the mood from previous games where I felt that most substories you uncover are just these fun mysteries that you feel lucky that you even catch. The way Judgment shovels the sidequests and friendships in your face feels wrong, almost like it's telling you how it wants to be played, despite the rewards being much more paltry than grinding Dice & Cube.
Judgment is a great game that still to me is on the upper half of what RGG has made. But don't mistake that for some glowing beacon away from the already great games out there. Just because it's the shiny new toy compared to the "dingy" old Dragon Engine and the original games, doesn't mean it comes with no flaws and a perfect first attempt. But it is really damn good and worth a try.