Judgment Review

A whole new protagonist in the same old city Judgment attempts to breathe new life into one of gaming’s most iconic locations. But can it pass the bar set by previous entries in the series? Or should this game be thrown out of court?

Judgment tells the story of Takayuki Yagami played by Takuya Kimura, (or Greg Chun in the english dub). A lawyer turned detective after a case gone bad Yagami searches for a serial killer that’s been terrorizing the streets of Kamurocho. The entire scenario feels not only tightly written but stays consistently entertaining and logical the entire way through. There was never a dull moment and the pacing throughout is the best it’s ever been in the 40 odd hours I spent on my first playthrough. The story feels like a great crime novel with a dash of courtroom drama thrown in the mix.

For the first time ever SEGA have put the full force of its localization department behind a Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio title. Coming only 6 months after its Japanese launch there’s a full english dub, subtitle tracks for both Japanese and English voice acting that change the localization depending on which you pick they even updated the lip syncing to more accurately fit the dub. Then there’s also options to play with French, Italian, German, and Spanish subtitles.

That being said, while the english cast does a serviceable job the japanese cast absolutely kills it. After trying to play through with both language settings the original just feels so much better. The english dub especially on side characters dips a little too far into the realm of bad anime far too often. Strangely; not everything in the game is dubbed; side cases for example can have Yagami speaking English while the character he’s talking to only has their original voice over, or a brawl with random thugs will have them yelling in Japanese at you with no subtitles which can often feel a little jarring. It’s a strange choice especially since Fist of the North Star was a more complete dub. It just feels out of place.

For the most part gameplay is your standard Yakuza affair, run around the city, do some side missions, and fight some thugs. Yagami has 2 different fighting styles each specializing in different methods of ass kicking. Crane-style for crowd control and tiger style for 1 on 1 battles. I found myself favoring Tiger-style during most combat encounters. It simply wasn’t worth changing styles especially since tiger hits harder, so most random battles don’t really present a challenge no matter how many bad guys team up. You can increase your skills via your phone and the pacing of the game and side content ensures you’ll be unlocking at a steady pace. Skills range from damage upgrades to more specialized ones allowing you to improve basically every aspect of Yagami. The biggest and most annoying addition to the battle system is the Mortal Wounds. If you get hit by an enemies heavy attack or a gunshot you’ll lose a chunk of your max HP which cannot be restored unless you’re prepared to drop massive amounts of cash on medkits or a doctor. In longer missions with multiple boss fights back to back being brought down to an unrecoverable 20% of your max health with no way to recover it is rage inducing especially on harder difficulties.

Meanwhile the courtroom sections generally boil down to picking the correct piece of evidence from a list, that you’re unable to fail even if you get the answer wrong multiple times. They’ve also introduced several new types of mission mechanics that range from slowly tailing suspects, taking photos of crimes in action, and 2 different lock picking minigames. At times each of the new activities can feel a little overused, or slow, especially the tailing missions but they were a welcome break from the usual Yakuza formula. I did find that you’re expected to pay more attention to the story and side cases as you progress as you may be asked to find a key piece of evidence or return to a previously discovered location which won’t be marked on the map. For those of you with bad memories or playing in between long breaks it can sometimes be a little annoying. Luckily you’ll have your case files to refer to which actually does a great job of making you feel like a detective checking his notes.

Speaking of the side content this has some of the very best in the series. Since we’re back in Kamurocho, yet again, to spice things up this time around Yagami has the ability to befriend people around the city by completing their own unique sub stories. As you progress through each person’s offerings you’ll slowly befriend them earning you rewards, unlocking new items, and even landing you dates with a few lucky ladies. The dating mechanics replace the hostess clubs giving them a more natural flow and feeling a little more personal. Completing Friendships increases your reputation around the city which will allow you to take on side cases from your office or just find them on the map as you progress the game. Some friendships will even open new systems for you to put your time and yen into; like a crafting system to make buffing items, or the Quickstarter app that will let you invest in crowdfunded projects that can range from higher quality energy drinks to buildings that actually appear in the overworld! Judgment hands down has my favorite way of implementing the side content and I hope every Yakuza game going forward copies it.

Mainstay minigames like Shogi, Mahjong, Darts, Poker, and Blackjack return and we get access to a great assortment of Sega’s arcade machines including; Space Harrier, Moto Raid, Fighting Vipers, Virtua Fighter 5, Puyo Puyo, and my personal favorite Fantasy Zone. For those of us that fondly remember Yakuza Dead Souls there’s an awesome original lightgun style game that’s a great trip down memory lane. Drone Racing is tucked away in the bottom of the Millenium Tower where you can customize your drone to become Kamurocho’s number 1 racer! One of the strangest offerings is a VR board game where you can win some cash if you’re lucky enough. Judgment easily has my favorite side activities since Yakuza 0. Oddly missing though is the hostess clubs and even stranger the karaoke. The karaoke is especially noticeable considering Yagami is voiced by a professional singer and has been in every game since Yakuza 3.

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Dragon Engine continues to impress with its versatility. It looks great, aside from quite a few low quality textures, and pretty much any type of game you throw in it is fantastic, giving each an arcade like quality I truly love to see from SEGA. The only real let down for me was the music which feels more subdued like it was taking a cue from a courtroom JDrama. It just feels like it misses the emotional impact the yakuza games can usually achieve. It’s serviceable but not as good as it’s been in the past. That doesn’t mean there’s no good to be found just that most of the time I was left wanting some more energy the game refused to provide.

Judgment is a must buy for any Yakuza series fan, it’s smart, funny, all the things we’ve come to expect. The writing on everything is top notch and the twists actually feel like they matter to the story and are not just there for the sake of it. The characters and motivations feel expertly crafted leaving you emotionally invested in just about everyone. It’s also the perfect place for anyone new to the series to jump in. There’s a few very small nods to past games but just about everything in here to help players settle into that comfy Yakuza groove. If it’s your first outing or your a veteran Judgment shouldn’t be overlooked.