GAME CLEAR No. 67 -- Lost Judgment

Lost Judgment (2021, Multiplatform)

Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher: SEGA
Clear Date: 12/12/21
Clear Platform: PS5

Another Ryu Ga Gotoku game before the year ends. One that even came out this year! That’s a first for me.

I really enjoyed this game, but I think I also set a new personal record for least side content consumed before credits for an RGG game. I played the story almost exclusively.

It’s weird. I think I have a very different experience with these games than a lot of people. A lot of people I talk to are like “oh, I’m still on Yakuza 0 because I just get too distracted by the side missions!” Can’t relate at all!

Don’t get me wrong. RGG does some damn good and often hilarious side stories (as they call them) that I have really enjoyed playing over the course of my effort to complete the series. But, I still think the main stories of these games are the best parts! And with the Judgment games taking the detective/noir angle on the main story, I find it even harder to just turn away from the main plot! Why would I go play some fuckin’ minigame when all this crazy new shit has come to light?

And so I don’t. And that’s okay. Lost Judgment brings another impressive, compelling story to the table. Not unlike the first game, it takes a seemingly one-off crime and links it to a much, much larger plot/conspiracy. In some ways, that feels a bit formulaic, but it still pays off somehow. I guess that’s why crime procedurals have been so successful in television for so many decades.

As usual, I won’t say much about the story to avoid spoilers, but I enjoyed it, and I think it touched on some issues that are particularly problematic in Japan but certainly remain relevant stateside.

Of course, that does put me in an awkward position for this post since I basically only played the story, but another thing I can say is that the combat gameplay is even better than before. Yagami remains the only playable character this time around, but he gets another fighting style with a fun parry mechanic that really helps make him feel more well-rounded.

Unfortunately, on the detective gameplay side of things, the gameplay remains pretty rudimentary. There have been a couple minor improvements, but it’s still mostly just very easy point and click type stuff. I know it’s hard to really make this sort of thing too interesting, but I still think even a game like Ace Attorney does it better.

Regardless, this game is not to be missed if you liked the first one (and it’s a perfectly good start if you never played it either). If RGG keeps cranking out above-average stories with above-average beat ’em up gameplay, I’ll keep buying them!