This is a review that I’ve been looking forward to writing for quite some time. To start, Lost Judgment is actually a game I purchased over a year ago. I was very much looking forward to playing it, but I ended up opting to wait until I finally upgraded my XBOX One to a Series X so I could enjoy the Judgment series in proper chronological order. Speaking of chronological order, I actually already reviewed the previous title, Judgment on this very website. I encourage you to take a look at that article if you’re curious on what I loved and hated about Judgment – I certainly enjoyed the first title, but was eager to see what improvements would be made in a sequel! With that in mind, let’s dive into what has and hasn’t changed for Kamurocho’s favorite detective agency.
Lost Judgment again puts you in the sneakers of lawyer-turned-detective Takayuki Yagami as he investigates a slowly unraveling conspiracy. The premise for this case sounds like something straight out of a campy Law & Order episode – a rotting corpse is found in an abandoned building, and the prime suspect has a seemingly airtight alibi. With the initial intrigue set, Yagami will do much of his investigating in Isezaki Ijincho, a location that is highly familiar for anyone who has played Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s RPG Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The change of scenery proves to be an excellent choice for making Lost Judgment feel like a fresh sequel, while the game still lets players explore Yagami’s home turf in Kamurocho for a few story and side missions. Jumping between Ijincho and Kamurocho is simple and convenient, as a simple stroll to one of the game’s many taxis will allow you to explore both of Lost Judgment’s intricate cities at your leisure.
One of Judgment’s main sources of contention from many critics, myself included, was the game’s lackluster investigation techniques. Far too many of the game’s story and side missions revolved around boring tailing missions and janky chase sequences. Luckily, it seems that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios listened to that feedback, as Lost Judgment took a good number of steps to improve that core gameplay loop. Tailing missions are far less frequent, and an improved cover system and option to “act casual” in plain sight make the few tailing jobs you have to undertake far less monotonous. Chase sequences likewise saw a good amount of improvement, with flashy animations and more responsive inputs that make pursuing a runaway suspect far more dynamic. This isn’t just a case of improving on old gameplay, either – Lost Judgment provides a ton of new investigation features, including parkour mechanics to let Yagami clamber up buildings and stealth sections for creeping past guards in hideouts. I was pretty mixed on these new features, as the parkour and stealth mechanics are fairly shallow, but these sections do at least make Lost Judgment’s core gameplay loop less repetitive. The best addition by far is Yagami’s new Buzz Researcher app, which allows you to enter in key words and phrases to sift through social media messages and find an approximate GPS location to uncover a new clue. The app is easy enough to use and enables players to do a bit of actual detective work to figure out which social media posts are actually relevant to the case at hand.
It wouldn’t be a Ryu Ga Gotoku game without a robust combat system, and Lost Judgment delivers just that. Yagami’s old fighting styles from Judgment make a glorious return, and I am pleased to announce that both Tiger and Crane style feel better to use than ever. Tiger style is still a wonderfully aggressive style perfect for one-on-ones, but my personal favorite was Crane style, chock full with flashy kicks and perks that increase your attack speed after successfully dodging enemy attacks. Lost Judgment also brings a new fighting style to the mix, adding a Snake style that rewards careful parries and encourages defense-oriented tactics. Each of the three styles feels distinct, and the game naturally allows players to mix up their styles mid-fight to adapt to the situation. Each fighting style is fairly easy to pick up, and the plethora of new skills to unlock and new combos to master adds a very satisfying progression as you brawl your way through the game’s many investigations.
As a content warning, the subject matter of Lost Judgment’s main story is some of the darkest in Ryu Ga Gotoku’s history. Much of the main plot focuses on high school bullying, sexual harassment, and suicide, which can understandably be off-putting to some. Difficult as it may be to watch at times, I admit that it’s laudable to see Ryu Ga Gotoku try to tackle this kind of topic head-on, though I do question how some of these problems are addressed. Some of the game’s methods of resolving high school bullying cases are frankly unbelievable, and there are an unfortunate few moments where Lost Judgment tries to force players sympathize with some genuinely awful people. While it’s clear the game’s focus on suicide and bullying was well-intentioned, I do think Lost Judgment could have handled the topics in a more elegant manner.
The grim nature of Lost Judgment’s main story luckily does not influence the dozens of hours of available side content. Like any Ryu Ga Gotoku title, Lost Judgment offers a menagerie of side missions and mini-games for players to enjoy at their leisure. There’s also the School Stories – a wide assortment of additional side content focused on Yagami taking on advisor positions at various high school clubs and off-campus activities. These are accompanied with a larger, fairly interesting narrative that eventually links all of these side stories together. The broad list of activities will lead players to undertaking a variety of projects, including dance minigames, motorcycle races, and even drunkenly chatting with bartenders at a girl’s bar. The School Stories are all fun in their own right, but some of these side missions will take upwards of three hours to complete, which is a pretty tough sell for players who aren’t invested. That being said, I personally enjoyed almost every minigame included in School Stories, with the only exception being the 20+ tedious boxing matches I had to endure.
Ryu Ga Gotoku pulled out all the stops with Lost Judgment’s audiovisual presentation, and it shows. Their tried-and-true Dragon Engine renders the cities of Kamurocho and Ijincho to look more crisp and alive than ever. This level of meticulous detail extends to the game’s many character models, with one standout detail being Yagami’s leather jacket being excellently animated to properly respond to his dynamic movements. The engaging visuals are matched by more excellent voice acting performances, with famed Japanese actors Hiroshi Tamaki and Koji Yamamoto joining Takuya Kimura to voice leading roles in the game’s story. Likewise, Ryu Ga Gotoku’s soundtrack excels properly, popping in catchy tunes that match the tempo of the gameplay.
Lost Judgment also offers a selection of downloadable content to purchase, for those who are interested. I bought the Season Pass on XBOX for $35, which is a little on the pricy end. Some of the Season Pass content feels a bit superfluous, with meager additions like extra gear options for Yagami and his drone. The Season Pass also adds three additional love interests for Yagami to pursue, but to be frank, this just felt like content cut from the main game to add some extra value to the package. The standout addition in the Season Pass, and frankly the only reason why I even bothered to buy it in the first place, is “The Kaito Files” – a post-game campaign where you get to play as Yagami’s beloved sidekick, Masaharu Kaito. The Kaito Files is an excellent example of story DLC done right -it’s fast-paced, but does a wonderful job at fleshing out Kaito’s backstory and telling an emotionally engaging tale in a comfortably tight package. To be frank, I enjoyed Kaito’s story even more than I enjoyed Lost Judgment’s main story – if you decide to give this game a shot, I highly recommend picking up this side content as well.
A proper case of a sequel done right, Lost Judgment builds off of both the highs and lows of the previous title. The game starts off strong with a captivating whodunit premise, and while some of the darker material could have been handled with more care, the story remains engrossing from beginning to end. The upgraded combat styles are an absolute blast to play, and the changes to the investigation systems help cut through much of the previous game’s tedium. While some of the School Stories sidequests overstay their welcome, it’s easy to lose track of the time after spending hours on just the side content alone, especially when played alongside the excellent Kaito Files DLC. Considering the slew of improvements and additional content the game presents, Lost Judgment presents a compelling argument for why Takayuki Yagami deserves another case to investigate.