Lost Judgment
I previously finished Judgment and never wrote anything about that game, but right now I want to talk about its sequel, Lost Judgment. This sequel really brings some crazy improvements, especially in terms of combat and the incredible amount of activities in the world (honestly I got tired myself because there are just too many activities in it).
Story wise, this game takes on a pretty dark and heavy theme, which is about school bullying and how flawed the current legal system is. The MC (who I will refer to as Yagami from now on) is initially just asked to investigate a bullying case at a high school in Yokohama, but it turns out the case spirals into a recent murder conspiracy. Players will really be forced to think about morality, making you question what is right between following the law or enforcing justice by taking matters into your own hands. Honestly, the story is really engaging and keeps you curious from beginning to end.
But honestly I personally feel like the story is not as dark as the prequel, Judgment, where in almost every chapter there was always a new murder case again and again. But on the other hand I can understand why, because story wise Lost Judgment takes place after the disbandment of the Yakuza, so it makes it impossible to just recklessly murder people like in Judgment.
As for the gameplay, the combat mechanics feel way smoother and more fun compared to the previous game. Yagami is now equipped with a new fighting style called Snake style which focuses on parrying, grabbing, and disarming enemies, completing the existing Tiger and Crane styles. The transition to switch styles while beating up thugs on the street feels really smooth and badass. Not to mention now you are given a skateboard to get around Ijincho and Kamurocho, so exploration feels much faster and never gets boring. Plus, if you buy the Kaito Files DLC, you will get an extra Boxing style and some additional content like a few girls to date, several extra minigames, and even the backstory of Kaito (Yagami's best friend).
Aside from the main story, we are also given an additional story called School Stories. This is actually completely optional, you can finish it if you want, but it is fine if you do not. But I personally feel the story it brings is still pretty interesting to follow and there are a lot of fun minigames to play. Basically we are asked to help several school clubs for one main goal, which is to find the culprit behind a criminal incident that happened at the school. Ranging from a dance club that plays like a rhythm game, a robotics club, an esports club, all the way to a boxing club. Honestly I think these school stories serve as a sweet addition to Yagami's side content.
There are a few things I do not really like. First is from the story which I find a bit weird, especially when Yagami is reminded of his past events from the previous game, as if what happened in the prequel is not over yet, even though it is and it was proven that what he did was right. I mean, his trauma does not need to be there anymore, he does not need to dwell on his past again because it is already proven he was right. Next is the minigame in the biker club, the camera is super annoying and it actually feels like it blocks us from seeing where the enemies are. Even if we already got the best maxed out bike from the DLC rewards, the enemies will still catch up to us no matter how fast we go, so there is no real difference between the DLC bike and the bikes we get from normal progression.
Well, despite a few downsides I mentioned, overall this game still gives an amazing action brawler experience for me. Even with those flaws, they are completely overshadowed by the super solid story, satisfying combat, and fun school side activities.
