I recently completed Judgement (or Judge Eyes) on the PlayStation 4. It is set in the same world as the Yakuza series but follows a different character. It became clear earlier this year that Yakuza 3 remastered would not be released until 2020, and needing a fix my attention was drawn to Judgement. It offered similar elements to the Yakuza series but instead of playing as a Yakuza you play as a lawyer-turned-detective.
I like coconut things, quite a bit and if it is combined with chocolate even better. I recently went into Tesco and decide to try their Tesco's Finest Coconut and Chocolate Biscuit cake. I had gone in for something else and thought 'how bad could they be?'. They were one of the tastiness things I have had in ages, so much so I went back for more. Playing Judgement I found myself asking was this even better than what I really wanted?
Story
The story follows Yagami, a lawyer who, after a bad case, retires and opens his own detective agency in Karamucho. He has a number of allies - his closest being Kaito, a former Yakuza who is pretty handy in a brawl. There is a killer called The Mole who has been gouging out peoples eyes and when those murders intersect with one of his own cases Yagami decides to investigate. I can't give any more away as there are way too many spoilers. What I can say is while it feels sort of slow start with it picks up in pace quickly and ends really well.
The main story is great but one of the best elements is the side cases and friend requests. They share some of the some dark and often comedic moments that the other Yakuza games are known for. That said, while I liked many of them they were not quite as enjoyable as the Yakuza series ones.
Overall the main story, sides cases and friend requests were a lot of fun and many of the characters, especially your allies, are very likeable which really helped me invest in them.
Visuals
Since Yakuza 0 and the remake of Yakuza 1 and 2, I have been spoiled by the visuals and Judgement is no exception. The world is busy and full of life, sometimes even to the point where I start asking people to get out of my way. The stores, restaurants, and mini-game venues all have a lot of detail in them making them feel like real places. The character designs look amazing and no detail was spared, except for one, the eyes. Not all but some characters have dead-looking eyes which can be very jarring at times.
Overall the visuals are amazing and it was great getting to explore Karamucho again.
Music
Hidenori Shoji has helped create a very distinct sound for the Yakuza Series (Ryu Ga Gotoku) and now he has turned his attention to this. Judgment has a very similar sound there are rocking guitars for battles, and whimsical tracks for the happy fun moments. However, Judgement adds an extra layer that I have not experienced before which is moody guitars along with what I can only surmise as being a cross between old school detective shows and modern-day espionage films.
The soundtrack runs a little over three hours and there is a lot packed into that time. There are so many great tracks some of my favorites being:
- Random Fire
- Puzzle
- My Own Style
- Yagami Detective Agency
- Strange Encounter
- Hyenas Wheezing
- In Jeopardy
- Speculation
- The Laff Riot
- Vast Fire
- Off Guard
- Destination
- Penumbra
- Kamimurochi Funny
- Anyway Happy
- Dive In
Overall it is great soundtrack and is easily as good as any of the Yakuza games if not slightly better.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Judgement is very similar to that seen in the Yakuza series but with some new additions. The combat is more streamlined and feels smoother, there are two fighting styles; tiger and crane. Yagami is more agile and because of this can leapfrog over enemies, wall jump and get out of tight spots. It took me a while to get used to the new styles but once I did I quite enjoyed them. Enemies feel a little tougher especially when they hit you with special attacks that destroy your health and make it impossible to heal fully until you have been to a doctor or got a medical kit.
The Keihin Gang terrorizes the town but what's worse is they keep coming back even after you defeat them. They appear with a 100% threat level and overtime or as you defeat the gang leader and footsoldiers it drops. The only issue is that it happens so often and if you ignore them you get a guilt-ridden text message from a local restaurant owner.
The final boss battle is really well done and had a perfect build-up to it. It ended up being a slight struggle as I hadn't brought enough supplies, but in the end, I prevailed.
The detective element is played out very lightly, tailing people, taking pictures and asking/answering the right questions. It was fun enough but was not very taxing from the detective point of view. It is difficult to know if this was done on purpose or not. If it was taxing it might distract too much from the main narrative.
We all need friends sometimes and in Judgement, there are fifty potential friends. Each can be made friends by fulfilling certain requests, some are more challenging than others. The one I did not get was the Majong girl, mostly because I can't quite get my head around how to play it. Once acquired, friends will then greet you around town and in some cases will even help you in fights.
There is a host of mini-games to enjoy including; baseball, darts, blackjack, poker, VR and my favorite - drone racing! These are a lot of fun and there are lots of upgrades available to make your drone the best out there. As a fan of pigeons, I quite liked the little pigeon head on my drone.
The Yagami Detective Agency feels small and homely and there are a number of activities available. There is sleeping on the less than a comfy looking couch, playing pinball, listening to music, adding decorations to the place and of course checking out your side cases. Side cases are a welcome distraction from the main story and some are dark, funny and sometimes a little weird. I liked them a lot and helped build relationships with characters in the town.
Overall the gameplay was really good with almost nothing to complain about. I'm already looking forward to my next playthrough.
Final Thoughts
After fifty hours of playing Judgement, how did I feel? Pretty happy! The story was really well done, and while the side missions were not quite as enjoyable as the ones in the Yakuaza they were still good. The visuals look fantastic and are really detailed, the music was good too and add something a little more than heard in the Yakuza series. The gameplay overall was really fun, with the exception of a few minor annoyances. Overall it was a solid contender and I hope there is a sequel in the near future, this one gets 4 out of 5
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