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In fact that’s perhaps the most welcome aspect of Lost Judgment‘s story-telling: how close to the chest the game maintains its secrets and mysteries, to keep players guessing as to how closely (if at all) the game world’s more underground/criminal inhabitants, are involved. Even during spots where the game feels like it’s taking an unnecessary detour away from the main plot - something which didn’t always work to the original’s benefit two years ago - but fortunately finds a way to feed back into the grander mystery that slowly unravels to reveal potential links and possible connections to factions and groups alluded to.
![lost judgment lost judgment](https://www.newgamenetwork.com/images/uploads/gallery/Judgment/judgment_04.jpg)
It’s difficult to put into words just how engaged I felt throughout most of the tale being told in Lost Judgment. But right from the get-go, Ryu Ga Gotoku demonstrate a careful handling of the game’s plot in a way that, while does at times run the risk of slipping into overdrawn preaching, manages to sensibly pull it all back with a narrative that constantly has you question where exactly the reveals and the would-be twists are coming. The kind of subject matter concerning themes of suicide, bullying and the pressure brought upon all afflicted parties that very few studios (regardless of experience) have the capabilities to handle properly.
#Lost judgment series
If one were to even attempt to summarize, Lost Judgment feels equal parts a reaffirming that the series’ staple beat ’em up combat isn’t going anywhere, just as it’s a welcome showcasing that an entrant like this - not least one with ties to a series likely better known for its bombast - has the capabilities to tackle more mature forms of story-telling. Ryu Ga Gotoku have pulled it off yet again. A trait that’s not only attractive on its own, but in combination with some refinement to the game’s detective-style gameplay, general combat and a few other small touches along the way, have done something even I didn’t think was possible: elevated the Judgment sub-series to the level of brilliance its mainline brethren have attained. It’s important I lay out why it’s that I’ve grown to absolutely adore and respect Yakuza’s method of narrative here, because it’s these same disguising of grander intentions, that are on full, glorious display once more with this year’s release, Lost Judgment.
![lost judgment lost judgment](https://soahcity.com/uploads/2021/05/lost-judgment-screenshot-3.png)
Last year’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon, for all its radical departure from former series convention - seemingly wiping the series’ slate clean with new settings, mechanics and characters alike - ironically felt in many ways like a brilliantly-culminated showcase of Yakuza, the series, as a masterful delivery of world-building.Ī Russian doll-like structure that the further in you got, revealed more and more of a shady, unforeseen underbelly of conspiracy, connectivity and plot-threads that once more convinced you to see the tale through to its very end. With that said, to quickly skip over any Yakuza-affiliated entry interesting on the basis of its narration, would be to massively undersell the numerous ways these games have repeatedly succeeded in drawing you into their worlds. You wouldn’t think any game - let alone one set in the bizarre, over-the-top world of Yakuza - whose plot involved an empty lot, the identity of a child’s father, or a potential cure for Alzheimer’s, could be as gripping or as engaging.īut throughout the years, Ryu Ga Gotoku have proven again and again that no matter the starting or subsequent end-point, it’s the trip in-between that has made these games so compelling and curious to make the dramatically-twisting journey through.
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Especially true since 2017’s Yakuza 0, one of the more specific traits (and likely appealing parts) of the studio’s story-telling is how seemingly unimportant and admittedly unexciting both premise and eventual end-point’s alike, may sound on paper. Whether that’s the mainline Yakuza entrants, or even through the studio’s recent, more detective-oriented spin-off a la 2019’s Judgment.
#Lost judgment how to
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio absolutely know how to keep players hooked to the events wildly - at times comically - unfolding in their games.