Lost Judgment review friv game - Detective, fighter and skater
Kazuma Kiryu's story has come to an end, and the Yakuza series now has a new hero - and a new direction in gameplay. But the former lawyer, and now detective Takayuki "Taku" Yagami still has something to tell us. Moreover, both in terms of plot, and in terms of the development of gameplay.
After an interesting change in the concept of the main series, Friv2Online Studio decided to please us with a sequel to the spin-off Judgment, which, on the one hand, was the return of the series to its roots, and, on the other hand, its evolutionary development. Together with Tak and his friends, we went to familiar Kamurocho and Yokohama, where we recently walked in Like a Dragon, and assessed how they have changed in less than a year.
TRUE DETECTIVE
The action of Lost Judgment takes place in a setting familiar to every fan of the series, but again, as in Like a Dragon, it is not limited to Kamurocho, but sends us to Yokohama - the same area where we have already been in the role of Ichiban Kasuga. The map has not changed much, but has become much more saturated. Those who have played Like a Dragon will immediately notice familiar places and appreciate new ones.
It is not necessary to play the first Judgment to understand what is happening, besides, there is a small recap in the friv game, but references to the events of the previous part occur constantly, so the players will be much more comfortable.
In order to avoid the “killer-butler” situation, I will try to talk about the plot only in general terms and confine myself to the plot. After all, the most important thing in the Yakuza series, to which, of course, Lost Judgment also belongs, is precisely the story.
Former police officer Akihiro Ehara is arrested for sexually harassing a girl on the subway, but claims at his trial that a dead body will be found in an abandoned building. The corpse was indeed found, besides, it turned out to be a teacher at the school where Ehara's son, Toshiro, who had committed suicide some time ago, studied. According to rumors - because of the bullying, in which the teacher actively participated. However, the investigation on the statement of the elder Ekhara did not reveal the fact of harassment.
The motive, it would seem, is obvious - but at the time of the murder, Ekhar had already been arrested. Ironclad alibi. However, by the will of fate, he is protected by lawyer Saori Shirosaki from the Yagami detective agency, founded by our hero. And at the request of old friends, he just goes to that same school to investigate - what would you think - exactly bullying, but with new heroes. Or are some of them also involved in those distant events? This question, like many others, we have to find out, figuring out who killed the teacher and how Ekhara is involved here.
The school setting is perhaps the most controversial moment of the game in terms of plot. On the one hand, bullying is indeed a very serious problem, and the 18 rating of the game allows us to talk about such things without embellishment.
On the other hand, the running of serious detectives around the school with periodic fights with the most odious hooligans and mini-games in school circles causes a buzz from righteous anger and immersion in the local culture only at first, and over time it becomes more and more like calling the police to save a kitten from a tree.
Fortunately, the slight protractedness of the school stages is compensated by excellent dramaturgy, beautifully drawn characters and a combination of serious themes with outright madness, which is typical for the Yakuza. True, the degree of madness here is much lower than in the same Like a Dragon, and the tone is much more “adult”. But even without funny moments, such as the capture of a serial thief of women's panties, it will not do.
Characters are a special pride of Lost Judgment. Lively, with well-written characters and motivation, interesting dialogues, soul - and just damn beautiful, stylish and aesthetic. What is the Yagami leather jacket alone worth. You literally fall in love with them, you empathize with them, you want to see them on the screen longer and more often - or, on the contrary, you despise and work with your fists with special zeal. The Japanese know how to shed a tear.
FLUTTER LIKE A BUTTERFLY, BUT WATCH THE CUT-SCENE
Yakuza is definitely a game genre. And Lost Judgment fully corresponds to this genre. It has all the variety of mechanics and activities typical for the series, expanded and supplemented in accordance with the specifics of the spin-off. As already mentioned, the developers decided to return to the roots, and the jRPG concept of Like a Dragon was replaced by the classic action-adventure series with elements of beat'em up, detective and that very unique "Japanese simulator".
In the open world of the city, we perform various tasks to investigate our case - go somewhere, talk to someone, do something, find evidence. From time to time you have to fight with story-based and simply scattered opponents on the map. For completing tasks and winning battles, we get money and skill points (Skill Points). You can spend these points on upgrading combat abilities, getting new tricks, or, for example, increasing the health of the character or the effects of food. Somewhat similar to Western RPG talent trees, but instead of a tree structure, it's just a table sequence, although some abilities require previous ones to get.
Three randomly switchable combat styles can be used in combat: the Crane, the Tiger, and the new Lost Judgment Snake style. Each of them is adapted to perform different tasks. The crane is a nimble style for large crowds of opponents, the tiger is more clumsy but also stronger for one-on-one battles, and the snake is suitable for armed adversaries. Switching is carried out by one pressing of the button.
In addition, you can use available items, jump on walls and throw opponents over you. The animations and special effects are very well done and can even outperform John Woo films.
True, it is not necessary to fight very often. This is where the main feature (for some, a drawback) of the Yakuza series comes to the fore, when there are almost ten dialogues and cut-scenes for five minutes of active gameplay.
Of course, it’s very interesting to watch them thanks to the plot advantages mentioned above, and the screen still doesn’t go out from waiting too long, like in Like a Dragon, but you have to understand that Lost Judgment is a dynamic game only at times, but in general it’s more meditative. And again, absolutely linear - in the story told by the authors, we have no way to take a step to the right or left, except perhaps in the order of completing side quests and free walks around the city.
SHERLOCK HOLMES ON A SKATEBOARD
In place and the main difference between Judgment is the detective element. We have to look for clues, find out the necessary information in dialogues with characters, and also use gadgets, such as a camera or a directional microphone.
At times, the detective part resembles some Famicom Detective Club with a discount on improved graphics - pixel hunting, choosing the right items in dialogues (sometimes for a limited time), presenting evidence. There are even case files where you can brush up on a summary of all the important facts, and a "summary of previous series" at the beginning of each chapter.
But there are also purely local features - for example, an interesting mechanic for analyzing the in-game social network by geolocation and keywords has been introduced to search for side quests. The tasks with the camera are implemented in a funny way: there are certain requirements for the frame, displayed as a checklist on the right side of the screen. You need to catch the moment so that the checklist is closed, and have time to take a picture. The conditions of the checklist can be very different - approaching, some actions, hitting certain faces in the frame, and even the presence of a smile.
Sometimes a detective has to do covert work, for example, track down a suspect without raising his alarm level, or sneak somewhere unnoticed, disguised as a disguise.
True, stealth is implemented somewhat artificially, in the form of clearly defined areas with a clearly marked beginning and end - even to distract opponents you need to throw a coin at a point strictly indicated by the script. And to get into hard-to-reach places, Yagami can use the skills of parkour - also in well-defined areas, but with a little more freedom and beautiful animations.
Naturally, "Yakuza" would not be "Yakuza" without elements of that very "Japanese simulator". According to subjective feelings, there are fewer of them here than in the same Like a Dragon, but we can still play games of chance or classic SEGA hits on arcade machines, dance in the dance club of the school in the spirit of rhythm games or ride a skateboard (in additional content premium editions even included a hoverboard). In some quests, a skateboard is needed to speed up movement - for example, in the very first one, you need to have time to buy a rare collectible figurine before the dealer (and then fill his face).
If you are too lazy to move around the city even on a skateboard, you can use the fast travel system in the form of a taxi - go to the car or call from your smartphone. By the way, in the form of a smartphone, the entire game menu is implemented here, from pumping and analyzing social networks to choosing equipment and saving the friv game. Quite an interesting and to some extent even immersive find.
Many mini-games are school-specific and included in the Deluxe and Ultimate versions of the School Stories Expansion Pack, tracked in a separate menu section, and some are available directly from the title screen - you can relax without plunging into the story campaign. And of course, just like in the last Judgment, Takayuki can find a girl and build a romantic relationship, go on dates and give gifts. Not the most important part of the game, but noticeable and iconic.
BEAUTY AND CONVENTIONS
If I played Like a Dragon on an old Xbox One, faced with “ladders” and “soap”, then Lost Judgment on Series X in 4K HDR looks very nice. The urban landscape is pleasing to the eye, the models and animations of the characters are better than in Like a Dragon, and their faces generally deserve separate praises and look just like they are alive. Ray tracing, unfortunately, was not delivered, but everything looks quite decent without it, and it works stably and without drawdowns. Boot time from the SSD of the new console does not exceed a few seconds.
Of the shortcomings, only small technical conventions can be named, such as a skateboard appearing out of nowhere and disappearing into nowhere at the slightest collision, invisible walls and other similar moments. But this has always been the case in the series. The clothes and hair of the characters began to look much better and more alive than in Like a Dragon, even though they are still far from the dynamics of any Control.
The controls are generally well done, although some points are quite controversial - for example, switching from a stick to a D-pad in the heat of battle to change style or drink a health recovery drink is not very convenient. But at the same time, in the lower right corner of the screen, there is always a hint with the main points of control in the current mode. For this I would like to say a special “thank you”.
The soundtrack is traditionally for Japanese games worked out very high quality. The music is pleasant and always on topic. But traditionally, there were sharp "arcade" sounds during various game events - for example, when a character finds or notices something. All dialogues are fully voiced in Japanese and English, but, unfortunately, there is no Russian localization. For those who do not know English (or Japanese), this is a serious problem - there is a lot of text in the friv game, and it is not possible to investigate cases without understanding it. We hope that over time Lost Judgment will repeat the fate of Like a Dragon and receive Russian subtitles.