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[Sleepwalker]

Recently I've had a couple friends recommend these 2 games and I was wondering what are your thoughts on them? I've never really played any Yakuza games before (played LAD on gamepass for like 1hr and dropped it) so I have no idea about the universe/lore/story etc. As a straight up newbie, is this a good entry point? Or should I just skip them? I'm usually not that big into japanese games but a good story can/will hook me up.

Right now Judgement is $20 on the xbox store and Lost judgement $29 on amazon for PS5 so pretty decent money wise.

Anyway, apologies if this thread doesn't belong here lol.

 

[adamsapple]

They're fantastic games. If you didn't like LaD because it was a turn based game, you're going to enjoy this a lot more. The Judgment games are like the older Yakuza games, action brawlers with RPG elements like skills etc.

They take place in the same world but the stories are extremely stand alone, there's only some minor mentions to organizations and events that happened in the Yakuza games but nothing that's essential knowledge to enjoy Judgment.

Have at it, hoss.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Why did you drop LAD? If it was because of story-heaviness or setting or style, then you will not like Judgment. If it was because of it being turn based, first off shame on you (lol), but secondly the Judgment games are action games like the old Yakuza ones.

I personally thought Judgment was excellent and Lost Judgment was only average to above average, but an average Yakuza game is still better than most. Basically, if you like Judgment you will like the sequel, if you don't like Judgment it won't change your mind.

 

[Saber]

Pretty fun moments I had with Judgement. The combat is cool action punching and feels satisfatory using local itens as weapons.
Story wise was fair. There are some pretty damn good parts, while others leave to be desire. Characters also were excellent.

The only letdown I say would be the detective mode. Its good and fun, but the focus is too slow for me and you end up losing too much time because of it.

If want my veredict, I would say go for it. Pretty fun game. Funny thing, alongside some silly quests, was eating believe it or not. I like the way they put real food icons on it.

 

[Fbh]

Only played the first one. I enjoyed it, I thought the story and characters were great (as usual with the studio) and it's a good entry point since it's a completely standalone story and doesn't require you to have played the Yakuza games . As the person above mentioned, there's references and stuff like that but it's a 100% standalone experience.

What disappointed me was that the gameplay just felt too much like Yakuza. It came at a time where I was feeling some "yakuza fatigue" and it just felt like a missed opportunity to make something a bit more unique. Not only is the combat, side content and overall structure very similar, it also takes places in the same map they've been recycling since 2005. Of course none of that will affect you since you haven't played the Yakuza games.

It's hard to say if it's for you without knowing why you dropped LAD. If it was because of the turn based combat then this one definitely play very differently. If it was because of the story focus and style then this one is similar.

 

[sncvsrtoip]

Like both (Kaitos files are not that bad also), hope Sega would keep series and give it more budget, new engine and assets

 

[Companion Cube]

Maybe check out the first hour or so on a youtube playthrough and see if it's for you. If story is what you're looking for, but you didn't enjoy what you played of Like a Dragon, it's hard to recommend any of the other titles. I'd say pacing is about the same across all RGG Studio games.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Why did you drop LAD? If it was because of story-heaviness or setting or style, then you will not like Judgment. If it was because of it being turn based, first off shame on you (lol), but secondly the Judgment games are action games like the old Yakuza ones.

I personally thought Judgment was excellent and Lost Judgment was only average to above average, but an average Yakuza game is still better than most. Basically, if you like Judgment you will like the sequel, if you don't like Judgment it won't change your mind.

Only played the first one. I enjoyed it, I thought the story and characters were great (as usual with the studio) and it's a good entry point since it's a completely standalone story and doesn't require you to have played the Yakuza games . As the person above mentioned, there's references and stuff like that but it's a 100% standalone experience.

What disappointed me was that the gameplay just felt too much like Yakuza. It came at a time where I was feeling some "yakuza fatigue" and it just felt like a missed opportunity to make something a bit more unique. Not only is the combat, side content and overall structure very similar, it also takes places in the same map they've been recycling since 2005. Of course none of that will affect you since you haven't played the Yakuza games.

It's hard to say if it's for you without knowing why you dropped LAD. If it was because of the turn based combat then this one definitely play very differently. If it was because of the story focus and style then this one is similar.

Thanks guys, honestly Im not really sure why I bounced off LAD. I usually dont mind turn based combat systems. I think I was mostly fed up at the time with the whole mafia/mob theme at the time tbh.

 

[Metnut]

Thanks for posting OP. Been thinking about these games myself.

Loved Yakuza and am looking for something more plot heavy and maybe chiller to change the pace after 60+ hours of Elden Ring.

Is this basically just a Yakuza spinoff? If I thought the difficulty was fine for Yakuza 0 and 6, will I be fine with this?

 

[Companion Cube]

Thanks for posting OP. Been thinking about these games myself.

Loved Yakuza and am looking for something more plot heavy and maybe chiller to change the pace after 60+ hours of Elden Ring.

Is this basically just a Yakuza spinoff? If I thought the difficulty was fine for Yakuza 0 and 6, will I be fine with this?

I never encountered it in Yakuza but if you die a few times in Judgement, it asks if you want to turn the difficulty down which I appreciated

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

I liked Judgement a lot. The detective story/serial killer/martial arts movie angle really added a refreshing feeling to Yakuza gameplay that was fairly consistent with past entries. As for Lost Judgement I did enjoy it quite a bit, but just about everything seemed a little weaker than the first Judgement game, except for maybe the combat system. I also didn't like how heavily connected it was to a school setting, although they made it work I just don't want a school setting for a Yakuza game even though I liked the detective setting in Judgement.

I should add that I liked Like a Dragon a lot more than both games, so it didn't work for you I'm not sure how you will get on.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

Actually this might help you give Like a Dragon another go.

It will only take 30 seconds to watch.

This is your mage's resurrection spell in Yakuza 7:

 

[saintjules]

These games are about having patience. They are dialogue heavy games. If you're into that, then this would be a satisfying experience for you.

I haven't finished Judgment yet, but bought Lost on sale. Currently both in the backlog but hope to get to them eventually.

 

[Ladioss]

I'm playing Judgement right now, and it's great. Probably my favorite Yakuza game since 0, so I think it's probably a pretty good entry point in the series, especially if you like investigation and detective stories - think Ace Attorney mixed with a beat'm all set in the small open world of a Japanese city district.

 

[Sleepwalker]

I'm playing Judgement right now, and it's great. Probably my favorite Yakuza game since 0, so I think it's probably a pretty good entry point in the series, especially if you like investigation and detective stories - think Ace Attorney mixed with a beat'm all set in the small open world of a Japanese city district.

I'm more into being a detective/solving mysteries than being a mobster, so deffo sounds a lot more up my alley than regular Yakuza games. I'm leaning towards just getting it

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I assume you have already bought this. I’ll say that I feel Judgment is a far better intro to Yakuza than Like a Dragon. Something about it just makes more sense. Maybe because it is an entirely new story. Like a Dragon was my first, and I felt I was being dropped into an existing world. Judgment seems more intuitive.

I’ll also say if you only played one hour of LAD, you may not have even played the actual game.

 

[Comandr]

Judgment was great. I really enjoyed the first one. The second one was… largely forgettable imo. I dumped tons of hours into completing it when it came out and I genuinely don’t remember what the ultimate resolution was other than some ace attorney levels of reaching. The first one I still have vivid memories of though.