Judgment

As a huge fan of the Yakuza series (with the exception of Yakuza 3, because driving taxis just isn't my thing), I'm really disappointed by Judgment. Much like the ending credits, which you can't skip or even speed up, the game is long and tedious. It wouldn't have taken much to make it genuinely enjoyable, but even putting aside the utterly ridiculous AD-9 treatment plot, the combat is a real slog. The main character is incredibly frustrating, with two painfully mediocre fighting styles and a terrible sense of rhythm. That's especially unfortunate in a game where you can't walk five meters down the street without getting into a fight. The overall pacing feels pretty exhausted too, and the mini-games quickly lose their appeal. There's absolutely no challenge to playing darts, for example, so why even bother having custom darts made? Graphically, the engine is starting to show its age as well. Hair completely ignoring gravity whenever a character leans over is a good example. It's a shame. Anyway, out of loyalty to RGG, I stuck with it until the end, but I really had to force myself to finish it.

Suffers from pacing. Achievements themselves show it: 92% of player finished the prologue/chapter 1, but only 60% finished chapter 2. It drops steadily to around 50% finishing chapter 6. Understandable. The story is slow to get going even if they feed you tidbits here and there. It really starts to hook you in at around chapter 5. Problem is you have to play over 10 hours of storyline to get to that point. The decision to put a brand new character in an established universe, and give him a past that is an integral part of the story you get dropped in was certainly a bold choice. It's a good one. The world feels lived-in, and the open world is very small (just a small neighborhood), so you never have to commute around too much. Kamurocho doesn't win points for its openness or originality, and it's not the kind of open world you will want to wander in after finishing the game, but it does help immersion. Whereas a TV show cuts to black to transition between scenes in completely different locations, you have to walk to them. It's very diegetic. You see people passing by with their own problems while you're trying to manage the collision of the yakuza world with the upstanding law world from exploding, and they have no idea whatsoever. You can play it without playing any other Yakuza games, it's a brand new character and story. I found it strange that there's a girlfriend minigame in my detective crime drama but okay why not. There's an entire side quest that's an ad for a chain of steakhouse restaurants. Some of the plot development relies too much on technicalities and coincidence (unless that's explained later, I do not know), but I didn't mind it too much. Take it as it comes and let the flow carry you. It's not Ace Attorney, it's a detective crime drama dark soap opera made straight for TV. Can't wait to finish it. My recommendation: in chapter 3 (IIRC) you get a side case at your office board that pays 400,000. Do it immediately then continue the main storyline, and you're set on money. Then do the other side content only whenever you feel like, you don't need to rush to it as soon as you unlock it.

Cool

키류 카즈마 모드 끼고 하니까 개꿀잼 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

感觉像在看一部高质量悬疑日剧，沉浸感拉满

LOVE THIS GAME!! End of the game but I'm complete just 50% of the game. Have to get back later!

作为我的第一款“如龙”系列作品，其实总体而言游玩还是非常舒适的。将歌舞伎塑造的非常有味道，还有角色的如何再次相信正义的历程，故事穿插也非常自然，到中后期越来越精彩。非常经典且发挥良好的包饺子，而且战斗爽，打击感十分满足。非常喜欢村拓哉的出演，算是如龙在如今商业市场的一次优秀尝试。