Maybe I've set out too high of an expectation before starting this or perhaps I've played it at a wrong time but I'm fairly confident in saying that I've got more enjoyment out of the previous installment boring tailing missions and all than Lost Judgement.

I believe that the main issue here is that of characters. Now don't get me wrong they are still their usual selves and some of the new faces have potential but that's just it. All the main cast and even returning side characters had their complete arcs in the last game and so here we are left with well leftovers I suppose. They spend a lot of time reacting to the plot rather than participating, chasing shadows and just generally not having much of anything to do until the final battle. We even get the recycled Saori cabaret club infiltration. More emphasis was placed on Tsukumo but he's the least interesting person in the gang.

The eye catching new characters like Sawa sensei, Soma and even Kuwana could've used several extra scenes to better flesh them out and for the player to spend more time getting to know them. Soma has that cool, stylish, cold presence and he works great as an opposing force in the story. Information about him wiggle around in a smooth manner gradually unveiling more details about his purpose in this scheme was quite interesting to follow and we also get plenty of motivation to hate the guy only wish we've seen more of him.

Kuwana is a lot more complex, definitely the most sympathetic antagonist in the series but again suffers from the lack of presence in the story, only really starting to take off in the last quarter or so. Then we have Sawa sensei beautifully executed character exploration of her doubts, guilt and inaction that get cut off way too soon perhaps that was the point not everyone gets the happy ending or a chance at redemption. However the whole section following up her death just left a bad taste in my mouth, Yagami's capture, the classic bad guys taking too long to kill the hero trope, the deus ex machina side kicks show up to save the day in a nick of time thanks to our tech hackerman wizard and of course the antagonist who committed the crime perfectly evades everyone because he's just that damn good felt very wishy washy.

The side content didn't particularly entice me to seek it out this time around maybe I've got a little RGG fatigue. Regardless there's still a lot to love here even if I came off as more negative in this review there's just so much I started taking for granted in these games. As whole I did enjoy going through the story and their chosen subject for exploration was quite fresh in comparison, the gameplay was further refined from Judgement with smoother combo flow and stance switching as well as EX actions, couple of new styles thrown to the mix as well. I do like that there are fewer "investigation" sections and tailing missions instead of those we have twice as many chasing sequencings so that's whatever marginal improvement I guess. I like that we get few different gadgets to play around and look for little secrets in the city or use them in side stories, like I mentioned earlier even if I do feel some of the new characters could've used more time in the limelight I still enjoy their presence of what we do get here and the antagonist line up and their respective fights are executed extremely well.

Music is great too, been listening to the final boss theme on repeat for several days now. There's still stuff left to say but right now I can't find the words, this game is going to the replay folder because I certainly will want to revisit it someday.

Probably my favorite Yakuza game of all Yakuza games, either this or 7. Combat is old school like Yakuza main saga up to 6. Story is amazing and your character being a detective is perfect for the player to guess how and why the murderer did the deed. Its not about finding the murderer, but to proof they did it and how, which is refreshing. Story is well paced and you are not forced to do more than a couple secondaries which im grateful about, but it has it flaws like hostess part which i totally hated. Combat is amazing, you can even beat up kids, and the Finale is the max climax of the game. Overall I really enjoyed it a lot, and being my (probably) last Yakuza game it left good memories of what Yakuza is. 9.2/10

Got this game in the Steam Summer Sale for like almost $15 which in my opinion was a steal, since RGG has perfect the Dragon Engine and made the combat so perfect, Crane has like cool jumping moves now that doesn’t have in the first game and is actually good now compare to the last game, Tiger is still great and reliable, Snake style is actually way too op that it should be illegal, and Boxer style (Which you get by playing the boxing mini-game) lets you juggle enemies into next year. Mortal wounds are also no longer a thing which is great news because that was a pain to deal with, the detective stuff is no longer boring and actually quite entertaining a bit compare to Judgment and the sub-stories were still hilarious and great especially with the boxing story and school stories. And Kaito Files was actually interesting and hilarious since it revolves around our big funny former Yakuza friend, Kaito. But as every other game, I still have issues with this one too. The game was too easy even on hard mode, the bosses seem weaker and would get hammered with a Tiger combo, and lastly, the overall plot of this game wasn’t as great or in depth as the first game. Though still had fun playing Lost Judgment, a pretty great sequel for the first game, Judgment.

An excellent follow-up to Judgement – refining what made the first game great and delving into a darker, more grounded story that had me hooked.

It's a generous game, with so much to explore and the usual RGG ridiculous side content, but I found the central plot to be the star. It's a grimmer tale than we've seen from the Yakuza series so far – not that some of the violence and torture we've seen throughout the series were a barrel of laughs – that sticks with you, with some genuinely shocking and moving moments. I won't go into spoilers, but the cast ( and antagonists especially) in the game rank as some of my favourite in the series. There are just no other game studios writing and directing stories with this cinematic flair, tightroping between soap opera melodrama and kung-fu movie, endorphin-pumping punch-outs.

For me, the story was just behind Yakuza: Like A Dragon but easily one of my favourites in the franchise. I've seen some pearl-clutching reviews that criticised the story for delving into themes of bullying, assault and suicide, but I never found that the story exploited these themes or was flippant about them. They added weight when needed but were never treated lightly. Your tastes may vary, of course, but the more grounded plot (for a Yakuza game) is where this game really excels.

As usual, there's an insane amount of silliness in the School Stories, where we see Yagami and co go undercover to infiltrate Seiryo High, a prestigious school in Ijincho. School Stories are prioritised over the usual side stuff, and have a central plot tying them all together. The mini-games you play through in these School Stories vary in quality – the skateboarding, boxing and dancing were highlights for me – so you may find yourself grinding through a tedious set of mini-games to progress, which can be grating. For the most part, these were a great time, and there's a loveable cast of students you interact with (and some returning faces).

This being a Yakuza spin-off, you'll also find yourself hitting up the batting cages, playing arcade games, eating your bodyweight in beef bowls and exploring Kamurocho and Ijincho. This series is still unrivalled in terms of a sense of place – and both cities look stunning on current gen. It's like returning home at this point.

What stops this game getting a perfect score is the sheer bloat of all the side stuff. It took me 45 hours to complete the main game (with most school stories done) and am continuing on with some of the content now. I don't think there's enough quality in the mini-games available to make me want to play to 100%. I did find some of the goofier School Stories to clash with Lost Judgement's darker tale too, but this is an ongoing issue with the Yakuza series as a whole. The detective stuff (searching for clues, tailing, etc) is pretty ropey, but a less intrusive than in Judgement. My final negative is that I'd like to see the women in the game featured more or have more to do. You get brief control of Saori, and it got me interested in seeing her as a more playable character (especially as I felt her treatment in Judgement was plain inappropriate lol).

This is an easy recommend for anyone who's a fan of RGG games (newcomers should start with Judgement or Yakuza 0 imo) and a game I loved my time with. There's tight and addictive combat, brilliant set-pieces, two sprawling cities to explore and a gripping plot that hits on some complex emotional notes. Just hoping we get another, as there's so much more the RGG team can do with Yagami and co.