Judgement is so close to being a top-tier Yakuza game. It fixes a lot of problems that have hung over the series but also introduces new ones.

Well, they're not so much "problems" as "Odious Additions." Judgment is a detective story, so they've added some detective gameplay. The game starts off with a 4 hour prologue introducing you to all the new detective stuff you can do. Tailing missions, looking for clues, spotting people in a crowd, presenting evidence, disguises, lockpicking!

The issue is, most of these mini-games fall by the wayside outside the first chapter, left to be used in the side cases. Those that do stick around, clue searching and tailing, lack engagement and come across half-baked (the fact that every search sequence in accompanied by a hidden mewling cat kinda robs them of any inquisitive or dramatic tone.)

When the detective elements work, they work great. Spotting a camera on a rooftop or calling out a flaw in witness testimony feel good in the moment and help set the noir tone. Other times it's things like "Find the lightswitch." The lightswitch isn't in any unique spot, It's where you expect the lightswitch to be, they just wanted to make that spot interactive for....??

The key ring is the most head-scratching inclusion. I don't know what the value gained here is other than a tiny XP bonus.

No, for most of Judgment's runtime it leans back on the Yakuza tradition of violence to solve problems. Here you get two styles to swap between: crane for crowd-control, and tiger for one-on-one. Most of the abilities you get are for tiger and the game actually doesn't throw hordes of foes at you like prior titles, so Crane by and large falls by the wayside.

Not that I mind this. The RPG elements have been greatly reduced. No longer are you doing twelve 5% increases to health at ramping XP costs. Instead there are 3 increases to health, each one doubling your bar. It may be simplified, but it feels more satisfying and each trip to the level up screen meant walking away with a tangible benefit (though it's still loaded with borderline useless perks like heat moves exclusive to fighting in a convenience store).

What raises Judgment up is it's narrative. Completely seperate from the mainline games, this is a great noir story about lingering regret and corruption. The story is maybe two chapters longer than it needs to be, but I enjoyed the more grounded story. Yagami doesn't have the immediate likability of prior franchise leads, but he does have strong "just a dude" energy that gives him a John Mclain feeling.

Some may find the main story forcing you into side missions to progress the plot annoying. It's certainly something I've complained about in prior titles, but here I didn't mind it. For starters there's no point where they interrupt any forward action, instead acting as time killers while waiting for a phone call or the events to progress. It gives a kind of a TV show feeling, where the main mystery builds gradually amidst "case of the week" type missions. It helps to build the very likeable cast of characters. I'd actually hazard to say that this is one of the best casts of any Yakuza game.

The big gold star Judgment gets is that in the last chapter a last hour antagonist isn't introduced to explain how he was the mastermind all along and also the head of the illuminati somehow. Here the main antagonist becomes clear half-way through, but like any good detective story the thrust becomes about uncovering how they did it. It unfurls very naturally with a thrilling final set piece. If there's any final BS revelation in line with prior titles it's to do with a particular method of execution and the reasons for doing so are so goofy it loops around to being palatable.

Best part of the narrative is how it actually ties to Yagami's arc of regret and lost faith in his judgment (Hey, that's the name of the show!) It has shades of Saejima's arc in Yakuza 4, which is still the best Yakuza game and probably why I liked this one so much.

For those that view the Yakuza franchise as a vehicle for playing SEGA roms, then this game has you covered with all of Virtua Fighter 2 & 5, and Fighting Vipers. Weirdly a lot of normal side activities have been removed, probably to make room for the detective missions. Drone racing is a banger though, and best addition since cabaret management.

Honestly my feelings on Judgment could go either way. I can see how the shake-up to the formula could be found lacking enough to drag down the experience. For me, the narrative saves it from a lower score and I'd probably consider this a personal favorite. If they had trimmed a bit of the fat then this would easily be an S-tier entry in the series.