Horrifying confession. I might be European. I keep spelling it “Judgement” as opposed to “Judgment”... I just think it looks better. Anyways.

Judgment was a game I had my (judge) eye on for the longest time. I’ve been longing for a good detective story/murder mystery in a video game for a while. I’ve played a couple that came close to giving me what I was looking for, but none of them quite did it for me in the manner I was hoping. Then there was Judgment, with a premise that fit the bill to a tee.

I didn’t want to hop straight into Judgment, seeing how it was (kind of) part of a wider game franchise, a la Yakuza. Personally, whenever it feels best, I like to have a bit of context when going into a piece of media that’s rooted in such deep history. With my online friend group getting swept by a nanomachine that forced them to go through Yakuza games like it was crack cocaine, it gave me the motivation to play through Yakuza 0 first. And I greatly enjoyed it! It was a lot of what I’d expected from general talk and seeing out of context clips around the internet and that was by no means a bad thing. It’s a master at interweaving heartfelt and compelling character driven storylines with over the top, meathead action bullshit. But a good portion of the absurdity comes from the premise of the games themselves. For 0 alone, you focus on two protagonists with DEEP ties to the biggest criminal organization in Japan and their goals are far from small. A big worry I had going into Judgment was wondering how the game was gonna go about meshing Yakuza’s absurdity with the more lowkey tone you’d come to expect from a detective story.

I am happy to say that after finishing, I feel Judgment did a wonderful job at doing so, even if there are some hiccups here and there. You still have the insane action set pieces, which I love a lot, but a bit to my surprise, Judgment is very much of a slow burn narrative. After coming off of Yakuza 0, where each chapter did its best to either hype you the fuck up or tug at your heart strings, it was interesting to see how much more slow paced Judgment’s story was in comparison. And I actually think it befits the overall tone much more. There’s a lot of room for intrigue and tension when uncovering the many truths of the story in such a gradual manner. It all culminates in the final few chapters, where it certainly hits the dramatic tension you’d expect from a Yakuza game, but in such an unbelievably satisfying manner due to sheer amount of build up leading up to that point.

I also think it works to highlight the disposition of the protagonist, Takayuki Yagami, and his role as a freelance detective in a small city. You get the sense that you’re actively fighting for your mere position as a detective in the story, as you’re mostly powerless in the eyes of the many antagonistic forces. Any outside help feels earned and there’s many points in the main story where your allies go off to collect more information on their own. This gives Yagami downtime that either leads to mandatory side cases or the freedom to do whatever you want. The mandatory side cases are the worst part of the story, as I’m sure many people would agree. They pretty much never coincide with the grander narrative, and while they’re, a lot of the time, very cute (Captain Cop Kaito my beloved), the fact that you’re actively forced to do them takes a lot away from their charm. What goes from what could’ve been a fun story the player happened to stumble upon starts feeling almost like a pace breaking detour.

But speaking of side cases, GOD I love Kamurocho as a setting in this game, it’s so incredibly lively. From the friendships you can develop with over 50+ NPCs that grow as you actively check in on them and hear their stories. To the dating sim quests with well developed characters that hit the game’s themes in a surprisingly mature sense (#Nanami’sStrongestSoldier). To the side cases that act as Yagami’s source of income and connection to the general population of the city. And just the overall visual beauty of Kamurocho and shit like being able to go in and out of buildings in real time. It’s just peak video game immersion.

The cast generally embodies tropes you’d expect from a TV show of this story’s genre. From Yagami’s headstrong, partner-in-crime Kaito or the endearing underdog Hoshino, they’re a lovable group that, while not the deepest bunch around, had me smiling by the end of their arcs. Yagami himself, however, is on another level. Probably up there with my favorite video game protagonists already. There’s such a profound sense of realistic, down-to-earth charm in his character. He has the inspiring perseverance and soft nature you’d expect from most protagonists, but his unique personality and flaws are what make him so captivating. His laid back, snarky demeanor mixed with his unabashedly blunt way with words creates such intense interactions in drama heavy scenes. He has dense character dynamics with every cast member, pushing them forward by adapting to play the role of mentor, rival, or friend and over the course of the story, you’ll begin to see how his connections affect him. His own personal journey of coming to terms with the truth of his past and how the situation unfolds over the course of the narrative is intriguing and resonated with me hard, especially in the way his arc concludes.

Judgment utilizes Yakuza’s core theme of how our past comes to define who we are in the present to push the general idea of learning to pursue the truth, no matter the cost. Yagami reflects this perfectly, but it permeates well, subtly or not, through most characters in the game. Also here, the corrupted aspects of society largely extend past Kamurocho to perfectly depict how government facilities are able to abuse their power for the sake of personal agendas and the fear that comes with opposing these injustices as an everyday citizen. Self destruction is another core theme of Judgment. How the prospect of glory or the idea of the “greater good” can lead one to corruption. On this topic, I think, in a way, the game also serves to critique Yakuza culture and how it can contribute to self destruction. Just as one example, there’s characters who reflect how a strict sense of loyalty can lead us astray from our personal ideals and I think it works particularly great in this story, because it’s presented from the perspective of someone largely uninvolved with the Yakuza’s business.

Regarding gameplay, with 0 being my only experience with Yakuza at the moment, this is my only exposure to the Dragon Engine, so I unfortunately can’t comment on how it builds off its predecessors. But god fuckin damn, I ADORE this game’s combat. There’s a realistic sense of weight behind each attack and it’s balanced wonderfully with the water-like fluidity of Yagami’s kung fu. On top of that, his athleticism allows him to perform endlessly fun tech, like wall jumping or leapfrogging, that both act as great crowd dispersers and just look super cool. In most fights, there’s this great dichotomy in picking between the two stances; one focused on wide, area clearing kicks and the other specializing in 1v1 focused attacks with huge damage. From what I’ve read, the detective gameplay is somewhat contentious, mainly regarding the tailing missions. I’m fine with everything present, as I think all the mechanics do a good job at selling Yagami’s role as a detective, despite their brain dead simplicity and they never really felt too intrusive. Tailing missions are lame, but only one in the endgame actively annoyed me.

To conclude, Judgment was everything I wanted out of it and I’m really happy about that fact. It’s a traditional detective story that’s packed to the brim with love and care from the creators of a now iconic game franchise and I’m happy they were able to expand their horizons to create a game like this. I’m very glad I played Yakuza 0 beforehand because, while I don’t think it’s required at all to enjoy Judgment, it still gave me a sense of appreciation for this game that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. And I’m also just super interested in delving further into the Yakuza series at some point in the future. Who knows, I might replay Y0 and Judgment after I’m done with them all for the sake of the full picture.

Regardless, absolutely can’t wait to hop into Lost Judgment. Excited to see both the combat changes and how it builds onto the story of Takayuki Yagami.

Despite missing from its title, Soul Hackers 2 is a solid addition to the Devil Summoner series. A series not known for pushing the boundaries of the gameplay or storytelling within Megami Tensei, but rather for holding a unique sense of style and charm that you’d be hard pressed to find replicated within another entry in this wide franchise. As with its predecessor, you can expect an aesthetic akin to cyberpunk anime to ooze through every aspect of the game, but this time through the lens of the current year as opposed to the 1990s. The game makes the most of its apparent low budget through its vibrant and striking art direction, accentuating the many enjoyable character stories held within the game’s world. But as much as I’d love to sit and gush about the concept of a MegaTen subseries entry that comes from neither Mainline or Persona releasing in 2022, this experimental title still comes with a couple major issues.

Much like its predecessor, Soul Hackers 2 has a very basic combat system; retaining the baseline weakness/resistances aspect, but not adding much more in terms of core mechanics. But unlike its predecessor, Soul Hackers 2 doesn’t have the leeway of building upon and perfecting the simple row system of Classic Mainline. The new Sabbath mechanic can’t help but feel like a more dumbed down take on the other weakness exploit systems with how little it adds in terms of the tactical decision making process. Essentially, every time a party member hits an enemy’s weakness, the party begins to build a stack. At the end of the turn, Ringo deals AoE damage to every enemy, with the strength of the attack dependent on the number of stacks. Party members can gain personal skills to increase the number of stacks added per specific weakness exploit, but it comes with the downside of feeling as if party members are being funneled into specific builds. It’s unfortunately a pretty large drawback for a game with otherwise very strong and flexible character customization, as the sheer usefulness of the increased damage dealt with a high stack count is hard to ignore.

Physical skills aren’t as useful when it comes to dealing damage, as without a skill unlocked in the endgame, critical hits don’t count towards a stack for whatever reason. And they still use MP instead of HP, AKA the worst change ever made in the history of MegaTen. But I do love how they’re more utility based as a way to balance them out. They often come with secondary effects, such as single target debuffs, ailments, or some other quirky that keeps them valuable in spite of their rare use in contributing to Sabbaths.

Hama and Mudo skills have been wiped from the game completely. Kind of a shame, since I think SMTV perfected them by greatly restricting their ability to blindside the player. But in their place, Ailment inflicting skills have now taken on a similar role. They now deal damage on top of having a chance of inflicting an ailment. I’m fine with the change as I think it finally gives good incentive for the player to actually utilize them now. And there’s enough counterplay to keep enemies who use them from feeling too obnoxious, like armor that negates their passive effects.

Buffs and debuffs go back to being universally partywide instead of single target. But instead of being stackable, they keep the three turn limit first implemented in Persona. They also got a bit more creative in terms of upgrades. In the later half of the game, you gain access to skills that can buff/debuff two different stats at a time. And to keep those from quickly becoming irrelevant, Debilitate has been downgraded to being single target. All things considered, this game creates my favorite buff system in all of MegaTen. Each change makes sure they’re not too over centralized (especially since physical skills with debuff side effects exist), but still retain their incredible utility from the very start of the game.

I feel where this game shines the most in gameplay is in its boss battles because bosses can finally strategize again! Battles with Devil Summoners force you to overcome some sort of gimmick with their demon party, as their synergy can typically leave you with very little opportunities to attack. They’re also where my favorite addition to combat comes the most into play: Ringo’s Commander Skills. They allow Ringo to perform an action without consuming a turn, which aids the party with some sort of extra effect or action. All of them are useful and can completely change the way you approach an encounter, but the most integral one, in my opinion, is the ability to swap out any party member’s demon. If you ever wondered what Modern Persona would play like if the Wildcard wasn’t restricted to just the protagonist, this is the game. With this, bosses can become fun juggling matches where you’re constantly swapping out party members’ demons for the sake of reducing damage taken through resistances or optimizing damage dealt through skillset changes. They also encourage you not to only focus on building one strong demon for a respective party member, but to have an entire repertoire of demons that can be used at any time.

The most recurring complaint this game receives is its dungeon design and yeah, the shit is BLAND. I’m a psychopath who’s played Persona 3 like five times in a year and I’ve generally played MegaTen games with WAY worse dungeon design, so I got through it just fine. But if you’re normal and actually like your brain to be stimulated, dungeons will be rough. Aside from the couple basic puzzles sprinkled throughout in the second half, you’ll typically be roaming around empty hallways for 30 minutes to an hour until you get to the boss. This kind of design would lend well to the old 2D dungeon crawler gameplay of Classic Mainline and other such entries, but really have no place in a game with 3D traversal.

A prevalent focus in Devil Summoner games is their emphasis on demon personalities within gameplay and their connection to the Protagonist. Instead of implementing a friendship system, Soul Hackers 2 highlights this with benefits for maxing out a demon’s skillset and, more importantly, Demon Recon. At the start of each dungeon, Ringo will send out demons to scout the area. While exploring, you can interact with them, to which they’ll provide a different benefit indicated by an icon. It’s a fine system. Even though it tries, I don’t think it does much to make your demons feel like natural extensions of your party. But their dialogue can be fun and seeing them call Ringo nicknames like Rin-Rin is cute. My only big issue with the system is that dungeons can be far too reliant on it. Oftentimes the solution to a “””puzzle””” amounts to simply talking to one of your demons to collect an item necessary for progression. I’ve seen other people complain about how sidequest items and demon recruitment are tied to this system and I don’t get it personally. I never had to spend more than a couple minutes running in circles looking for what I needed, as playing the game naturally will most likely net whatever’s necessary. Also prefer this way of collecting demons, as Demon Negotiation is a dated system rendered mostly redundant by fusion in almost every game and serves no further purpose than an annoying RNG based way to gather fodder

The story is nice. It’s missing the batshit insanity that’s become a staple of Devil Summoner narratives and definitely does tend to play things safe. But its more down to earth focus on its cast is refreshing, especially since they’re not the most conventional group. The strength of the cast lies in their small talk. These guys are capable of striking up conversation over anything, whether it be after learning a new personal skill, completing some random side quest, finding a miscellaneous item in a dungeon, or eating a new dish. You’ll be constantly learning new things about not only them, but the dystopia they live in and the people they’ve connected with, all through an endless amount of fun banter. What makes it especially fun is Ringo herself. She’s an amazing protagonist that breaks new ground for MegaTen. Not only in the fact that she can speak, but her bright personality is able to bring the best out of each party member. She contrasts very well with their underlying melancholy and the occasional unrest within the group. I often found myself being disappointed by the fact that I had to choose from one of her usual three dialogue choices because I wanted to hear them all. I love when MegaTen effectively uses silent protagonists to enhance a game’s narrative and theming and whatnot, but I definitely think this game proved the franchise could stand to use more speaking protagonists like Ringo.

The game doesn’t tread many themes foreign to Megami Tensei. Government corruption, the strength of human connection, cultivating hope through despair, etc; you’ve likely seen it all already, if not in MegaTen then in some other JRPG. Not unsurprising, seeing as the original Soul Hackers was similar in this regard (granted, it was a story that took itself considerably less seriously). But I do find the way the game explores the importance of a second chance to be a great extension of the original’s messages and its motif regarding regret. It’s a good way to tie the games together thematically, considering there’s not much direct relation in general beyond that.

Soul Hackers 2 leaves me with caution filled hope. Hope that this game is a sign that Atlus is willing to adopt the sense of inspiration and experimentation that defined their days in the 2000s. It’s the era that birthed some of their most influential titles, like P3 and Nocturne, alongside beloved fan favorites, like DDS and Raidou. Each subseries acts as a reminder to me that Megami Tensei is FAR too broad of a franchise to be restricted to just Persona and the occasional Mainline entry and I would genuinely love to see more titles like Soul Hackers 2, just with a bit more polish. I just gotta hope this game’s inevitable mediocre sales don’t deter them from broadening their horizons indefinitely.

(this whole ass paragraph was just a slightly more composed way of me asking where the FUCK is the next Raidou Kuzunoha game, you FRAUDULENT company)

Atlus certainly did not waste the rare opportunity to tell a character focused story where most of the main cast isn’t composed of snot nosed brats. No stupid kids here to spoil the fun of leading a party of nothing but sad, pathetic individuals going through their quarter-life crisis. FUCK you, Persona 5. Adults ROCK!

Joking aside. Within the context of the Persona franchise, Eternal Punishment is definitely among one of the more distinct entries. As opposed to the other games, major character moments don’t consistently act as these scenes of clarity that overtly define a character’s progress as a person. In fact, it’s not uncommon that these moments will raise more questions than they answer, rarely ever making it immediately clear how a scene reflects on someone’s journey in the moment. And it’s through this handling where I think P2EP’s cast shines. At the start of the story, these characters feel genuinely detached from each other. They really struggle to open up, sometimes even lashing out over the simple idea of emotionally connecting. But they don’t strictly develop through opening up about their insecurities and immediately growing past them. It’s more so through their amazing chemistry and challenging each other through their unique perspectives on life that you feel a real bond begin to form. It’s a perfect balance between focusing on the cast members as individuals while also highlighting their importance in how they work as a collective.

I find one of the more under-appreciated aspects of Eternal Punishment are the major, fundamental changes it makes to Persona 2’s core to accommodate for the new, jaded perspective of its characters. The tone is far more subdued. Gone is the goofy, lighthearted bickering between Ginko and Eikichi; replaced now by moral conflicts of ideals between Katsuya and Baofu. The importance of individuality is put into question by the recurring motif of ‘Fate’. Asking what purpose is there to finding one’s self if one’s self can crumble under the power of nihilism, fortune, and higher powers? Its apparent emphasis on challenging gameplay, not only finally forces the player to fully engage with the duology’s battle mechanics, but reinforces the brutality the characters endure throughout the story. The game isn’t some cynical tale that spits in the face of its prequel. Nor is its prequel worse off because of its more outlandish and comedic nature. FAR from all of that. These aspects just allow for Eternal Punishment to act as a wonderful contrast to Innocent Sin, establishing a tone that compliments and builds off the heavy nature of the prequel’s final act.

Where Innocent Sin is remarkable for its effective balancing act of heartfelt character work and the most insane set pieces you could possibly imagine, Eternal Punishment looks to take a bit of a different approach with its priorities. The constantly escalating tension and shocking revelations remain, but the downtime between these moments become just as integral. It’s the short conversations mixed with powerful silence and contemplative penitence that’ll leave just as big of an impact as most of the overarching drama. It’s no surprise one of the lead writer’s favorite scenes is a short, one minute exchange revolving around the nature of adulthood where most of the dialogue boxes are filled with nothing but pauses.

As I further age into early adulthood, it’s easy to get lost in the confusion spurred forth by taxing shit like sin, identity, and especially responsibility. I’m not usually one to see myself reflected somewhere within a story’s world, but I find it’s so easy to attach myself to a cast so… human in their writing and presentation. Whether it be Ulala’s longing for comfort. Katsuya and Baofu’s ever-present battle with their regret. Tatsuya struggling to introspect on his strange, confusing life while dealing with consequence. Or the way everyone is able to find some sort of value in their relationships and provide for each other in their own ways. There’s a resonant aspect to find in every character that hits twice as hard thanks to the narrative’s mature handling of its personal beats.

It’s good, for my sake, that Eternal Punishment is here to affirm that there truly are some good things about being an adult… Just a few.

'Persona 3 FES Fan Excited To Finish Persona 3 FES For The First Time'

(Contains spoilers for Persona 3 FES: The Journey)

The second the trailer for that hilariously overpriced DLC expansion pass for Persona 3 Reload dropped, I realized I had to be more than a stereotype. It was time for me to beat the Persona fan allegations of “knowing a story only because I watched the cutscenes on YouTube.” It was time for me to beat The Answer before it becomes cool…

Okay. That's all like. 30% of my actual motivation for doing this. I replayed the entirety of The Journey beforehand as a way to cement my feelings towards the original in the wake of Reload. And due to my various gripes with Reload’s presentation and also generally just preferring the original on most fronts, I didn’t think it’d be right if my first, proper experience with The Answer was through its remake. Though I’ve replayed Persona 3 FES many times before, this post-story gamemode was something I was never in the mood to finish after reaching the phenomenal conclusion of the original story. I never saw a continuation as necessary. And I think P3’s dungeon crawling loses much of its thematic meaning and intrigue when you divorce it from its other social sim half. Even now, after properly finishing The Answer, I’d say my initial concerns weren’t unfounded. But there definitely is still much worth in the experience.

Right off the bat, I adore the set up. Characterization is one of Persona 3’s strong suits, and it’s on full display here. You’re immediately stricken by its understated, yet somber tone. The rest of the story is quite solid in showcasing the various ways each member of SEES have either developed or regressed since the original story’s end, but the banter of the opening few scenes alone communicates these ideas in such a perfect fashion. SEES’ fallibility has always been one of my favorite aspects about them as a cast. They’re beloved for that sense of realness and humanity that permeates throughout each member, and their flaws being so highlighted is a key part as to why. They might dramatically “complete” their character arcs through Persona evolutions or strengthen their own convictions to the degree where they can clash with the embodiment of death itself. But none of that means the writers won’t continue to portray them as the messy little fucked up group of teens that they are. And this idea is what The Answer most strongly reinforces. As showcasing the self-destructive actions they make in reaction to facing such a devastating loss is the entire crux of the story.

The Answer shines the most with its character writing in three clear cases: Aigis, Metis, and Yukari. The former is a perfect lead for the protagonist to pass his torch to. Aigis’s arc up until this point already shared much in common with her emo husband, as they both primarily developed and gained a sense of identity through their collective experiences alongside their friends. So fully cementing her as a Wild Card just feels extremely right, especially after the bond the two form in the main story and this version's newly added Aeon social link (best social link in the series btw). Newcomer Metis exists primarily to strengthen Aigis’ character arc and she does a phenomenal job at that. It’s clear from the start that she’s meant to reflect Aigis in a symbolic sense and the parallels between them only grow stronger in terms of effectiveness as the story builds up their relationship. But despite playing a more function oriented role in the narrative, she is still incredibly entertaining. I clapped at every scene where Akihiko threatened her life and she responds by casually telling him to shut the fuck up. Then there’s Yukari. Do I even need to justify her role? I feel like that’s just a waste of breath. Shocking: a 17 year old girl gets a little bit mean when the boy she loves dies in the arms of another girl who’s neglecting to face the full reality of his death. Anyways, she’s great here. Though I definitely feel like her story could’ve been told with a better degree of nuance. Yukari’s always been one of the more empathetic cast members and seeing her act so abrasive towards everyone in general is a bit off putting at times. But I still respect the idea behind it all and it results in these beautiful emotionally charged scenes that’re on par with some of the best from the base game.

Though where this story really begins to lose me is its poor pacing and sloppy structure. It’s a case of stretching such a short narrative extremely thin. There’s just not enough here to justify going through seven different sequences of dungeon crawling. And while I’d compliment the characterization, I honestly feel the arcs of Aigis, Metis, and Yukari are the only things here that felt like they were written with complete confidence and intention. There’s this specific and formulaic way they go about exploring SEES as characters for the entire middle point of the story that feels so… random? They’re nice scenes to see, especially since I adore these characters, but I honestly can’t tell you how the looks into the past are supposed to add to the story’s statement in any substantial way. Also not a big fan of Metis’s info dumping or SEES’ guesswork, as a lot of it comes off as these awkward justifications for the story’s progression. It results in these genuinely intriguing mysteries and heartfelt conflicts that feel clunky in their resolutions.

I had negative expectations for the gameplay here. And that left me kinda shocked when I walked away enjoying most of the experience. The Answer is nothing but dungeon crawling, set on hardmode, with more complex boss design, and restricted access to certain quality of life features. On paper that all sounds fucking terrible. And some of it is. I, for the life of me, still question why they decided to remove warp stations before boss floors in favor of one way teleporters and a save point. To the point where I grabbed a mod that lets you fully heal at said save points (Sorry for being a filthy CHEATER, but I did not have the strength to deal with such a waste of time. I have a life 💔). But after getting over a lot of the annoyances that came from the simple concept of these changes, I came to realize that The Answer truly appeals to little freaks like me. Someone who genuinely likes Persona 3 FES’s flawed, yet bold battle system.

Battles can be infuriating on occasion due to the amped up resistances of most enemies and how that tends to bring out the worst of the AI party system, but I generally found them fun to fight. Though the one thing I’d like to acknowledge in particular are the nerfs to Fusion. That’s right. My The Answer hot take isn’t that weak shit like “it’s actually good” or “Yukari is reasonable.” It’s that the lack of arcana burst and compendium are valuable changes that add a different layer to the way you’re expected to engage with the dungeon crawling. Foresight is paramount and every fusion you make feels important. Between making sure I had each buff skill accounted for at any given moment or making the most of EXP share passives by transferring them to Personae with desirable skills, it feels like The Answer was able to bring out a niche appeal of the Fusion system the other mainline titles rarely nail. Due to my foresight and knowledge of the base game’s skill progression, I almost never had to stop and grind like I was expecting to. I was entirely prepared for 99% of the encounters I faced (fuck the penultimate Abyss of Time fight oh my god) and that felt extremely rewarding. I get that it’s harsh in design and not everyone’s experience is going to go as smoothly. But I found it was an interesting twist on a system that normally becomes less and less substantive to engage with as the game goes on.

It was really satisfying to see the credits draw to a close. I’ve been madly in love with Persona 3 FES for almost four years now and, though it’s funny to say, today is the day I finally finished it properly. While a lot of my initial assessments of The Answer came to be true, I’m glad I was still able to get something out of it in this playthrough. I’m still shocked by the amount of enjoyment I was able to find in its challenge run-esque design mentality. And best of all, it’s given me an excuse to brainrot over Persona 3 for a little while longer, thanks to the ways it expands on its cast. As flawed and half baked as it feels in so many regards, I’d say I overall enjoyed my time with it. Can’t wait to see how I feel about its remake, especially given the announcement that they’ll be adding in more story scenes. Now, someone come restrain me before I buy the $35 expansion pass for Persona 3 Reload. Hurry… There’s not much time. The microchip is beeping oh god o h no I. LOVE ATLUS GAAAAAAH!!!