[Review] Lost Judgment

This post is a conclusion of my thoughts on Lost Judgment after finishing the game and a continuation of the previous post [Impressions] Lost Judgment.

I had an awesome time with Lost Judgment. RGG Studio proves to us fans that they keep improving themselves with each game by making changes when necessary and consistently keeps content fresh. While I was unfortunately spoiled on the ending when browsing on the Internet, it didn't completely deter my enjoyment only lost the element of surprise. The final boss fight ... man I struggled hard with it.

Having completed the full story and not the game achievements, I have to say I was very satisfied. I am  very impressed with their story writing and I would want to direct all attention to the character of Kuwana. He's an antagonist that a lot of us feel bad for and I find him more relatable than previous Yakuza/Judgment antagonists. This may be due to the fact that most of us playing the game are not members of the yakuza. We can sympathize with the character's plight, but very few of us can truly empathize without growing up/live with the yakuza. Kuwana may be someone we know in our lives or have interacted before with which in my opinion feels more relatable. 

Yagami in this game unsurprisingly became a little annoying towards the end mainly that he starts sounding like a broken record each time he brings up Sawa-sensei. However, I can understand his persistence in bringing up Sawa-sensei each time because Yagami knows very well things can get swept under the rug. The ending of the game is slightly open ended giving players a question to ponder on which I enjoy a lot. It shies away from the traditional method of pummeling the antagonist to extract a kind of victory. What's right or wrong is not being deliberately said to the players and it leaves it up to us to determine it. We only see the characters take the paths that they believe is right.

RGG Studio really hit it out of the park with substories. This is exactly how I want substories to be handled in other games. They get to exist outside the main story, but still add to the game's universe. Today I want to bring up School Stories, a collection of activities separate from the usual substories. I highly recommend purchasing the DLC expansion to enhance your experience. In School Stories, Yagami gets to use his detective skills more often and unlocks more mini-games as he progresses. As you may have already guessed, the Dance Club is a School Story and I played the hell out of the four songs. I wish there was more songs, but the Dance Club is suppose to be the first School Story acting as a tutorial to the experience. Later on I found myself so immersed in the Boxing Club and had to turn on Boxing style for Yagami.

With the Kaito Files expansion DLC coming out in just a few days, I am stoked to see what else RGG made for us. For those that only purchased the base game, this Kaito expansion will cost extra. If you had purchased the Digital Ultimate Edition like I had, the DLC will immediately be available on March 28. I think I'll made another post just for the DLC content.