Lost Judgement is a solid sequel built upon the foundations of its predecessor.

 

Sometimes a sequel improves upon its predecessor. Sometimes it fails miserably. Lost Judgement for me is somewhere in the middle. It improves upon certain things that might not mean a lot for those that just want to enjoy the plot as it unfolds but makes it more fun for those that want to soak in the game's atmosphere. I'll go into more detail later on after I've outlined the plot itself. 

Following the events of Judgement, The Yagami Detective Agency goes back to accepting cases involving infidelity and lost pets to keep afloat. When we first see them in Lost Judgement, they're caught up in a case that features a young con artist named Kosuke cheating young girls out of their money and then gambling it all away. It might seem trivial, but Kosuke pops up later on in the story. Our protagonist then receives a call from friend and former college, Saori Shinozaki. Shinozaki asks Yagami to look into the murder of schoolteacher, Hiro Mikoshiba after the client she was defending in a sexual battery case knew of the body before the police even found it. Yagami investigates the possibility of Akihiro Ehara, the defendant in the trial's involvement in Mikoshibas' death. His investigation leads him to Seiryo High School and things go deeper than he could have even imagined. A mysterious handyman makes an appearance whilst Yagami attempts to gain information from Sawa-sensei and then a rather large gang of ex-Yakuza known as RK show up to further complicate matters. 

The plot is engrossing and engaging throughout with some twists and turns that Yagami and his allies never expected. There's the recurring theme of what the word justice truly means and if it's ever right to exact revenge when even the law has failed to punish those responsible for crime. There's also heavy emphasis on bullying and the consequences for schools and courts not gathering the evidence required to take action. This includes bullied students committing suicide due to being unable to take the torment anymore. 

                            

The main antagonist in Lost Judgement is a great foil to Yagami. They both believe in justice but have a very different idea for what it means. Yagami starts out questioning what it means to him until an innocent teacher is murdered without remorse by those entangled in the case. Meanwhile, the bully killer is unapologetic for murdering those bullies that the law failed to punish and would continue on doing it until Yagami stops him. Unfortunately, the antagonist isn't as intimidating as The Mole was in Judgement and doesn't seem to be a major threat. The final boss fight is also disappointing as I managed to beat it without using a single healing item and it wasn't as intense as the fight with The Mole. It also ends quite predictably. It also didn't help that I figured out that he'd be the antagonist the very moment he appeared on screen. 

Lost Judgement did improve upon its predecessors combat a fair amount. The Crane style plays much more smoothly and is incredibly satisfying to use. Yagami covers much more ground which is incredibly useful for facing off against large groups of foes and its faster overall. Tiger style now does much better splash damage, unblock-able blows and is more fluid than in Judgement. There's also a new third style that might just be my personal favourite of the bunch. Snake style focuses on turning enemy attacks against them and features a bunch of disarming techniques, feints and the ability to be a defensive fighter. It's definitely much more enjoyable than Ryu Ga Gotoku 7's turn sudden foray into turn based combat.

The game also improves upon the side activities and cases of the original. Most of the new activities stem from Yagami's involvement with Seiryo High's Mystery Research Club and the case of The Professor which he helps Amasawa with. The player can play Virtua Fighter with the Esports club, take part in "Death Races" whilst upgrading his bike within the Motorcycle Club and even box with Oshikiri at the Todoroki Boxing Gym. The motorcycle club is rather like a gang of delinquents and the story behind them is quite fun. The boxing club is a personal favourite as it comes with its own combat controls. Remember that these come on top of the returning side activities from the previous entry in the series! Bonus points for getting Yagami involved in a Dance Club, a nice little nod to KimuTaku's days in SMAP. 

I do worry about the games setting as it takes place for the most part in Ijincho, Yokohama which was the location where the events of Ryu Ga Gotoku 7 took place. It makes the world seem rather small and I'd like to see the developers instead make a potential sequel take place in a different location as the events in both games wouldn't be overlooked by characters in either. 

Akihiro Ehara has a really powerful speech in the courtroom that had me thinking for hours after I finished the main story. Ken Mitsuishi deserves a ton of praise for his magnificent performance as the former senior police officer with a resentment of the law. Hiroshi Tamaki also portrayed Kazuki Soma incredibly well considering it's his first video game. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing that twisted character again. 

Overall, Lost Judgement is a solid sequel. It improves on things that matters such as the combat system and amount of side content available. It's also got a riveting if complicated narrative with compelling characters. On the flip side, it's not quite as gripping as the first game plot wise and also has a non-threatening main antagonist. I would still recommend it as it's leaps and bounds above triple A titles of today.