Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Sega came together to show a new trailer for the game at Sony’s latest State of Play. Fans will once again take control of private detective Takayuki Yagami as he investigates a new series of crimes. A lot of Lost Judgment’s gameplay is clearly very reminiscent of the Yakuza series, but the first game established the importance of finding evidence and building a case to solve the crime at the center of the narrative. Ace Attorney has reigned king for a long time as far as detective visual novels are concerned, but Lost Judgment looks like a pretty engaging, action-packed take on Ace Attorney’s crime solving.
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Ace Attorney With a Kick
An important part of the Ace Attorney games is the investigation phase before the trial begins, where Phoenix Wright or another protagonist has to gather evidence from crime scenes and witnesses to protect a defendant. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles recently showcased the importance of collaborating with Herlock Sholmes to get to the bottom of mysteries ahead of the trial, for instance. Judgment includes the same style of gameplay, and it carries over into Lost Judgment. Throughout the Judgment series, the player controls Takayuki as he tails suspects and sneaks into locked locations in search of clues. Judgment offers a high stakes alternative to the more relaxed visual novel style of Ace Attorney’s investigations.
Aside from the investigation stage, though, Judgment and Lost Judgment borrow a lot more from the Yakuza games. That naturally means that combat is an important part of the game. If Takayuki wants to get to the bottom of the mystery, players will have to master his various fighting styles as they take on lowlifes and yakuza that get in his way. On top of that, Lost Judgment promises plenty of the wacky, upbeat side quests and minigames that offer a lighthearted side to the whole Yakuza series. When players want to give Takayuki a break from sleuthing, there’s dancing, robot battles, and plenty of other activities to offer a little levity.
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Lost Judgment Solves Crime in Style
Judgment was more than worthy of a sequel. Critics were overall very fond of its Yakuza-like combat and its central story, so it’ll be good to see Takayuki return for another mystery. It’s worth nothing that the investigation segments of Judgment were sometimes criticized as overly simplistic, but that doesn’t doom Lost Judgment to the same fate. Ryu Ga Gotoku may have decided to step up the difficulty of crime solving in Lost Judgment now that the spinoff has a fanbase. After all, the first game was supposedly intended to appeal to players new to detective games, so now Ryu Ga Gotoku can step up investigation’s complexity after warming fans up.
After all, if Judgment intends to be a long-running crime-solving spinoff, it ought to lean more heavily into those investigation elements. Ace Attorney proves time and time again that compelling examination and deduction are the cornerstone of a good detective game. Seeing that Lost Judgment still features stealth and investigation as central themes inspires confidence that the developers have found ways to make these sides of the game grow. In the meantime, it’s also exciting to see that Lost Judgment has plenty of Yakuza-style action and fun to offer. Fans of Ace Attorney who want a little more brawn with their brains should keep an eye on the Judgment series.
Lost Judgment releases on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on September 24, 2021.
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