Judge Eyes Wills Of Death

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Ernest Babin

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Aug 3, 2024, 3:44:20 PM8/3/24

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Judgment[a] is an action-adventure video game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega. A spin-off to the Yakuza series, it was released for the PlayStation 4 in December 2018 in Japan and June 2019, worldwide. A remastered version of the game, with the subtitle Remastered[b] in Japan and Asia, was released for the PlayStation 5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X and Series S in April 2021. A port for Amazon Luna was made available on December 16, 2021. A Windows port was released on 14 September 2022 through Steam.[1] Judgment follows lawyer-turned-detective Takayuki Yagami and his allies as they explore a case involving corpses whose eyes have been removed. The player controls Yagami in the fictional Tokyo district of Kamurocho, where he fights thugs and yakuza while carrying out missions involving chasing, stealth, and searching for clues.

The game began its initial development in 2015 under the codename Project Judge. The game originated from Sega's desire to create a new IP with Toshihiro Nagoshi serving as the writer. Nagoshi wanted to write a new type of story with a detective working on a case that contrasted with Nagoshi's previous work in the Kiryu-era Like A Dragon games. As a result, the developers designed the game to be accessible to detective-game newcomers. Singer and actor Takuya Kimura, who provided both facial features and Japanese voice acting, was cast to play Yagami. Due to popular demand, the game includes an English voice-over dub as well as subtitles in several additional languages. The Japanese rock band Alexandros produced two songs for the game.

Judgment was withdrawn from the Japanese market in March 2019 following the arrest of Pierre Taki, one of the game's actors, for suspected cocaine use. While localizing the game for international markets, Taki's likeness was removed and his voice acting performance and likeness was replaced by actor Miou Tanaka.[2]

Judgment received a generally positive response from critics. Many praised the game's plot, side content and combat but criticized the simplicity of its investigation mechanics. Judgment was a commercial success, topping one million and earned recognition as one of the best video games released in 2019. The remaster was praised for improving the game's frame rate and visuals. A sequel, Lost Judgment released on September 24, 2021.

Judgment is an action-adventure game with a third-person perspective. It follows private detective Takayuki Yagami as he investigates a serial murder case in Kamurocho, a fictional district of Tokyo, Japan, previously featured in the Yakuza franchise. When asked about similarities between Judgment and other Yakuza titles, series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi said that "the location and assets might be the same, but the gameplay and story here are drastically different".[3] Yagami can buy items to restore his health in stores based on real-life counterparts, similar to the Yakuza games. However, Yagami can suffer from Mortal Wounds, which permanently decreases Yagami's maximum health. The only way to recover is to visit an underground doctor for treatment or purchase a medical kit, which are relatively expensive.[4]

Judgment features a similar combat system to that of Yakuza 0, where players can change between two different fighting styles: crane-style, which focuses on fighting groups of enemies, and tiger-style, which focuses on fighting individuals. Yagami also incorporates parkour elements, like wall-running and leapfrogging, in his fighting style.[5] Similar to the previous games in the Yakuza series, Yagami can perform brutal takedowns of enemies through "EX Actions" (a fundamentally identical system to Like a Dragon's Heat Actions), enter an enhanced state where he becomes stronger in battle, labelled "EX Boost" in Judgment, and can team up with allies to perform powerful combination attacks. Accomplishing sidequests or achievements in the main narrative rewards the player with points that can be used to enhance Yagami's skills and teach him new techniques.[6][7]

The game also features an investigation mode, where the player must search a scene for clues and evidence of a crime.[8] Players must infiltrate areas by lock picking and use disguises to gather information or find objects of interest. The game has sections where the player pursues a suspect. These take the form of tailing sequences, where players must follow a suspect while avoiding being seen, and chase sequences, where players must avoid oncoming obstacles while running to catch a fleeing suspect.[9][10]

Yagami can take on several side cases in addition to the main storyline, similar to the "substories" in other Yakuza games. He can undertake them by looking at the noticeboard in his office, asking at the Genda Law Office or Bar Tender, or by walking the streets of Kamurocho. Certain meetings trigger a Friendship level that can evolve across the game through interacting with a character. Some of these meetings involve finishing sidequests, while other scenarios are inspired by dating sim games.[11] Like other Yakuza titles, the player can find minigames and side activities scattered around Kamurocho, which include drone racing, a virtual reality board game, and fully playable versions of Space Harrier, Fantasy Zone, Fighting Vipers, Motor Raid, Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown, and Puyo Puyo.[12]

Judgment takes place in 2018, and stars Takayuki Yagami (Takuya Kimura/Greg Chun), a former attorney-turned-private investigator residing in the Kamurochō district. The story of Judgment involves Yagami investigating several yakuza murder cases committed by an unidentified serial killer, dubbed "the Mole", which eventually leads to him uncovering a massive conspiracy linked to his last case from his attorney days. Yagami's supporting cast includes: Masaharu Kaito (Shinshū Fuji/Crispin Freeman), a former member of the Tojo Clan's Matsugane Family who is Yagami's detective partner; Ryuzo Genda (Akira Nakao/Brian McNamara), director of Genda Law Office and Yagami's former mentor who is also one of his father figures; Mitsugu Matsugane (Tomomichi Nishimura/JB Blanc), patriarch of the Matsugane Family who raised Yagami after the latter's parents were murdered; Saori Shirosaki (Yūko Kaida/Aime Castle), Issei Hoshino (Yū Hayashi/Joe Zieja), and Masamichi Shintani (Takuya Kirimoto/Keythe Farley), defense attorneys working at Genda Law Office; Mafuyu Fujii (Risa Shimizu/Cherami Leigh), a public prosecutor and close friend of Yagami and Shirosaki; Makoto Tsukumo (Jun Miyamoto/River Kanoff), a recluse and technology expert who often assists Yagami in his investigation; Toru Higashi (Yoshihisa Kawahara/Steve Blum), a Matsugane Family member who looks up to Kaito; Fumiya Sugiura (Junta Terashima/Mark Whitten), a masked thief who offers to help Yagami's investigation with unknown motivations; and Kazuya Ayabe (Kenichi Takitō/Matthew Yang King), a corrupt police officer who sells top-secret information for his own gains.

Yagami's investigation of the Mole brings him into conflict with several characters: Kyohei Hamura (Miō Tanaka/Fred Tatasciore), captain of the Matsugane family who has ties to the murder cases; Mitsuru Kuroiwa (Shōsuke Tanihara/Matthew Mercer), a detective working for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's organized crime division; Yoji Shono (Makoto Nagai/Michael Gough), a researcher at the Advanced Drug Development Center (ADDC); Ryusuke Kido (Hiroshi Shirokuma/Andrew Morgado), the director of the ADDC; and Kaoru Ichinose (Takaya Hashi/Kirk Thornton), the Vice Minister of Health who oversees the ADDC's activities. Other characters featured in the main story include: Shinpei Okubo (Shinji Kawada/Yuri Lowenthal), a former ADDC janitor who was acquitted from a murder charge by Yagami, only to be arrested for allegedly murdering his girlfriend, Emi Terasawa (Eri Goda/Amy Walker); Shigeru Kajihira (Haruhiko Jō/Ed O'Ross), chairman of the Kajihira Group and secret financial backer of the Kyorei Clan, a Kyoto-based yakuza organization; Satoshi Shioya (Masaki Terasoma/Keith Silverstein), captain of the Kyorei Clan; and Kunihiko Morita (Junpei Morita/Jamieson Price), chief prosecutor and Fujii's superior.

In 2015, attorney Takayuki Yagami investigates the Advanced Drug Development Center (ADDC) for the death of patient Koichi Waku, successfully clearing accused worker Shinpei Okubo of the murder charge. However, Okubo is arrested shortly thereafter for allegedly murdering his girlfriend, Emi Terasawa. Guilt-ridden, Yagami resigns from his law firm.

Three years later, Yagami has become a private detective in Tokyo's Kamurocho district and accepts investigation requests with his partner, ex-Tojo clan member Masaharu Kaito. A serial killer has recently been murdering yakuza members in Kamurocho and removing their eyes. Yagami accepts a murder case concerning Matsugane Family captain Kyohei Hamura, who is suspected of killing a Kyorei clan member using the same methods. Yagami investigates and proves Hamura's innocence, though he suspects that Hamura is working with the killer, whom Yagami dubs the Mole. Yagami investigates a brothel where one of the victims was last seen and encounters Hamura, who orders him to stop investigating the Mole.

Yagami returns to his office to find that the Mole has killed Masamichi Shintani, his former colleague, and teacher. Yagami finds a recent call on Shintani's phone for a researcher of the ADDC, Yoji Shono. He questions ADDC director Ryusuke Kido about Shintani's phone call, to no avail. After further investigation, with help from masked thief Fumiya Sugiura, Yagami meets construction mogul Shigeru Kajihira at a Kyorei Clan hideout. Kajihira reveals a failed plan to seize land around the ADDC for redevelopment, which was foiled when researchers claimed to have discovered AD-9, a potential cure for Alzheimer's disease. Kajihira asks Yagami to investigate the death of former ADDC vice-director Toru Hashiki.