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Side cases are where players will find the closest approximation to the legendary substories. They sometimes sprinkle the studio's signature humor, but the tonal disparity RGG fans love isn't found during most of these. With few exceptions, they're not very involved, rarely requiring interesting decisions. Most involve talking to a person multiple times until their friendship meter fills. His disposition opens him up to more natural relationship building.įriendship events are often C-grade substories. He's a normal guy that takes odd-jobs from anyone. As a detective rather than an ex-Yakuza that keeps finding himself in the thick of Yakuza shenanigans, his interactions with city folk would undoubtedly differ from Kiryu. RGG should be commended for attempting to contextualize Yagami's content.
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Rather than offering a series of substories, Judgment splits its side content across friendship events and side cases. It's a shame, then, that such artistry is wasted on a narrative that takes half its run-time to get going. The level of craft on display in main story sequences regarding camera cuts, angles, music, character performances, etc.trounces many triple-A games. As always, the cinematic direction is top-class. The plot escalates at a brisk pace past this mid-point without resorting to any jump-the-shark moments. This is afforded through the central hook finally unraveling itself, upping the stakes.įrom this point forward, RGG shows how masterfully they weave twisting webs. That's when we see the sort of high-intensity melodrama RGG excels at. It isn't until around the seventh chapter of a thirteen-chapter story that things get juicy. This is especially important because, without a change in character direction, the first several hours would be much tougher to stomach. Because of this, conversations with other characters come off more naturally. He emotes consistently like a normal human being. He isn't a mostly dry statue that only shows emotion in rare instances for dramatic effect.
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To begin with, Yagami is more interesting than Kiryu. Judgment does at least benefit from a more well-rounded cast in Yagami and Kaito, among others. Change Yakuza 2's main narrative and you change their dynamic. They succeeded in part because their unlikely relationship is inseparable from the main plot's circumstances. The romantic scenes between Kiryu and Sayama in Yakuza Kiwami 2 are examples, but they don't work as isolated instances. Mundane conversations have been successfully written by the team. They excel when characters monologue about emotional trauma or explain the inner workings of their complex plans. Naughty Dog levels of human subtlety aren't this team's forte. The first several hours' worth of conflicts doesn't have enough stakes to provide engaging dialogue. Character interactions are RGG's strong suit when intense conflict, as a result of an escalating narrative, presents itself. It's not Yakuza 3 slow, but it also spends too much of its run-time in mundanity. Unfortunately, it takes too long for the central mystery to begin. Its subject matter is ripe for exploitation, but Judgment goes far enough to remind consumers they're playing a video game while pulling back enough to prove its characters and script can sustain the core hook without needing to one-up itself at every turn.