A well-liked franchise developed by an acclaimed studio should never be at risk of cancellation after only two installations. Nevertheless, that’s where theJudgmentseries by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Sega is at.Lost Judgmenthas yet to release, but a dispute between Sega and a Japanese talent agency over publishingLost Judgmenton PC might bring the adventures of private detective Takayuki Yagami to a premature end. Sega could find a way to keep the franchise alive without actor Takuya Kimura at the helm, but it’d be a major shift for the franchise.Lost Judgmentmay very well be the end of the franchise.
Sega should fight to find a way forJudgmentto live on, though. While theYakuzaseries is alive and well,Judgmentis important toYakuza. The spin-off provides an alternate way for fans to explore the mechanics, themes, and stories that are central to theYakuzafranchise.Judgmentalso preserves some importantYakuzatraditionswhileYakuzais in the midst of significant change.Lost Judgment’s perilous position can’t scare Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku off of letting this crime-solving franchise continue to flourish.
RELATED:Lost Judgment’s Complicated PC Release Issues Explained
Comparing Yakuza and Judgment’s Combat
Combat is a crucial reason thatJudgmentshould stay afloat. For many years, theYakuzafranchise passed on a tradition of real-time action combat, with players taking control of Kazuma Kiryu as they fought off yakuza members and criminal thugs on the streets of Japan. That changed recently.Yakuza: Like a Dragonnot only features a different protagonist from Kazuma, but also switched the combat to a turn-based JRPG format. Ichiban Kasuga and his friends even had access to a job system reminiscent ofBravely Default,certainFinal Fantasygames, and other JRPGs.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s combat puts an interesting twist on the franchise, but many fans mourned the loss ofYakuza’s traditional action.Judgment,meanwhile, inherited action-oriented combat fromYakuzaand continues to use it. Takayuki Yagami has a wealth of martial arts skills that players have to put to use as they investigate a slew of terrible crimes. BetweenJudgmentandLost Judgment,Takayuki seemingly learned a Snake style of fighting, a technique for counterattacking that nicely compliments his crowd-focused Crane style and dueling-focused Tiger style.Anyone fond ofYakuzacombatwill feel right at home playing aJudgmentgame.
That’s exactly why Sega needs to finda way forJudgmentto succeed. Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku are taking a big risk by shiftingYakuzafrom action-adventure to an RPG. Although Ryu Ga Gotoku will build on what it learned makingYakuza: Like a Dragonand improve the system as it goes, it may never appeal to someYakuzafans simply because it’s a different genre.Judgmentoffers long-time fans the kind of combat they’re used to in a game still set in theYakuzauniverse, which caters to a broad range of fans.
RELATED:Lost Judgment Looks Like an Action-Packed Ace Attorney, and That’s Great
Judgment Uses Yakuza Well
Judgmentalso deserves to keep going for lore reasons. Because it’s set in the same world asYakuza,it inevitably works with similar tones and characters, exploring the dark underbelly of Japan while adding dashes of levity and fun. WhereasYakuzaexamines this tonally diverse setting from the insidethrough Kazuma Kiryu and Ichiban Kasuga,Judgmentlooks at it from the outside thanks to its detective protagonist. Rather than working with and against their own established connections and relationships in the criminal world, players delve into the criminal world in search of justice. Takayuki Yagami opens up narrative threads within the Japanese justice system that aren’t really on the table in theYakuzaseries.
This refreshing storytelling angle also makes room for mechanics that would never really have a place inYakuza.For instance,Judgmentfeatures investigation sequences where players have to help Takayuki investigate crime scenes in search of evidence and clues. Similarly, there’s certain stealth and infiltration elements that aren’t particularly necessary in a standardYakuzagame.Judgmentis more than aYakuzareboot with a detective at the helm instead of an ex-con. It’s full of its own ideas that make it different fromYakuzawhile having the same spirit.Judgmentcan be as serious or as sillyasYakuzawhile telling a story that’s all its own.
Will Judgment Keep Takayuki?
If Sega decides to keep makingJudgmentgames, the question iswhether Takayuki Yagami will remainthe protagonist. One imagines that Sega would prefer to keep Takuya Kimura at the helm, and Takayuki uses Kimura’s likeness as well as his voice, so recasting the character is out of the question. Sega could cave to Kimura’s talent agency’s aversion to a PC release, meaningJudgmentwould remain console exclusive in exchange for more adventures starring Takayuki. That’s a huge market that Sega would sacrifice in the process, though.
The alternative is that Sega parts ways with Takuya Kimura and replaces his character with a new protagonist. It’d seem a little drastic so early into the franchise, but it wouldn’t be impossible to do. After all,Yakuzaran with Kazuma as its protagonist for many yearsbefore replacing him with IchibaninYakuza: Like a Dragon,but Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio still made a very charming and worthy leading man. It could do the same forJudgment,creating a new protagonist with a different demeanor but similar objectives to Takayuki.
The bottom line is thatSega’s dispute with talent agency Johnny’sdoesn’t have to be the death of theJudgmentseries - and it shouldn’t be. As far as potential is concerned,Judgmentis only at the tip of the iceberg. There’s plenty more that could be done with a detective-style series of action-adventure games set in the world ofYakuza.There’s also ways to deal with the Takayuki dilemma, whether it’s reconciliation or replacement.Yakuzafans would certainly be sad to see this spin-off go away so soon, so hopefully Sega takes decisive action sooner rather than later in order to preserve it. Until then,Judgmentfans will be the ones searching for clues about the franchise’s fate.
Lost Judgmentreleases for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on May 20, 2025.
MORE:2021 is Shaping Up to Be A Great Year for Detective Games
