Is Judgment the BEST Yakuza Game?

Judgment. Oh, Judgment. A game so insanely good that it made me forget about all of the tailing missions. Fist of the North Star Lost Paradise. Oh, Fist of the North Star Lost Paradise. A game that everyone told me was good even though it was masterfully crafted to be as much of a waste of time as possible and then I realised I could've spent all of that time playing Judgment instead of it.
Yeah by the way this has Fist of the North Star Lost Paradise in it for, like, 4 minutes. I so love when it takes 30 minutes to get to one spot, enemy levels jump up by 50 every chapter forcing you to grind, it takes 100 days to level up once, every checkpoint requires you to run back and forth 78.2 times, encounters in the terrible car have 20 minute animations to start them, bosses have Kiwami 2 levels of health and you deal Yakuza 3 levels of damage, and none of the unlocks are better than activating extreme heat and spamming the jump in the air slam attack because that's all you have to do to win every boss. Great game, though, and happy 40th birthday to Fist of the North Star.
Source Videos:
• Judgment Retrospective...
Froob's speedrun ('cause I don't have a recording of the really good part I highlighted sorry):
• Fist of the North Star...
Judgment OST:
• Judgment / JUDGE EYES:...
Fist of the so on and so forth OST:
• Fist of the North Star...
Playlist link:
• Yakuza Retrospective S...
Join the channel and become one of the LADs (Like a Dragons):
/ @snowiestangeman
Songs:
Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2 - Map
Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2 - Hideout
Pokémon Colosseum - Cipher Peon Battle
Pokémon Colosseum - Semi-Finals Battle
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness - Miror B Battle
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - Red Sun (Instrumental)
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - Red Sun
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 - Gatebreaker
Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast 2 - Opening Theme
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 - World Tournament Theme
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 - Character Creation Theme
Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wir fliegen
World of Final Fantasy - Clash on the Big Bridge C
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT - Massive Explosion (Strings Ver)
Xenoblade Chronicles X - No.EX 01

[@SnowiestAngeman]

By the way the photo in the thumbnail is of Yagami's English voice actor shoving his face full of... bread or something bread related I don't know

[@thatrandomcrit5823]

cum

[@EirPlen]

nomnomonomnomnomnomonomnomnomnom

[@amberhernandez]

Greg Chun is an _ICON_

[@InTheKitchenWristStirFry]

How can judgement be the best if theres no shinada

[@theperson8539]

I still feel like the Eng dub is immersion breaking, I’ll always opt for the Japanese dub, I just wish they’d better use the money they wasted on making a decent English dub to polish the games a little more. Also, as a fellow Australian, I kinda wish we weren’t so obsessed with Americans as to think their voices were an accurate representation of English. I think we could do better than that. Thanks For the Doggo mate, that pic is my new wallpaper… like, in my home.

[@draydra]

"Don't worry, Kaito Files, this mole guy is gonna get his JUDGMENT"

[@liveakiyamareaction]

"Now... time to gouge out your Judge Eyes!"

[@vendingvending3371]

THIS MEME IS STUPIDLY DUMB BUT I LOVE IT

[@yellowgetbright]

​@@vendingvending3371The phrase STUPIDLY DUMB is so stupidly dumb I love it

[@lina.998]

I think on their own Judgement and Lost Judgement are the most sophisticated, polished and complete RGG titles. Especially if you leave out your nostalgia for the Yakuza characters

[@joaooooooooooo_]

they're really good games but I dont't they match Yakuza 0's storyline

[@lina.998]

@@joaooooooooooo_ Zero has my favorite story as well but I talked about the overall quality of the game

[@MugdhaMahdiShams]

Storywise maybe, but gameplay and side content wise Judgment 1 either barren or straight up bad.

[@ranorky999]

@@joaooooooooooo_not every good game has to be a love story

[@user-wl3mj2ds5m]

Yakuza 0 clears

[@FreedomFighterAsuka]

Lockpicking with a controller that drifts was definitely an awful experience in Judgment...

[@DragonD_Dojima]

real

[@loganxi]

I had the same issue, didn't know it was happening until I played a different game....

[@TheDude-xp4vb]

Skill issues

[@Counselor-yj8hk]

High Frame rates on the PC also screws up the thumb-turn lock picks which is extremely annoying

[@panzershreck8077]

Dude I recently platinumed judgment and idk what was worse , puyo puyo on ps4, or stick drift thumb lock picking with stick drift lmao

[@TommuVA]

"When someone thinks they're in the right, that's when the real cruetly in people starts to come out. So what do you say? Are you really right?" - John Judgment (2018)

[@acherest2768]

Judgements english VA for yagami is honestly iconic I can’t play without it

[@wertyppl]

Strangely, as much as I love 0, this was the first Yakuza game I 100% completed and fought Amon. It was brutal, I loved it, and I will never do it again.

[@Hilversumborn]

Having a grandmother who’s suffering from dementia right now, makes the story hit even harder then before

[@SnowiestAngeman]

Yeah I'm unfortunately in the same boat :( ironically taught me a lot of stuff though lol

[@Greeny445]

Takayuki Yagami is my favourite protagonist in gaming, he's just that guy 🐐

[@Sal_II14]

atlast, another Yagoatmi fan

[@PsychicGirl]

I like the combat better in Lost Judgement but the story is way better in Judgement.

[@alexbromomento]

those were my exact thoughts upon finishing LJ, the story writing in JE is the best one that rgg ever wrote so far

[@LordRobaZe]

Not sure about that one...

[@bossmannn3415]

0 is no competition

[@kiixil9173]

I thought that originally, but after replaying it, I feel like both stories are equal in quality. Once you know the pieces of the mystery beforehand, the sequels story is way easier to follow/watch unfold

[@kain1799]

Sure but that doesn't mean that yagami hasn't taken a severe IQ dive and can only utter sawa-san.

[@OneTrueBelmont]

I'm one of those rare idiots who enjoyed tailing, but I can see why it can get old real fast. Judgment somehow perfected the feedback loop that got started in 0. By that I mean that you take a moment to push the plot ahead. Then you check out some side cases that all make sense for a detective to do. Then because your job is to talk to people and get information, you make friends. Which as you get to know them, unlocks more people and more sub stories so you're balancing out moving the amazing plot forward and getting sucked into a black hole of side goodness.

[@ItsFaisal7266]

i genuinely forgot this was a judgement retrospective halfway through lmao

[@wertyppl]

Koga's theme goes so hard, one of the best tracks in the entire series.

[@UmiZoomR]

Ye but the chainsaw boss fight can suck my KOG

[@Hezzadude12]

Glad to see the Judgment love. Man, I remember playing it for the first time and being the same as you, I just thought “there is no way they can make this franchise any better”. The music, the story, the characters, the gameplay, and did I mention the STORY?!?! It had me on the edge of my seat the entire time and does foreshadowing and reveals in such incredible and masterful ways. The final boss is so memorable for me despite the hundreds and hundreds of games I’ve played in my lifetime because the stakes were SO insanely high, and the composition of everything leading up that moment is just… CHEF’S KISS. While I don’t think any other game in the entire franchise can even remotely touch this game from a plot perspective, Lost Judgment did certainly crank the gameplay dial up to 11 though. If someone could backport LJ’s combat into Judgment, I would think that is the definitive Yakuza experience, and it wouldn’t even be a proper “Yakuza” game. Crazy.

[@warriorjgamer]

I'm sold on trying this game out

[@mintman3533]

I really enjoyed the Like a Dragon and Judgement dubs. Ichiban's VA was especially excellent.

[@Dylamn]

Yep. I was one that had Judgment as my first Yakuza game, and yes it was thanks to the fact that it's dubbed. And man oh man, was I blown away by the quality of the dub. Didn't think Persona 5 could be topped. Love the game, but I would probably not replay it, now that you reminded me of the tailing missions that kept putting me to sleep. Forever thankful that Lost Judgment not only decreased the frequency and bore of those missions, but also put more energy into the music to keep me awake.

[@SpadeOfNades]

I remember not really feeling the combat during the beginning of the game since I found the attack speed without upgrades coupled with the attacks bouncing off being really annoying to deal with in comparison to the other Yakuza games. It got a little better as I kept playing and upgrading, but I'm glad Lost Judgment improved that aspect by a whole lot.

[@mattmark94]

still better than Y6 and Kiwami 2

[@OneTrueBelmont]

Being able to wall jump adds so much

[@callumrolston]

kiwami 2 almost as good ngl@@mattmark94

[@suparsonik]

Something else cool about Keith Arem is that he had his own industrial band in the late 80s/early 90s called Biohazard PCB (where the PCB Productions name comes from) which was then renamed to Contagion in the later 90s. His band, Contagion, did the sound and music for the cancelled Thrill Kill, which then became the Wu-Tang fighting game.

[@mpmatik]

Judgment has by far my favourite atmosphere in the whole series. Despite having the best story for me the most memorable moments were in-between story elements when you're supposed to just quickly restock on healing and continue. I always took extra time to think about what might happen, appreciate the overworld music (inharmonic is definitely the most memorable track) and just walk around like I'm sightseeing (despite knowing Kamurocho like the back of my hand at that point), not even looking for a substory or some other side activity just appreciating the vibes.

[@pokechamp3987]

Played 0 for 200 hours, booted up Judgement and got so engrossed I had to just start walking around in first person mode, looking at every little detail. Unforgettable atmosphere. Always play it at night with headphones and close to monitor (looks amazing on an ultrawide).

[@Chunk22]

I just found this channel after only playing through 0 and half of Judgement and I love you❤

[@mattieice4785]

I didn’t really vibe with Judgement like I did the other Yakuza games, but I’m always up to hear people enjoying it.

[@deepflare1028]

From what I've heard from people, Judgement seems to be a "realistic" detective simulator while Lost Judgement is an more "action" oriented detective simulator like the mainline games

[@the47thsoldier67]

I love your videos keep doing these king

[@carlosldg]

Awesome retrospective, and while I’m a Kimura fan through and through, the dub of this game is absolutely excellent. Absolutely adore Greg Chun and his take on Yagami.

[@MarioTainaka]

The amount of research you did for the English dub section made me smile, finally someone who does their homework ❤

[@ridgedaddy]

I loved the dub man. Matt Mercer as Kuroiua and Ryomen Sukuna as Izumida were fire. This game weirdly constantly reminded me of the first time I played Metal Gear Solid as a kid. Also you using the literal only frame where the dude in the black raincoat isn't the mole while describing the mole was a fun easter egg

[@okidokiyowyow356]

This is my first game in yakuza franchise. This game is so good

[@chadnarukami4]

I just finished it not even an hour ago. Except the tailing missions it was great all the way to the end.

[@deepflare1028]

Same here, finished it last week. Definitely one of the best RGG games, 9/10 for me because I know they did the combat justice in 2

[@deepflare1028]

Best part was when Kengo said it's Hyena Wheezing time and Wheezed all over

[@MarioTainaka]

I have a theory on the lighting change At the time of the PS4 release their TAA barley worked especially on hair,so they used the hero lighting and bloom to cover it up. By the time LAD and Lost Judgment came out they actually improved their TAA so they just backported it to the remaster P.S: the new model has a higher polygon count and better hair strands compared to PS4

[@apexofchaos5864]

Absolutely beautiful XCX gameplay. This is the exact content I subscribed for.

[@kaparoveldar2628]

My man really just woke up one day and decided to make the best dynamic style of video and absolutely delivered

[@xtreme-ninja2611]

Fist of the North Star also introduced juggling to the series. It came out first so it was the first in the franchise to do it.

[@ExtremeGamer9951]

The Judgement games were so refreshing for me after marathoning the mainline Yakuza games, real breaths of fresh air

[@crowzur6055]

Lost Judgement is the absolute best. Looking forward to that video

[@albinwallen634]

My second after 0 i love lost judgement

[@david_8745]

I can see that you have a good judgment of the game

[@Genericname-2224]

I still can't get over how Kim is voiced by the bird dad from Kung Fu panda

[@FreedomFighterAsuka]

Bros dropping bangers after bangers

[@vgun7]

that clip of the xbox being thrown out the window. Holy shit thats the Rooster teeth life of rage quit when michael takes a crowbar to it after playing catherine! "gonna need a new xbox!" man that takes me back!

[@mr.marvin]

The Judgment is Real

[@Maxler5795]

if i can say one thing, i dont know if this was in lost paradise, and i heavily doubt it, but since judgment, the games have all had text in many other languages. Checking like a dragon 7, the languages are german, french, italian, corean, spanish (steam says its peninsular. but i havent seen any slang. i think its neutral.), simplified and traditional chinese, russian and brazilian portuguese. as a native spanish speaker in a country where not many people know english, this is a godsend. you have no idea how many times i recommended the yakuza games but they couldnt enjoy them because of the language barrier. It also just makes me happy more people can enjoy this goated series.

[@Apples05]

not a single Destination mention? crying on floor rn, in tears, sobbing

[@deepflare1028]

Probably prefers the LJ version😢

[@bohdanchique]

​​@@deepflare1028 Judgment - "Destination" Lost Judgment - the cooler "Destination"

[@deepflare1028]

@@bohdanchique Lost Judgement: "missing the guitar" Destination

[@GravityLoL]

I went into RGG world thanks to Judgment And this game will always have special place in my heart, even if just for that reason but gladly, there's much more: Fantastic story and voice acting, solid graphics and fun gameplay (that i admit, has few problems but no game is perfect) keep bringing a smile to my face whenever i start new save file. I finished this game on PS4, later on PS5 and now again on Steam and i'm surprised how much i'm engaged in the story even after playing through it multiple times.

[@NMWVID]

Hey Snowiest Angerman, I'm curious after you review all RGG games do you plan on making a discussion, or tierlist on the various Jo Amon bossfights? I've only done Y4, Y0, Y6 (so far the worse) and plan to go back and do the rest, but I am curious what you think of the secret super boss of each game.

[@929Finn]

Seeing the lighting/filter made me so sad when we finally got the port. I talked to some people on the Yakuza modding discord and they said the lighting/filter was neigh impossible to change since it wasn't an overlay like in Kiwami 2. Edit: wait a second did you make Saori look like Kson lmao

[@sashapinesnguyenhienhoa8003]

Kaito being a big loveable man as he is zoom at his dump truck i wonder why

[@BobbyDigital_100]

Shout out to you for using soundtrack music from Metal Gear Revengence! I LOVE that game and sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who did lol. A GREAT game🔥🔥🔥

[@KingJaeTV]

One of my fave games!

[@LikeAMajima]

Best part in judgement is Kaito’s CAKE

[@hayasher]

1:35 as a series s’er, im offended

[@kuze1198]

The thing is thats not even true💀

[@hayasher]

@@kuze1198 i know

[@Tybell702]

(SPOILER) missed opportunity to have a qte when yagami gets thrown out of the addc in the final boss where yagami just misses the glass frame and falls to his death

[@JButterZJ]

great video

[@ImpulsiveIncarnate]

John Judgement Yakuza

[@ScarNoobXD]

Thank you, for judgment status.

[@thegood5226]

I love this better call saul

[@kukkukuttu]

For all the combat mastery they achieved with Judgment, it is the only RGG game I almost rage quit because of that one tailing mission across Kamurocho at the end when u r looking for the lab lol

[@Mr_Kaldwin]

Telling that the light changed because needed to play in 60 fps in Series S and hating on the console is dishonesty, many games have only the 30fps on the S, so all console needed the less light or RGG just decided to change

[@revv0o]

JE Games > Yakuza Games They're both really good, don't get me wrong. Not hating on Yakuza since it's really good and I'm excited for the upcoming games. But there's just something about the JE games that make me love it more.

[@deepflare1028]

They really went balls out on Judgement by bringing in famous Japanese actors for this game and it's sequel

[@Sal_II14]

im on the same side with you, im on the middle of playin Y0 and finished kiwami not long ago. i really wanted to love the game just like with JE series but it just doest feel the same. idk if JE ruins it for me or it’s just not my cup of tea.

[@HeavySandvichGuy1]

If you think Series S hold back development, I have a low end PC to sell to you

[@pamdabeep]

Almost all modern AAA games have PC min specs way above that of the series S.

[@chuckfinley1501]

Judgement and Lost Judgment were actually the only yakuza games i played dubbed because i felt like yagami's japanese voice was a bit too deep for how he looks, his english voice fits him so much better in my opinion.

[@dmitrisemenoff6455]

Which is funny because it's the voice of the actor he's modeled after

[@cryguy0000]

I find the dub voice just as deep.

[@RAIN_2001]

9:17 thanks for reminding that a have this POS since day one i cant sleep at night thinking about it TWT

[@pepexp2]

Hey mr ManSnowAngeEst from the land down under, have you come across an amazing series that is The World Ends With You? If you have not i'm pretty sure it would be up to you liking since you're stangely into a lot of stuff from Square Enix and OST will blow your socks off (i've only played NEO: TWEY myself but i appreciate original OST all the same).

[@masturcheef123]

I just beat it. Big shoutout to all the chairs in that lobby during the final boss fight. Saved my life by spamming heat actions with them

[@Bacon956]

Funnily enough, Fist of the North Star Lost Paradise was the first RGG game I Platinumed and Judgment was my least favorite so far. Takes all kinds I suppose

[@patr4286]

one funny thing I found out years after playing was tailing went through several complete redesigns before they settled on the final product. Imagine being the poor dev who had to playtest every iteration of tailing missions

[@gabrieleriva651]

I really like the new lighting system a lot more than the og PS4 one. The characters seemed radioactive before.

[@abdullahakhtar9824]

I like to stare at the cat in the main menu of lost judgement

[@user-bl6oj1hl8i]

These new games set in the Yakuza universe really make me pine for a Kurohyou remake or a Kurohyou Kiwami situation. If Ishin got that treatment after all these years, perhaps there's hope. I doubt that they'll keep all the fighting mechanics of Kurohyou if they do though. It would be too easy to break or worse, it might put off newer players

[@xqawas]

How many more times can you re-use the clip of ichiban eating bread?

[@awakenedsoul2638]

This game is a "MASTERPIECE" but sooooo underrated!

[@jasonblundelldobebussing]

SMT Dx2 ost in the background? Man...

[@majicweather4890]

To me, this game is like if Shenmue and Yakuza had a baby. This is awesome, especially what ive seen with Judgment 2.

[@JakeTheL3mur]

NOW I Love Kiryu and Majima but god DAMN do I Love Judgment!!

[@optimus27000]

Let's solve that Mystery, the track that was used for 3 side cases where you solved a maths puzzle. Which was so good that they reused it in Lost Judgement for almost evey side case. Meming comment aside, Judgement whole heartedly had a very captivating and interesting plot. Me and friends who were with me playing it, all agreed that it was a fantastic story. While Lost Judgement played better, man was Judgement's story an 11/10.

[@raelforke4510]

Maybe the reason for Akiyama's va being the narrator is that he's just god at least of the fist of the north star relm

[@mat8791]

10:00 In Kiwami 2 there's unused files for Yagami's beta model (Before they got Kimura's likeness) as you pointed out and his beta moveset that had both Tiger and Crane meshed into one. It's very likely they took those animations from that Beta moveset and put it in there since Judgment was developed alongside Kiwami 2 and Lost Paradise. You can see it on the cutting room floor on the part that says "Judgment leftovers".

[@tim14022000]

Fun fact btw. In Kiwami 2 are actually references to Crane and Tiger style left in the files so the meshed together one that's left in the game is probably an even older version of Yagami's moveset

[@dinglebingus2625]

Always liked doing one playthrough in English and another in their native language. I do the same thing with stalker and metro for example.

[@briand2136]

I'm 7 chapters in... when does it get good? :/ Loved all the yakuza 0-k2, Y7, Y8 and Gaiden.. i just get so bored playing this it's hard to get through.

[@AntonioRedgrave]

19:12 When does this happen??

[@joshdavis8381]

Yakuza LaD is my favorite RGG game, but Judgement is a close second. I'm saving up for LJ now XD

[@AwkCrafty]

The thumb turn bypass is the hardest thing in this series if your controller sticks are a bit shit.

[@bertanderny8927]

Great game. Had the chance to run the ps4 version recently but with the added grunt if the ps5. It ran flawlessly and was great. Easy recommendation to any yakuza fan, and a tentative recommendation to any game fan.

[@dish-wu9vb]

I fkn love this game, i fkn love yagami, he's badass but cares about his relatives ❤

[@Grimoire7887]

Thanks for the epic vid! I loved Lost Paradise because I've been a HnK fan since the 80s. It's also an easier platinum compared to Judgment 4 and that cute but evil Puyo-Puyo game, lol. Still hoping for a Hokuto Ga Gotoku 2 and Judgment 3. 😄

[@Nixus237]

I played both judgment games in English, but I still went back to Japanese for yakuza seven and I will for like a dragon, Gaiden and infinite wealth because I love the voice actors for the characters

[@alajhondro]

that ending was a prick job i was playing mgs while watching this

[@MrGrimlocke]

Lost Judgment was even better than the first game

[@raikoedgymoto]

I will forever be eternally grateful to Judgement for giving me the opportunity to appreciate Crispin Feeeman playing yet ANOTHER short tempered himbo in a suit with the strength of a gorilla -Durarara!! x3 never😢-

[@ED-209UHD]

Finished lost judgement last year, I’m two hours away from finished judgement but funk I might not play the the third instalment because the cinematics drag it down to such a snails pace it hurts! Great games graphically and story but it’s a long drawn out affair!

[@illusma7822]

Im replaying it on legend and will buy LJ next. Judgment was great. Besides tailing missions, one of my gripes was the lack of hype boss battles until the end of the game when we fight the mole. Cane man was alright but he wasn't really that relevant to the story. Hamura was kinda easy, and higashi mostly fought along with his group of thugs. The only other boss fight that felt hype was the one against hamura's big lackey around the ring of fire

[@user-ze1hu9kz8e]

I really wonder if I’m missing something here bc I just played this game and I was absolutely miserable from chapter 1-11… the story was predictable except for moles identity . I just wish I loved it as much as everyone else did 😭😭😭😭😭

[@turboshell]

7:14 hi im the one person who liked the tailing missions they felt cool and made me feel like i was actually doing detective stuff, but i havent replayed the game yet (I just beat it) so i'd imagine it's annoying as hell on replays

[@yourguysheppy]

The bartender minigame in the FOTNS game fucked up my wrists for a week, no game's ever done that before

[@klaus.sfc01official30]

Now that i think about it. There would have been a way that mortal wounds would have been good. You only get them when you fail QTEs because that is literally impossible and when you manage to do that you deserve to get annoying health moment

[@Scuba_Bro]

I hope that someday yagami abs kiryu can beat people up together… at least once

[@mrblack927]

Bro doesn’t know how the s works or the x also fantastic retrospective love these games keep it up

[@Darkcomet222]

What people hated about Judgement: tailing missions What I hated about Judgement: THE KEIHIN GANG IS BACK AGAIN!

[@GoodTato]

peakment

[@CastielMichael88]

Judgment is amazing. Everybody shou;d play it.

[@JacobTheCroc]

Hope Greg Chun sees this video.

[@purehollow4460]

It would have been my favorite RGG game if it wasn't for two things Tailing and chasing Nothing more to say