Entertainment

Games: Takayuki Yagami is back in Yakuza sequel Lost Judgment

Takayuki Yagami is quickly drawn into a world of school bullying, suicide and corruption
Takayuki Yagami is quickly drawn into a world of school bullying, suicide and corruption Takayuki Yagami is quickly drawn into a world of school bullying, suicide and corruption

Lost Judgment (Multi)

By: Sega

DESPITE what American telly teaches us, solicitors aren't the sexiest bunch, their days filled with petty claims, conveyance and contrite winos. Not so for Takayuki Yagami – the private dick who's good with a kick.

The lawyer-cum-detective put so much ruckus into justice that his maiden adventure in 2018's Judgment became a worldwide hit, encouraging Sega to make this week's sequel the first same-day global release for the oh-so-Japanese Yakuza series.

Gamers have been plodding the streets of Kamurocho for 16 years now, but it was only with Judgment that the focus moved from warring Yakuza gangs to the legal shenanigans of Yagami. And his second job is a doozy.

Investigating the case of a murderer with the perfect alibi – he was filmed groping a woman on the subway at the same time – our hero is quickly drawn into a world of school bullying, suicide and corruption.

The entire city of Yokohama from Like a Dragon returns, and though fans have had a bellyful of this place from last year's Yakuza, they can now roam its seedier side as a private eye.

Our Far Eastern flatfoot once again focuses on gathering evidence and trailing suspects, all the while kicking heads with a beefy combat system that brings back the button-mashing street brawls absent from the most recent Yakuza game.

On top of Yagami's usual arsenal of drones and dodgy disguises, our leather-clad hero can now use listening devices, employ a crime-fighting mutt and Tony Hawk it around town on his skateboard.

Yokohama is up to its craw in crime and bustling with activity, with mini-games and side stories galore. The urban hubbub is stuffed with distractions, from gambling and mini-golf to darts and drone racing. And then there are the arcades, all fabulously appointed with new and returning Sega fodder such as Virtua Fighter 5 and Sonic The Fighters. There's even a Master System in your office to play retro classics.

Ironically, Lost Judgment's biggest weakness is that, tonally, it's not very well judged, flitting from heavy topics like suicide and sexual assault to Yakuza's trademark goofy slapstick. The series has always walked a fine line between serious and wacky, but doing so with such dark material seems wildly insensitive.

Much of your time as the near- 40-year-old Yagami is spent hanging around a Japanese high school, slapping kids about and putting teen dancers through their paces. A middle-aged man's fever dream, but all a bit hard to swallow.

If you can suspend disbelief, though, there's a generous helping of classic Yakuza to lose yourself in here, and fans will be left panting for more. But with legal wrangles over the rights to main actor Takuya Kimura's likeness, Lost Judgment could well be the last Judgment.