Well I beat Lost Judgement yesterday and total playtime was 75:28: with 88% completion, I think that's damn good
. These are LONG games
Not gonna bother with all skills and all gear trophies, because (as I've mentioned numerous times), I'm not that great at the combat in these games, the Ultimate Battle/Skill/Gauntlet/Whatever you want to call them, I suck HARD at and you need to complete them all to get those trophies, so **** that. Am going to go back and do the girlfriends trophies (I got the DLC yesterday) and get the last record, plus I may just run through Ex-Hard, as there's nothing extra that needs to be unlocked or modified.
My thoughts on Lost Judgement...
An incredible title, easily one of the best in the series, it gripped me from the word go (well, the Kosuke thing was a bit... meh, but I was gripped immediately after that intro!) and I love crime dramas in games (not so much in films, but certain ones pique my interest).
The gameplay is just as good as the original, if not better (I personally deem it to be better), with not only more to do, but more EFFECTIVE ways of doing things and not so much thrown at you that it's ridiculous. The side content with the school was just wonderfully-implemented and another effective way to implement differing gameplay and keep the plot going on different paths than the main story proper. Tons to do, it all works and it adds to the game? Nearly perfect.
Graphics are the same as RGG7, so while still fantastic, there are better-looking games on current (and last, given that PS4 is now last) gen consoles, so not quite a model of perfection here, but still great stuff. Animations are excellent and some wonderful uses of in-game lighting and effects, made things so realistic. This is also the second or third straight game in the series, where I had 0 camera issues throughout the entirety of the game (they happened all the time in earlier titles, but it has never bothered me; just a note to bring up) and the character models, as well as the locations, all look incredibly-detailed like always. A lot more colour was used in this game too, which is highlighted by a comment on the YT video for the game's opening (it was the trailer vid), in that (paraphrasing), "Judge Eyes: We keep it black and white to show you our effects. Lost Judgement: Ah hell, let's just throw in a ton of colours."
Soundtrack isn't bad, per se (no game in the series has bad tunes), but I feel there aren't as many memorable tracks and they did reuse tunes (as I mentioned in the VGM thread, not a bad thing), so perhaps a bit more-effort could be put in here? I have to give the full soundtrack a proper listen this weekend, however, while I download my favourite selections. Voice acting is still absolutely phenomenal; I was moved last night in the final chapter scenes, with just how well everyone did on the Japanese side (I don't play dubbed) and the principal as well (too bad he doesn't make an appearance after chapter 8; his voice actor was tremendous): so much emotion, so much energy, everything was authentic and so well-done. Great use of sfx as well, like always; this and 'mue have some of the most-memorable and iconic sounds in their respective genres, IMO.
Replay is great like always, but it's actually EVEN BETTER, as 75 hours spent on 0 and Hokuto ga Gotoku, netted me 66%, and 68%, respectively, so it falls in-line with its predecessor, Kiwami 2, Kiwami and 6 (7 I platinumed, but that took me 107 hours). TownGo really is the big time sink, as you need to do a lot, but the side stuff actually doesn't take up a ton of time at all and that makes is even more-enjoyable.
Which brings me to the best thing about the game; the story/plot/events/whatever you wish to call it. I'm doubling down on people not liking it as much (for those that do), because they can't relate to the subject matter as much. Regardless of how your background is, this plot is just fantastic and it shows phenomenal characterisation for Yagami, putting the law and what is just (not necessarily morals, as was mentioned on the previous page of posts) above all else, while admitting that indeed things do need be looked at as more than just black and white (which I something I have been preaching for nearly a decade now, to my peers and others IRL). Bullying has been a major issue for decades (as Tsukumo says in the game, it has been around and documented since the, "Caveman days)" and as someone who lived it for a good 5 years of his life (stopped around grade 7 or 12 years old), the message of the plot as a whole, resonated with me to death. The effectiveness in the writing however, as well as how the plot was conveyed through actions and events, was done so perfectly; it's as if the writers were telling all of our (us, who were bullied) stories, of being bullied and how we coped with it. Sadly though, especially in a country with the highest suicide rate in the world, they told a story of how bad things can get, how damaged a human being can be and how hard it is to overcome and be rejuvinated again... and they threw in government involvement as well, which just added extra layers to things, increasing the amount of stakeholders and what was at stake, all without diluting or straying away from the central aesop, that bullying is more-than wrong and that nothing comes from it but heartache, sadness and loss, to the bully-ee (I know, not a word) and those around them.
The game gets an absolute (rounded) 10/10 from me and I will post my thoughts on how it fits with the series on a whole, in the main thread.
I REALLY hope they continue this spinoff series, but perhaps with the issues with Kimutaku's agency, maybe they can spinoff another setting with the old guard? Or perhaps the new? We'll see.
Can't wait to write the review this weekend