Judgment (video game)

Judgment
Developer(s)Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Koji Yoshida
Producer(s)Daisuke Sato
Mitsuhiro Shimano
Designer(s)Masao Shirosaki
Programmer(s)Yutaka Ito
Artist(s)Naoki Someya
Writer(s)
Composer(s)
SeriesYakuza
EngineUnity (Pinball Palor minigame)
Platform(s)
ReleasePlayStation 4
  • JP: December 13, 2018
  • WW: June 25, 2019
PS5, Stadia, XSX/S
  • WW: April 23, 2021
Luna
  • US: December 16, 2021
Windows
  • WW: September 14, 2022
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Judgment[a] is an action-adventure video game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega. A spin-off to the Yakuza series, it was released for the PlayStation 4 in December 2018 in Japan and June 2019, worldwide. A remastered version of the game, with the subtitle Remastered[b] in Japan and Asia, was released for the PlayStation 5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X and Series S in April 2021. A port for Amazon Luna was made available on December 16, 2021. A Windows port was released on 14 September 2022 through Steam.[1] Judgment follows lawyer-turned-detective Takayuki Yagami and his allies as they explore a case involving corpses whose eyes have been removed. The player controls Yagami in the fictional Tokyo district of Kamurocho, where he fights thugs and yakuza while carrying out missions involving chasing, stealth, and searching for clues.

The game began its initial development in 2015 under the codename Project Judge. The game originated from Sega's desire to create a new IP with Toshihiro Nagoshi serving as the writer. Nagoshi wanted to write a new type of story with a detective working on a case that contrasted with Nagoshi's previous work in the Kiryu-era Like A Dragon games. As a result, the developers designed the game to be accessible to detective-game newcomers. Singer and actor Takuya Kimura, who provided both facial features and Japanese voice acting, was cast to play Yagami. Due to popular demand, the game includes an English voice-over dub as well as subtitles in several additional languages. The Japanese rock band Alexandros produced two songs for the game.

Judgment was withdrawn from the Japanese market in March 2019 following the arrest of Pierre Taki, one of the game's actors, for suspected cocaine use. While localizing the game for international markets, Taki's likeness was removed and his voice acting performance and likeness was replaced by actor Miou Tanaka.[2]

Judgment received a generally positive response from critics. Many praised the game's plot, side content and combat but criticized the simplicity of its investigation mechanics. Judgment was a commercial success, topping one million and earned recognition as one of the best video games released in 2019. The remaster was praised for improving the game's frame rate and visuals. A sequel, Lost Judgment released on September 24, 2021.


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  1. ^ Velde, Issy van der (September 14, 2022). "Judgment And Lost Judgment Available On PC Today". TheGamer. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  2. ^ Robertson, Joshua (September 24, 2022). "Judgment Mod Replaces Hamura's Face With Original Actor". TheGamer. Retrieved February 12, 2024.