History YMMV / Judgment

!! YMMV: [[YMMV/{{Yakuza}} All Games]] | ''YMMV/Yakuza1'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza2'' | ''YMMV/RyuGaGotokuKenzan'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza3'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza4'' | ''YMMV/YakuzaDeadSouls'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza5'' | ''YMMV/LikeADragonIshin'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza0'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza6'' | ''YMMV/YakuzaLikeADragon'' | ''Judgment'' | ''YMMV/LostJudgment''

* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: Gamers rushed to buy the game after Sega halted Japanese sales when Pierre Taki (the original model and voice actor for Kyohei Hamura) was arrested. This resulted in ''[[https://gematsu.com/2019/03/judgment-sold-through-about-97-percent-of-stock-reports-of-sequels-inaccurate 97% of its worldwide stock]]'' being sold, and the first edition becoming a collector's item after Sega decided to remove Taki's likeness and voice from later editions of the game. The PC port has a mod that restores Taki's character model for Hamura if you want him back in it without having to buy the original [=PS4=] version.

* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: Gamers rushed to buy the game after Sega halted Japanese sales when Pierre Taki (the original model and voice actor for Kyohei Hamura) was arrested. This resulted in ''[[https://gematsu.com/2019/03/judgment-sold-through-about-97-percent-of-stock-reports-of-sequels-inaccurate 97% of its worldwide stock]]'' being sold, and the first edition becoming a collector's item after Sega decided to remove Taki's likeness and voice from later editions of the game.

** [[GoldfishPoopGang The Keihin Gang]]. While on paper it's a decent attempt at replicating the Mr. Shakedown and Majima Everywhere system from previous games, it sadly happens very frequently to the point of being annoying and whenever your hear yourself get a message, you'll likely be dreading that it's from Kim-san. The way of ending it is also long and tedious; you have find the members of the Keihin Four you've met up to that point and beat them in a fight (including Koga, who's a ''major'' [[ThatOneBoss pain in the ass]] to deal with) and even ''then'' it won't end, with all it accomplishing being decreasing the Threat Rate a bit more than beating {{Mooks}} and making sure you don't get a WhatTheHellHero from Kim when he texts to say they're gone.

* PolishedPort: ''Judgment: Remastered'', an UpdatedRerelease for Ninth Generation Consoles, can run at 60 fps, scales up to 4K, fast loading times, and all of the downloadable content is packaged in for a budget price compared to the original release. This makes it far more playable and overall better value for the price point over the previous generation's version while tackling some of the worst framerate issues altogether. The only possible caveat is the change in how the game treats its lighting, which is a matter of personal taste.

** Blackjack doesn't randomize the seeds related to card shuffling until after a set amount of plays. This allows you to win thousands of chips using the same sequence of blackjack plays in an hour if you're willing to do some save reloading for the right opening hand. This was so broken that it was removed in the Playstation 5 Remaster.

** The final two fights against the Cane Man. For the semi-final one, he'll be wielding a shotgun for the entire fight. Because guns in this game are ''far'' more dangerous here than they ever were previously, thanks to [[ScrappyMechanic Mortal Wounds]], every attack of his will results in a chunk of Yagami's health bar being permanently removed (unless you're carrying medical kits). This results in an exercise in patience as you try to whittle down his health little by little without him taking a massive chunk of your own. His final phase (just before reaching Hamura), while he no longer has the gun, can still be infuriating since it starts out in the dark (Yagami can't run in the dark and he's slowed to a crawl, ergo he can't use his Wall Strikes or Leapfrog techniques) and he'll go for a Deadly Attack immediately after the fight begins. The game also doesn't bother telling you to hit the light switch on the floor before starting the fight, which makes the task of avoiding his strikes much easier. Good luck trying not to pull your hair out against this guy, in case you didn't already with the [[VideoGame/Yakuza2 Man in Black.]]

* SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced: For years, fans have been clamoring that ''Judgment'' be ported over to PC, especially in the wake of the other ''Yakuza'' games having received ports in the past but were aware of long-standing rumors that ExecutiveMeddling enacted by Takuya Kimura's agency was likely to blame for a lack of one.[[note]]Said agency (Johnny & Associates) was known for being very restrictive with regards to ''any'' media appearances of their talent, and were likely worried of how a PC port would likely lead to mods that directly impacted Kimura's own.[[/note]] Consider it then a very welcome surprise when it was not only revealed during the RGG Summit event in September 2022 that both this game and its sequel would receive a PC port, but both would be released ''that very same day''.

* PolishedPort: While one can debate whether the altered lighting in the UsefulNotes/Playstation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesX port affects the game's general mood, the fact of the matter is that it runs at 60 frames per second, scales up to 4K resolution, has loading times that last a couple seconds at most, and has all of the downloadable content packaged in for a budget price compared to the original release. This makes it far more playable and overall better value for the price point over the previous generation's version while tackling some of the worst framerate issues altogether,

** The Mortal Wound mechanic makes firearms a legitimate threat, as they limit how much maximum health Yagami has if they connect, and to make matters worse, bosses, [[TurnsRed once they gain a HEAT aura]], become capable of performing Deadly Attacks that are also capable of inflicting Mortal Wounds. Their damage output also raises ''substantially'' in general, with street bosses being capable of [[OneHitKill destroying your health in practically one fell swoop]] with certain attacks and counters, and even story bosses have similarly absurd damage outputs. This is amplified by the lack of equipable weapons in the game which prevents Yagami from taking cheap shots using something like a gun.[[note]] Though with [[BribingYourWayToVictory DLC]] (all of which is free in the remaster) and/or some sleuthing, you can find equally cheesy stuff like the Instant Kill or Lightning Extracts to turn the tides in your favor. [[/note]]. The [[VideoGame/LostJudgment sequel]] removes the Mortal Wound mechanic mechanic altogether. Deadly Attacks will still deal a crap ton of damage, but they can now be countered by dodging at the last second and then hitting the grab command.
** Your EX Gauge fills up painfully slowly at first, limiting your access to EX Actions, and you can't unlock the ability to increase the charge rate until you're about halfway through the game.
** The game lacks the Pharmacy of the Yakuza series, so Yagami is unable to access the much more potent consumable items sold there, leaving you with only basic healing and heat restoration items. You also have a much more limited inventory, only able to carry a maximum of 6 each Toughness Z, Tauriner, and Staminan X after inventory upgrades. Other, more potent healing items like Staminan Royale or Toughness Infinity are also unavailable as a result, too.

** The final two fights against the Cane Man. For the semi-final one, he'll be wielding a shot gun for the entire fight. Because guns in this game are ''far'' more dangerous here than they ever were previously thanks to [[ScrappyMechanic Mortal Wounds]], every attack of his will result in a chunk of Yagami's health bar being permanently removed (unless you're carrying medical kits). This results in an exercise in patience as you try to whittle down his health little by little without him taking a massive chunk of your own. His final phase (just before reaching Hamura), while he no longer has the gun, can still be infuriating since it starts out in the dark (Yagami can't run in the dark and he's slowed to a crawl, ergo he can't use his Wall Strikes or Leapfrog techniques) and he'll go for a Deadly Attack immediately after the fight begins. The game also doesn't bother telling you to hit the light switch on the floor before starting the fight, which makes the task of avoiding his strikes much easier. Good luck trying not to pull your hair out against this guy, in case you didn't already with the [[VideoGame/Yakuza2 Man in Black.]]

* PolishedPort: While one can debate whether the altered lighting in the UsefulNotes/Playstation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesX port affects the game's general mood, the fact of the matter is that it runs at 60 frames per second, scales up to 4K resolution, has loading times that last a couple seconds at most, and has all of the downloadable content packaged in for a budget price compared to the original release. This makes it far more playable and overall better value for the price point over the previous generation's version while tackling some of the worst framerate issues altogether, especially with no PC port announced yet.

* SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced: For years, fans have been clamoring that ''Judgment'' be ported over to PC, especially in the wake of the other ''Yakuza'' games having received ports in the past but were aware of long-standing rumors that ExecutiveMeddling enacted by Takuya Kimura's agency was likely to blame for a lack of one. Consider it then a very welcome surprise when it was not only revealed during the RGG Summit event in September 2022 that both this game and its sequel would receive a PC port, but both would be released ''that very same day''.

* AndTheFandomRejoiced: For years, fans have been clamoring that ''Judgment'' be ported over to PC, especially in the wake of the other ''Yakuza'' games having received ports in the past but were aware of long-standing rumors that ExecutiveMeddling enacted by Takuya Kimura's agency was likely to blame for a lack of one. Consider it then a very welcome surprise when it was not only revealed during the RGG Summit event in September 2022 that both this game and its sequel would receive a PC port, but both would be released ''that very same day''.

!! YMMV: [[YMMV/{{Yakuza}} All Games]] | ''YMMV/Yakuza1'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza2'' | ''YMMV/RyuGaGotokuKenzan'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza3'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza4'' | ''YMMV/YakuzaDeadSouls'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza5'' | ''YMMV/RyuGaGotokuIshin'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza0'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza6'' | ''YMMV/YakuzaLikeADragon'' | ''Judgment'' | ''YMMV/LostJudgment''

** Blackjack doesn't randomize the seeds related to card shuffling until after a set amount of plays. This allows you to win thousands of chips using the same sequence of blackjack plays in an hour if you're willing to do some save reloading for the right opening hand.

*** Ass Catchem. In case the name wasn't an obvious enough ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' reference (or possibly a ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters King of Fighters]]'' reference since another [[SarcasmMode "affectionate"]] nickname for [[{{Bishonen}} Ash]] [[BaseBreakingCharacter Crimson]] from the ''KOF'' community is 'Ass Crimson'), there's the fact that he's a track star that, like the Panty Professor mentioned above, gets off on groping women and becomes more powerful in doing so. Take your pick on what's funnier - the fact that Yagami has to chase after him or the fact that he ends up mistaking one of your clients' [[DudeLooksLikeALady twin brother]] for a woman.

** Saori. Whether it's her [[UnkemptBeauty good]] [[BlindingBangs looks]], her [[BrutalHonesty no-nonsense personality]] and friendship with Mafuyu, the CallBack to ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' and ''[[VideoGame/Yakuza2 Kiwami 2]]'' in the form of being able to customize her looks for yourself like the Platinum Hostesses, as well as being the closest we'll get ''to'' a playable hostess, it's safe to say that she's definitely going to be a mainstay in the series for the foreseeable future.

* BrokenBase: There's a lot of discourse online about whether or not the [=PlayStation=] 5 and Xbox Series X/S Remasters actually look good. Half of the opposition says the remaster is unnecessary (for the PS5 at least) and that it ruined and spits on the game's stylistic and unique noir look with its washed out and dull color pallet, while the other half prefers the new color palette.

** One of Yagami's first lines in the game prior to his title card is, "I'm no Saint". Cut to 2022 and he (or rather his [[Creator/GregChun English VA]]), in fact, [[VideoGame/SaintsRow2022 a (3rd Street) Saint]].

* UncannyValley: Ishimatsu isn't modeled after his voice actor and, as is mentioned on his character page, he has many features that make him look inhuman.

** [[spoiler:[[DetectiveMole Mitsuru Kuroiwa]] is an assassin masquerading as a SerialKiller who leaves his victims with their eyes gouged out. Initially a [[DirtyCop police informant]] for the {{Yakuza}}, Kuroiwa was eventually hired by Kaoru Ichinose to serve as the chief enforcer for AD-9, a drug development project intended to cure Alzheimer's disease. Alongside his Yakuza partner Kyohei Hamura, Kuroiwa would procure unwilling test subjects to be lethally experimented on before gouging out their eyes to hide any possible evidence of experimentation, performing a similar process on an attorney before planting his body in [[PlayerCharacter Takayuki Yagami]]'s office to frame him and his allies when they got closer to the truth. Kuroiwa later tries to assassinate Hamura in the likelihood that he would snitch, beats Yagami's allies within an inch of their lives, and tries to kill Yagami himself by attempting to gouge out his eyes. Once exposed, Kuroiwa abducts AD-9's lead researcher in hopes of continuing the project, vowing to procure as many subjects as it takes under the delusion that the world would hail him as a hero for holding the cure to Alzheimer's.]]

* BrokenBase: There's a lot of discourse online about whether or not the [=PlayStation=] 5 Remaster actually looks good. Half of the opposition says, the remaster is unnecessary and that it ruined and that it spits on the game's stylistic and unique noir look, with its washed out and dull color pallet, while the other half prefers the new color palette.

%%** Putting ''Judgment'' in a nutshell, the entire game revolves around a [[spoiler:theoretical]] cure for Alzheimer's that, as it turns out, [[spoiler:didn't exactly [[AllForNothing come to fruition]]]]. Just two years after the game's events and [[https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2050101/ wouldn't you know...]]

%% * SerialNumbersFiledOff: Fans of Takuya Kimura's TV show ''Hero'' can more or less pretend this game is an adaptation of it with ease.

** [[spoiler:While Kuroiwa has been acclaimed by players for being a genuinely terrifying and effective antagonist, he's been criticised for being a relatively one-dimensional villain. One major grievance that some have is that he doesn't show up all that much prior to TheReveal that he is the Mole, not to mention the fact that we don't know much of his backstory other than that he was a BastardUnderstudy to a DirtyCop.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: In Chapter 12, Higashi is ForcedToWatch Kaito be brutally pummeled and asks him to wake up while Kuroiwa is staring down at them holding a bloodied baton. [[VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII Sounds familiar?]] [[spoiler:The only difference is Kuroiwa was asked by his teammate to refrain himself from bludgeoning him to death while Abby actually did kill Joel.]]

* MorePopularSpinoff: The ''Judgment'' games are widely considered by fans to be the best spin-offs in the ''Yakuza'' series and critics prove it too, with both titles genuinely in contention for the best in franchise history, all thanks to a combination of various factors, like a more grounded and mature storyline which still allows for the more absurd off-the-wall humor ''Yakuza'' is known for in its side stories, possessing [[SuperlativeDubbing a dub which ranks very highly]] among localized Japanese games to the point mainline games started getting dubs from ''Like A Dragon'' onwards, and an overall refinement of the Dragon Engine combat seen from ''Yakuza 6'' by re-implementing the StanceSystem mechanic seen from fellow fan-favorite ''Yakuza 0'' to great effect in order to create possibly the best active combat system within ''Yakuza'' as a whole.

* MorePopularSpinoff: The ''Judgment'' line of games (''Judgment'' and ''Lost Judgment'') are widely considered by fans to be the best spin-off in ''Yakuza'' series and critics prove it too, and even surpassing the normal Yakuza series, and considering its more versatile and flexible combat, and how gripping and more mature and grounded in reality the story and characters are, it's not hard to see why.

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Shinitani is TheScrappy for his GreenEyedMonster tendencies and thug-like attitude, but his worst crime is being an AmoralAttorney willing to get a clearly shady Yakuza like Hamura off and generally being a {{Jerkass}}. Compare that to the [[EvilIsCool much more popular]] [[SerialKiller Mole]], [[spoiler: [[KillerCop Mitsuru Kuroiwa]]]], who's an active mass murderer who [[spoiler: kills one of Yagami's father figures and goes on a killing spree before the FinalBoss fight against him.]]

* TheScrappy:
** Shintani, due to being an AmoralAttorney who acts more like a yakuza grunt than an actual lawyer. His EstablishingCharacterMoment in the beginning on top of his interactions with Yagami really don't do him any favors, either. [[spoiler:Ah, yes, and then there's the boneheaded decision of him [[TooDumbToLive calling the ADDC]] which got him killed for his troubles by TheConspiracy. [[SarcasmMode Nice going, Shintani.]]]]
** If you're not a fan of the [[ScrappyMechanic Keihin Gang system]], you will despise Kim Won-soon for constantly messaging Yagami to notify him about the Keihin Gang.

* TheScrappy: Shintani, due to being an AmoralAttorney who acts more like a yakuza grunt than an actual lawyer. His EstablishingCharacterMoment in the beginning on top of his interactions with Yagami really don't do him any favors, either. [[spoiler:Ah, yes, and then there's the boneheaded decision of him [[WhatAnIdiot calling the ADDC]] which got him killed for his troubles by TheConspiracy. [[SarcasmMode Nice going, Shintani.]]]]