This article is part of a directory: Lost Judgment: Complete Guide & Walkthrough
Table of contents

Lost Judgment picks up after the events of the original with the main character, Yagami, making a better way for himself as a detective. After a quick case involving a cheating boyfriend, Yagami and his partner are summoned to Yokohama. It’s here where they get entangled with what seems like an ordinary case of teenage bullying.

RELATED: Lost Judgment: Complete Guide & Walkthrough

It soon turns into a tangled web of deception and murder. Players don’t need to finish the original game, Judgment​​​​​​, to figure out what’s going on in the sequel, but doing so will certainly help fill in character motivations. For those that did miss the first game, or for those that are just a bit rusty, here are some quick pointers and other things to note before jumping into the long game that is Lost Judgment.

6 How Difficulty Works

Fighting enemies in Lost Judgment

The difficulty settings fall in line with the previous game and most entries in the overall series. Players can choose their settings from super easy to brutally hard in the startup menu. They can change them anytime they want in the options afterward. This allows people to fully customize and tweak their experience on the fly.

If players go on the two easiest difficulties, an accessible option pops up called Action Assist. Turning this on has Yagami automatically using EX moves. This is nice for people who don’t want to think about combat that much. However, it is recommended to turn this off. The game doesn’t consider the best times to use these skills. For example, it would feel like a waste if an EX ability was used on a random thug with little HP rather than a boss.

5 Don’t Spend Too Much Time In Kamurocho

Yagami from Lost Judgment

Kamurocho is a classic location in this series. That’s primarily where the first Judgment took place. Like in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Lost Judgment heads to Yokohama as well. This is the new home base which will unlock after the first hour or so in the story.

RELATED: Detective Games To Play If You Loved Lost Judgment

While players can go back to Kamurocho, most of the best quests and items are in Yokohama. It is recommended not to spend too much time in the early game exploring Kamurocho. Stick to the story missions and get to Yokohama as fast as possible. Doing so will open up Lost Judgment to its true potential quicker.

4 Stay On Top Of Saving

Fighting enemies in Lost Judgment

Lost Judgment does a decent job of autosaving after traveling places and major events in the story. Like autosaves in most games, this one isn't perfect. Thankfully, the game allows players to save anywhere and at any time with only a few exceptions.

If players enter into an enemy HQ, for example, manual saving will be disabled. Before getting close to any location marked by the red dot on the map, make sure to save beforehand. It may seem tedious to constantly do this but players will often not be aware of when the game will transport them into a big dungeon as it were. It’s always good in general to have backup files.

3 Skills To Unlock First

Fighting enemies in Lost Judgment

Yagami will begin the game with quite a few points to spend on stats and skills in the options menu. After a few mandatory fights at the beginning of Lost Judgment, these points will stack even more. It’s best to leave this menu alone until players get to Yokohama. After that point, health should be prioritized first.

The more health Yagami has, the longer he can stand in battle. It is RPG basics 101. After that, unlock the Wall Strike and Leap Frog Strike skills. These will give Yagami some extra moves in battle which come in handy almost 100% of the time. Conscious Eater is another great skill to unlock early on to improve Yagami’s eating habits which then leads to quicker HP regeneration. Those are the priorities and anything after that is up to the player.

2 Money And Item Tips

The item menu from Lost Judgment

In Lost Judgment, money is not as rare a commodity as it was in the first game. It’s much easier to rack up dough fast in Lost Judgment. However, that doesn’t mean players should so spend their money with wanton abandon.

Don’t buy disposable weapon items. Most battle situations will give Yagami plenty of things in the environment to use instead like bikes or chairs. Equipment to boost stats are the best things to buy instead.

RELATED: Unresolved Mysteries & Plot Holes Left Hanging In Judgment

Healing items are plentifully distributed throughout the cities players will frequent. If the potion supply gets depleted, it’s always a good idea to have a few backups but don’t overstock anything. Finally, it’s a good idea to set up standard healing items in the Quick Item menu in the options. This will save scrolling time while in battle.

1 Choices Don’t Mean Anything

Yagami and Kaito from Lost Judgment

The first game presented players with opportunities to make choices during investigations. No matter what difficulty mode players chose, these choices didn’t have consequences that could end in a Game Over screen. Even when Yagami had to prevent evidence in a case to move the game forward, he would get as many chances as needed.

This broke the allusion of Judgment but there were positives to this. It meant players wouldn’t get punished if they weren’t paying attention to clues or just couldn’t figure something out. This is true for Lost Judgment as well. It’s recommended to pay attention to the story as it is one of the best things about the game. Just don’t stress over choices as they mean nothing.

Lost Judgment was released on September 24, 2021 and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

MORE: Yakuza: Like A Dragon VS Final Fantasy VII Remake: What Is 2020’s Better RPG