Slated to launch this Fall, Lost Judgment offers a brand new case for private detective Takayuki Yagami to solve, following up the fictional crime fighter's debut in 2018's Yakuza spin-off, Judgment. This time around, Yagami will be tasked with investigating the mysterious case of Akihiro Ehara, a man accused of sexual harassment who suddenly becomes linked to a grotesque murder.
Although details on the story are still slim, fans can get an early insight into some of the case's major players via a first look at Lost Judgment's intro cinematic. The clip was published by SEGA's YouTube channel earlier today, offering a moody look at the game's environments and characters as well as an introduction to the sequel's new theme song, Rasen, which is performed by jon-YAKITORY and features Ado.
The cinematic mostly focuses on setting the mood, with atmospheric shots of Kamurocho and Isezaki Ijincho at night amidst heavy rain. Plenty of characters from the original Judgment show up in the introduction, including Masaharu Kaito, Toru Higashi, Fumiya Sugiura, and, of course, Takayuki Yagami himself. The game's array of new cast members also get their moment in the spotlight, with antagonist Akihiro Ehara, leader of the RK group Kazuki Soma, and local handyman turned underworld fixer, Jin Kuwana, all cropping up.
The trailer also briefly heads to the game's high-school setting, which fans already know will be a big part of the sequel. Lost Judgment's announcement revealed it would factor into Yagami's investigation, seeing him become embroiled in school activities such as dancing and remote-controlled robot battles. Although these segments definitely seem to contain a lot of the franchise's more outlandish elements, the intro teases the private detective's visits to the school will have their fair share of darker moments too. The entire cinematic hints at a morbid new story filled with intriguing characters, and luckily, players won't have to wait too long to get their chance to experience it.
The game will launch this September on current and next-generation consoles, offering the first global release in the Yakuza series' history. For those who missed its reveal earlier this year, Lost Judgment will offer plenty of new features, including a combat style known as The Snake, which relies heavily on counters, as well as a fresh batch of zany mini-games. There are also additional layers to exploration this time around, with Yagami able to scale walls, leap across pipes, and execute several other new traversal techniques. The sequel will even implement a skateboard mechanic, which lets Yagami get around Kamurocho and Isezaki Ijincho much faster.
Lost Judgment is heading to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on September 24.