Last week, Sega finally announced Lost Judgment, the second installment in the Yakuza spin-off series Judgment. What originally started as a spin-off title set in Yakuza's dark and dirty streets of Kamurocho has now grown into its own sub-series, and Sega is going big for the sequel.
The Yakuza series first started to get the western market's attention with the English release of Yakuza 0 in 2017. However, it wasn't until 2020's Yakuza: Like a Dragon that Sega started to heavily push the series in western territories, with the next-gen version of the game even launching as an Xbox Series X/S timed exclusive. It seems that Sega has spent the past few years growing Yakuza and Judgment's western following, and it's now culminated in many major changes approaching the release of Lost Judgment, changes that could have major implications on the next mainline Yakuza title as well.
Simultaneous Worldwide Release
For western fans, one of the most exciting pieces of news for Lost Judgment is that it will be the first entry in the Yakuza/Judgment series' to launch in Japan and western territories on the very same day. With previous entries, fans have had to wait upwards of three years for games like Yakuza 5 to release in English-speaking territories. While that gap has narrowed in recent years, like Yakuza: Like a Dragon's English release coming 10 months after its Japanese launch, past entries had much longer of a wait for localization. Gone are the days of fans having to avoid spoilers for months to years before they can get their hands on the games themselves.
The original Judgment was also noteworthy for reintroducing English dubs to the Yakuza/Judgment games, which later resulted in Yakuza: Like a Dragon including one. Now, with the trailer for Lost Judgment, we have learned that these options are now a series mainstay, making the franchise even more accessible to worldwide audiences. All of this being ready for a worldwide launch on September 24 means that Sega is putting more localization work than ever into this title.
Not only will the game release worldwide on the same day, but it will also release across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, not only making it the franchise's first worldwide multi-platform release, but also it's first worldwide cross-generation release. While western fans across PlayStation and Xbox got to enjoy Yakuza: Like a Dragon at launch, its next-generation version was only available on Xbox Series X/S until March 2021, meaning PlayStation fans could only play the game on the PlayStation 4 (or through PS5 backwards compatibility) at launch.
While some may be disappointed that it is not launching as a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S exclusive title, it's a smart move from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio to not abandon PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players just yet. The studio has spent an entire generation building a huge fanbase across these platforms.
A Stronger Yakuza 8
Another method in which Yakuza 8 will likely benefit from Lost Judgment's release is through the game's focus on Kamurocho and Yokohama. Kamurocho has been a series mainstay since the very first Yakuza title, proving to be as essential (if not moreso) than its action-brawler combat system and protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. Returning to Kamurocho as Yagami is a breath of fresh air given Like a Dragon's emphasis on Yokohama. However, it seems that location will play a major role in Lost Judgment, with footage showcasing Yagami spending a significant amount of time there in the sequel.
While Yokohama was already an incredible location in Like a Dragon, this emphasis on fleshing it out through Yagami's eyes could lead to Yakuza 8's depiction of the Japanese city being even more detailed than seen before. It could also lead to Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio taking the time to build upon the map from both games and create some entirely new locations, including possibly creating a whole new setting for Ichiban and the gang to explore.
Sega recently confirmed that Judgment will continue the beat 'em up combat system of the Yakuza series, while the mainline Yakuza series will focus on the turn-based RPG combat introduced in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. This means that the team is likely already well at work fleshing out Like a Dragon's gameplay mechanics to build an even tighter version in Yakuza 8. With Yakuza being an annualized series, even fans who aren't fond of Judgment's action-based combat will likely not have to wait long until the next mainline entry in the Yakuza series.
Lost Judgment will release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on September 24, 2021.