The Yakuza series is much beloved by its fans for fun gameplay and a tone that is both irreverently goofy and dramatically serious. While Yakuza: Like a Dragon had a serious main story, many of its substories are comedic in tone.
Just as famous is the gameplay of Yakuza, which carried over to the spinoff title Judgment. Now Judgment is getting a sequel entitled Lost Judgement which will pick up the action mystery tale where it left off. A recent announcement about Lost Judgment's gameplay reveals important info not just about the upcoming game, but all future Yakuza titles.
Ryu ga Gotoku Studios, the team behind the Yakuza series and Judgment, announced that Lost Judgment will retain the classic Yakuza action beat-em-up style gameplay. Not counting some details leaked on the PlayStation Store and what was shown in the reveal trailer, this is one of the solid known details about the game. However, while Lost Judgment will be retaining Yakuza style gameplay, the Yakuza series will not. Yakuza: Like a Dragon experimented with an RPG style and according to the developer, that will be the gameplay style for new Yakuza games going forward. No longer action based, future Yakuza titles should be expected to be RPGs.
This does not mean that Yakuza style combat is going away forever. Last Judgment will carry the torch and, hopefully, carry it into sequels with the same gameplay. Of course, Last Judgment will hopefully also iron out some of the kinks that Judgement needed to correct in its PS5 transition. Ultimately the fate of traditional, brawling Yakuza style gameplay may well depend on how well Last Judgment does in sales and reviews. Yakuza: Like a Dragon has already proved the success of the RPG style, so expecting it for many future Yakuza titles before further change is probably a safe bet.
For fans of Judgment, this is likely great news, as it means players missing classic Yakuza gameplay will have no choice but to give the series a try. Hopefully either Last Judgment or sequels will resolve lingering mysteries from the first game and build an impressive franchise on its own.
On top of that, it should be noted that not all of the draw for Yakuza was even in combat in the first place. With so many side missions and insane mini-games, there's plenty to do even if combat isn't the selling point. With Yagami in a new city in Last Judgement, there will likely be a lot more to do there as well.
Judgment Remastered is available now on PS5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X.