Lost Judgment hides an array of surprises and quality-of-life changes inside its case file. It’s not as revolutionary as Yakuza: Like a Dragon, but it isn’t shy to shake the foundation of its predecessor and the series as a whole. We have spent a long time investigating everything you should know during your time with it, from essential skills to the consequences of alcohol. Here’s a list of tips that should provide guidance during your time with Yagami and company in Lost Judgment.
Lost Judgement Tips
1. You Can Get a Closeup of the Cat in the Main Menu
Let’s start with an essential tip: you can move the camera with the right analogue stick in the main menu. But most importantly, while you navigate towards the second half of the menu options, the camera will pan out and focus on the cat. Considering the second half includes the settings menu where you can change between performance and fidelity graphic options, the cat serves as the ideal benchmark.
2. Upgrade at Least One Tier of Battle Bonus
Even if you’re spending time trying to avoid enemies, battles are bound to happen either during street encounters or through the course of missions. It’s best to make the most out of your time fighting gang members (and students?) — and that’s where Battle Bonus becomes vital. This skill adds a bonus to the SP you gain after battle, and the first level only costs 2,500 SP. This means that you can (and should) obtain it as early as possible. You can find it in the Stats tab of the Skills app on your phone.
3. Wall Jump Attacks Aren’t Unlocked Automatically
Yagami can wall jump if you move towards a wall and press the jump button during combat, but wall attacks are not available from the get-go. Unlocking Wall Strike in the Abilities tab of the Skills app on your phone is a must, and it also comes cheap at 600 SP. You can also perform EX Actions while doing this. All in all, it adds a new combat layer that can help in alleyways or whenever you’re getting cornered against a wall to make a quick counter attack — or even just help you reposition yourself. Plus, it’s stylish as fuck.
4. Focus on the Main Story Until Chapter 3
You want to get to at least Chapter 3 in the story for things to start opening up. The first two chapters serve mostly as tutorials, setting the tone and the characters that you’ll be seeing or investigating in the future. While there is exploration to be made in Kamurocho, you won’t be missing anything, and it’s best to advance so you can unlock new features that will become helpful, such as the skateboard. Plus, you can return to Kamurocho from Ijincho at any time.
5. Taxi Waypoints Are Unlocked From the Get-Go
Unlike Yakuza: Like a Dragon, where you had to manually unlock each taxi waypoint, they’re automatically available here. You will have to pay a fee every time you use them, but they can save a lot of time. It’s highly recommended that you get used to the Taxi App on your phone to make fast travel even more seamless. Also, you can take a taxi to head to Kamurocho.
6. The School Is a Great Place to Find Materials
The school is rather barebones, especially the back areas around the buildings that seem to have no actual use outside of side cases. Fortunately, there are usually tons of miscellaneous items to grab, which are often not junk but actual materials for later features in the game. If you’re already going back and forth from point A to B around the school, make a brief detour whenever possible to start stocking up.
7. Pinning Club Locations in the School Is Extremely Useful
Honestly, pinning the location of the club you’re searching for on the map will save up a ton of time. Instead of taking you to the destination on foot (if the spot happens to be on a different floor), it will automatically track the nearest elevator or staircase.
8. Sprint or Ride
You don’t need to hold the sprint button to, well, sprint. If you’re tired of missing out on the latest Twitter discourse thanks to the speed of current gen consoles, this provides an alternative. Feel free to doom scroll on your phone using your other hand. This is useful to know when you have the skateboard, as holding down the sprint button will have Yagami riding it instead.
9. You Should Increase Your Grip Gauge
Link is ab— sorry, Yagami is able to increase his stamina (called Grip Gauge) while climbing. You can upgrade the Grip Gauge in the skills menu up to three levels, with a cost of 1,200, 5,000 and 20,000 SP, respectively. Luckily, there are no lighting bolts to worry about here.
10. Kaito, My Ass Cheeks Keep Alerting the Gangs
During stealth sequences, bumping into environment objects will alert enemies of your presence. Yagami has the tendency to rotate his body first, so you should always make small movements and wait until he is facing the right position. As long as you are crouched, you don’t need to walk slowly as it won’t make a difference sound-wise.
11. When in Doubt, Take a Pause
If you press pause during cutscenes, you’re able to see the conversation log. You can also check on your case file, which allows you to revise evidence, names, and the like. You can even access the conversation log outside of cutscenes by pressing pause (using your phone); just know that the log won’t record the ones that happen on the street.
12. You Can Save Your Game in Yagami’s Master System
While it may seem like just a gimmick, the Master System console in the Yagami Detective Agency is fully playable. You can purchase additional games and play them whenever you need to wind down from the gritty and cruel reality. If you need to bounce, you can save your game. Oh, and there’s also the option to zoom in on the screen.
13. Getting Hit by Cars Leaves a Phantom Pain
Lost Judgment won’t go down to history as the most realistic game of all time, but at least it abides by some rules. Getting hit by cars will damage Yagami — yet this isn’t displayed right away. Keep this in mind before crossing the street.
14. SP Isn’t Just for Skills
Some shops, like Onodera’s Wares, will take SP instead of yen. Always keep an eye on the bottom right corner of the screen to avoid any confusion!
15. Using Your Skateboard Is a Great Way to Avoid Enemy Encounters
Yakuza may have fancy cars, but they can’t handle a skateboard. You can ride past enemies and it won’t trigger a fight (as long as you’re not on the block). They may try and pursue you either way, but just keep on rolling.
16. Being Drunk Makes Skating Borderline Impossible
Don’t drink and drive.
17. You Can Lose Enemies During Fights
If you don’t want to engage in combat but the encounter has triggered already, there’s a solution: get far enough away from enemies and Yagami will eventually return to free roam mode. Of course, you won’t get any rewards by doing so.
18. School Stories Are Great Sources of SP
It won’t take long for you to unlock School Stories in Lost Judgment, and you shouldn’t ignore them. There are 10 storylines that feature everything from unique minigames to special tasks. Most of them will reward you with SP for your troubles, which definitely compensates for the time and effort.
19. You Can Skip the Crafting Animation in the Robotics Club
This may not sound like a big deal, but the Robotics Club is quite complex. You’ll find yourself building several parts for your robots in quick succession, but there is always a cutscene involved. It’s well-crafted and entertaining but takes too long. You can skip the cutscene by pressing the pause button as soon as you select a robot part. This way, you can make your robots better, stronger, and faster.
20. Eating Grants Multiple Benefits
If you look at the top right corner when shopping for food in restaurants, you will sometimes see a bonus (such as Find Materials+ in the School Cafeteria). If you’re not low on yen and find yourself roaming around town, it’s best to purchase a meal instead of using a consumable. You will be healed and may even obtain a cool temporary bonus as a treat. In the skills menu under the Special tab, the skill Lucky Gourmand increases the chances of expanding an eatery’s lucky menu.
21. Always Stop for a Dropped Item
You will immediately notice the difference between regular items and dropped items. The latter are far more shiny and need to be manually picked up rather than just hovered over. The person who has lost it is usually super close, and you will obtain an item for your troubles. These range from materials to Play Pass tickets for Paradise VR.
22. While Listening to Conversations, Don’t Move a Muscle
Conversations can be helpful during investigations, but they are rather annoying in practice. Moving from the area ever so slightly will reset them, and you’ll have to listen to the whole thing again. Bear in mind that this also applies to moving the camera with the right analogue stick, so it’s best to just stand still and just check Twitter until it’s over (unless you want to pay attention to them — to each their own).
23. Invest in These Two Tailing Skills
Tailing may not be your cup of tea, especially considering how long the sections can be. In order to make them less of a hassle, purchasing the Master of Deception and Target Locked skills can go a long way. The first is related to the ability to act casual if you’re spotted, increasing its time. As for the second, targets will emanate a faint glow so that it’s easier to keep an eye on them.
24. Completing the Optional Objectives for Photo Missions Is Worth It
You will get additional SP for completing optional objectives during Photo Missions. Don’t worry if you fail once, as Yagami will ask himself whether or not to retake the shot for a better one.
25. You Need an Extract to Use Heavy Weapons Like Motorcycles
Yagami is a strong character, but he definitely trades off brute force for agile movements. This prevents him from grabbing objects such as motorcycles, at least without the right item. After you have unlocked Extracts in Chapter 3 (completing Extracting the Past side case is required, which is available by following the main story), you’ll be able to either craft or purchase the Super Strength Extract, which addresses this for a limited time.
26. Don’t Worry About Skateboard Points Until You Unlock Races
Skateboard races are streamlined and short enough. They can provide a huge amount of points, which can be exchanged for prizes in the Skateboard Shop. Plus, replaying races will grant you points either way, so you can just farm the first course if you need to restock fast for a purchase. The only downside is that you have to finish in first place to claim them, so there is a risk and reward element.
