Judgment, a spinoff of the Yakuza games, puts players in the role of Takayuki Yagami, a private detective in Kamurocho, Tokyo. In the fictional Japanese city, Yagami was once a defense lawyer for the Genda Law Office. That changed abruptly when Yagami was tasked with defending an alleged serial killer. Yagami, convinced the man was innocent, successfully got the defendant acquitted. When the man killed a woman after he was released, Yagami’s reputation was tarnished, and he was forced to resign. Yagami quickly established the Yagami Detective Agency with his friend Kaito after the serial killer scandal. Yagami and Kaito take on various cases around Kamurocho, a lot of which come from the Genda Law Office. Working with his old boss, Yagami is known as an efficient private investigator in the city. During investigations, players will often run into different kinds of enemies, whether they are thugs on the street or Yakuza bosses.
Yakuza fans are likely familiar with the concept of fighting styles from previous games. Kazuma Kiryu, the protagonist of most of the Yakuza games, utilizes four fighting styles: brawler, rush, beast, and dragon. These fighting styles allow players to switch between different types of attacks depending on the enemy. In Judgment, the fighting styles are a bit different, and there are only two: crane and tiger. Here's how to use the two fighting styles effectively in Judgment.
How to Use Fighting Styles in Judgment (Tips & Strategies)
In Judgment, basic maneuvers such as blocking, countering, grabbing, and quickstepping are handled the same as in other Yakuza games (with the exception of the turn-based RPG battles in Yakuza: Like A Dragon). However, Yagami’s fighting styles are handled differently from Kiryu’s styles. While Kiryu’s styles are more oriented toward boxing and wrestling, Yagami’s fighting styles feature more martial arts such as Kung Fu and Wing Chun. Even though Yagami only has two styles compared to Kiryu’s four, Yagami has plenty of variation between the two styles to effectively take down enemies in Judgment.
The first style, crane style, is indicated by a blue hue around the player. The crane style is recommended for fighting groups of enemies, although it is not required for group fights. The combos in crane style have faster attack speeds and a generally smaller range of motion. This means players can quickly attack enemies back-to-back with their combos to do damage to multiple enemies quickly. However, the crane style does not give players the ability to break through enemy guards.
The second style, tiger style, is more apt for fighting single, powerful enemies such as bosses. Attacks in this style hit harder, but also slower. Attack speed is lessened in exchange for more powerful attacks and a wider range of motion. Multiple enemies can be hit during one strike in tiger style, which is more difficult to do in crane style. Most importantly, the tiger style allows players to break through enemy guards. This is especially useful with bosses, who often have a hardened defense. Although each style is suited to specific situations, it is up to players to decide which style to use and when in Judgment. It looks like the Yakuza main series is shifting toward turn-based combat, so it's a great idea to learn how to fight in Judgment before its sequel, Lost Judgment, releases in September 2021.
Judgment is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and Stadia.