I played the demo of the Yakuza team’s new game Judge Eyes. I had an extremely good time. I made a video about the experience.
Judge Eyes is set in the same fictional neighbourhood of Tokyo as much of the Yakuza series. Like in a Yakuza game, your protagonist has to punch occasional ornery punks as he traverses from point A to point B. Trailers indicate that you’ll be able to participate in just as many mini-games as in a Yakuza game.
Having played the demo, I can say that it feels definitely different enough in tone to qualify it as a new series.
I’ve noticed there’s a tiny bit of confusion about whether the protagonist of this game is a lawyer or a detective. Well, the actor playing him is Takuya Kimura, who is both a pop star and an actor. So what I’m saying is, of course he’s both a lawyer and a detective. He’s a one-man Law & Order episode.
Since the demo is in Japanese only, I’ve subtitled much of the dialogue. I point out some direct references to Japanese television dramas. I acknowledge the minor coincidence that three of the actors in this game were in the 2004 masterpiece Godzilla: Final Wars.
Judge Eyes feels exactly like a Japanese television drama, which is the kind of game I didn’t know until now that I always wanted. I will absolutely buy the Japanese version of the game when it comes out on December 13.
You know, the first Yakuza was released in Japan on 5 December 2005. I played it over the holiday. Maybe Judge Eyes will be my Christmas game for 2018.
Leave a Reply