#;; the weapon of justice ;; (mitsuru kuroiwa)

[h-a-unted]

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[keplerinorbit]

Judgment: The Mole

One of the things that the RGG studio as a whole has struggled with is characterizing their “final boss” antagonist. Because their games tend to be structured like mysteries (even the Yakuza titles), they spend most of the game attempting to mislead the player away from the true culprit. But the result ends up being an unusually rushed and shallow characterization, especially compared to how delightfully nuanced the rest of their characters are.

Judgment also has this issue, though it has definitely made more attempts to fix it. So let’s start this discussion by talking about The Mole. Heavy endgame spoilers ahead.

One of the few disappointing things about Judgment’s writing was how The Mole, Kuroiwa Mitsuru, was written.

Kuroiwa is, for lack of a better way to put it, a psycho. He has no clear motivation for committing the atrocities that he does in this game– he is frightening in how utterly cold and sadistic he is. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. After all, the Joker is great villain.

But Judgment is a game that grounds its themes in the idea of “a weapon called justice” (in English, this tagline is the more common saying “justice is blind”). The most dangerous people are those who truly believe they are doing the right, the just, thing. And they can manipulate other people’s greed and ambition, because society is built to protect them and their interests, even when they commit horrific crimes.

Most of the other main antagonists fall into this in some way or other.

Shono: The true believer. He is so absolutely certain of himself and his research that he is willing to commit any atrocity to bring it to life.

Hamura: The loyal “family” man (in the yakuza sense anyway). He will go to any length to give his family legitimacy in the Tojo Clan, something he sees his oyabun as incapable of doing.

Morita: Another true believer. He believes what he is told of Shono’s research, and despite understanding that he is being manipulated because of his past, he still believes that the potential to save so many people is worth the price.

Kido: A man corrupted by greed who can still convince himself that he is doing something just because Shono’s research will revolutionize the world. He is, however, very human– he’s scared of losing his reputation but also scared by Shono and Kuroiwa’s cold determination.

Ichinose: A man who is more concerned for his own place in society than the lives of people in it. Unlike Kido, he is not afraid to wield his power and has little hesitation. Because he doesn’t value other people’s lives, he doesn’t necessarily value the idea of justice, but he is still bound by other people’s ideas of right and wrong. He, like the rest of society, cannot move to further his own goals without purpose, which Shono gives him.

But Kuroiwa...breaks this mold. His crimes aren’t really motivated by any of the main plot events at all– we’re told and he and Hamura were shopping assassination around before they got caught up with AD-9. Unlike Ichinose and Kido, Kuroiwa did not need any form of justification, from himself or the rest of society, to commit terrible crimes.

To his credit, he does say in the very last boss fight that when AD-9 is complete, the world will sing their praises. But fame and glory weren’t planted as strong motivators for his character before that, and don’t really make sense considering his other actions in-game.

( Yagami’s only response to this claim is that he’s insane, which...yeah, at this point he’s openly shot multiple police officers, he’s at the end of his rope. )

This is incredibly odd to me because this is a game themed around the idea of justice and the final villain is a high-ranking police detective. It feels like there should be more to him than “oh he was a psycho all along.” And for a while, it really seemed like there would be– there are a lot of hints that the game never really makes good on.

Both Hamura and Ayabe mention that Kuroiwa was originally brought into the force and mentored by another dirty cop, an informant who was very good at his job.

Ayabe expands on this by telling Yagami how this previous cop died– he committed suicide after someone exposed him. And the officer who exposed him died in an extremely suspicious "suicide” afterwards, hinting that this is where Kuroiwa first began to kill.

These are very strong parallels to Yagami’s own background. Yagami’s own father was killed by someone who believed they were seeking justice by killing the lawyer who set a criminal loose. Just like Kuroiwa’s mentor was forced to end his life by another member of the force who likely thought they were also seeking justice by exposing a dirty cop.

Both Yagami and Kuroiwa continued on to join the same deeply flawed society that killed their mentors– Yagami as a lawyer, and Kuroiwa as a police detective.

Yagami deals with his disillusionment of society by abandoning his law career entirely and becoming a detective in search of the truth. Kuroiwa abandons his “career” as a simple info dealer like Ayabe and becomes an assassin.

On a gameplay level, Kuroiwa and Yagami fight in very similar styles. Actually the action intro into both the first and second Kuroiwa fights have them striking the same pose.

There was so much they could have done here. Yagami doesn’t really have a good foil in this game to challenge his ideals– Kuroiwa could have filled that role so easily. It could even feed into the friends/family narrative, where Yagami was saved because he met Matsugane and Kaito, while Kuroiwa just lost faith completely. They could have explored Yagami’s own ruthlessness after Kuroiwa killed Matsugane.

This is going to be conjecture on my part, but I have a feeling that this might have been a result of cuts to the plot. I can’t really think of a good place to explain any of this during the game, and Judgment’s main plot already necessitated so many characters that it was hard to give every single one enough time.

So this might have been necessary for the pacing of the game, but I am still a little sad that we never got to see any more depth from him.

[scorpzgca]

Take on Japan’s Seedy Underworld as Takayuki Yagami in this Groundbreaking Yakuza Spinoff

Takayuki Yagami’s search for the truth only ends when he says it does. However, your search begins now, because Judgment, the hotly-anticipated detective thriller from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, is now available on PlayStation 4!

Get a quick look at what Judgment has to offer in the new Launch Trailer, available with both English and Japanese voiceover, just like the game itself.

Physical editions of Judgment include a reversible cover featuring the original Japanese cover art for the game, along with a Ryu ga Gotoku Studio sticker. Players who pre-order the digital edition of Judgment will receive a static theme featuring the game’s stalwart protagonist, Takayuki Yagami, as a bonus upon checkout.   About Judgment:   

From the Makers of the Acclaimed Yakuza Series: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios presents Judgment, the dramatic tale of a disgraced lawyer seeking redemption in a world rife with corruption and despair.

Investigate the Seedy Red Light District of Kamurocho: Step into the mind of private detective Takayuki Yagami and utilize innovative investigation systems to uncover the secrets that lie deep within Kamurocho’s corrupt underbelly.

Experience Visceral Combat with Two Unique Combat Styles: Take down groups of thugs with sweeping blows in Crane Style, then switch to Tiger to overwhelm a single foe with a series of powerful strikes. Practice mixing-and-matching styles in combat in conjunction with a wide variety of skills, weapons, and powerful (and hilarious) EX Actions to unlock a whole new dimension in combat.

      Main Cast:   Takayuki Yagami Japanese VO and Facial Capture: Takuya Kimura English VO: Greg Chun   The main protagonist of Judgment. A fiercely idealistic ex-defense lawyer turned private detective. After facing a devastating betrayal by one of his former clients, he became known as a fraud who lets murderers run free, effectively destroying his reputation.   Now he’s caught up in an enigmatic serial murder case and will need to push his investigative skills to their limit to solve it.

Masaharu Kaito Japanese VO: Shinshu Fuji English VO: Crispin Freeman   A former member of the Matsugane family, Kaito was expelled from the family and became an ordinary citizen. He now works as Yagami’s partner and uses his experience and connections with the yakuza to help him solve cases.

Mafuyu Fujii Japanese VO: Risa Shimizu English VO: Cherami Leigh   A fiercely competent prosecutor working for the Tokyo District Prosecutor’s Office. Mafuyu has a long history with Yagami; she continues to check in on him from time to time even after his career-ending incident.

Takashi Genda Japanese VO and Facial Capture: Akira Nakao English VO: Brian McNamara   An old-school lawyer who has taken on the role of overseeing Yagami’s growth since the start of his career.   Even after Yagami’s incident that forced him out of the legal world, Genda still looks after him and helps him find work from time to time.

Kazuya Ayabe Japanese VO and Facial Capture: Kenichi Takito English VO: Matt Yang King   A detective with Tokyo PD’s Organized Crime Division. Ayabe is a crooked cop who withholds information on investigations for his own benefit, but often helps Yagami with his cases – for a price. 

Mitsuru Kuroiwa Japanese VO and Facial Capture: Shosuke Tanihara English VO: Matt Mercer   A detective with the Tokyo PD’s Organized Crime Division, famous for his leadership skills and high successful arrest rate in Kamurocho.   A talented officer who plays by the rules, Kuroiwa sees unknown elements like Yagami as a dangerous nuisance.  

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Date published: 25/06/19

Written by: Joseph Opoku

Source: (1) Sega 

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Justice is Blind – Judgment – Available Now Take on Japan's Seedy Underworld as Takayuki Yagami in this Groundbreaking Yakuza Spinoff Takayuki Yagami's search for the truth only ends when he says it does.