Sega and Yakuza Studio brought us some new screenshots and information on Project Judge, introducing three new characters, all prosecutors linked to our protagonist Takayuki Yagami.
First off, we’ve got Mafuyu Fujii, acted by Risa Shimizu. She’s a prosecutor from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office. She’s from a rich family and received a high-class education. Her strong sense of justice influenced her career choice and she spent a lot of time studying to pass the bar exam. Mafuyu is childhood friends with Saori Shirosaki, the sole women attorney at Takayuki’s ex-agency, and while they grew up apart, they reunited later as they attended the same university to study law. People tend to treat Mafuyu with respect because of her good looks and family background, so she strives to be acknowledged for her own ability instead. She and Takayuki used to be dating, but he distanced himself from her three years ago when he stopped being an attorney and became a detective. That was when Shinpei Okubo, the man he got acquited, immediately got arrested again for the murder of his girlfriend Emi.
The second character is Kunihiko Morita, acted by Junpei Morita, who already voiced characters in Yakuza 5 and Yakuza 6. Kunihiko is the chief prosecutor of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office. He’s an honest man and is admired by Mafuyu. His other subordinates, however, tend to fear him because he rarely ever smiles, is a no-nonsense person and speaks in a low voice. However, he’s actually far from being as cold as he looks.
The last character is Keigo Izumida, acted by Tsuguo Mogami. Like Mafuyu, he’s a prosecutor from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office and a subordinate of Kunihiko. He’s a haughty man, who tends to look down on criminals especially. He’s also a brilliant prosecutor who never failed to get a guilty verdict, except against Takayuki, three years ago, when Shinpei Okubo was first acquitted. Because of that, he thinks it’s a waste that Takayuki stopped being an attorney, and also holds a grudge against him.
The screenshots are from a part of the story during which the yakuza Kyouhei Hamura was arrested as a suspect in the Kansai yakuza’s serial murder case. His attorney hired Takayuki to find proof of his innocence. Mafuyu pays a visit to Takayuki’s office, as she heard from Saori he’s working on the case. She warns him the prosecutor is Keigo Izumida, the man he once beat three years ago. As Mafuyu leaves, she tells Takayuki he picked the wrong choice by becoming a detective. Takayuki keeps pondering about Mafuyu’s words and ends up following her, perhaps because he still has feelings for her and was worried about her wandering Kamurocho’s streets at night. As he was about to reach out to her, he’s stopped and mistaken for a stalker by Kunihiko, who grabs his arm. Kunihiko never met Takayuki but obviously knows about him, and Keigo is there as well. We’ll know what happens next when the game releases.
The next screenshots after these shows various minigames and arcade games playable in Project Judge. Most were already revealed in the past. There’s the drone race, which has different leagues unlocking as you win more and more races, and you can also customize your drone with parts. There’s a Sugoroku game, and even a House of the Dead lookalike game titled “Kamuro of the Dead”. Next, there are classic Sega arcade games: Motor Raid, Fighting Vipers, Space Harrier, Fantasy Zone, Puyo Puyo, and Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. Then there Shogi, Darts which Takayuki can play with his date, and a Casino where you can play multiple card games like Poker or Black Jack. Lastly, there’s also Mahjong, with actress Yurika Tachibana (pink dress lady) acting herself working at the mahjong parlor. Takayuki can befriend her too.
The Friend system was explained here. If you want to learn more about the game, you can also check summaries of cast interviews and a making-of video.
Project Judge will receive a new demo on the Japanese PlayStation Store before the end of November. The game releases for PS4 on December 13th in Japan, and in “2019” in the west.
