Understanding Lost Judgment fighting styles is at the core of your journey across Kamurocho and Yokohama. Yagami has three core styles to choose from, or four if you buy the DLC, and while each has some unique perks, there's a definite hierarchy of usefulness that makes itself clear the further you progress.
Our best Lost Judgment fighting styles guide breaks down the strong and weak points of each, along with when you'll get the most use out of them.
Lost Judgment Best Fighting Styles | The Basics
What fighting style you use matters little up until the end of chapter three. You won't face any "boss" enemies in that time, or none you can't dispatch with a few strong attacks or a well-timed bike throw. Things change quickly once you meet the so-called handyman of Ijincho.
This is the first fight where you need to pay attention to your opponent's style. He, and some bosses after, give a slight hint what style works best with the color of their moves. However, like earlier Yakuza games, their attack style and pattern is what tells you which style to choose.
If they move fast, you have a difficult time blocking or getting a hit in, or you need a more defensive style, that's your sign to switch styles. Unlike the mainline Yakuza games, you won't miss out on some key features when you switch styles. For example, all three can use weapons and pick up objects to use in combat.
Lost Judgment Best Fighting Styles | Crane Style
You'll need to switch out of this occasionally, but Crane is consistently the most versatile Lost Judgment fighting style. It's similar to Kiyru's Rush style, but has higher damage potential.
Crane focuses on evasion and creating openings for you to break through an opponent's defense. With the right skills, you can sidestep nearly any attack and launch a fast, strong counter, trigger a mid-air combo, or execute a rush slide that trips foes as you move away to safety.
It falters in terms of raw power, mostly since you don't have access to charged attacks. However, this is the style you want if you're dealing with three or more enemies at once or if you need to put some space between you and a tough boss.
Lost Judgment Best Fighting Styles | Snake Style
Snake is a more complex style, and while it's not one you'll find much use for in boss fights, it's got a handy set of skills to make dealing with mobs and other dangerous foes easier.
On paper, Snake's signature feature is parrying, as a successful parry opens the attacking enemy to a counterattack. That's fine, but the real standout feature is how Snake deals with weapons. If Yagami grabs a non-boss enemy, you can trigger a short quick time event that lets you disarm them. This move doesn't work on bosses, naturally, but it only takes one average thug with a knife to ruin your day.
Once you start racking up skill points, you can start pairing Snake's evasive maneuvers with stun attacks for even more crowd control potential. Snake's most glaring weakness is against bosses. Yagami's Snake moves are flashy, but not as conducive to escape compared to Crane. Most of its special features, including disarming and stunning, don't work on bosses anyway.
Lost Judgment Best Fighting Styles | Tiger Style
Tiger is Yagami's primary offense style. Its closest equivalent is Kiryu's Brawler stance, though it's more agile and less like an actual boxing style. In Tiger stance, you lose Crane's quickstep, but gain a blocking stance and charged attacks.
Eventually, you can also purchase a counter and augment Yagami's guard further. It's the least flashy of Yagami's stances, but also the best choice if you aren't making headway by dodging. However you customize it, Tiger should be your go-to stance in one-on-one fights or against slower-moving bosses.
You'll likely find your own best Lost Judgment fighting style as you play, but these tips are a good starting point to work with as you carry on. Check out our guide for the best Lost Judgment skills to spend your points on to get the most out of your style, whatever choice you pick.