Judgment: Combat, Bosses, Mortal Wounds, and the Amon Fight

Judgment: Combat, Bosses, Mortal Wounds, and the Amon Fight If a boss blocks your combo, stop attacking and move. Long strings leave Yagami open, especially once a boss starts using Deadly Attacks. Keep some EX gauge available and deal with gunmen before they damage your maximum health. This is for the first Judgment, including the remaster. The opening combat advice is spoiler-light. The named boss section below includes late-game identities and the final encounter, so stop at that warning if you are still playing blind. CRANE AND TIGER Crane is blue. Its wide attacks are useful when several enemies are close together. Stay near the edge of the group so those sweeping attacks hit the crowd without leaving another three people behind your back. Tiger is red. It is the better default for a strong individual target. Charging Tiger and Flux Fissure give it tools for opening a guard and turning a clean hit into meaningful damage and EX gain. Neither style requires you to stand still and complete a full string. Take a short opening, hit, and leave before the retaliation. Buy Quickstep Cancel early so a bad commitment does not become a full combo against Yagami. Quickstep requires fighting stance. If you are holding the movement button without fighting stance, you are sprinting instead. That is useful for a wall run, but it is not the dodge you thought you were doing. Double Quickstep adds a second dodge. Rush Training unlocks it for purchase, and the skill itself costs 750 SP. During Chapter 1's drone inspection at KJ Art, inspect the fourth-floor book reader, then collect the book from the room behind code 8919. If missed, it becomes available through Onodera later. Flux Fissure needs practice. In Tiger, hold the weak-attack input at the end of the relevant rush sequence and release at the timing cue. Start on ordinary enemies where a mistake is cheap. The timing-window upgrade is worthwhile if you are consistently releasing early or late. Tiger Drop is also a timing tool. The Champion District skill QR code unlocks it for purchase, then it costs 3,000 SP. Hold fighting stance and use strong attack just as an incoming attack connects. Learning it on predictable single strikes is safer than attempting your first successful counter against a late-game Deadly Attack. USE THE ROOM Use the furniture during fights. Chairs, signs, bikes, and other highlighted objects can stagger enemies, clear space, and create EX Action opportunities. Do some normal weapon hits first if it is safe, then use the EX Action when durability is low. A weapon EX Action consumes the object even if it had plenty of durability left. Wall attacks are useful when a boss refuses to cooperate with ordinary strings. Sprint toward a usable wall, kick off, then use the appropriate attack or throw input for the skill you have unlocked. A wall jump is not a guarantee of invulnerability, so do not blindly jump into a gunner's line of fire. Against a group, remove the low-health enemies and dangerous ranged attackers before settling into the boss duel. A gunman outside the camera view can inflict mortal damage while you're attacking the leader. EX ACTION OR EX BOOST? An EX Action converts gauge into a specific attack animation. It is useful for damage, clearing an immediate threat, or interrupting a dangerous moment when the prompt is available. EX Boost spends gauge over time and redirects incoming damage into that gauge rather than your health. It also protects against the permanent health reduction from Deadly Attacks while active. That makes it a defensive tool as well as an offensive one. Heavy hits drain the gauge quickly. Watch it during Boost and move away before it runs out. Keep some gauge in reserve when a boss is close to changing phases. Spending the last segment on a flashy finish that does not actually finish him can leave you exposed to his first Deadly Attack. To avoid accidentally using an EX Action when you want a normal strong attack, hold the game's EX-action suppression input, L2/LT with the standard controller layout. HEALING MORTAL WOUNDS The jagged red section on the health bar means your usable maximum health has been reduced. Food and ordinary energy drinks cannot repair that missing section. Use Medical Kits or visit Dr. Moroboshi's sewer clinic. The clinic becomes available from Chapter 2 through its introduction. Kits cost ¥40,000 for S, ¥70,000 for M, and ¥110,000 for L. Keep money for them before long missions with armed enemies. A normal heal and mortal-wound treatment solve different problems. If you drink several items and the health bar still will not fill, look at the bar before wasting more supplies. The safest answers to a Deadly Attack are to get completely out of its path, interrupt it with a suitable attack, or enter EX Boost while you have enough gauge. Dodging sideways after recognizing the animation is often better than backpedaling directly along a lunging boss's attack line. Do not import Lost Judgment's defensive systems into this game. There is no Snake style here, and the mortal-wound mechanic needs its own preparation. STORY SPOILERS FROM HERE The rest names the major encounters, including the final boss. AKIRA MURASE The early KJ Art fight is your introduction to how much a boss can change halfway through a health bar. Deal with his support, use the room's furniture, and keep a little gauge rather than spending everything immediately. When he brings out the wooden sword and starts using Deadly Attacks, create more space. Do not mistake the wooden weapon for a harmless prop. The later encounter has him using a real sword. Barehanded guarding is not a reliable answer to the blade. Bait a swing, move off its line, then punish the recovery with a short Tiger string or a wall attack. Heal before the next attempt if mortal damage has left your usable bar tiny. TORU HIGASHI The earlier unarmed encounter rewards basic restraint: let his string finish, move around the last hit, and take the opening. Do not keep restarting a combo against his guard. His Chapter 8 fight adds a knife and a crowd. Clear the weaker enemies while keeping him in view, then isolate him. Around the middle of the fight, the QTE removes the knife, but he becomes dangerous in a different way through his heated state and Deadly Attacks. Stay ready after the cinematic rather than treating the disarm as the end of the fight. KAITO The Partners storyline in Chapter 6 includes a one-on-one fight with Kaito. His lunging punches and kicks can reach farther than his standing position suggests. Quickstep off the line, punish the end of the sequence, and use an EX Action when you have a clean prompt. Keep the exchange short enough that you can respond to his next rush. SATOSHI SHIOYA At Honmaruen, crowd control matters as much as damaging Shioya. Use the furniture, keep enemies in front of you, and avoid being boxed in while he moves around the room. The fight continues after his first health bar is depleted. He rallies his men and the encounter continues with renewed health. Save recovery and EX resources for that reset. After the later QTE, watch his heated-state attacks. A weapon EX Action can interrupt a dangerous opening if you have the object, the gauge, and the prompt ready. Otherwise, move out and let the attack end. In the later burning-location confrontation, mind the environment as well as the boss. Do not pin yourself between him and a hazard just to squeeze in one extra hit. Use available environmental attacks when they create a safe opening, then get back into open space. KYOHEI HAMURA For the earlier group encounter, clear room to work before concentrating on him. Short openings and available objects are more dependable than trying to trade through him and his men together. The Chapter 10 duel comes after the Cane Man gauntlet, which makes preparation the main danger. Heal and repair mortal damage before walking into it. Chairs are useful here: ordinary swings first, EX finisher before the chair breaks when the opportunity is safe. Watch the mid-fight QTE. Once the heated phase begins, expect a Deadly Attack rather than immediately running back into a combo. Avoid it, then return to your pressure. CANE MAN Treat Chapter 10 as several rounds with changing weapons, not one health bar you can spend all your supplies to remove. • Sword/cane rooms: use furniture and clear the supporting enemies. Keep enough gauge to respond when he powers up. • Spear phase: the reach is the problem. Dodging straight backward can still leave you inside it. Move around the attack line, use wall attacks when space allows, and do not swing just because the spear missed its first motion. • Gun phase: keep him in view and listen for the weapon preparation. Close distance after a shot or use EX protection to avoid being repeatedly chipped into mortal damage. • Final dual-cane phase: he starts aggressively. Be ready as soon as control returns. His longer swinging sequence offers counter opportunities once you know its rhythm, but do not force Tiger Drop attempts if you are already one hit from death. He changes weapons again late in that last fight. Keep watching him through the transition. Repair mortal wounds before moving onward to Hamura. MASHIKO AND ARMED SECURITY The stun baton is annoying; the guns are the urgent threat. Find the shooters and remove them first, even if that means spending an EX Action on an ordinary enemy instead of the boss. Once Mashiko is isolated, use his committed attacks to create punish windows. Wall attacks are useful, and a companion holding him can open a team EX Action. Avoid standing in front of the baton trying to win a normal-hit exchange. HANGMAN Chapter 12's large sledgehammer enemy has reach and heavy impact, but he does not have the usual heated-state/Deadly Attack progression. Give the hammer room to miss. Move around the swing rather than trying to block it, then attack during recovery. Wall attacks are effective when the room allows them. EX Boost is still useful for finishing safely, but you do not need to hoard it for a phase transition that never comes. MITSURU KUROIWA The first confrontation teaches the central problem: he is mobile, can evade your offense, and can attack from walls. Long strings against his guard give him too many chances to reposition and counter. Use the room's objects, stay ready for the ice-pick QTE, and respect the reach of his charged kick sequence afterward. One backward dodge may not clear all three movements. Get farther away or move across the attack line. Keep recovery items for the second part of the ADDC fight. The window sequence does not end it. During the first section, use objects and safe EX opportunities, but give him space when he is getting up. His recovery kick can catch you waiting over his body. Continue watching for wall attacks and quick evasions. After the battle moves outside the lab, heal and keep some gauge. Knocking him out of the window does not end the encounter. He returns, restores his health, and fights again. That return is the time to use the strong extracts and recovery you saved. Keep him in view, take safe openings, and activate EX Boost before a dangerous hit instead of after it has already taken your remaining health. Tiger Drop is an option for a practiced player, not a requirement for clearing the game. THE KEIHIN LEADERS Threat events start during the story and continue in Premium Adventure. A message from Kim announces the wave, and purple mask icons mark available leaders. The percentage drains over time; fighting leaders lowers it faster. You do not need to answer every threat alert to continue your own plans. The leaders return, so there is no permanent version of clearing the streets through ordinary threat fights. • Honda: fight him with the same disciplined single-target approach you use on story bruisers. Clear the crowd, move around committed attacks, and avoid trading when he powers up. • Kasai: remove his support so the fight does not become a series of interruptions from different directions. Keep an escape route and punish after his attacks rather than chasing every retreat. • Sakakiba: his size makes it tempting to treat him as a punching bag. Stay mobile, use short punishes, and leave room to avoid his heavier attacks. • Koga: the guns make him the priority problem. Heal mortal wounds before approaching, prepare EX recovery, and use Boost to cross a dangerous firing window. Keep pressure on him once you get a safe opening, but watch his recovery attack instead of standing over him after a knockdown. Kim's rewards for helping with a wave arrive at the agency. They are useful crafting materials, not a reason to drop every side activity whenever the phone rings. SHIN AMON: PREPARE BEFORE YOU TALK TO HIM Complete the other 49 side cases, accept A Challenge from the agency board, then meet Amon in Little Asia for A Final Request. Before starting: • Make a manual save. • Upgrade health, attack, combo speed, EX generation, and EX duration as far as practical. • Bring healing, mortal-wound treatment, EX recovery, and useful extracts. • Assign the emergency items to shortcuts now. • Practice switching styles and landing wall-jump attacks before the fight. The shortcut step matters because Amon can steal Yagami's phone with a grab. That cuts off the normal phone/menu access you were relying on. Items already assigned to shortcuts remain the fallback. FIRST PHASE: PROTECT THE PHONE Amon uses melee attacks, grenades, and the grab. Stay out of repeated point-blank scrambles. Punish his committed attacks or grenade throws, then move before the counter-grab. A Beatdown Extract can help force progress when you get a clean opening, but a missed grab can leave you vulnerable to his grab instead. The goal is to damage him into the next phase without losing the phone, not to gamble every approach on the extract working. COLORED PHASES: MATCH FOR DEFENSE Blue arena/attack color → Crane. Red arena/attack color → Tiger. Matching colors protects you from the corresponding projectiles and lets them restore health and EX gauge. His physical attacks can still hurt you. Matching does not make the entire fight harmless. Opposite-colored projectiles are extremely dangerous. Check the color again whenever he changes phases rather than trusting the style that was safe a moment ago. SHIELD PHASE: SWITCH BRIEFLY TO BREAK IT With the shield up, ordinary damage becomes tiny. Repeatedly punching it in the matching style is not an efficient way through. 1. Match his color and use the safe projectile interaction to rebuild health and gauge. 2. Position for a wall-jump attack. 3. Briefly switch to the opposite style and land the wall attack on his shield. 4. When the shield breaks, use the opening for damage. EX Boost can protect a short aggressive window, but the opposing projectiles can drain that meter extremely quickly. 5. Switch back to the matching color before your protection runs out. 6. Repeat when he changes style and restores the shield. The wall is dangerous, but it remains usable for wall-jump attacks. Do not abandon the strategy because the arena looks electrified. If you are dying immediately after a successful break, you are probably staying in the opposite style too long. Shorten the attack window. Get a few hits in, then switch back before the projectiles kill you. LEGEND PREPARATION Finish the story once to unlock Legend. Start a new game using clear data and select Legend; you do not need to rebuild Yagami from nothing. Skills, SP, money, and most ordinary items carry over. Story, side-case, friendship, and girlfriend progress reset. Keep your completion-focused Premium Adventure save separate from the Legend run. Before starting, improve your combat kit, expand medicine capacity, buy supplies, and leave a cash reserve for replacement Medical Kits. Learn the dangerous QTE transitions while you are not also fighting an underdeveloped moveset. Save often. A failed encounter on Legend sends you back to a save rather than giving you the normal convenient retry. This matters for chases and other failure conditions as well as boss fights. The long rescue sequence, gun-heavy rooms, and final boss chain deserve a fresh save and a full inventory before you commit. Keep spare Medical Kits and enough EX gauge to protect yourself during Deadly Attacks.