The opportunity finally comes for Masaharu Kaito, the fan-favorite sidekick of detective Takayuki Yagami, to shine on his own! Lost Judgment: The Kaito Files DLC adds a new story for fans to undertake as Kaito in his quest to resolve the past and find the light of his future. At first glance, one might see the inclusion of story DLC in Lost Judgment and imply it’s similar to Goro Majima’s solo story from Yakuza Kiwami 2. However, The Kaito Files is a jam-packed story with twists and turns, giving Kaito the proper back story and character development a Yakuza/Judgment protagonist deserves. This is the journey of a detective who barely pays rent on time, to finding redemption in life for his mistakes.
A New Case (light spoilers)
One month after the events of Lost Judgment, detective Takayuki Yagami is out on a new case. While he’s away, Kaito helps around with jobs at Genda Law Office such as helping Hoshino bust some crime in Kamurocho. Kaito eventually finds himself with some free time and needs to rake in some funds while Yagami is away. The opportunity comes knocking when Kaito visits Bar Tender and meets some commotion along the way. A string of murders have taken place in Kamurocho once more. After getting a suggestion about a new case, Kaito gets the help of Higashi to prepare for a lucrative deal to come. Enter Kyoya Sadamoto, a young CEO who’s looking his wife whose gone missing for 2 years. The conversation turns to shock as the person he’s looking for is Mikiko Sadamoto, Kaito’s former girlfriend. Mikiko’s son, Jun, also ran away 2 weeks ago…
Kaito’s Brute Force
Like Yagami, Kaito has his own fighting styles to beat up yakuza, thugs and anyone bold enough to come across his path. These fighting styles are Bruiser and Tank. Bruiser is reminiscent of Kiryu’s Dragon fighting style from prior Yakuza games. Tank is similar to Kiryu’s Beast style or Saejima’s fighting style where strong sweeping attacks and weaponry usage against many enemies at once leads to devastating effects. The skill system returns so Kaito has many tricks up his sleeve such as EX moves, health boosts, attack damage upgrades, SP boosts and much more. Kaito is known for being a brute and that comes across perfectly in combat. Since the story is shorter than a traditional Ryu Ga Gotoku game, SP points are balanced to accommodate for the rate of progress. Overall, the combat was a great time with no need to grind at all!
Primal Instincts
Kaito is still a detective at heart and has his own unique set of traits to set him apart from Yagami. For instance, he has primal instincts to make up for his lack of gadgets. Kaito has a heightened sense of vision, smell and hearing that helps greatly in investigations or exploration around Kamurocho. Kaito may view objects of interest or places that hold sentimental value with Primal Eye. Primal Nose comes to play when he smells some good or worth focusing on. Primal Ear hones into sounds such as a cat meowing for attention. In fact, it’s worth using these improved senses in Kamurocho to find secrets and items. Even though the DLC is shorter than the base game of Lost Judgment, there are more than enough opportunities to put Kaito’s detective skills to use.
Short and Sweet
The Kaito Files DLC is short and sweet. Just like previous Yakuza and Judgment games, I felt extremely satisfied and moved by the story told in the 10 hours or so of my playtime. Side cases, Premium Adventure and some mini-games aren’t available and it’s understandable since it’s a smaller release as DLC and not a full game. Additionally, players can’t travel to Ijincho in the DLC which might be a downer for some. However, the core Judgment experience comes across well with The Kaito Files and I’ve grown to love Kaito even more as a character in the franchise. The voice acting is on point and brings that level of emotion I’ve come to expect. It provides another avenue to enjoy more of an already amazing game in Lost Judgment. Moreover, this makes me want even more games from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.
Final Verdict
The Kaito Files DLC is a must buy for players who finished Lost Judgment and want more to do within the game’s world. Kaito is a strong protagonist with the depth that many other Yakuza and Judgment characters bring to the table. A lot of what’s great from the base game also applies here and I’m glad that the development team took their time with this content. With The Kaito Files finished up, it’s time to continue that wait for Yakuza 8 and it honestly can’t come soon enough.
Disclaimer: SEGA provided Final Weapon with a review code of the Lost Judgment Season Pass containing The Kaito Files DLC.
