i was deadset on 3.5 stars for ages again but GOD that finale got me...kaito is so fun to play as, the characters are wonderful in their own way (esp w one character who was basically "what if velvet crowe was a yakuza character" which is my jam exactly)

this is the current chronological end of the ryu ga gotoku franchise as of the time of writing (late april 2022) so it's a little bittersweet but i feel good having played this

that being said, £25 (compared to lost judgment's price of £60) is a little much for what this is imo, and there's still a few pieces in the writing i take issue with but this was nice

I typically don't review DLC expansions because of the simple fact that, a lot of the time, they're kinda ass. But Lost Judgment: The Kaito Files blows a lot of current DLC packs out of the water.

Kaito was always the best character of Judgement's main cast just due to his immediately warm personality. The story they give him in the original Judgement was enough for people to like him even further and it could have ended there. However, The Kaito Files looks to give Kaito himself an entire game's worth of story and growth as he's slung into the protagonist chair for his own story. While brief, The Kaito Files more than certainly warrants its own existence, as it introduces its own entire cast and consequences that i don't think you could have gotten in a regular Judgment game, while Kaito was still in the side character position. The Kaito Files gives him a much welcomed sense of depth, as we delve into his history and personal life, separated from the pre existing cast of the first two Judgment games.

Kaito's playstyle, in actuality, even feels better than Yagami's in certain circumstances. While one of his combat styles is ripped straight from Kiryu's original move set, the other, brawler type feels fun, flashy and weighted. Exactly what you want from a Yakuza fight style.

I think the only real issue with The Kaito Files is the lack of any optional content like a handful of substories exclusive to Kaito, or even activities that you can't do in the main Lost Judgment. Given that Kaito is a very different character to Yagami, both thought wise and build wise, they could have had some interesting side stories. However, as it is now, The Kaito Files is very solid and a surprise to say the least, for the Yakuza franchises' first ever DLC story expansion.

I don't like the return of massive stun after attacking a blocking enemy and Kaito's styles just being two from Yakuza 0 disappoints. These are my only issues with what's otherwise basically a perfect RGG Studio game. This final boss goes so fucking hard it's unbelievable. Really hope that they have more short, focused expansions like this that share a similarly sharp grasp on character writing and fill out side characters. I'd pay $30 or $40 for a standalone with this little bullshit very easily. I love that this DLC is an echo of Yakuza 1, except Kaito is willing to live for other people instead of dying for them and thus has a very, very different approach to things. He's such a great character.

I really appreciate that Legend is unlocked from the get go (at least if you beat the main game I guess?).

I really loved the story, I hope they give Kaito the spotlight again sometime. Or hell, make Jun get his chance in a few years or something. Kid's cool, he can do it.

My only issues with this DLC are mostly due to combat and pricing. I feel like $30 (without sale, I got it for $17 which is its current historical low on PC) is a tad steep when considering that there's very little to do besides the story. I knew that going in, though, but still... feels a tad steep when compared to the price:content ratio of the main game, I guess?

My other gripe is the combat. Mind you, the combat's still fun as fuck to me but...

Kaito getting Kiryu's Brawler and Beast styles is kinda uninteresting, even if there are enough changes to make them feel distinct enough to me. It's especially fun when you land Bruiser's counter and get the speed boost, then use EX Boost! Plus, they play so differently from Yagami that it's nice. I just wish they had given Kaito a unique style (even if it's a singular style) or tweaked the styles more.

Which, on that note, Kaito's lack of juggle options makes playing as him feel less fun than Yagami. Most of his launchers are hard to land, as enemies will either block them or dodge them with ease. Regular mooks get hit easily by them, but most likely die before you get to have your juggling fun. Bruiser feels fun as fuck to brutalize enemies with once you DO get a juggle going, though, so there's that! I just wish Kaito had more/better launchers...

Bosses, though, are honestly pretty peak! No complaints there, I greatly enjoyed every fight. Even the optional challenge bosses which are (mostly) reusing certain movesets from the base game, they were a pretty fun challenge on Legend.

The long battles were great too, giving Kaito actual hordes of morons to wreck.

Overall, I guess I really loved this DLC but think it should've been cheaper or had some side-content besides collectible hunting. Took me about 9 hours to beat having basically 100%'d it, though, and I enjoyed it all the way so I can't complain.

This DLC managed to make me realize how shitty Like a Dragon Gaiden is as a standalone game (where the only redeemable think is the last chapter).
Who would have guessed that if you scale down the plot, don't make everything about big conspiracies and plots to rule the underground/politics and make it personal it to the characters, it will turn out to be a solid story.
If you use any healing/boost items during the last boss, you don't have an ounce of honor in your body.
My body craves Judgment 3 but knowing Nagoshi is not around anymore and how greedy Sega is, I don't know if I want it anymore.

This is a full, true Yakuza/Judgment hybrid story that just happens to only be only available as DLC and 6 hours long. Knowing the length beforehand, I was really surprised how intricate and high quality the plot ended up being. The core mystery was on par with the better stories in the franchise and never really felt like it was compromised or rushed to fit into a smaller package, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

The gameplay/story ratio was a little off at the start, but it rounded itself out nicely by the end. Pretty much all of the Lost Judgment mechanics get at least a brief time to shine, which was also cool to see. Kaito also gets a little bit of new stuff in his sleuthing skills. Even if it's a bit of a reskin, it's still nice that new features made it in and their use in finding collectibles was a good, appropriate level of "city" content for this size game.

As far as side content goes though, this is where it feels the most like a DLC and not like a full game (which it is, so I can't fault it much there), and where I'm guessing Gaiden will get to flex a little more as a separate package. Since the series is already so side content heavy and I'm about to play Ishin though, I don't mind this too much. Maybe a very small group of side cases involving the supporting cast, new and old, would have been nice, but I get that it could take away from the focus of the story here.

On that note, the story really was nice and had more going on than I would have expected. I won't get too spoilery, but the thought occurred to me that while LAD felt like a reimagining of a large chunk of Yakuza 1, this felt like it was taking some of the remaining Y1 components and putting its own spin on them (in a good way). It really ended up fitting nicely with both parent series in terms of carrying forward their themes (failure of fathers, cycles of revenge, rippling effects of past actions, etc). Kaito himself, while still not my favorite character ever, does a good job overall being the protagonist of his own story. The worldbuilding was also really nice here and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see some of these characters and factions pop up in later games. There's also a plot point that felt straight out of Yakuza 4, though Y4 kind of butchered it so it was nice to see it executed better here. Also, the ending, IYKYK.

And finally, the combat. It's... solid. I think coming from Yagami in LJ, everything else is going to feel kind of bad, but throwing mostly-Brawler/Beast in the same base game as the LJ styles is just not going to feel as nice. The styles are definitely touched up and have a bunch of cool new LJ-stuff going on (like the buffs for each), though quite a bit is locked behind exploration, so I only got certain skills in the final couple fights of the game that I wish I had earlier. My biggest pet peeve was not having something like Rising Tornado to not have to spam X when you get knocked down (except for one EX action in a niche situation), because this happened a lot. Maybe it's also that a ton of enemies have blades in this game, I don't know. It was serviceable and I like the effort and having 2 styles, but this is definitely one of the weaker spots of this entry.

Overall, a pleasant surprise. I expected this to be a fun little adventure, but it really drew me in and convinced me it was its own full scale entry (as far as main story goes), just in a shorter play time. A lack of side content and just "solid" combat hold it back a little, but hey, at the end of the day, it's DLC. Definitely highly recommend anyone who enjoyed the base game to pick this up.

Por ser a primeira DLC de história da RGG, eles tinham total liberdade pra fazer muito bem oq eles quisessem, sem qualquer comparação com alguma possível expansão passada, logo, Kaito Files acabou se tornando uma curta, porém muito doce aventura.

Como esperado pelo nome, nós jogamos com Masaharu Kaito, o sidekick do Yagami nos dois jogos principais da franquia. Ele possui dois estilos de luta, Bruiser e Tank que são basicamente os estilos Brawler e Beast do Kiryu de Yakuza 0. Porém, eu estava esperando um ctrl c + ctrl v, sendo que é mais uma base pra criação do que qualquer coisa, pois os grabs, heat actions e alguns golpes são diferentes dos utilizados pela RGG no Yakuza.

A DLC tem uma duração de, em média, 7 a 8 horas, já que ela não tem um conteúdo secundário expressivo (apenas alguns coletáveis) e não possui nem um New Game + ou uma Premium Adventure, o que é uma pena, eu aposto que muitos adorariam esses modos pra poderem aproveitar mais do combate do Kaito, que é completamente diferente do combate do Yagami. A narrativa dela é dividida em 4 capítulos, que não são nenhum primor narrativo, mas que são bem agradáveis, principalmente quando se lembra que não é um jogo independente, mas uma DLC. Os personagens novos são bem escritos, a grande maioria dos players acaba amando os personagens feitos para serem gostados e odiando os personagens feitos para serem odiados, o que é ótimo, ter um antagonista que não foi feito para ter sua compaixão, mas que mesmo assim você não sente algo negativo por ele é algo muito preocupante, vilões principais tem que tirar emoções fortes do player, não importa quais, e o desse jogo definitivamente vai te fazer sentir coisas.

O capítulo final é sem sombra de dúvidas o ponto alto da DLC, com ele sendo consideravelmente tenso, mas tendo também uma resolução atraente, com ações tomadas pela equipe de direção que até estranham os fãs de longa data da franquia, de forma positiva claro. As duas boss fights finais são muito boas por motivos completamente opostos, que eu não posso entrar em detalhes sem spoilar, mas garanto que ambas são sensacionais.

No geral, uma expansão bem sólida, que deixa a esperança que a RGG poderá fazer isso com mais personagens no futuro. Eu, pessoalmente, imagino que ninguém reclamaria de uma expansão de um Watase da vida, ou até mesmo ficando no Judgment, jogar com o Higashi ou o Suguira são coisas que imagino que boa parte dos fãs adoraria. Um acerto tremendo da RGG.