A fun little DLC side story for Lost Judgment, where Kaito takes on a case that has a bit of a personal stake on it.

Honestly, with how depressing and heartwrenching stories that RGG have been producing lately (which isn't a bad thing), it was a nice breath of fresh air to see where The Kaito Files was going in the story.

Short and sweet, but really builds upon who Kaito is as a person, and how much he's changed since he's been with the Yagami Detective Agency. Technically/gameplay-wise, it isn't so different from the Lost Judgment base game, however, some parts of the game felt a little too long when you're using your detective/stealth modes. As far as the story goes, there were also some odd pacing story beats, but didn't seem to overly take away with what the game was trying to present.

Overall, I loved it even if it had those really small non-issues. Just felt like it was worth bringing up.

THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON

I love Kaito and think this makes, conceptually, a good case for how he should step-up as being a proper main protagonist in a hypothetical Judgment 3, but woof man this was mid incarnate. I was disappointed by how the supporting cast in Lost Judgment got shelved but this didn't bother to make up for that either. A very perplexing choice to make a story expansion around Kaito's past but Higashi is hardly involved at all and the Matsugane stuff isn't really deepened whatsoever. Outside of Jun and the final boss, the story was a total lull with occasionally fun gameplay sprinkled in, intentionally reminding you of early mainline Yakuza/Like A Dragon, but nothing memorable to write home about than just boredom. I don't know how RGG or Sega can look at this with the small content provided and think this was definitely worth charging 30 bucks.

Im being very honest, this is what I expected from Gaiden before it came out: a short but immensely character focused experience that doesnt meander around for too long while remaining true to the series' humanity. While I believe there's definitely room for side content here to improve its replayability, I cant help but admire how focused it is to bringing humanity to my favourite himbo in the series: Masaharu Kaito.
The DLC feels like RGG coming back and exploring the ideas and themes set in stone all the way back in Yakuza 1 with the writing experience theyve had for over a decade now. Kaito more or less goes through the same struggles as Kiryu minus the ten year joint: running away from those he loves, weighing how much being bound by blood affects the bonds we have and the strength we posess to fight for the ones we love. Its a clean slate to Kaito compared to the jumbled predicament that Kiryu is currently in and it really invites a breath of fresh air for Kaito to get a well deserved happy ending.
Plot wise Im happy to say that the quality of writing within the plot is just as good as the first Judgment, which I hold in high regard!
Twists are kept to a minimum this time around, I think I can only remember 3 or so and most of them are very minor. It also has probably the most heartwarming ending in the series and with everything Kaito, Jun and Mikiko have been through, I couldnt be more happy.
Combat is just recycled Beast and Brawler from o but with minor tweaks to suit LJ's playstyle and they work so well here. Like Yagami, Kaito is all about the flow and starts off slow before becoming a lightning bruiser once you get the speed boosts. One problem I have is thst juggling is alot harder this time but the weight of the combat more than makes up for that fluidity.
All in all, A throughly engaging DLC that wastes no time in relishing in the humanity of its characters by using the plot as a vehicle for character development rather than the other way around, suceeding with flying colours. Ill definitely get on the PS2 Yakuza games before Infinite Wealth, which I might cop during the holidays. Nobody does it like them man

The only full fledged story DLC this series has ever dropped. How'd they do? For my money, decent. Thirty bucks is steep though. I got it on sale so I'm not upset with how much I paid but I think that price tag is pushing it. There's nothing in the way of side content. Could break us off like maybe 10 substories or something like that. Of varying size. Just to have something else to do. The game stops you a couple times and ask, "is there anything left you wanna do? sure you wanna leave now?" like uh yeah? fuck else am I gonna go do? Play Virtua Fighter and order Ramen? I did that in the main game already.

That aside, I enjoyed the story. It was an RGG Mystery that refrained from involving mass government conspiracy so that's an achievement. Kaito is satisfying to play as. He's more of a brute than Yagami. His two styles are obviously aped from Kiryu's but there's enough little differences to make it passable. I'd rec this for the die hards of the franchise. Otherwise? You can live without it.

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 genuine example of what RGG is truly capable of when it comes to contained story DLC and I hope more than anything it slowly becomes the norm (although after seeing much of LaD8's DLC we still have a ways to go) for Yakuza and Yakuza-centric games moving forward.

This is a good 6-8 hour integrated story for Kaito, lovingly written and beautifully executed; clearly RGG have mastered diluting the 60-80 form into 6-20 hours between this and Gaiden from how the skill and revised experience systems work, to how they manage to fill the environment with life and, most importantly, how they managed to contain what would ordinarily be a 13 chapter epic down to its base components in 4.

I loved every second of this DLC. I know RGG can do better past the (redeemable in some ways) controversy of recent cosmetic and "easy mode" item hauls and truly expand the worlds of Kamurocho, Yokohama, Ijincho and now Hawaii. Please let The Kaito Files be the constant going forward in 2024 and not the exception.

That being said, goddamn welcome to the longest tail quest in Judgement history, holy shit.