Finally, after two full length titles, I got to play as my favorite Judgment character, which made me super happy. The Kaito Files is an excellent DLC campaign and a great small-scale RGG story that really delves into Kaito’s character.
The story is a bit predictable, but it’s still quite strong, with excellent characters. I loved watching Kaito bond with Jun, and I loved the deeper insight we get into Kaito’s backstory and thought processes. I thought the primary antagonist was a tad generic, and it was easy to see the primary twist of the campaign coming. However, the finale of the game was excellent and makes up for the rest of the game’s lack of surprise.
Combat’s also really solid as well. Kaito only has two fighting styles in comparison to Yagami’s four, and Bruiser and Tank feel a lot like Kiryu’s Brawler and Beast styles from Yakuza 0/Kiwami in terms of utility. However, Kaito brings his own personal sense of flair to these styles, with unique combo timings and grabs that really makes these styles his own. He’s immensely satisfying to play as.
The detective mechanics have been retooled to suit Kaito. I like how they take an animalistic approach to them by giving Kaito an increased sense of smell and hearing. I do think that the game has a bit too many sections where you need to observe and find things in order to progress. They probably added so many of those in order to give you ways to earn SP, since the game is as short as it is. You earn a lot of SP during these segments, so they were probably necessary in order to maintain the game’s balance.
All in all, The Kaito Files is a really fun time. If you like Kaito and you enjoyed the main game, the expansion only offers more to enjoy. I really, really hope that The Kaito Files means future games will include a playable Kaito during the main campaign. Kaito’s quickly become up there among my favorite RGG characters, despite him being a part of the supporting cast in both Judgment games. I like this guy a lot, and I really want to see more of him.
The story is a bit predictable, but it’s still quite strong, with excellent characters. I loved watching Kaito bond with Jun, and I loved the deeper insight we get into Kaito’s backstory and thought processes. I thought the primary antagonist was a tad generic, and it was easy to see the primary twist of the campaign coming. However, the finale of the game was excellent and makes up for the rest of the game’s lack of surprise.
Combat’s also really solid as well. Kaito only has two fighting styles in comparison to Yagami’s four, and Bruiser and Tank feel a lot like Kiryu’s Brawler and Beast styles from Yakuza 0/Kiwami in terms of utility. However, Kaito brings his own personal sense of flair to these styles, with unique combo timings and grabs that really makes these styles his own. He’s immensely satisfying to play as.
The detective mechanics have been retooled to suit Kaito. I like how they take an animalistic approach to them by giving Kaito an increased sense of smell and hearing. I do think that the game has a bit too many sections where you need to observe and find things in order to progress. They probably added so many of those in order to give you ways to earn SP, since the game is as short as it is. You earn a lot of SP during these segments, so they were probably necessary in order to maintain the game’s balance.
All in all, The Kaito Files is a really fun time. If you like Kaito and you enjoyed the main game, the expansion only offers more to enjoy. I really, really hope that The Kaito Files means future games will include a playable Kaito during the main campaign. Kaito’s quickly become up there among my favorite RGG characters, despite him being a part of the supporting cast in both Judgment games. I like this guy a lot, and I really want to see more of him.
Weatherby
9 months ago