This review contains spoilers
Unlike other ones that take me a while to come back to, I think I can give out my thoughts on this story pretty easily, from game to story to whatever else.
So Kaito got his own DLC, even got me to play Lost Judgment a second time in preparation for it, and I remembered liking it a lot. Coming back to it now, I feel I have a better grasp on why.
Starting with gameplay because that's my favorite part to breakdown in these games, the Kaito Files is basically as fluid and snappy as the main game is. Keeps a bunch of it's mechanics like the snappier style switching and the mortal reversals, but now puts it in the hands of someone like Masaharu Kaito.
His two styles are takes on Kiryu's Brawler and Beast styles in the form of Bruiser and Tank. Bruiser while keeping the basic combos and ideas of the style add in some new double finishers for the 3 and 4 chain and gives Kaito a sort of repel that is used right as an opponent attacks. Hitting this will give Kaito a massive speed boost. It's especially good with Tank's charged rush combo or the EX Combo unique to Bruiser that ends with launching foes, and both are great for juggling, so long as the boost is still active. The only downside is that instead of a normal grab, Kaito's grab is a command grab that makes him unable to carry weapons or foes in his mits, luckily that's where Tank comes in. Tank is pretty unapologetically just Beast, but that's far from a bad thing, because Beast is just a good style what with it's focus on raw damage, defense, and grabbing shit off the street to smack someone with it. They made it work pretty well here by making the Perfect Iron Guard the center piece of the style, whereby guarding at the right time, Kaito can just tank attacks like an iron wall, and take little to no damage, as well as lead into grabs, attacks, etc. That and this style very much makes grabbing shit of the street fun. Listen, you don't wanna be talking shit when you're in range of a bicycle rack.
Both styles are really fun to play around with. Even if Kaito doesn't have as much as Yagami's other styles, he still brings to the table some really interesting takes on his gameplay. I should also probably mention that his search sections are really fun because of his enhanced senses of smell and hearing. Even if you're not getting too much, some of the stuff they do with it in the game is really neat, like being able to sniff out a trap, or hear a guy mumble to himself about losing an item that you can pick up for yourself. I like that, and I feel that does a bit more with it than Yagami's detective tools (plus it doesn't have the sensor beeping, and I applaud that).
Moving onto the story, I think it's really good. For a shorter told story in like, 4 chapters, I think it makes the most out of it with a ton of neat moments with newer and older characters while telling a pretty neat little narrative tying back to Kaito. I said before I really like stories that bring the character's past back into sharper focus, and tie it into the modern day, and we get that with Kaito. He's typically the comedic muscle to the duo of the Yagami Detective Agency, but seeing him lead and getting to know him more because of it, especially when the story digs into his past and puts him alongside a pretty reckless and cocky kid like Jun brings out a really neat side to the dude. He really is the Ex-Yakuza Hero i'm rooting for. I also really like a lot of the main cast, both in some protagonists or supporting characters like Mikiko, Igarashi, Shirakaba, and especially Jun. Though as for antagonists, I think the main two in Kenmochi and Kyoya are pretty damn interesting.
Kyoya is a malicious force by the end, who I think they get across fine enough. I like seeing him at the beginning and middle where he's mostly shown as pretty understanding and non-threatening, if a bit more absent than he should, but the little hints they throw in makes sense on how he could be as cold as he is by the end. Plus, he is kind of fun seeing just how casual and performative he is in setting up his winning play. At least before he gets outplayed by sheer character growth.
Though I think Kenmochi is one guy in particular who stuck with me more for his portrayal throughout the game, and mainly in the fact that he probably isn't all there. I mean he spends most of his time drinking until he pukes, he comes off pretty intense in how he talks of getting back at people, and we see from chapter 3 onwards the reason he's such a wreck. Its his role in the plot that left him constantly seeing visions of the people he killed, and constantly being haunted by them. Even by the end, where he's taking out Kyoya in a last, desper ate, and grief infused anger by wringing his neck, he still comes off more depressing than anything. Sure, he's done or was about to do some pretty shitty stuff throughout his story, but man, he needed some kind of help...
Aside from those two though, the antagonists of the story are not that much to ride home about. I do think it is funny that the Bato guys get pretty easily sniffed out by Kaito, and in turn gets the cops called on them. It's a pretty funny moment. We also see Fudo Oshikiri from the Boxing School Story in LJ's main story make a return to fight Kaito, and uhh, hey I guess glad his arc got a resolution, I hope he ends up doing some good with that.
Though if we're talking fights, I think pretty easily the two with Kenmochi and one with Kyoya are highlights, and I do like the Blood-Drunk Master even if he is a Tesso reskin, but above all else, I really like who the actual final boss turns out to be. He's not as tough or dirty of a fighter as Kyoya is, but he's not to be underestimated. That's for sure.
Overall, I really like this little DLC story. It pulled out a lot of tricks to make the minute-to-minute gameplay really fun, Kaito's styles are pretty cool takes on older styles to use, and I think the little tale told is really well done. Good side-game.
So Kaito got his own DLC, even got me to play Lost Judgment a second time in preparation for it, and I remembered liking it a lot. Coming back to it now, I feel I have a better grasp on why.
Starting with gameplay because that's my favorite part to breakdown in these games, the Kaito Files is basically as fluid and snappy as the main game is. Keeps a bunch of it's mechanics like the snappier style switching and the mortal reversals, but now puts it in the hands of someone like Masaharu Kaito.
His two styles are takes on Kiryu's Brawler and Beast styles in the form of Bruiser and Tank. Bruiser while keeping the basic combos and ideas of the style add in some new double finishers for the 3 and 4 chain and gives Kaito a sort of repel that is used right as an opponent attacks. Hitting this will give Kaito a massive speed boost. It's especially good with Tank's charged rush combo or the EX Combo unique to Bruiser that ends with launching foes, and both are great for juggling, so long as the boost is still active. The only downside is that instead of a normal grab, Kaito's grab is a command grab that makes him unable to carry weapons or foes in his mits, luckily that's where Tank comes in. Tank is pretty unapologetically just Beast, but that's far from a bad thing, because Beast is just a good style what with it's focus on raw damage, defense, and grabbing shit off the street to smack someone with it. They made it work pretty well here by making the Perfect Iron Guard the center piece of the style, whereby guarding at the right time, Kaito can just tank attacks like an iron wall, and take little to no damage, as well as lead into grabs, attacks, etc. That and this style very much makes grabbing shit of the street fun. Listen, you don't wanna be talking shit when you're in range of a bicycle rack.
Both styles are really fun to play around with. Even if Kaito doesn't have as much as Yagami's other styles, he still brings to the table some really interesting takes on his gameplay. I should also probably mention that his search sections are really fun because of his enhanced senses of smell and hearing. Even if you're not getting too much, some of the stuff they do with it in the game is really neat, like being able to sniff out a trap, or hear a guy mumble to himself about losing an item that you can pick up for yourself. I like that, and I feel that does a bit more with it than Yagami's detective tools (plus it doesn't have the sensor beeping, and I applaud that).
Moving onto the story, I think it's really good. For a shorter told story in like, 4 chapters, I think it makes the most out of it with a ton of neat moments with newer and older characters while telling a pretty neat little narrative tying back to Kaito. I said before I really like stories that bring the character's past back into sharper focus, and tie it into the modern day, and we get that with Kaito. He's typically the comedic muscle to the duo of the Yagami Detective Agency, but seeing him lead and getting to know him more because of it, especially when the story digs into his past and puts him alongside a pretty reckless and cocky kid like Jun brings out a really neat side to the dude. He really is the Ex-Yakuza Hero i'm rooting for. I also really like a lot of the main cast, both in some protagonists or supporting characters like Mikiko, Igarashi, Shirakaba, and especially Jun. Though as for antagonists, I think the main two in Kenmochi and Kyoya are pretty damn interesting.
Kyoya is a malicious force by the end, who I think they get across fine enough. I like seeing him at the beginning and middle where he's mostly shown as pretty understanding and non-threatening, if a bit more absent than he should, but the little hints they throw in makes sense on how he could be as cold as he is by the end. Plus, he is kind of fun seeing just how casual and performative he is in setting up his winning play. At least before he gets outplayed by sheer character growth.
Though I think Kenmochi is one guy in particular who stuck with me more for his portrayal throughout the game, and mainly in the fact that he probably isn't all there. I mean he spends most of his time drinking until he pukes, he comes off pretty intense in how he talks of getting back at people, and we see from chapter 3 onwards the reason he's such a wreck. Its his role in the plot that left him constantly seeing visions of the people he killed, and constantly being haunted by them. Even by the end, where he's taking out Kyoya in a last, desper ate, and grief infused anger by wringing his neck, he still comes off more depressing than anything. Sure, he's done or was about to do some pretty shitty stuff throughout his story, but man, he needed some kind of help...
Aside from those two though, the antagonists of the story are not that much to ride home about. I do think it is funny that the Bato guys get pretty easily sniffed out by Kaito, and in turn gets the cops called on them. It's a pretty funny moment. We also see Fudo Oshikiri from the Boxing School Story in LJ's main story make a return to fight Kaito, and uhh, hey I guess glad his arc got a resolution, I hope he ends up doing some good with that.
Though if we're talking fights, I think pretty easily the two with Kenmochi and one with Kyoya are highlights, and I do like the Blood-Drunk Master even if he is a Tesso reskin, but above all else, I really like who the actual final boss turns out to be. He's not as tough or dirty of a fighter as Kyoya is, but he's not to be underestimated. That's for sure.
Overall, I really like this little DLC story. It pulled out a lot of tricks to make the minute-to-minute gameplay really fun, Kaito's styles are pretty cool takes on older styles to use, and I think the little tale told is really well done. Good side-game.