When I finished Lost Judgment, I mentioned that I would get around to its DLC story The Kaito Files after taking a break for October’s spooky games.
Well, November is here and I’ve now played The Kaito Files.
The Kaito Files is a short DLC episode in which you play as Kaito.
While Yagami is away, Kaito is asked to investigate the disappearance of a woman believed to be dead until recently. What’s more is that Kaito knew her years ago – and almost married her.
It’s an intriguing detective story in its own right, but the emotional aspect due to its connection with Kaito’s past makes it even better. I can’t say I had strong feelings toward Kaito either way before this, but it sold me on him as a protagonist.
Click for Kaito Files spoilers
Although, my original idea on how future Judgment games could handle the Yagami romance issue is now dashed. I think they won’t commit to a Yagami/Mafuyu romance because they want to keep him canonically single for the girlfriend stuff, so I thought the best solution was to make a Judgment game with multiple characters and give all the girlfriend/dating content to the other character.
But Kaito got his happy ending being reunited with Mikiko, and breaking that up would feel even worse! So I no longer want Kaito dating mechanics in a future game.
(This DLC also claims Hoshino and Saori are at a point where marriage is on the table… which has me even more baffled by the portrayal of their romance in the main game. That aside, I guess my idea would have to fall to Higashi now.)
There are no side cases in this DLC and only the standard Kamurocho mini-games. That’s my only disappointment with it, because I would have loved to see Kaito getting mixed up in some wacky antics.
Instead, there’s a small amount of side content in the form of collectibles, which you can find using Kaito’s “primal senses.” Yes, instead of getting detective gadgets like Yagami does in the main game, Kaito simply has super senses, so you’ll be walking down the street when he starts sniffing, and that means you should activate “primal nose” to find a hidden collectible. The goofiness of Kaito sniffing out collectibles (and sometimes plot-relevant clues) like he’s a dog is so bizarre it’s hilarious. I have no idea why they went this route, but it certainly made me smile.
Kaito has two different combat styles and levels up by gaining SP just like Yagami does in the main game. I found him enjoyable enough to play as and even unlocked all his skills and fought the bonus boss.
Now when The Kaito Files was announced, I was skeptical of it being half the price of the main game considering they said it would be around 10 hours long. Indeed, it only took me 9 hours to complete. On the other hand, I bought the Season Pass on sale, so it’s not as bad.
More importantly, they were a great 9 hours! The Kaito Files is excellent, with a good story, several fun moments, and a villain who’s twisted even by Judgment standards. Substories or side cases would have made it perfect, but as it is, I can’t complain.
Finishing The Kaito Files only made me want one thing – more Judgment games.
While we were busy focusing on The Kaito Files, another exciting announcement came out – a new entry in the Utawarerumono series.
