Fully suited and booted in his smartest get-up, Masaharu Kaito sits with his typical man-spreading pose in the Yagami Detective Agency as he speaks with a potential client. An apron-clad Toru Higashi carefully serves the two gentlemen some tea as they discuss business. You’d be forgiven for thinking this is the beginning of some KaitoxHigashi fanfic, but it’s actually a scene from Lost Judgment’s The Kaito Files DLC.

The DLC upgrades Kaito from sidekick to boss man as he’s left to run the Detective Agency in Takayuki Yagami’s absence. Fans of the series have already taken a trip down memory lane with Yagami more than once, now it’s time for a glimpse into Kaito’s youth as his past catches up with him. A new case to find a man’s missing wife who has been presumed dead for two years is more complicated than it seems when the woman in question turns out to be Kaito’s ex-girlfriend Natsume Mikiko. Throw in Mikiko’s son claiming Kaito is his real father and you’ve got more than enough to whet your appetite.

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You’ll be running around Kamurocho for about four hours to complete The Kaito Files, which isn’t too bad for a DLC pack. Of course, it could take you longer depending on whether you get sidetracked by mini-games or struggle with certain fights. I absolutely adored getting more background on Kaito and it was great to see flashbacks of a much younger Kaito rocking a spikier hair-do and it was nice to see his taste in clothing hasn’t changed all that much.

The mystery surrounding Mikiko’s disappearance was interesting enough to keep me wanting to play through to the end, but there are a couple of plot points you can easily guess, even if you can’t predict the finer details. This story arc has a number of similarities to a certain main Yakuza plotline — I won’t get into it to avoid spoilers — but I’m left undecided whether I like the parallel as a nice nod to the main series, or I feel a bit underwhelmed that it doesn’t feel completely shiny and new.

It should come as no surprise that the game offers up the same bag of tricks for you to employ during the DLC. You have to use Active Search Mode to search for clues, you need to chase someone down, you’ll find yourself stealthing into places, and right when you think you might have gotten away without having to tail someone, you get hit with what could be the longest and most painful tailing sequence so far. I would say the puzzle elements in the DLC seemed simpler than the main game too, so don’t be surprised if you breeze through all of the Active Search Modes and conversations. However, things do get mixed up a little as Kaito has different modes of investigation.

Unlike Yagami, who has to rely on tools and gadgets, Kaito is apparently part-dog or something as he has superhuman primal skills that let him sniff out clues, hear things an average person wouldn’t, and generally spot things as part of his whole heightened senses ‘feral beast’ deal. It’s not just the main case that sees you sniffing around garbage bags either, as you can use these skills on the streets to track down cats, search through trash, and of course, unlock some extra items in the process.

Kaito also has different fighting techniques than Yagami, so get ready to blitz through enemies with his Bruiser and Tank styles. Just like with Yagami, you’ll have extra skills you can unlock as you play, and one of the optional side beats that gives you new skills is one of my favourite parts of the DLC.

Finding and examining Memory Points scattered around Kamurocho gives you new skills, as well as a brief comment from Kaito. Some locations are pretty straightforward, you’ll know some of the locations to search just from playing through the story, but others are a matter of just scouring different alleys and streets. Not all of the memories are tied to the new DLC or Mikiko, so prepare yourself to track down some Judgment tourist spots to find them all, after which you can take on the DLC’s secret boss.

You don’t get to explore Yokohama, which is a shame, and there are no side cases to chase down as Kaito either. The focus here is understandably on Kaito’s main case and the dive into his past, but it would have been nice to have some extra side stories to explore.

I thought we would have had more of a bromance going with Kaito and Higashi, in particular, I expected them to partner up for this case, but Higashi’s screentime was disappointingly short-lived. In fact, while there are a few small cameos or mentions of other well-known characters, other than Kaito, you’ll spend most of your time with new characters.

While Yagami’s absence is needed to shine the spotlight on Kaito, I expected a bit more input from him in some way to make the story feel more natural. Yagami and Kaito are business partners and best buds, so why isn’t Kaito filling his friend in on his blast from the past? I couldn’t help but wonder if this foreshadows a future without Yagami.

If you love the Judgment series, The Kaito Files DLC offers more of the same with enough of a little refresh in gameplay to keep it interesting, and while still offering the usual balance of humour and compelling storyline that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios has mastered. After all, not many games will have you wrestling in a hot tub with a guy in his underwear while on the hunt for a murderer. Though I would have liked to hit the streets of Yokohama with Kaito or pick up some side cases, it’s an enjoyable experience that left me wanting to spend more time with my favourite flashy-dressed bruiser.

Score: 3.5/5. A review code for Xbox One was provided by Sega.

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