As someone who has written to infinity and beyond in the Judgment fandom, I feel like I should say a little something in terms of the Kaito Files DLC. I've briefly mentioned it here and there in my notes on my fics, but I absolutely just didn't like the DLC all that much. I liked small things here and there; I thought Mikiko and Jun were good characters, I liked that we got some Higashi lore: he used to make and serve tea for the Matsugane Family, he gets a new arcade in Ijincho (WHICH WE DON'T FIND AT ALL IN INFINITE WEALTH). BUT... a lot just felt quite lackluster and unlike what I've come to love in RGG games. LET ME COUNT THE WAYS!
First of all, it's a DLC about Kaito. Which is FINE! He's not my favorite, and at times he's really fucking dumb and I don't believe he can be a GREAT detective (or even a good MAIN protagonist for the series), but he means well and is strong. I think he's a good fit alongside Yagami and backs him up. And I guess for big Kaito fans, it's great to finally see him in action! However, the whole "you were engaged 16 years ago and you fall HARD when you're in love" feels like a last minute decision to write some bigger backstory for Kaito.
Now, we know a bit already; he joined up with Matsugane right after graduating middle-school, his dad was a drunk, he went to highschool for a year (??? He mentions it in Lost Judgment, and I guess I assume Matsugane tried to have him go, but it feels off, but whatever). It all seems to fit in with Kaito's character, but the whole engagement thing felt off only because the DLC makes such a big deal about it, shows us flashbacks of him and Mikiko, show us how much it means to Kaito... but until the DLC tells us about the engagement, it just never seems like it comes up or did anything to change his character in any way. It seems more like an afterthought rather than something that works out with an already established character. And it's not the WORST thing at all, but it just really sticks out to me.
I actually really liked the flashbacks of Kaito and Mikiko. It was clear that Kaito cared and Mikiko was a strong woman who wouldn't put up with his bullshit, but instead call him out on it. Kaito would absolutely come to her aid, but she wasn't helpless either. BUT... her introduction rubbed me the wrong way. Not for Mikiko; she was sticking up for her baby sister and doing what she could to protect her. But you can't tell me that an office worker, whether she used self-defense or not, could totally leave the Matsugane office weakened that they needed Kaito to come in and save the day because she could totally take on several yakuza by herself. I know they needed a quick way to tell us she was a no-nonsense woman, but I just felt like it was a weak way to get Kaito around to meet her.
They made it too obvious Kyoya was the bad guy. I don't know if maybe I have a sixth sense for plot-twists or maybe it's just their writing (RGG twists are never the STRONGEST, but sometimes I don't see it coming), but they kept going with every intention of making it OBVIOUS he was not a good guy. He was rich, worked a lot, and then hurt Jun because the kid was just looking at some knives he found. There was NO subtlety about Kyoya, and the fact that he somehow seemed a million times more evil than Soma just seemed annoying, mostly because beyond Kyoya wanting money and to be rich, he barely felt all that complex. Like, he felt cartoonishly evil.
It leads me to the next point that the whole game itself just seemed so predictable. I knew Kyoya was going to be the big bad, I knew Kaito wasn't REALLY gonna be Jun's dad but it would make him want to help more and more even thinking he MIGHT be, and I knew that not only was Mikiko never going to do any damage during her revenge rampage, but she would end up with Kaito. I know I said RGG twists aren't always the strongest, but I feel like despite it, they still weave an intriguing story with twists and turns that become unexpected. But I could almost see everything a mile away and none of it was particularly interesting, if I'm being honest.
The ending I think is what truly soured me to it all. They're on a rooftop, Kyoya has been subdued, and Mikiko is seconds away from shooting him and getting her revenge because Kyoya had his "bestie" Kenmochi burn down her family's house (which apparently he assumed the house would be empty which is why he was okay with it, but he never checked and was really upset he killed people. OKAY?). Kaito stops her and mentions that Jun would be alone, and Kyoya was already in a bad spot and she could end her rampage, so Mikiko DOESN'T shoot him. And it's weird because she already had the detectives (which we never heard about until the DLC) watch Jun while she planned to infiltrate the party. So like, what were her plans for her kid once she DID get her revenge? It's mentioned a lot that despite it all, she loved Jun and tried to always be there for him before her disappearance, but suddenly she needs KAITO to bring up that her kid would watch her shoot his father and then she'd be in jail. Whatever. Kenmochi strangles Kyoya, DIES HIMSELF FROM THE POISON (Kyoya is super evil by the way and poisoned and killed EVERYONE. BECAUSE. HE. IS. EVIL!!!!), Jun is likely traumatized from watching it (plus all the trauma from EVERYTHING ELSE), and... it doesn't get brought up how much that'll fuck him up. Whether his dad was the most evillest villain or not, it's gonna fuck Jun up. And even when Jun talks to Kaito on the roof about wanting to be strong to protect those he cares about, he barely seems affected by watching people die RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. YIKES!
AND THEN DON'T WORRY! Mikiko ends up with Kaito in the end! Because not only did the doctor who cared for her during her amnesia fall for her, but for some stupid reason, despite Mikiko now being free from her rampage to pick up the pieces of all the shit she's been through, the best thing to do is to saddle her with a man! AND WHAT BETTER WAY THAN TO FIGHT FOR HER LIKE SHE'S JUST A PRIZE TO BE WON?
And it's mostly for comedic effect I guess, since of course this rando RIPPED doctor would never win the girl when the protagonist is RIGHT THERE, but it's just... so stupid. They just go with Kaito despite EVERYTHING THAT WENT ON like it'll all be okay. And I think that's what really fucking chaps my hide. It felt like Jun's the only one who grew (KIND OF. He got over his fear of knives, I GUESS), and they all lived happily ever after. And don't get me wrong, I like a happy ending too, but it just felt too perfect. Nothing ever felt tense, it never felt like anything was at stake, no one seems all that hurt by anything that has happened (except, again, JUN). On paper I think the outline for the plot seems okay. But man, it just felt like a way to give Kaito some attention because... I dunno, maybe fans were sad he wasn't in Lost Judgment for half the game due to his stab wound?
I know I'm in the minority here. I want the guys to be happy because they've all been through shit, but man, I don't know, it felt too perfectly weaved to end the way it did. Despite how much I liked Kaito/Mikiko, it just feels like it's a leap for Mikiko to uproot her and Jun's lives after ALL THAT SHIT, to go live with Kaito all because... LOVE CONQUERS ALL!!!!111 It just felt so trite and unbelievable given what I'm accustomed to, I guess. I believe Mikiko would see how much Kaito would have changed in so many years, but she has a lot more going on and a lot to unpack, I just guess I don't see her as being so charmed and wooed after everything that had gone on just because Kaito won some stupid dick measuring contest FOR HER LOVE! It felt like they just wanted to have some form of wrap-up, and we got... this. I've seen a lot of talk about how Kaito wouldn't be so bad as a main character, and I FULLY disagree. I think he's a strong side character, but he doesn't feel smart enough to carry a game of mystery and intrigue. I know it was after the fact, but we saw how it went in Gaiden when he was the lead on a case; he had it all wrong and was running off before he heard a client's full story, and then ALSO throwing Higashi under a bus for not picking up that they had been tricked by a yakuza family.
There's a lot of little things that annoyed me as well, such as random woman working at Charles despite part of Higashi's character is that with the Family dissolved, he's been working toward getting Charles profitable so he can hire his guys to work for him because he cared so much about them. And it's not so much that he has a woman working, but more that she's only there so she can be a damsel in distress to show off Jun's character as fighting for what's right and protecting those who don't have the strength to protect themselves. They ditched some small established character lore to create lore for a new character when they could have done it a million other ways. It's a nitpick, but I'm a huge Higashi fan and entitled to my opinion.
I also hated Hoshino's bit. I could see him helping Kaito out on a case, but then he talks about troubles in his and Saori's relationship, how there's distance between them, which is also mentioned here and there in Lost Judgment as well but never taken further. So of course, Kaito says Hoshino should propose. WHY? Who the fuck knows, I guess to foreshadow the upcoming backstory. It's stupid. It's. All. So. Stupid.
Mikiko randomly snooping through Kyoya's laptop and finding evidence he was behind her family's death just also felt lazy. To be fair, I can't quite remember why it was explained she was snooping around, but with how meticulous and calculating they made Kyoya out to be, I just couldn't see him keeping any kind of documentation about it, especially not somewhere where his family could find it so easily. It felt too convenient.
Phew! I had to get it out of my system. I've been playing Lost Judgment here and there, and the stupid DLC stares me in the face when I open the phone, and it's annoying. I nearly gave up on the DLC after the first chapter because I was just so uninvested in it, but I pushed through because achievements and man. It just didn't feel like it got better. And not only was it too formulaic and predictable, the difficulty spike just felt odd. Like fighting as Kaito was fun, but the enemies felt like a chore to get past to the point that I set the difficulty to easy just so I could get through it faster.
Everyone praises the writing, and I'll say the writing was fine. They told the story they wanted to, it wasn't necessarily even a bad story, they even gave us some good characters in Jun and Mikiko, but it just didn't quite feel like a Ryu ga Gotoku story. It felt devoid of any real tension, intrigue, and it never left me feeling like I HAD to know more and at the edge of my seat. I'm glad it came free if you bought the Judgment Collection, because paying any big amount for the DLC would've been a slap in the face.
ANYWAY, Higashi lore was the best part of the DLC for me and it showed what a big heart he has despite trying to keep his edges. Love that for him!
