Open World Action-Adventure RPG DLC Review: Lost Judgment - School Stories Expansion Pack

The School Stories Expansion Pack was the second bit of downloadable content released for Lost Judgment, with the exception of the Windows version which includes this content built-in. Ironically, even though it expands the options available in the school stories side content, it doesn't actually include any new stories.

The biggest draws of this DLC are the boxing expansions. The most useful of these is Yagami's boxing style which can be used at any point in the game.  The other part of the expansion comes within the gym, as  three additional people can spar against for Yagami.

 
The characters that Yagami can spar with include the partner in the Yagami Detective Agency, Masaharu Kaito, the co-founder of the Yokohama 99 detective agency, Fumiya Sugiura, and the former yakuza and mentee of Kaito, Toru Higashi.

The other additions are items and cosmetic options that can be used in the various school clubs. These include additions to the biker gang with the Maxinator motorcycle and the urban course, the MB5000/Supremacy robot for the robotics club, and a new outfit and special moves for the dancing club

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The School Stories Expansion Pack for Lost Judgment is the type of downloadable content that doesn't add a new story but does add a lot of useful stuff. This is usually not the type of DLC I prefer, but the addition of the boxing fighting style and the three new brawling partners puts this particular piece of downloadable content above others of the same type. That said, this is one to pick up with the season pass, as it doesn't stand on its own otherwise.

Final Verdict:

2½ out of 5

Open World Action-Adventure RPG DLC Review: Lost Judgment - Detective Essentials Pack

The Detective Essentials Pack was the first expansion released for Lost Judgment. It was downloadable content for every supported platform except Windows, as it was included in the base game on that port. It included additional items to help with the game, new aesthetic options, new storylines, and additional Sega Master System Games.

The new storylines come in the form of three new dates for Yagami. The women include Tsukino Satome, a graphic designer, a woman inside of the Kamulop mascot, and Kyoko Hakase, the school nurse.  This is the draw of this pack, in my opinion, as the new dating stories are all a lot of fun.

 

The last two, in particular are extremely memorable. The mascot storyline has a funnier story than any of the substories in the main game. 

The other aspect of this pack that validates its price is the additional Sega Master System games to play at the Yagami Detective Agency.  The games are the cute 'em up Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa, the shoot 'em ups Global Defense and Darius II, and the run and gun Alien Syndrome.

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Most of the remaining pieces of the DLC are helpful items that can be used in the game. These include the six extract recipes for lightning blade, telekinesis, insta-flux, unyielding wave, guardian spirit, and temporal zen. There is also an open air skatepark, a hover drive skateboard, a new drone frame known as the sky spider, a super boss version of Shin Amon to fight in the gauntlet. 

There are also three new colors for the detective dog that sits outside of the Yagami Detective Agency.  These include white, black, and rust coloring.  The fur color is purely cosmetic, but somehow welcome as the Shiba Inu is adorable in any color.

 

The Detective Essentials Pack isn't downloadable content worth paying for on its own, but as part of the season pass, it's a nice addition to Lost Judgment. The new hostess stories and Sega Master System games are the draw of this game, but the rest are helpful additions to the game. Well, the new Shiba Inu colors are an exception. However, because they are an inclusion in a pack with more helpful additions, they are not worth sniffing at.

Final Verdict:

3 out of 5

Open World Action-Adventure RPG DLC Review: Lost Judgment - The Kaito Files

The Kaito Files downloadable content for Lost Judgment follows Takayashi Yagami's partner in the Yagami Detective Agency, Masaharu Kaito. It was the first piece of downloadable content by Ryu Ga Gotaku Studio that told a new story rather than adding content to an existing one. It also led to the creation of the side story Like a Dragon games, which tell contained stories focusing on characters other than the current protagonist of the series.

In The Kaito Files, Kaito is left as the head of the detective agency when Tak leaves town on a case. Kaito takes a case on his own and has to explore Kamurocho and Sotenbori to find evidence and interrogate supsects. Kaito has his own style distinct to Yagami. While Tak is more refined both in fighting and in his detective style, Kaito is all about brute force. He plows his way through adversaries, and is blunt about his suspicions. Although, Kaito does have his own charms in the friendly jock sort of way. He is also less intelligent than Yagami, but he makes up for it with his amazing charm. This difference in the personalities makes the story feel like a fresh take on the series, even though it takes place in the same cities as the main game.

Kaito has another interesting difference. Rather than using surveillance tools like Yagami would, Kaito uses his senses, which the game describes as primal like an animal. Kaito can look, hear, and smell for clues using his eyes, ears, and nose although the hearing portion still has the fuzz signifying slight interference with the signal that Yagami had with his devices. Although this doesn't make sense narratively, it is easy to overlook when playing the game.

Like Yagami, Kaito is not alone in his detective work, as he gets help from Yokahama 99 in Ijincho. Like the Yagami Detective Agency, the Yokahama 99 detective agency is a partnership. One partner is the shy computer genius. The other is a former criminal. He is Kaito's distorted mirror image, as Moriarty is to Sherlock Holmes. Whereas Kaito is large and bullish, the other is of average build and is quick in his movements. He shines here as he did in both Judgment games. 

The voice actors return, of course, from the main game. They are just as good here, in Japanese and English, as they are in the main game. The new voice actors are great as well, in both languages. Kaito's case involves his ex-girlfriend, who is one of the best new voices in English and Japanese. He is asked, both by her husband and her son, who thinks Kaito is his dad, to search for her. The former is aloof, with the voice actors providing the right performance for his personality. On the other hand, the son is impetuous. The voice actors here do the most heavy lifting, as he follows Kaito on his investigation. This could easily become grating, but it never does because the voice actors don't provide him with an over the top performance as many impetuous teenagers have in many forms of media.

The Kaito Files is a fantastic downloadable addition to Lost Judgment. The story shines, as is usual with Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. The returning characters are just as engaging as in the main game, and the new characters fit right in. The voice actors do an excellent job bringing the personalities of the characters to life. This is what DLC should be. If Judgment ever gets a new entry, it would be great for Kaito to be a protagonist, even if only in a side story downloadable content.

Final Verdict:
4½ out of 5

Judgment series

Lost Judgment Review

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's Like a Dragon oeuvre

Lost Judgment Review

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review

Turn Based RPG DLC Review - Costume Quest: Grubbins on Ice

Grubbins on Ice is downloadable content for Double Fine's role playing game Costume Quest that is a new story to experience with new artwork and locations and new costumes to use.  Since it runs on top of the main game, the gameplay is the same, but it manages to present enough new ideas to make it worth playing.

The game starts months after Costume Quest ended, after winter has arrived.  Lucy and Everett are looking for proof that Repugia actually exists, to prove that their last adventure actually happened. They stumble upon a portal to Repugia, and Lucy is soon kidnapped.  This time the twins Wren and Reynold team up together with Everett to save their friend.  Even though both twins are part of the team this time through, the player still chooses between them to pick who is the leader of the group.  Once the team is assembled, the trio heads through the portal to Repugia to get Lucy back.

This is where the charm of Grubbins on Ice comes into play, as the roles are switched.  Whereas in Costume Quest, the kids went around their neighborhood fighting monsters who had invaded their realm to take their candy, here they are the outsiders who are viewed by the residents as the monsters. Upon arriving, the trio learn that there are Repugians that are part of a revolution to overthrow the tyrant who has kidnapped Lucy.  Joining in on the revolution, the trio now knock on doors soliciting candy to support the revolution.  It plays the same as the original game, with this humorous monstrous twist, with the group fighting monsters in order to get stronger and collecting candy in order to buy battle stamps to increase their abilities in battle.  However, as this uses the same system as the main game, the drawbacks present in that game are still present here.  The turn based combat system with quick time events for increasing damage and dodging attacks are still here, and still do get repetitive after a while.  However, like the main game, the strengths of the game in other areas helps to alleviate this.

The Repugian world is covered in snow, and the charming art style of Costume Quest is put to good use here.  The new world is mysterious, and the white blanket of snow over everything helps to add to that.  As with the main game, the art of the characters and the backgrounds are charmingly whimsical, and really fit with the feeling of childhood that the game world is going for.  The humor is in full force here, as the developers seemed to have had a lot of fun playing around with the concept, as the main thrust of the story is actually slightly more creative and memorable than the main game.

The costumes from the main game are once again used here, both in battle and in some cases in Repugia itself.  But, there are actually three new costumes to be found here, one of which ties right into the winter theme.  Since there are only three to find here, all three of them have powers that can be used outside of battle, and all of them have interesting transformation animations when used in battle.  The new costumes are used well for the new puzzles, and once again there are many hidden things to be found using these new abilities.  There are still no voices in the game, but the humorous dialog once again makes up for it in spades. As with the main game, the excellent musical score adds to the atmosphere and also helps to pull you into the game world in lieu of voice work.

Grubbins on Ice succeeds in all the areas that the main game did, but it still has the same drawbacks as well.  The turn based combat system with quick time events still gets repetitive, and there is no voice acting.  However, the story here is slightly more original and memorable than the main game, and the humor that comes from showing the concept of trick or treating from the Repugian side with the human kids as the monsters is quite entertaining. The art style is still as charming as ever and the new costumes are fun, both in battle and out.  The game's excellent soundtrack and fun puzzles also help to make this game worth playing.  You have to buy it seperately on consoles, but it is free on computer platforms.  No matter what platform you get this for, however, it is well worth getting as it's a fun, but quite short, experience.

Final Verdict:

3½ out of 5

Puzzle Adventure DLC Review: Stacking - The Lost Hobo King

The Lost Hobo King is downloadable content for Stacking that tells a short little story that is set after the events of the main game. It doesn't add anything to the main storyline, but it's funny and it has much of the charm of the main game, in a much smaller portion.

In Stacking, Charlie was aided in his adventure by a helpful hobo.  This time around, Charlie will be helping his Hobo friend by traveling to his hobo village to try to find the artifacts that will bring about the fabled hobo king.  It's a simple story, but it's full of the charm and humor you've come to expect from Stacking.  The story is still told in a silent film era presentation, the scenery is once again presented in a charming paper and cardboard style to match the Russian nesting doll characters, and the music still fits the presentation perfectly.

This being Stacking, the best thing about this little story is that you will meet a lot of new dolls, from rabbits to gypsies, and even zombies.  Since you can stack into most of them, that means that there will be a lot of new skills that Charlie can use to solve new puzzles.  The puzzles in this side quest are just as silly and entertaining as those in the main game, and are definitely the main draw of the game.

The real only drawback to The Lost Hobo King is that it's quite short.  However, the charming art style, the humorous storyline and animations, and the silly, entertaining puzzles make this worth playing.  Plus, the price is right for what you get.  It's five dollars on consoles, but if you play it on PC, Mac, or Linux, it comes bundled with the main game at no extra charge.  If you enjoyed Stacking, it's certainly worth playing The Lost Hobo King, no matter which system you play it on.

Final Verdict:

4 out of 5

Choices-and-Consequences DLC Review: The Walking Dead: 400 Days

400 Days is downloadable content for The Walking Dead: Season One that tells the story of five different protagonists who survived the first 400 days of the zombie apocalypse in a single episode. It is an ambitious story experiment by Telltale Games and one that mostly manages to work, with a few hiccups.

The story takes place during the first 400 days of the zombie apocalypse, from the early days of the outbreak to a time period taking place after the five episodes of the first season. The stories interconnect with each other and at times even reference events and characters from season one. Unlike Telltale's previous games, you can choose your protagonist from the start. You will have to play as all five protagonists, but which order you choose determines at what point in the timeline the story will be told. This means that you can either play the story linearly from day 1 to day 400, or jump around as you wish. This choice is nice, as it gives the player a freedom of choice that they hadn't had before, but it's also one of the episode's major drawbacks, as ultimately the order doesn't really matter, as the purpose of the story is simply to tell five stories about how five people with five very different personalities had come to survive the apocalypse. This is mostly remedied by the fact that the stories told are all quite interesting, and they surprisingly manage to flesh out the characters quite a bit in the very short playtime that each character is given in each of their single chapters.

As usual for this series, the voice acting and music are excellent. Each actor portrays their role with a truly genuine feeling, from the main characters to the side characters, and the music manages to hit all the right notes to fit the mood perfectly. The art style continues to shine, with each location and character having a comic-style look to them, as in the series proper. As far as gameplay is concerned, this episode continues on the course started by the finale of The Walking Dead, by no longer having true inventory puzzles or direct-controlled action sequences, with gameplay only consisting of player choice and quick time events. Unfortunately, as each chapter is very short, the limitations of this style show more than usual, as the choices don't immediately affect the way characters treat you in the story as much as they did in the main series.

400 Days is an experiment in storytelling that manages to work quite well as a story, but leaves a little to be desired in the choices-and-consequences department. The choice-based gameplay worked fine when you had a whole season, or even a whole episode focusing on choices made and how characters react to those choices. With each chapter being quite small due to the limited time allotted to each character, this style of gameplay doesn't quite work as well. However, the five stories told are all quite interesting, and the voice actors portray the characters (as well as the characters met by the protagonists) quite well. The music and art style, always a high point for this series, also continues to shine here. So, it might still be worth playing if a strong story and presentation are enough of a pull for your tastes. If you prefer a little more substance to your gaming, you might want to sit this one out.

Final Verdict:

3½ out of 5