The final chapter of Lost Judgment, Darkest Before the Dawn, brings together everything that players have learned over the previous twelve; both in terms of their fighting skills and their understanding of the game's complex main story. They'll need to prove that Ehara is guilty of Mikoshiba's murder in a court of law, while also defeating countless enemies in combat.
Even without side cases and School Stories, Darkest Before the Dawn is by far the longest chapter in Lost Judgment, so players should set aside at least three hours if they want to complete it all in a single sitting. They should also consider creating a backup save at the start of the chapter, as they'll soon reach a point when opportunities to explore Kamurocho and Ijincho become limited.
Preparing For Ehara's Appeal
The chapter begins with Tak meeting up with Reiko Kusumoto at the hospital, though there's no optional dialog to choose from during the conversation. When players next gain control, they'll be back in Ijincho and will need to return to Yokohama 99 to talk over the case with Kaito, Sugiura, and Tsukumo.
After handing over the locket to Tsukumo, players should take a taxi back over to Kamurocho and then make their way to Genda Law. Saori suggests conducting another interview with Ehara ahead of the appeal, but she's not ready to go to the detention center just yet and so players will need to kill some time.
This is a great opportunity to wrap up any remaining side cases or school stories, though players can skip straight to the interview by taking a taxi to Ijincho and then immediately returning to Kamurocho if they'd prefer. Upon their arrival, players will get a call from Saori, who'll ask Tak to meet her at the detention center, so players should jump straight back into the taxi and make their way there.
After going over everything with Ehara, Tak and Saori figure out that he may still be sitting on some evidence. When asked what it might be, players should select the "He still has the murder weapon" option. Unfortunately, however, only Ehara knows where the weapon is hidden, so this ends up being something of a dead-end for now.
Once they return from the detention center, players will receive a warning that they are entering the final stages of the game. This is the last opportunity they will have to roam freely around Kamurocho and so they should attend to any remaining side cases or collectibles before leaving. At the very least, they should consider creating a separate save file to come back to.
Saving Koda
Upon his return to Ijincho, Tak will receive a call from Kaito, who tells him to head over to the Liumang's headquarters. After spending the night there, players should wrap up any side cases or school stories they have remaining in Ijincho and then head over to Yokohama 99. Speaking to Sugiura will lead to another warning, so players should make sure that they've done everything they want to do in Yokohama before they continue.
Once ready, heading inside the detective agency will lead to Matsun showing up. He'll reveal that Akane has fallen in with some of the RK thugs and has told them that Koda is Tak's favorite student. Upon calling her, she reveals that she and Koda are being held in the building where Mikoshiba was murdered, which is where players will need to head to next.
Approaching the abandoned building will trigger a cutscene, after which, players will need to defeat a room full of RK thugs. Ishikawa and Kondo can be a little tricky due to their high health and powerful weapons, but providing they keep moving, players should be able to take them down pretty quickly. When they do, Soma will show up and warn Tak not to bring up Reiko Kusumoto during Ehara's appeal.
Ehara's Appeal
When players next gain control of Tak, they'll find themselves at the Yagami Detective Agency one month on from the events at the abandoned building. Leaving the office will automatically take them to the Tokyo High Court, where Ehara's appeal is set to take place imminently.
Once proceedings get started, players should select the "Overhead View of Station Platform" when asked for evidence that Ehara could have swapped places with a double. Next, they'll need to choose the "We have reason to doubt the victim's credibility." option when asked about Mamiya.
Unfortunately, none of this is enough to sway the court, so Tak turns his attention to Ehara instead. Players should pick the "You're familiar with Jin Kuwana, yes?" dialog option and then present the recorded call with Sawa as evidence that the pair had contact in the past.
Ehara continues to play dumb, but, when Tak threatens to delete the only proof that Toshiro was actually bullied, he eventually confesses and reveals the location of the murder weapon. With a confession now secured and a murder trial set to take place in the not too distant future, the judge brings the appeal to a satisfying end.
The Final Showdown
Following the appeal, Bando and Reiko turn up and ask to speak with Tak alone. They have Kuwana on the phone, who it turns out is still in Ijincho and is preparing for the final showdown with Public Security. Tak will head back to Yokohama too in the hopes of helping the former handyman out and will receive a call from Tsukumo upon his arrival letting him know Kuwana's likely location.
Players will now find themselves on Isezaki Road and, as the game suggests, should take this opportunity to stock up on healing items as there are a lot of tough battles ahead. Thankfully, there are plenty of shops and restaurants in the area, so players are somewhat spoiled for choice.
Whenever players are ready, heading to the end of the road will trigger a huge fight with several waves of RK goons. Defeating them will lead to some corrupt police officers showing up to detain Tak and his friends, but the Seiryo High bullies and the Liumang appear out of nowhere and cause a big enough distraction for the detectives to get away.
When they arrive at the warehouse where Kuwana is holed up, players will need to take on another large group of RK thugs. There are around 100 in total, so Crane Style is once again the best option. The next two areas feature slightly smaller fights with RK members, after which players will need to complete an Active Search.
The search requires Tak to examine the metal pipes by the two AC units, the pile of wooden pallets, two orange drums, and the wall that separates them. After climbing up and reaching the area with the barrels, players can then crawl through the vent and drop down on the other side of the wall.
Before progressing any further, players will need to double back and open the door so that Kaito, Higashi, and Sugiura can follow. They'll also need to pick the lock on the following door, which, despite having six pins, shouldn't prove to be too much of a challenge.
Upon passing through the door, Higashi and Kaito will head off to deal with some more thugs, leaving Tak and Sugiura to continue alone for the time being. Players should crawl through the gap immediately in front of them and then climb up the metal bars to get on top of the shelves.
Once on top of the shelves, players will need to run and jump towards the shelves on the opposite side of the room, using the strips of plastic hanging from the ceiling to gain some extra momentum. After shimmying across a few more pipes, they'll then find themselves on a metal staircase, which will lead to an area with more RK goons.
After defeating all of the enemies, players should continue on through the door with the orange plastic strips hanging in front of it. This will trigger another Active Search, during which they'll need to examine the yellow metal pipe by the two AC units as well as the gap between the two orange drums high above them.
Following another lengthy parkour section, players will find more RK members blocking their way forward. Thankfully, Tak, Higashi, and Sugiura show up riding a forklift and clear a path to the next area, where another big fight follows. After clearing the room of enemies and items, it's time to take the elevator down to the depths of the warehouse.
How to Beat Soma
Upon their arrival, players will be met with a five-minute cutscene, after which they're thrown into another fight with Soma. This time, he's joined by a neverending supply of RK members, so players should focus on attacking the general area that he's in with Crane Style attacks to gradually lower his health without being overwhelmed.
After depleting around 75% of Soma's purple health bar, the RK leader will flee and Tak will give chase. Players should be sure to grab the Staminan X before following him into the walk-in freezer and may also want to make the most of the save point while they are here. Whenever they're ready, they should approach the metal doors.
In terms of strategy, the ensuing fight is a little similar to the one at Siren during Chapter 8, though both Soma's health and attack power have been buffed. Players should switch to Tiger Style and only attack immediately after dodging. In the event that they do fall victim to Soma's grab and stab attack though, they should be ready to use an EX Action while on the ground for some easy damage.
Once they have depleted around 90% of Soma's orange health bar, players will need to complete a QTE to end the battle. If playing on PlayStation, they should press X and then triangle, while Xbox players should press A followed by Y. Failure to do so won't result in a game over, but Soma's orange bar will be completely refilled and the same QTE will trigger again after players whittle it back down to 10%.
How to Beat Kuwana
With Soma now restrained and ready to answer for his crimes, there's still the small matter of what happens to Kuwana. He wants to destroy Kawai's body so that there's no evidence to link Reiko to the murder, but Tak has other ideas. As a result, the pair once again find themselves facing off in one final epic showdown.
The first phase of the fight takes place on solid ground with plenty of weapons scattered around. Players should consider using them, as Kuwana has a ridiculous amount of health and some very powerful attacks of his own. As with other one v one fights, Tiger Style is the best choice here, though Crane Style isn't a bad option either as it allows players to more easily attack from range.
Once Kuwana's purple bar is down to around 20%, the pair will end up on top of the shelves, at which point, Kuwana will begin to use more powerful attacks. This isn't a bad thing though, as it provides players with more opportunities to perform deadly counters, which can shred through his health bar a lot faster than regular attacks.
Brining Kuwana's orange health bar down to around 20% will lead to another QTE sequence, during which players will need to press R1 and Triangle (RB and Y if playing on Xbox). As with the Soma fight, messing this QTE up isn't fatal, but it will result in Kuwana's orange bar being completely refilled and players having to retry it later on to finish the fight.
With Kuwana now defeated, players can lay their controllers down and sit back and enjoy the game's final cutscenes. There are 18 minutes of them in total, followed by an unskippable seven-minute closing credits sequence. After the credits finish rolling, players will get a summary of their playthough and will also unlock Legend Difficulty, Premium Adventure, Premium New Game Plus, and ¥500,000.