The Forbidden Taste is one of the more involved side cases in Lost Judgment. In it, you’ll meet up with an eccentric fellow by the name of Joe-san. According to him, there’s a rumor concerning a phantom ramen stall. This ramen stall, which only appears at night and can only be found by following mysterious cats, becomes a source of impassioned curiosity for Joe-san. He asks for your help to get to the bottom of the exciting rumors.
To find the phantom ramen stall, Yagami needs to befriend at last one cat. There are only two groups of cats, indicated by a paw on the map. One group is found chilling by Onodera’s Wares. The other group hangs around the corner of Chinatown highlighted in the screenshot below.
Befriending this cat can be a process if you don’t come prepared. When approaching either group, you’ll be greeted by a cat, prompting you to give it a name. Sometimes, upon returning, you’ll be greeted by a different cat within the group. Be sure to remember what name belongs to which cat as you’ll need to properly recollect their name upon each visit to gain their trust.
After successfully recalling the cat’s name, you’re given three options: petting, staring affectionately, and feeding. While all three options level up the cat’s meter, feeding it is the quickest way to finish this side case. You’ll only need to feed a cat twice to max out its attachment to you. After feeding it once, jog away for about ten seconds or interact with something like a shop. Then, return to the group to be greeted by the cat again.
You can find cat food at the following locations:
- Onodera’s Wares
- Poppo (Tsurukame Highway)
- Poppo (Jinna Station exterior)
- The Jinnai Station interior location doesn’t sell cat food
- Deco Rush
If you’re having trouble finding the shops, press Y on Xbox or triangle on PlayStation with the map opened up to scroll through the various venues. Select the shop you want from this drop-down list to pin them to your mini-map. Assigning the proper cat food to a kitty can take a little guesswork. Due to the nature of the cat food using real images sitting next to the less than stellar in-game rendering of the furry felines, you will have to make your best-educated guess.
After befriending a single cat, you can either wait until nighttime within the story or sleep on the sofa at Yokohama 99 in Premium Adventure to fast forward to night. Then, you’ll be greeted by the cat you befriended, initiating a dialogue scene in which you’re guided to the mysterious ramen stall. Watch or skip this scene and The Forbidden Taste side case is complete.
