The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is an incredibly impressive game that combines the talents of Danganronpa’s Kazutaka Kodaka and Zero Escape’s Kotaro Uchikoshi to create an exciting and enthralling tactical RPG and visual novel hybrid.
Credit: XSeed Games
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
Developer: Too Kyo Games
Price: $60
Platform: Nintendo Switch and PC (reviewed)
MonsterVine was supplied with a PC code for review.
When I previewed The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy last month, I was champing at the bit to progress further in the game past the preview content. I was right to be so excited because the full game is even more full of twists, turns, and bloody tactical fun than I could have expected, along with the added bonus of a wild number of endings for players to find.
The game is primarily split into two segments: combat and narrative. In combat, you command a team of teens to take on colorful invaders across a grid as you defend the school’s shield generator. Each character has a unique weapon and skills to repel the invaders with, making strategic thinking a must as the waves of foes charge unrelentingly. I found the difficulty to be just right, as I was always challenged but never frustrated with the pace of combat. It feels genuinely great to pull a win out when you’ve got hordes of foes charging you and things feel overwhelming.
Credit: XSeed Games
One of the most unique aspects of combat in The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is the fact that death isn’t permanent. Killed characters are revived between waves, with deaths actually boosting your Voltage bar, which allows you to use super attacks and boost your characters’ stats. This made it so that even as my characters were killed, it never really felt hopeless to take on the remaining enemies. This mechanic is incorporated into the plot in a fun way as well, which is a neat bonus.
Outside of fighting, there are Free Time sessions where you get to know different characters, as well as a minigame in which you try to convince other characters to fight alongside you. The convincing minigame felt a tad underbaked, but it doesn’t show up so frequently that it ever takes up much of your time. In my preview, I mentioned that Free Time social events felt a bit shallow, but this is remedied later on in the game as you can further bond with the cast.
Credit: XSeed Games
The plot of The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is riveting, as it utilizes a large cast of diverse and often ridiculous characters to great effect. I immediately found a couple of characters that I enjoyed, then became attached to a large percentage of the cast while the game progressed and I learned more about them.
The sci-fi mysteries that permeate The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy are tantalizing to watch unfold, as it feels as though there’s always an extra twist around the corner to wrap your head around. I was straight-up shocked at some of the turns the story took, especially toward the end of the 100 days when things started getting really nuts. There was no point in the narrative where I felt bored or uninterested, which is an impressive feat for such a lengthy story.
Credit: XSeed Games
And lengthy it is, because the game boasts 100 endings. Later on in the story, your choices will matter quite a bit on many of the 100 days, leading to different outcomes and events. It’s impressive that so much effort was put into this aspect, as the choices you can make are quite different from one another, requiring plenty of writing and voicing to fill out. I can promise that by the time the credits roll for the first time, you’ll be raring to go back into the game to see more.
The character designs in The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy are excellent
Boasting character designs by Danganronpa alum Rui Komatsuzaki, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy looks incredible. The entire cast easily stands out and tells you exactly what each character is about at a glance, both in their regular clothes and their battle attire. I love the enemy designs too, with the invader commanders feeling straight out of a tokusatsu franchise.
Credit: XSeed Games
The voice acting is another highlight of the game, though I do wish there was a bit more of it. A lot of lines simply feature grunts, sighs, and other noises from the voice talents, which is a shame, as the voiced lines are delivered with excellence and dramatic panache. The whole cast knocks it out of the park, which is doubly remarkable given just how many characters there are.
The Final Word
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is an excellent mix of tactical RPG action and visual novel goodness from two of gaming’s most fascinating minds. From the extreme amount of content to the fascinating story, this is an impressive offering all around. If you want a truly unique story along with some flashy tactical combat, you can’t go wrong with this one.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
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