The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
MSRP $59.99
“The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is a morbidly engrossing tactics RPG that takes the right notes from Danganronpa.”
Pros
Engrossing story
Engaging techniques
Charming forged of characters
Colorful artwork type
Cons
Weak minigames
Long load occasions on Switch
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
A special form of loss of life recreation
Life after loss of life
Copying homework
When a online game developer makes an enormous hit that earns it recognition, it’s solely pure that it’d attempt to follow the identical components and attempt to make lightning strike twice. Atlus’s Metaphor: ReFantazio is a primary instance, doubling down on the Persona construction to create a refined RPG that hits quite a lot of the identical beats. Similarly, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, created by Too Kyo Games, closely borrows components from Danganronpa. It’s no shock that the creators behind that eccentric visible novel collection are answerable for this wonderful new RPG that builds on its DNA.
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy might have the identical artwork type as Danganronpa and a few comparable gameplay mechanics, but it surely units itself other than from its inspirations to ship an expertise that’s each acquainted and contemporary. The bloody turn-based techniques, gripping story about saving humanity, and larger-than-life characters make it the most effective RPGs of 2025 and a worthy follow-up to Danganronpa’s legacy.
A special form of loss of life recreation
Last Defense Academy follows Takumi Sumino, a younger boy who wakes up at a mysterious faculty after his hometown is attacked by aliens. Along with a number of different schoolmates, he learns that they’re the final line of protection for humanity in opposition to these hostile alien invaders whose aim is to seize a robust artifact buried deep throughout the faculty. As a part of the Special Defense Unit, Takumi and his classmates have to guard the artifact for 100 days after which are rewarded with a visit again house. There are quite a few plot twists and revelations that maintain the story thrilling, from the origins of the invaders to particulars in regards to the artifact. It has the identical anticipation and suspense that Danganronpa followers have come to count on and love.
The over-the-top personalities match completely into the comedic but grim tone.
The engrossing story is bolstered by its intelligent implementation of a New Game Plus system. Whereas different video games like God of War Ragnarok or Elden Ring merely simply ask gamers to repeat the identical story, Last Defense Academy builds on its gameplay alongside its worldbuilding and lore. The first playthrough is a decent railroad, main me into one singular conclusion, however New Game Plus includes a model new story crammed with much more plot twists and new playable characters.
There’s an unlimited flowchart with a number of endings like a standard visible novel. What’s much more spectacular is that regardless that some endings are slight variations primarily based on the choices Takumi makes, a lot of them are substantial sufficient to be thought-about canon endings, even when Takumi is making an attempt to succeed in an final one the place everybody survives the 100 days. There’s no scarcity of content material in Last Defense Academy.
Too Kyo Games
Last Defense Academy has its personal forged of colourful and zany characters like Danganronpa. Some of the standouts embody Kyoshika Magadori, who’s the designated “country bumpkin.” Despite being a samurai, her origins are crammed with typical ninja tropes, comparable to rising up in a hidden village. Darumi Anemiya is impressed by Danganronpa’s sadistic overarching antagonist (however don’t fear, she’s on our aspect). She incessantly makes references to that collection, complaining that she’d slightly be in a killing recreation as a substitute the place the forged members continuously flip in opposition to one another. The over-the-top personalities match completely into the comedic but grim tone.
Funny sufficient, little does Darumi know that she typically truly will get her want. Characters bicker and argue as Takumi futilely makes an attempt to maintain the group’s camaraderie intact. This typically results in the group’s demise, not as a result of the primary villain destroyed them, however as a result of they couldn’t come collectively when it mattered essentially the most.
Throughout the sport, Takumi’s management abilities are repeatedly examined as he has to take care of the results of his personal actions, ensuing within the branching storylines. Regardless, he by no means offers up hope and fights to the bitter finish even when it looks as if all is misplaced. It’s a extremely motivating driving pressure to discover the entire totally different endings, a sense I haven’t felt since taking part in the Zero Escape collection.
Death is the recurring theme explored within the story right here, however what makes Last Defense Academy so fascinating is how casually it treats the concept. The faculty has a machine that may carry folks again to life, aptly (and ridiculously) referred to as the Revive O’Matic. Throughout the story, I turned numb to characters dying, as they’ll merely simply come again after a brief time frame. Death is trivial, till it isn’t. The fixed cycle of loss of life and resurrection is finally disrupted, which provides a few of its endings true emotional heft. Ironically, whereas Takumi’s highway to reaching his fortunately ever after with everybody alive following 100 days is paved with good intentions, it’s additionally constructed utilizing the blood and corpses of his personal teammates.
Life after loss of life
The different bulk of Last Defense Academy’s gameplay entails strategic techniques akin to a Fire Emblem recreation. Instead of specializing in pure stat numbers, its mechanics emphasize motion and assault vary. This avoids min-maxing stat procedures and makes me suppose extra strategically about the place to position my assaults to wipe out as many invaders as attainable.
Placement is essential as a result of gamers have restricted AP to spend per battle, to allow them to’t essentially transfer all of their models in a single flip. While the small fry invaders solely have a single digit of HP, the bigger ones have extra and reward further AP after they’re defeated. However, gamers can’t depart the lowly enemy fodder working about, as they’ll assault the varsity itself and take down its barrier, triggering a lose situation. As a consequence, the gameplay strikes an important steadiness between offensive and defensive play, protecting battles contemporary.
Too Kyo Games
I used to be capable of focus extra on the enjoyment of techniques after I didn’t have to fret about dropping characters completely.
With each transfer, the Voltage meter slowly builds as much as a restrict of 300%. By utilizing a portion of Voltage, models can acquire an additional transfer, a everlasting assault increase, or put together to counterattack in opposition to incoming enemy assaults. This provides further gameplay depth to the in any other case restricted motion choices.
What actually separates Last Defense Academy’s techniques gameplay from different contemporaries is that it encourages gamers to kill off their very own characters. Because of the Revive O’Matic, I may use loss of life to my full benefit with no punishment. When characters hit vital well being, they’ll fireplace off their final assaults with out utilizing up Voltage on the expense of dying. I’m even rewarded for doing that as a result of it provides one other 100% to the Voltage meter and the post-battle outcomes display provides a bonus rating for each character sacrificed.
I used to be capable of focus extra on the enjoyment of techniques after I didn’t have to fret about dropping characters completely. It’s a stark distinction to different techniques video games the place I’d take each step to make sure that my characters survive. Instead, I fortunately put them in hurt’s strategy to make them exit with a bang, understanding that they’ll be again within the subsequent enemy wave.
Death, and its position in battle, struck me essentially the most throughout my very first boss encounter. At the top of most boss battles, gamers can choose one character to complete off the commander and take in their energy, giving them a everlasting energy increase. However, the character choice display is introduced within the commander’s viewpoint, with the Special Defense Unit obtrusive down with malicious intent and the background soaked in rage-inducing crimson. It’s nearly just like the commander is begging for his or her life to be spared.
Too Kyo Games
After choosing the character, they slowly stroll as much as the commander and ship a killing blow, the display crammed with raining blood and the scene ending on a detailed up of the chosen character’s face. From that time ahead, it made me query the Special Defense Unit’s heroic motives, considering, “wait, are we the baddies?” I didn’t know the origins of the invaders but, however as I continued taking part in and discovered extra about them, I at all times stored this second in the back of my thoughts.
Copying homework
When Takumi isn’t out defending the varsity, Last Defense Academy is about up equally to a Persona recreation. Throughout the 100 days, the Special Defense Unit gathers within the cafeteria to debate any essential occasions or findings they arrive throughout. Interspersed between these story components are moments the place Takumi can do actions throughout the varsity. He can hang around with classmates, take part in mock VR battles, and discover outdoors of faculty grounds. They’re all price doing as they supply gameplay advantages to Takumi, like granting BP to improve abilities, rewarding supplies to reinforce weapons, or rising his social stats. The freedom to arrange your individual schedule makes the 100 days move by in a breeze.
There are some story situations the place Takumi has to conduct Persuasion Missions to persuade his different classmates to battle alongside him. This is one in every of Last Defense Academy’s few pitfalls. I’m thrust right into a minigame the place I’ve to select the proper phrase and fill out a meter, one other gameplay concept clearly borrowed from the Danganronpa video games. There’s no fail state and choosing the flawed phrase simply merely reverts me again to a earlier level within the dialog. It’s low stakes and doesn’t add a lot to the general expertise.
Sometimes I’m additionally thrown right into a stealth minigame the place I’ve to navigate the varsity with out getting caught. While these minigames are comparatively straightforward in comparison with pressured stealth missions in different video games, they occur so sometimes that there doesn’t actually appear to be a degree to them in any respect. They would have labored simply in addition to common cutscenes.
Too Kyo Games
If you do occur to locate the Persuasion Missions and stealth missions, be ready to attend a number of seconds. Load occasions are sluggish on Switch, and are inconsistent between taking part in in docked mode versus handheld. Loading occasions whereas taking part in within the latter is someway sooner than the previous. The sluggish load occasions are additionally an annoyance when navigating by way of the varsity. Other than that, nevertheless, there aren’t some other efficiency points.
On the floor, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy merely appears like the subsequent mainline Danganronpa recreation in all however identify. However, it does greater than sufficient to separate itself and even pulls off the components higher. With a robust visible novel spine, Last Defense Academy’s strong RPG methods and story transcends its inspirations. Despite a number of crimson marks on its report card, the scholar has surpassed the trainer.
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy launches on April 23 for Nintendo Switch and PC.