There’s so much I wish to say about The Hundred Line: The Final Protection Academy, I simply don’t know find out how to say it. That is partially as a result of providing any type of story element would spoil the surprises that hit very early. It’s additionally as a result of the premise and gameplay are so off the rails that it’s onerous to wrap your head round every part.
However good Lord, what enjoyable it’s to attempt!
Printed by Marvelous (XSEED), the sport involves us from Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi—names you might know from the Danganropa and Zero Escape sequence, respectively. In that case, that ought to provide you with some inkling of what to anticipate, however I liken The Hundred Line’s movement extra to video games resembling 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim and Yurukill: The Calumniation Video games. Seize the demo, and also you’ll shortly see what I imply.
The story facilities round Takumi Sumino, a teenaged boy who’s turn out to be tired of life within the Tokyo Residential Complicated—a domed metropolis plagued with two unlucky realities. First, the lighting is horrible; think about residing underneath a sky lit up like a highschool cafeteria. That’s my criticism, although, not Takumi’s. His is that sirens often announce a mysterious hazard stage, throughout which the residents should retreat to underground shelters. This contains Karua Kashimiya, a childhood buddy Takumi swore to guard after she misplaced her father throughout such a raid.
When the 2 ultimately discover themselves above floor throughout an assault, Takumi finds his oath put to the take a look at by a wierd, ghost-like creature who tells him he can save Karua if he’ll simply, , stab himself within the chest with a wierd dagger referred to as the Infuser. It’s not a spoiler to say he does this (we do should get the sport shifting), after which he’s transported to The Final Protection Academy with a bunch of different excessive schoolers who additionally don’t know what’s taking place.
Right here, I’ve to start out speaking in regards to the story. Half the enjoyable of The Hundred Line is studying what’s occurring, and that’s teased and twisted all through the sport. Very often, while you suppose you’re about to determine one thing out, the sport both goes in a unique path or finds a strategy to go away you dangling just a bit bit longer.
The overview information supplied by Marvelous (XSEED) included 5 slides value of plot factors we aren’t allowed to disclose; that needs to be a file of some sort.
So, what can I discuss? Nicely, the Final Protection Academy is an precise faculty defending…one thing. Takumi and his fellow classmates aren’t instructed precisely what it’s, simply that it’s crucial to humanity’s survival and that they’ll should defend it for 100 days.
They’re additionally instructed they’re trapped on faculty grounds by “timeless flames” that may’t be extinguished besides in small sections with a particular extinguisher. The excellent news, although, is that Takumi and the others could be introduced again to life supplied they die on faculty grounds (extra on that in a bit).
So, they battle, proper? Flawed. Confused and frightened, they do extra arguing than anything, with only some of the combatants prepared to step up…albeit not all the time for noble causes. These college students aren’t simply eclectic, they’re bonkers right away. The varied personalities usually are not anime tropes, they’re purposeful caricatures of anime tropes, and so they’re all a lot enjoyable. You recognize their character flaws are ultimately going to obtain a second of exposition, however the writers are intelligent about this and use them in surprising methods.
The forged members additionally get their very own skills to make use of on the battlefield. The enemies assault in waves, usually requiring you to defend the academy on a Fireplace Emblem-like grid. Some characters transfer additional than others, some have higher protection, some supply vital buffs, some are very robust in opposition to single targets, whereas others are more practical in opposition to teams of enemies. The nuances are quite a few and complicated, and being strategic with them is, in fact, the important thing to victory.
It may really be fairly overwhelming early on, however two growth choices make it easier to out.
First, you possibly can restart battles from any wave, so dangerous choices don’t drive you again to the beginning. Second, you’re given the choice to restart together with your voltage meter jacked as much as most. This meter permits characters to make use of particular assaults that not solely do important injury but in addition offer you extra motion factors (AP) so you will get extra strikes in in your flip.
The good function of fight, nonetheless, is that it’s usually useful to kill off your personal teammates. I discussed that they arrive again to life, proper? So, if a personality is about to die, you possibly can sacrifice her or him to trigger in depth injury to the enemy whereas rising the talents of the remaining characters. The sacrificed character returns within the subsequent wave or on the finish of battle. Watch out who you kill off, although; you might want a particular specialty for the remaining enemies.
Fortunately, 100 days on the academy doesn’t imply 100 battles. More often than not, you’re working via the sport’s visible novel element and deciding find out how to stage up your characters. There are maybe too some ways to do that. You possibly can create items for characters, hang around with them, examine in a library, enhance your weapons, and extra. You possibly can even interact in a random-chance board sport the place you possibly can harvest supplies in your varied power-ups. It’s so much to think about, and I want the sport did extra to clarify the affect of all of the choices.
I additionally want the builders had completed a greater job of fleshing out the occasional persuasion mini-game. Right here, it’s essential to say the best factor so as to get somebody to, for instance, comply with battle. However the best solutions are achieved by guesswork, and the sport doesn’t inform you what number of choices there will probably be or once they expire. Maybe to compensate, in case you get a solution incorrect, the occasion simply begins over till you get it proper. It’s a bizarre element that doesn’t must exist.
Visually…properly, the Aniplex brand seems when booting up the sport, so you know the way this sport goes to look. It has a ton of favor, with the graphics rising to match the sport’s perspective and humorousness. Talking of which, The Hundred Line is aware of precisely what it’s and mocks itself all through. Among the jokes could also be a bit too meta, positive, however they’re nonetheless very humorous, and that helps to maneuver issues alongside through the moments when the visible novel facets keep it up a bit too lengthy.
Nonetheless, there wasn’t a second once I didn’t have a blast enjoying The Hundred Line: The Final Protection Academy. And when it’s completed, it’s not completed. Your first playthrough is fairly linear, however subsequent classes can help you discover totally different story branches. Once more, we’re p rohibited from detailing these branches, however I can say you’ll undoubtedly wish to work via them.
All this thought-about, The Hundred Line: The Final Protection Academy is my favourite sport of 2025 so far. Its anime-like violence and off-color humorousness will not be for everybody, however the turn-based technique and visible novel components mix successfully for an over-the-top romp that may preserve you on edge for all 100 days.
