There’s so much I wish to say about The Hundred Line: The Final Protection Academy, I simply don’t understand how to mention it. That is partly as a result of providing any more or less tale element would wreck the surprises that hit very early. It’s additionally for the reason that premise and gameplay are so off the rails that it’s exhausting to wrap your head round the whole thing.
However just right Lord, what amusing it’s to check out!
Printed by way of Marvelous (XSEED), the sport involves us from Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi—names you could know from the Danganropa and 0 Break out collection, respectively. If this is the case, that are meant to provide you with some inkling of what to anticipate, however I liken The Hundred Line’s glide extra to video games corresponding to 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim and Yurukill: The Calumniation Video games. Snatch the demo, and also you’ll briefly see what I imply.
The tale facilities round Takumi Sumino, a teenaged boy who’s change into tired of lifestyles within the Tokyo Residential Advanced—a domed town plagued with two unlucky realities. First, the lighting fixtures is horrible; consider residing underneath a sky lit up like a highschool cafeteria. That’s my grievance, regardless that, now not Takumi’s. His is that sirens now and again announce a mysterious threat degree, all over which the citizens should retreat to underground shelters. This contains Karua Kashimiya, a formative years good friend Takumi swore to give protection to after she misplaced her father all over this sort of raid.
When the 2 in the end in finding themselves above flooring all over an assault, Takumi unearths his oath put to the check by way of a peculiar, ghost-like creature who tells him he can save Karua if he’ll simply, you realize, stab himself within the chest with a peculiar dagger referred to as the Infuser. It’s now not a spoiler to mention he does this (we do must get the sport transferring), and then he’s transported to The Final Protection Academy with a bunch of different top schoolers who additionally do not know what’s taking place.
Right here, I’ve to start out speaking concerning the tale. Part the joys of The Hundred Line is finding out what’s happening, and that’s teased and twisted all the way through the sport. Fairly ceaselessly, while you suppose you’re about to determine one thing out, the sport both is going in a unique course or unearths a option to go away you dangling just a bit bit longer.
The assessment information supplied by way of Marvelous (XSEED) integrated 5 slides value of plot issues we aren’t allowed to expose; that must be a document of a few sort.
So, what can I speak about? Smartly, the Final Protection Academy is a real faculty protecting…one thing. Takumi and his fellow classmates aren’t informed precisely what it’s, simply that it’s crucial to humanity’s survival and that they’ll must shield it for 100 days.
They’re additionally informed they’re trapped on faculty grounds by way of “timeless flames” that may’t be extinguished except for in small sections with a distinct extinguisher. The excellent news, regardless that, is that Takumi and the others may also be introduced again to lifestyles supplied they die on faculty grounds (extra on that during somewhat).
So, they try, proper? Incorrect. Puzzled and apprehensive, they do extra arguing than the rest, with handiest a number of the fighters keen to step up…albeit now not at all times for noble causes. Those scholars aren’t simply eclectic, they’re bonkers right away. The quite a lot of personalities aren’t anime tropes, they’re functional caricatures of anime tropes, they usually’re all such a lot amusing. You recognize their personality flaws are in the end going to obtain a second of exposition, however the writers are suave about this and use them in surprising tactics.
The forged individuals additionally get their very own skills to make use of at the battlefield. The enemies assault in waves, ceaselessly requiring you to shield the academy on a Hearth Brand-like grid. Some characters transfer additional than others, some have higher protection, some be offering necessary buffs, some are very tricky towards unmarried objectives, whilst others are more practical towards teams of enemies. The nuances are a large number of and complicated, and being strategic with them is, after all, the important thing to victory.
It could in truth be fairly overwhelming early on, however two building choices mean you can out.
First, you’ll restart battles from any wave, so unhealthy choices don’t pressure you again to the beginning. 2d, you’re given the solution to restart together with your voltage meter jacked as much as most. This meter permits characters to make use of particular assaults that now not handiest do vital injury but in addition come up with extra motion issues (AP) so you’ll get extra strikes in in your flip.
The good function of struggle, on the other hand, is that it’s ceaselessly advisable to kill off your personal teammates. I discussed that they arrive again to lifestyles, proper? So, if a personality is set to die, you’ll sacrifice her or him to motive intensive injury to the enemy whilst expanding the talents of the remainder characters. The sacrificed personality returns within the subsequent wave or on the finish of struggle. Watch out who you kill off, regardless that; you could want a explicit forte for the remainder enemies.
Fortunately, 100 days on the academy doesn’t imply 100 battles. As a rule, you’re running in the course of the recreation’s visible novel part and deciding find out how to degree up your characters. There are most likely too some ways to try this. You’ll create items for characters, hang around with them, find out about in a library, enhance your guns, and extra. You’ll even have interaction in a random-chance board recreation the place you’ll harvest fabrics to your quite a lot of power-ups. It’s so much to believe, and I want the sport did extra to provide an explanation for the affect of the entire choices.
I additionally want the builders had executed a greater process of fleshing out the occasional persuasion mini-game. Right here, you wish to have to mention the correct factor to be able to get any individual to, for instance, comply with combat. However the correct solutions are completed by way of guesswork, and the sport doesn’t let you know what number of choices there might be or once they expire. In all probability to compensate, should you get a solution incorrect, the development simply begins over till you get it proper. It’s a unusual part that doesn’t wish to exist.
Visually…neatly, the Aniplex brand seems when booting up the sport, so you understand how this recreation goes to appear. It has a ton of fashion, with the graphics emerging to check the sport’s perspective and humorousness. Talking of which, The Hundred Line is aware of precisely what it’s and mocks itself all the way through. One of the most jokes is also somewhat too meta, positive, however they’re nonetheless very humorous, and that is helping to transport issues alongside all over the moments when the visible novel sides elevate on somewhat too lengthy.
Nonetheless, there wasn’t a second after I didn’t have a blast enjoying The Hundred Line: The Final Protection Academy. And when it’s executed, it’s now not executed. Your first playthrough is beautiful linear, however next classes permit you to discover other tale branches. Once more, we’re p rohibited from detailing those branches, however I will say you’ll for sure wish to paintings thru them.
All this thought to be, The Hundred Line: The Final Protection Academy is my favourite recreation of 2025 to this point. Its anime-like violence and off-color humorousness might not be for everybody, however the turn-based technique and visible novel components mix successfully for an over-the-top romp that can stay you on edge for all 100 days.
