![[PREVIEW] The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-: An excellent anime-style SRPG with a unique premise](https://www.indie-games.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/The-Hundred-Line-Last-Defense-Academy-Key-Art-.jpg)
The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- is the new adventure game from Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi, the creators of the Danganronpa and Zero Escape series. The game combines strategic RPG battles, relationship building, and a dark story filled with despair. You play as Takumi Sumino, an average teenager who suddenly finds himself in a bizarre and dangerous scenario: he and 14 other students must defend their school from monsters for 100 days.
NOTE: THIS PREVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
The story is the core of The Hundred Line. Takumi starts as an ordinary teenager living in the Tokyo Residential Complex, a peaceful place where nothing bad ever happens. However, his life is completely turned upside down when monstrous invaders attack, and a mysterious being named Sirei offers him the power to protect his loved ones by plunging a knife into his own chest. This shocking act transports Takumi to the Last Defense Academy, a school surrounded by supernatural flames. There, he and 14 other students join a special defense unit, tasked with defending the school for 100 days.
The narrative is filled with the distinctive despair and plot twists that fans of Kodaka and Uchikoshi will immediately recognize. Takumi’s decisions shape the story, leading to multiple possible endings, from those filled with hope to completely tragic outcomes. The game keeps you on the edge of your seat, constantly wondering what consequences your choices will have and whether the characters will survive the hundred-day fight. The story is good and emotionally powerful, with plenty of mysteries and tension to keep you interested.
At this point, I am not completely sure about the direction the game is taking. The story feels compelling, the voice acting is excellent, the animated scenes are spectacular, and the character design perfectly complements the game’s visual style. However, the demo version feels more like a first episode of an anime serving as an introduction, it leaves you wanting more but forces you to wait for next week. Although I’m cautious about the game’s final outcome, it definitely looks promising.
The gameplay is divided into two main segments: Defensive Battles and Free Time & Exploration. When enemies attack, the game transitions into SRPG (Strategy Role-Playing Game) battles. You control the students, each possessing unique Specialist skills, to defend the school. Battles require careful planning and strategy; proper unit positioning and the use of their abilities can turn the tide in your favor. The combat system is well-designed, with a good balance between tactical depth and accessibility.
Another interesting aspect of the game is that each character feels unique and is fun to play. They have different damage levels, move in different ways, and use different attack patterns. While this adds to the variety, the gameplay can become repetitive because the battles follow a similar structure, and there’s a lack of diversity in enemy types and mission objectives. I hope the full version of the game will introduce new mechanics to keep the experience fresh.
I was not thrilled with the dual objective system during battles; some are mandatory for victory, while others must be avoided to prevent a game over. Although your characters are practically immortal (they revive if they die), there is an objective that causes you to lose if any team member dies, which is quite illogical. Interestingly, if you choose to activate a character’s ultimate ability before the energy gauge is completely full, you can sacrifice the character to inspire the others, allowing your characters to use special skills.
Between battles, you can spend time with your classmates to deepen relationships or explore the wilderness and ruins outside the school. Relationship building is a crucial part of the game, but unfortunately, the demo does not showcase this mechanic in detail, so we still don’t know how much it will affect the gameplay. On the other hand, the exploration segments offer a nice break from combat but feel somewhat superficial compared to the dynamic narrative and battle sections.
Exploration of the confined map takes place from a side-scrolling perspective, and a fast travel option facilitates navigation. However, I wasn’t a big fan of the exploration mechanic, which plays out like a tabletop game or a Monopoly-style movement on a board. You use cards that give you a certain number of points to move around the world. During exploration, you collect useful resources for upgrades and participate in minor battles against enemies. There are also various events, both positive and negative, but they are often not clearly explained enough.
I’m curious whether the game will adopt the Persona style of relationships, including potential romances, or if relationships will simply provide certain bonuses. We will have to wait and see. For now, the game offers a diverse cast of characters, among whom you will probably find some you love and some you don’t. Still, I am personally cautiously monitoring how this system will work, considering you only have two time slots per day for these activities.
The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- is an excellent adventure game that combines strategic battles, relationship building, and a dark, despair-filled story. The story is precisely its most impressive feature, with deep emotional weight and likely multiple different endings, as decisions in the game truly matter. The SRPG combat system is solid but can become repetitive, while the exploration segments are a welcome addition, even if they lack real depth. Of course, this is based only on what we’ve seen in the demo, so the impression might be different in the full version.
In conclusion, for fans of Danganronpa and Zero Escape, this game offers an experience that is both familiar and fresh. If you are looking for a game with an excellent story and tactical gameplay, The Hundred Line is worth trying. Although it is not without its flaws, some of which might become more apparent in the full version, it is still worth remaining optimistic.
The game also intrigues me; it looks like a really good title. It could particularly appeal to anime fans, as the spectacular animated scenes truly give the impression that you’re watching an anime unfolding within the game. If you’re curious, the free demo is currently available on Steam.
