Special Defense Unit! Best in the world! Indestructible and undefeated! New lose! Never yield! Special Defense Unit… Fight on!
Hello and welcome to the extension of my review of The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy. Last time, I talked about the game broadly, delved into its mechanics, and highlighted its finer and weaker points in more general terms. However, after spending 270 hours with this game— probably closer to 200 when accounting for my note-taking, chatting with friends, and getting roped into other things— such a straightforward review seems insufficient. So, I decided that I should do brief reviews of all 21 scenarios in Hundred Line.
I think that a game like Hundred Line is best experienced mostly blind, with only vague hints and nudges to guide the player along. However, its story deserves to be discussed and analyzed, which I cannot do without spoiling certain things, so I am going to do that. I will divulge the full story of the First Scenario, while refraining from indulging too much into the events of every subsequent scenario. Just enough to explain the structure and what they are about, without giving away the endings or big twists.
So if you have not played the game, stop reading NOW! If you already beat the game, or at least the First Scenario, you are exactly where you should be! If you are interested in the game, but don’t want to heed my SPOILER WARNING then… I guess you can just keep on reading. I’m just a blogger, not a cop. I’d rather be dead than be a cop.
The First Scenario
Scenario Writer: Kazutaka Kodaka (Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code)
Scenario Length: 30 to 40 Hours
If I had to describe the First Scenario of Hundred Line with one word, it would be… nonstandard. I went into the game with little expectations or understanding of the game beyond the initial marketing material from March 2024, I was consistently met with the sense that things were going wrong. But not terribly wrong. It eschews typical or expected plot progression, while still giving the player a steady uneven trickle of information to keep them at the edge of their seat. Wondering what will come next, how will things get worse, if they can get better, and what new morsel of information will come around to make them reconsider everything.
Even from the very introduction of Takumi and the Tokyo Residential Complex, the game captures a sense of familiarity mixed with unease. A tranquil suburb with no sky, followed by a story that urges the player to expect a Danganronpa 4. From the mascot character of Sirei being the enigmatic egg-man-shaped headmaster. The obvious visual and textual allusions to Danganronpa, repeating the now iconic set up of the game. The killing game scene girl, Darumi, begs for things to progress in a murderous direction within seconds of her introduction.
However, they are told that the only ones they’re going to kill are waves of wicked and vile invaders. Rather than just give you a big party from the get-go, most characters refuse to fight. They prefer to be hangers-on who only heed the call of battle once they have been convinced this is the only way forward for them, forcing the player to do some work before they can join their proverbial party.
As this plays out, the members of the Special Defense Unit (SDU) are routinely faced with setbacks. Sudden disappearances, secrets that are never shared, and the abrupt death of Sirei. It leaves a power vacuum in the school, and whenever it seems that something is working out, that things are finally going to change for the better, disaster strikes. Aspirations are shattered, and the chance of reclaiming success are left in fragments. Yet the SDU still coalesce together in the end.
Adversity ultimately pushes the cast to grow, to expand, and to combat the daunting new challenges before them. The loss of food leaves them to seek out new allies and form the core roster of fourteen. The influx of new blood gives way to friction and factionalism that could destroy this alliance just days after it is formed. Yet as the invaders grow more aggressive, they find ways to strengthen their bonds and operate as a unit.
What really speaks to me about the cast is their resilience. They are ultimately people thrown into a messed up situation, just trying to make by, stay sane, and find happiness where they can. Find connection, find answers, and find the will to keep going as they, these regular people, are forced to kill and kill waves of monsters for reasons they do not fully understand. They are all alone in this world. There is no one they can call for help, no answers at arm’s length, and in the end… they only have each other. So, they band together, wade through the darkness, withstand every shade of conflict they can, it’s hard to not love them.
This ebb and flow— this steady back and forth of hope and despair— truly makes up the core of the First Scenario, and I have to commend the story for finding ways to keep pushing the envelope. It keeps finding ways to aspire optimism in the player and cast as they find surprise wins or opportunities to celebrate and rejoice in their progress so far. In their darkest moments, somebody steps up, gets a glow up, and proves that together, with the power of bonds and determination, you can achieve anything!
I know it’s cliché, I know it’s an exaggeration and simplification, but it’s a principle that I have learned to adore and cling to in stories. A principle that I try to retain at the heart of my own creative works. And that is in no small part due to the works of Kodaka and Uchikoshi. They love this concept, have explored it back and forth, and while the First Scenario is expected in certain broad strokes, the execution kept me at the end of my seat.
The game starts off feeling like an off-shoot bad end, but it keeps on going. It keeps on countering failure with moments of triumph, filling the scenes of extremes with casual banter and opportunities to build Takumi’s bonds with his peers, and give the player more reason to care for them, to want to see them overcome the hardships. More snippets about the broader world that keep the player guessing.
Such as learning that the students enlisted here have had their bodies modified with something known as cryptoglobin, granting them the power of hemoanima. A power source that can be furthered by killing enemy commanders and drinking their blood, boosting their stats as they indulge in the act of psycho-cool murder. Even the pacificists who deplore violence. Leaning about World Death and the theories that the planet Earth is a sentient creature fighting back by creating invaders and natural disasters. Which is totally the sort of thing that I would expect bunker kids to think, and something that’s so Kadoka that I would believe it!
The story takes great strides in doling on these new snippets of information. More off-kilter twists that feel almost random in the moment, yet reveal themselves to be careful plays in a grander narrative. Yet as the days count down from 1 to 100, it becomes clear that something needs to happen… And when it does, it’s gut wrenching.
The SDU cast doubt on Takumi’s main love interest, Nozomi. Characters failing to understand the true purpose of what their goals are, as their judgement becomes clouded by rumors. And Takumi is left desperately fighting for what he thinks is right. He fights, everybody fights, but after going so long with so much success, the game forces you to watch as more friends are taken away. They are callously killed by the eponymous Supreme Commander, a malicious bitch painted as an irredeemable yet intense villain who the game wants to hate, and you want to hate. For she is the only thing stopping the SDU from saving humankind.
This lofty goal is then enabled by the reemergence of hope as a mysterious figure throughout the story, a silent ghostly boy with a body partially engulfed in flames. He offers one final avenue of power that they can use to avenge the dead and save the world. It is another thrilling turnabout… until the damn traitor teased earlier makes his move, and I utterly love everything about this. Eito was consistently presented as an optimist and insightful ally, and in combat, he’s one of the best characters in the game. The player had every reason to like him, making his turnabout one that left me cackling with rage, anger, and delight.
Nearly everything that spurred despair in this route was Eito’s fault. He killed Sirei. He killed Hiruko. He burned their food supply after drugging everyone. He is responsible for Ima’s abduction. He turned everyone against Nozomi and tried to get everybody killed, several times. His reasoning? Well, you’d never guess this, but it’s a damn callback to the pivotal adventure game masterpiece, Saya no Uta (2003)!
Much like that game’s protagonist, Fuminori, Eito’s brain is broken, and he does not see humans as humans. He sees everybody but himself as a grotesque, revolting, and vile monster! He wants nothing more than to silence them all, bring an end to them. This deep hatred has only been amplified by learning an unfiltered view of humanity’s greatest mistakes. Of wars, of genocide, of the destruction of their very planet.
He equated the actions of leaders as representative of the species, not caring about nuance of the complex sociopolitical reasons the world is fucked. Because… this was easier. This was a confirmation of his already existing beliefs. That humans were monsters. Not only in image, but in their actions too. And when presented with a world of monsters, the only just— the only righteous— thing one can do… is kill them all!
He, in the most flagrantly evil display possible— something only a true writer would ever compose— kills a damn baby that was powering humanity’s last hope, drinks up all their blood, and rejoices in confessing his sins. There is no shame, no hesitation, no fear of being too overt in one’s themes or framings. The execution is lavish, paired with a thrilling boss battle with bomb-ass music and a narration that describes every step of his plan, except for the real truth. But who the hell cares what this baby murdering serial killer fuck has to say? This real monster needs to die! NOW!!!
There is catharsis in Eito’s death… but it is too late at this point. The plan for salvation is already ruined. The purpose of Last Defense Academy, to fuel missiles that will Re;Birth the world in terraforming hellfire, cannot come to fruition. The power is out, the Supreme Commander will probably come to kill them all. Their greatest hope lies in the powers Takumi gained from drinking all of Eito’s blood, and with it the power to travel through time! However, he still waits to stand and fight with his allies, hoping to save this current timeline.
Instead, there is no final battle. But there is salvation. An escape pod that will send the survivors to the Artificial Satellite and give them the opportunity to return to their lives. The survivors take this opportunity, wanting to live for themselves and those who fell, but Takumi knows that there is a better outcome, and ventures out to see it to fruition. He travels back in time to do it all over again. To do it better this time. …Or potentially fuck it up worse than he could possibly imagine. Because you need that contrast in any good timeline jumping game, damn it!
It all makes for an amazing conclusion to a story, one that emboldens the player to venture forth, seek vengeance, and find the best timeline, or at least one that’s better than the one Takumi left. And from this, we are treated to a twist that game developers keep on doing, and one that I keep on loving. The beginning of the real game. The sequel to the game you were just playing.
This is where The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy 2 begins.
Second Scenario
Scenario Writer: Kazutaka Kodaka
Scenario Length: 20 to 25 Hours
Immediately after finishing the First Scenario, Hundred Line fills the player with a burning desire to do things differently. Do them better. And prevent every mistake possible as they achieve the happy ending they want for its loveable cast. No more bickering, no more uncertain allies who take half the game before they start fighting, and no more dying! With Takumi and friends able to understand the invaders, Sirei saved, and Eito apprehended before he could betray everyone, there is a plenty good reason to be swelling with hope that best route is ahead of them.
…And then things start to change in unprecedented ways. Takumi’s surefire confidence is proven to be… misplaced. While his present powered up his allies, it also strengthened and emboldened the invaders, who change their plans accordingly. The Supreme Commander, V’ehxness, makes her presence and intentions known from the jump. The plans to reconvene with Second-to-Last Defense Academy are disrupted. And while there was hope that Sirei’s presence would help… did you really expect a talking egg who rants about slaughtering barbaric invaders to be a good guy?
Time and time again, the player is forced to make decisions where there is no good or ideal choice, where sacrifices are inevitable— even if they shouldn’t be. (I have enough AP, let me save both of them!) And when sacrifices aren’t being made, harsh revelations are keep dished out. The First Scenario left the player with a laundry list of questions, and while I could see where most of them are going, the reveals in the Second Scenario kept me guessing. And when things were laid out fully, the twists made complete sense. Every one urges the player to re-examine everything they know, and the reactions from the characters felt truly genuine.
They are hit hard with every loss they endure, with every uncomfortable or disgusting truth they are forced to accept. But they don’t just wallow in despair. Or, at least, not for more than a few days. They find their resolve, keep on going, and make time to instill joy into their lives. To host parties, festivals, and events that make their miserable war lives worthwhile. Because even if the whole world is against them, even if they are just pawns in some war beyond their comprehension, they have each other. They have their bonds and they have unwritten futures. There is always a tomorrow, and they will withstand anything to see it through.
…All of which leads to the ending of the route. After so many harsh truths, so many callous lies, and questioning their sense of self so many times, there is a vicious desire to see everything work out for these crazy kids. To see them finally achieve their dreams, defeat V’ehxness, and make a new future for everyone. And given the pedigree of Kodaka’s work, that would not be uncalled for. The triumph of will has been a key element of his biggest successes. …But that’s not what we get.
This is project Extreme X Despair for a reason, and the ending of the Second Scenario is one that I only got through with teary eyes and gritted teeth. It is a conclusion where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. Where hope goes down in flames, and just when characters try to initiate their B-plan, to defy the fate they laid for themselves and save something, they are beaten down again. Nearly every speck of optimism that drove them is burned up as they try to save others, and in their success, they are only met with pain. So much is lost, all for such petty insignificant reasons. It feels like the writer is laughing at you, toying with you and your obsessive desire to cling to his characters and their hope.
Even with all of this loss, there is a new tomorrow. A battered road ahead that will be treacherous, but if one holds fast and holds out their hand in kindness then maybe, just maybe, a new hope can be forged.
…But if that is not enough for you, then good news. That was merely one way the story could have gone and, while the most comprehensive and longest, it is not the true ending. And to get that ending, you… need to get like 60 other endings or something cuh-razy like that. This is a heavy ask for any game, but this is also what makes Hundred Line so special. There is probably no game that has ever achieved as much as what Hundred Line has. It boasts so many stories, alternate routes, and what-ifs that this game could consume someone’s life for months before they see everything.
Which is why I went through every one! Because I certainly didn’t want to leave any good endings on the table, and somebody needs to talk about all of these routes.
Reset Route
Scenario Writer: Kazutaka Kodaka
Scenario Length: ~30 Minutes
…Unfortunately, not every route is as lush as the next. The Reset Route is effectively just an alternate ending to the Second Scenario where, at the 11th hour, the characters choose a different path that, while less righteous, promises greater security as they are given the opportunity to do things again. To get a fresh start and try things over again. …Not necessarily in a third scenario way though.
I will say that the ending is an extension of themes and ideas of the Second Scenario in particular, allowing it to feel in place and cohesive next to everything else. Yet with such an open ending and such a shift in how things are arranged… the idea feels like an alternate ending. There’s a strong idea here, but it mostly culminates in a single scene before the credits roll and the idea is cast aside. It’s far from bad, strange that this is considered its own route, but it’s short and novel enough that it warrants the 30 minute diversion.
Goodbye Eito Route
Scenario Writers: Kazutaka Kodaka and Akira Ogidou (Award-Winning Japanese Novelist)
Scenario Length: ~45 Minutes
Goodbye Eito is more akin to a short ‘what if’ story included in some peripheral media as an incentive for diehard fans to buy an artbook or some such thing. It’s a half-hour long side story that’s really hard to explain without outright spoiling what comes before it… so I’m going to make an exception and will spoil things.
Following certain events, Eito is left blinded and chooses to exile himself from the academy. With no ability to see, a backpack of supplies, and a tattered hopes, he wanders the wastelands looking for salvation. Something to do, to devote his life to before it comes to an end in the next few days, as he stews in regret over his circumstances. He eventually takes up refuge in an abandoned building, enjoying its comforts, before being interrupted by a group of children seeking refuge. Children who he helps as he can, giving them food and words of wisdom. Yet, this does not last for long, for invaders soon find him.
Eito ultimately chooses to take a last stand against a group of monsters, knowing fully well that he, a blind man, cannot hope to fend them off on his own. It’s a good story. One that makes Eito into a far more grounded character. Beyond his deprecating hateful comments and penchant for monologues feels as much fear and regret as any other person. He despises humanity, but he’s still human.
Visually, this is among the most interesting routes in the game, taking place from Eito’s blind perspective. I would have assumed this would result in a sound novel type presentation with vague backgrounds, maybe something like Candice’s Thrall ending in Press-Switch. Instead, the developers chose to overlay a fuzzy series of static-y black lines, obscuring the world while allowing small snippets to poke through. It’s a good compromise that captures the idea of limited vision but also acknowledges how blind people can still sense their surroundings in a way you can’t replicate on a screen.
It’s novel, adds to Eito’s character, and can be wrapped up in about 45 minutes, so it gets a firm recommendation from me.
V’ehxness Route
Scenario Writers: Kazutaka Kodaka and Akira Ogidou
Scenario Length: 3 Hours
The V’ehxness route is not really its own route as much as it is an alternate bad ending offshoot of the Second Scenario, where Takumi needs to make a drastic decision and promptly makes… the wrong one. With the Special Defense Unit in tatters, the Supreme Commander, V’ehxness, takes control of Last Defense Academy. The members of the SDU are imprisoned in their rooms, her cronies take on the mantle of prison guards, while Takumi is given special treatment. While V’ehxness has won, she does not simply want to kill her enemies and be done with it. She wants to extract everything she can from Takumi. His origins, his motives, what drove his— and by extension humanity’s— choices during this war.
In practice however, V’ehxness does most of the talking. Detailing what drives her. How dramatically different her philosophies are from Takumi. Her background as a child of war who, before she even formed a sense of self, had become a ferocious warrior. Her philosophy of war, of strength. How her religious upbringing both filled her conviction to defy the words of God and made her resolute that she would become a new God.
In the context of the main routes, I could see players writing off V’ehxness as a typical melodramatic demonlord. Ruthless, spiteful, uncaring of others, and as powerful as the plot needs her to be. However, through every conversation she shares with Takumi, another layer is added to her character. How she treated her family, friends, and idols to attain her current position. How candid and honest she is about her accomplishments, exuding a confidence that is so extreme it feels genuinely alien. And her commitment to her mission. She never doubts, regrets, or questions herself, for she believes her actions as righteous. She is considers herself not to be a force of despair, but of hope. She is the Paragon of Hope.
V’ehxness is an opportunity warlord who uses her own religion as a tool to amass more power and does war crimes the likes of which are so perverse they are physically impossible. A polymath of warfare who has devoted herself to her hype so much that I think she lacks the synapses in her brain to comprehend regret or modesty. And a gloriously indulgent, unabashedly malicious, Saturday morning cartoon villainess who, if presented properly before a wider audience, would break some people. I love every goldarn thing about her!
There is more to this route. Such as the friction between the other surviving commanders as they serve under their leader, how they fear, admire, or loathe her for her actions. With their perspectives shaped by shades of pride, respect, religion, tradition, and petty emotions. Or the strange yet compelling relationship V’ehxness forms with Takumi through their interactions, viewing him as something lesser yet equal depending on his actions. However, the core of this three-ish hour route is fixated on V’ehxness, and it does such a good job at illustrating her, I’d say that it is a must-play detour when going through the Second Scenario.
Rebellion Route
Scenario Writers: Ukyo Kodachi (Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations) and Kyohei Oyama (Altdeus: Beyond Chronos, Tokyo Chronos)
Scenario Length: 2 Hours
Conceptually, I should love the Rebellion Route, but it just does not go far enough, or go in the right direction.
After learning so many uncomfortable truths, the SDU decides that enough is enough, and they cannot tolerate working under Sirei any longer. So, they venture beyond their isolated little school, seek refuge between a third party they were deliberately made ignorant of, and choose to form an alliance with them, to try to forge a better future. Specifically with a young invader character who is wise beyond her years and has enough sense to desire peace.
The route starts off very strong, relationship between SDU and this young invader, forming the same type of bonds that unified this ragtag group of friends. It elaborates upon the common people lining the surface, showing them to be more than what the protagonists assumed. There is a very strong sense of optimism persisting as the conflict draws near, shaping this route up to be an good ending. And, to an extent, it is. A testament to the power of compromise, sacrifice, and how, if people work together, they can achieve amazing things and bring an end to a forever war between two parties scarred by generational trauma.
…This brings me to the problem with the Rebellion route. They didn’t actually finish it. This route feels like a rough draft, one that should be excellent, yet only goes 70% of the way there, missing out on the remaining 30%. With 12 days of story, the route has a clear cap on what it can do with its characters, but it absolutely wastes what time it actually has. First by skipping over four days for no defined reason before appending a block of free time between its two major battles. Which is a problem, as this is meant to be the player’s introduction to the young invader. They’re supposed to learn what drives them, how they work with the team, and this is the only opportunity she has to interact with certain members of SDU in the entire game.
The way the characters just immediately accept the young invader is so expedient it feels disingenuous. The story does a poor job of making this young invader feel like a meaningful addition to the SDU as a contributor, and more like a plot device who drops exposition like it’s a going out of style. If you only know them from this route, they’re simply not a fully fledged and realized person. And if you do know them… their presence just feels wasted here.
Then there are the endings, which… are the most unfinished thing about this route. The premature bad ending makes no sense considering characters’ prior actions, and barely even makes sense in-universe. The final choice is truly arbitrary, bestows a character the power of blowing themself up, and concludes in one of two ways. Both of which only last a minute and feature a frankly obscene time skip… when I don’t think the endings in Hundred Line should have a time skip. The 100 Day schtick is a core element of the game’s identity.
I love this route conceptually, but my biggest takeaway after playing it was that ‘I could do a better job than this!’ Because I actually believe that I could. I would at least fill in the obvious purposeless gaps in the script with something. Again, it has moments, but the execution is so muddled that I don’t think it’s worth the investment.
Multiple Eitos Route
Scenario Writers: Kazutaka Kodaka and Akira Ogidou
Scenario Length: 2.5 Hours
My goodness, YES! This route was MADE for me!
The Multiple Eitos route is an offshoot where Takumi spares then later kills Eito and absorbs Eito’s hemoanima. This would not normally be a problem, but hemoanima is blood magic, and this, somehow, results in Eito living on within Takumi, surviving as a passenger within his mind. Eito speaks to Takumi in his sleep and gives him a ‘cognitive disorder’ where everyone looks, sounds, and talks like Eito. This is a hellish existence in and of itself, but Eito, being the twisted sort, wants to see Takumi struggle and squirm before his supposed takeover of Takumi’s body is complete. So, he imposes a challenge upon him. If Takumi can find a phantom Eito lingering somewhere in Last Defense Academy, Eito will relinquish control of Takumi’s body and fade away.
This is a fantastic premise! Eito’s plan is a form of psychological and sensory warfare that is specifically designed to torment Takumi. It simulates the Eito’s own cognitive disorder where everyone looks, sounds, and smells like a ‘monster,’ allowing Takumi to feel what it is like to be Eito as Eito threatens to erase him. It leaves Takumi helpless, unable to truly communicate with his allies, forced to view, hear, and perceive them as his worst enemy (at least in this context). He has no allies to call upon, and with Eito futzing with his senses, seeing and hearing more than whatever Takumi perceives, he lacks many innate abilities humans take for granted.
Despite being in this absolutely dismal scenario though, Takumi remains resolute, keeps trying, innovating, and pursuing new ways to try to get around things. Desperation leads to creative problem-solving… and ways for even the best ideas to be undermined by the devil in his head.
Eito makes for a truly glorious villain, callously toying with Takumi, undermining every attempt he makes, and slowly pushing him towards madness with every passing moment. And then, when the time is finally up, Takumi needs to make a pivotal choice that will seal his fate in one of four ways. One of which is absolutely inspired, uses the Revive-O-Matic in a fascinating manner, and is so warped, so extra, that it is goldarn hilarious to me. Another where a worst of both worlds compromised is reached, leaving Takumi trapped in a sensory hell, unable to escape his tormentor. And two where the tension breaks Takumi and he finally becomes a full-on monster, his senses compromised as Eito gets what he wanted.
I love this route in how it pushes the protagonist to new limits, explores the depths of Eito’s disdain for Takumi, and generally builds upon the foundation of Hundred Line in a unique way. But I love this route as a work of transformation fiction. This is far from the only instance of ‘mental manipulation’ in Hundred Line, though it is the only route that focuses on it, and I’d say it does a very good job. The writer approached the subject with a sense of curiosity, desire to explore, and enough restraint to not take the most obvious approach.
Its interpretation of possession and mental takeover feels like something that could have been made for the genre. While its precise concepts, tone, and creative problem-solving all filled me with a desire to build upon what is there, if only see how other creators might take things into a more ‘genre specific’ direction. Absolutely my kind of thing, it’s short, sweet, to the point, and it even has a nice cluster of endings.
Eva Route
Scenario Writers: Kou Shigenobu (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Fate/Extella Link) and Kazutaka Kodaka
Scenario Length: 2 Hours
Throughout Hundred Line, Eva is a commander who’s routinely captured and used by the SDU, either left in her cage, killed for various reasons, or ‘recruited’ as the 16th member of the Special Defense Unit. As a character, she actually has a rich backstory and serves as a key connection between the SDU and the invaders. She lived in this tattered world all her life, knows about it, and a lot of conflict could be circumvented if only everybody listened to her side of the story. She absolutely warrants a route to call her own, but what the writers decided on here is a bit… strange.
Following a harsh decision involving Eva, Takumi begins confiding in her, speaking to her as an actual person for the first time in this timeline, and learning tidbits of lore that relate to other routes. It’s all generally solid characterization work, gives Eva a clear background, and while little isn’t covered in other routes, it is a compact look at where she came from and everything she has going on. Her and Takumi form a nice little rapport with one another, yet as one thing leads into another, they are both shoved out of Last Defense Academy, branded as traitors by those who remain.
This is the core crux of this story, following Takumi and Eva as they are left without the amenities of LDA and forced to live as fugitives, relying more and more on each other. It’s an enemies to lovers story, highlights how inhospitable and ravaged this fallen world is, and gives a glimpse into how these ‘invaders’ have been living their lives. It has pretty much everything it needs to be a meaningful addition to the world and characters, especially with another introduction of the young invader I keep teasing.
However, the Eva Route… has basically the same problem as the Rebellion Route. A great concept, unique character dynamic, but it cuts its potential runtime by at least 30% with a 15 day time skip. Once Eva and Takumi find refuge, because of course they don’t just die in the desert lands, the story recontextualizes their dynamic, and then refrains from showing this dynamic in action. The invaders’ culture, way of life, or the burgeoning romance the route is obviously predicated on, pretty much none of it is played up during this crucial time.
Instead, the story concludes in one of two endings. A cop-out that sees responsibilities shirked, and an ending that… should be fantastic, yet is hampered by a lack of budget and established characterization. It is one thing to know two characters have a relationship, but hearing about their childhoods, about earlier specific conflicts, does a lot to add gravitas and gives more room for callbacks during a final battle. This is fairly basic stuff, yet the route does not do that, and instead ends on a fairly trite note considering the genre. I like what the Eva route is trying to do, but execution is everything.
Serial Battles Route
Scenario Writers: Nonon Ishii (No References Found), Kazutaka Kodaka
Scenario Length: 8 to 10 Hours
From a narrative level, Serial Battles is the weakest and least valuable route in the entirety of Hundred Line. The gist is that the wall of Undying Flames protecting Last Defense Academy has been weakened due to a choice Takumi made leading into this route. This makes it easier for the invaders to pass through, invade the school, give the students trouble, and they proceed to do so. Approximately every other day, for 40 days. With this relentless onslaught of battles before them, the Special Defense Unit adopt the lifestyle of fight, sleep, and rise up to fight again, repeating ad nauseam while the writer tries to find some way to make this interesting. …And I would not say they succeeded.
There is new writing and banter for the characters. It is endearing, funny, and filled with as much quality as any other route. But its only real hook is that characters flutter between adrenaline highs and relentless fatigue as the battles never stop. I’d guess that there is only about an hour of new story to chew on, and at least seven hours of gameplay. A ratio that is almost an inversion of how the rest of Hundred Line operates.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I mean it when I say that there is next to nothing going on in this story. The only point of note and intrigue is how invaders and commanders that were previously defeated are suddenly appearing again, but teleport away shortly after being defeated. It is a flimsy excuse for the creative team to recycle bosses, boost their stats and pair them with stronger generic enemies. It is, in essence, a boss rush route that feels the need to justify itself as one.
…Except it’s not just a boss rush, as the game also just has battles against generic enemies thrown in. Because the developers really wanted to cram as many battles into this route as possible. At a whopping 25 BATTLES, I’d certainly agree that they did just that. This would not be a problem in most RPGs. Encounters like these would represent unique challenges, opportunities to amass more power, collect special optional goodies, and see some variation on familiar encounters. …But in Hundred Line, it does not work that way.
The reward system in Hundred Line, as I said previously, is broken. There is nothing stopping players from repeating the same easy battles ad nauseam to accumulate BP to upgrade character skills. After you accumulate… roughly 800,000 BP, there is literally nothing the player can use it for. I had already maxed out every character before starting this route, and I gained no mechanical or statistical reward for completing this challenge. You can’t even suck the blood of commanders to upgrade a character’s super move or voltage gain. When this would have been a PERFECT spot to farm that. But no! Guess I gotta farm someplace else!
While I think Hundred Line has a good battle system, the battles are not really bite-sized breezy encounters that the player can just plow through. Battles involve up to four connected mini-battlefields, up to four teams of up to 16 characters, and involve multiple waves of enemies. That is a lot of information to take in, process, survey, and react to. I’m lucky if a wave takes me under 10 minutes, and most encounters last two or three waves. By RPG standards, these are long-long-ass battles. However, this generally works for Hundred Line, as it makes battles feel meaningful.
Furthermore, new battles often come with their own gimmicks, own puzzle-like elements, and shake-ups to one’s usable roster of characters. Encounters are part of an evolving system. …In the Serial Battles route, you are using the same 12 characters, fighting on the same damn battlefield, often in its four quadrant configuration, fighting against bosses who, at this point, I had fought at least 4 times each. A boss rush route is not necessary, as bosses are recycled and repurposed in most routes in Hundred Line. And if you really wanted a boss rush… give me all 16 characters, 9 waves, and most major bosses. That would at least be cute!
This begs the question of ‘why didn’t I skip these encounters if I had already played very similar ones?’ My answer is ultimately that this is a route of BATTLES, and I wanted to experience the creators’ vision by partaking in every battles. …Unfortunately, I don’t think there was much of a vision. It’s just battle after battle, and I eventually got so bored, so tired of the game pulling the same crap. I started using my maxed out gadgets willy-nilly, boosting characters’ attack, bouncing them across the battlefield, and taking them down ASAP. I went full-on goblin mode, just because I wanted to get it over with!
I will give the route praise for its Day 99 battle though, which has to be the hardest battle in the entire game, and I kind of love it for that. It makes excessive use of the common 1 HP invaders, having them flood the environment at the end of every turn. It’s tempting to just view them as noise, but they cover a lot of distance, chip away at any barrier, and make traversal impossible unless you cleave through them. They are a threat, but they are small beans next to the actual final boss, who uses a classic gimmick to make the player’s life hell.
It is a battle that expects you to be mostly maxed out with all characters and gadgets, and wants you to use them freely. To plant all your bombs around the boss and trick them into countering, detonating all of them to deal a clean 45 damage. To place fences around every shield generator and others just to stagger the hoard. To have characters hop around on springs to optimize their positioning. And to have characters sacrifice themselves just to remove the spam.
This is a great finale… but the execution of everything around it lacks the bombast of this economically produced final battle, especially the ending, which has to be the biggest nothingburger ending for a major route in the entire game. Either Takumi can declare his job done and get in the escape pod, or he could choose to try again. Nothing is gained or learned beyond what came before this, and a last minute reveal that is explored and expanded upon in the another, better, route.
Conspiracy Route
Scenario Writers: Yoichiro Koizumi (Danganronpa: Another Episode – Ultra Despair Girls, AI: The Somnium Files) and Akira Ogidou
Scenario Length: 1.5 Hours
The Conspiracy Route is… cute, if a bit at odds with how the rest of Hundred Line is structured.
Hundred Line is generally constructed as either a series of lengthy routes that conclude in one of a handful of ways, or smaller offshoots that delve into a cluster of relevant conclusions. But the conspiracy route is not that. Instead, it is what I call a bad-end-a-thon, where a relatively short story gives away to many binary choices. One that leads to a swift bad end and another that leads to the continuation of the story. It’s a narrative structure that functions well in some contexts— a few RPG Maker horror games come to mind— but I don’t think it really works here.
These endings lack much of a punch and are normally just cop-outs where the story stops when Takumi is knocked out by a stun rod. They have such little build up or spectacle that I don’t think much would be lost by having the story be a fully linear experience, and cutting down the ending count by 7. …Did I not mention the ending bloat before? Because this is how they got to 100 endings.
As for the story itself… it’s an offshoot after seeds of doubt are placed in the Special Defense Unit following some unscrupulous actions by Sirei. This gives rise to the titular conspiracy, and as a conspiracy, I think what the writers came up here is excellent. It expands the world of Hundred Line by establishing a new dimension to an otherwise homogenous group. Throws in a captivating red herring for any who innocently chose to pursue this route. And is a generally believable concept that forces characters to re-examine their situation and the losses they’ve incurred so far. It lays the seeds for something elaborate, with the intention to baffle the player along with the protagonist.
I was psyched before even the first decision, enjoyed the ebb and flow of trying to pick off the bad endings, if only for my own amusement, and captivated by how characters took this hard truth. There’s some genuine emotional gravitas on display as characters are forced to accept that everything they had done up to this point was all in vain. But through reassurance and the power of bonds, they get through it and… that’s it.
Rather than conclude on a high note, the final day of the story is literally nothing more than a few ominous shots and ellipsis as characters leave to finish the story. We do not get to see the fruit born of this conspiracy, if it was a bunch of bunk or not, when it’s not like the game would need many new assets. A single CG would be sufficient, and this game has made CGs specific for bad endings in the very same route.
This winding navigation lack of commitment makes the route feel kind of pointless, and I cannot fathom why it would just stop 90% of the way through like this. It is more open and ominous, I suppose. …But after going through seven bad endings, I want some answers, dang it!
…Oh, and the worst part is that EVERYTHING this conspiracy is built around only exists in this route. So, as far as I am aware, it’s all a bunch of phooey, hoopla, and nonsense that one of V’ehxness’s cronies came up with to blow up the SDU!
Casual Route
Scenario Writers: Kou Shigenobu
Scenario Length: 2.5 Hours
The Casual Route follows Takumi after he is brainwashed and locked into a lucid fantasy where his perception of the world is warped into something mundane, palatable, and safe. Away from any of the conspiratorial doubt and subterfuge of the main storyline. In practice, this splits the route into two distinct entities.
The first route is a mundane slice of life story where Takumi goes around, talking to people, and pursuing the problem of the week while the days just breeze on by, with no real drama, conflict, or tension beyond people losing socks. At it’s best, I’d say this is actually funnier, zanier, and overall better than snippets from the Comedy Route. Especially the poker chapter, which is just hilarious.
However, following a surprise time skip, the story takes on a more sinister tone. The fabricated reality breaks down. The truth of Takumi’s situation is made evident as he realizes that he merely locked in a haze, a cage, and is hallucinating through life. All while plot twists are thrown like mad near the end, culminating in a Matrix (1999)-ass conclusion.
The route, starting out, is a bit too mundane with its conflicts, only really propped up by the promise of zaniness and sinister undercurrent. But it knows when to skip past the less engaging scenes, does at least one interesting thing with its copy/pasted gameplay sequences, and maintains focus throughout, rather than dilly-dallying in anything too repetitive. …Yeah, there’s really not much I have to say about this route. But due to the way the story compounds upon its spoilers because of the places it goes in the latter half of its short duration, I’d say it’s worth playing. It does not have any notable problems and ends well, which… is not true for some other routes.
Box of Blessings Route
Scenario Writers: Ukyo Kodachi
Scenario Length: 8 Hours
C’mon maaaannnnn! Why’d you have to do it like that?
Conceptually, I really want to love the Boxes of Blessings route. After choosing to kill off Eva, the Special Defense Unit learns of the Boxes of Blessings, boxes of magical and religious significance that are able to grant the wishes of whomever opens them. There are seven of these boxes scattered across the world, i.e., the city this game takes place in, but it’s not quite that simple.
In addition to seven Boxes of Blessings, there are six Boxes of Calamity, which look identical to the Boxes of Blessings, except they have a different number of crescent moons on their exterior. Knowledge of what distinguishes a Box of Blessings and Calamity has been lost, so there’s also a mystery element to account for in addition to the main goal. Collect as many boxes as possible before V’ehxness does by going on a series of adventures.
As an unironic lover of the collect 7 McGuffins trope— it was literally the plot bedrock for two of my novels— this seemed right up my alley. A more direct exploration-geared story that sees characters investigate locales, encounter challenges, and even consult with non-combatants in this world. The exploration mechanics are not really geared for long voyages, especially when the map is just five board game maps stitched together. (Though, you can skip most mandatory exploration sections if you feel like it.) Yet, with enough good scenario writing, enough set piece locales, conflicts, and character moments, this could be a marquee route. …But then the scenario writers committed two major no-nos.
Firstly, they simply did not give the characters enough to do at these new locations to make them feel like designated places, like areas that matter, have depth, or are truly significant to the world that they are exploring. More often than not, they just go to the scattering of locations, bop around, find the box, and maybe encounter one CG-worthy event before petering out with another box added to the SDU’s invisible inventory.
There’s no mechanical interaction or gameplay associated with these locations— the game would be able to do that if it was mimicking traditional overhead RPGs. If it had the versatility a Game Boy game, players could solve puzzles, encounter traps, or get into random encounters. Hell, they could just do a sound novel text adventure to represent these areas if they had zero monies. Instead, they just write short visual novel scenes. It makes the act of treasure hunting feel like a chore, as these sequences lack both narrative depth and any sort of gameplay tension beyond rote exploration.
Secondly, it makes you play through this route way, way too many times. Its initial two branches lead into four branches, and then one splits into a fifth branch. All of these branches go through the same storyline. There are differences in the order of operations— which location is explored first, which characters Takumi pairs up with, and what certain characters are fixated on. Such as a Shouma-centric variant and a variant where characters uncover suspicious documents that makes them extra paranoid.
However, the story is whole-cloth the same in other ways. It recycles lines, dialogue, and remixes conversations in a way that, as a spaghetti-style VN enjoyer, I know all too well. I would be willing to forgive this, but I need to stress this is the only route in the game that is like this, to this extent, and it just feels wrong. Like the game is artificially padding itself out. Like it is deliberately spreading what good scenes and concepts the writers thought of— there are some great moments in this route— across too many streams.
This all leads to a frustrating experience where, once you see the story play out once, every variant of it feels like just that, a variant. Scenes play out with dialogue removed, added, or shaken around. Characters head to locations in seemingly random order. Whenever a novel idea does appear, it is quickly brushed aside as the story goes through the same core plot beats that so many other routes retread. Battles on Days 40, 47, 57, 63, 72, 87, 92, and 99. Box hunts on the days before and after. Big time skips in between. Character subplots that are doled out in dribs and drabs until the game decides to break this rigid formula with something interesting.
The subplot of Gaku learning how to stand up for himself, put on a brave face when confronted with adversity, and overcome his nature as a bumbling comedic relief character. …Or not, if you wanted a more perverted version of the supreme comfort underwear scene from Dragon Ball. (Nobody’s going to get that BLT dub reference.) Kako’s arc of wanting to be a more strong and independent fighter by initiating the hunt for these boxes and throwing herself into danger, ultimately achieving the independence that she craves. Or seeing Shouma, this self-described piece of garbage, find the courage inside himself to fight for a better future where all races can live in harmony.
There are good scenes, character moments that make the venture through this route feel worth it, but the rest of the time? It feels like the writers were being chased by the cops, and this rough draft was all they had finished. I would have much rather see them put their ideas and efforts into just two routes. For them to flesh out the unique exploration scenes the route is conceptually build around. But they didn’t do that.
Who wrote this again? …Ukyo Kodachi? One of the main writers for Danganronpa 3 the anime series? …And the writer for the first four years of Boruto? Ugh, I don’t want to generalize, but per what I have seen of his work, this man is just not a good storyteller.
Box of Calamity Route
Scenario Writers: Ren Sudo (No References Found)
Scenario Length: 10 to 12 Hours
My goodness is this a beath of fresh air after Boxes of Blessings. It is genuinely hard for me to believe that these are two ends of the same storyline, in the same game. But I guess that’s what you get when handing out scenarios to different writers. And while I don’t know who Ren Sudo was (he might be this actor/director) he was cooking something hot.
Branching off of the Boxes of Blessings route, the Box of Calamity route immediately goes ham by introducing ghosts. After Takumi chooses to kill Eva and slurps up her delicious magic blood, her spirit remains in this world, appearing before him as a ghost, and haunting him with her presence. His allies are unable to see this spirit, at least not consistently, and out of fear of being seen as ‘the crazy guy’ Takumi keeps these supernatural encounters a secret. It has the markings to be a good ghost story, with a good level of ambiguity in whether or not Takumi is indeed crazy, and a variety of reactions he can have to this vengeful specter. Choosing to embrace it, ignore it, or accept it for what it appears to be.
However, the route is determined to be far, far more than just a ghost or psychological horror story. If anything, it’s arguably the most diverse route in the entire game, shifting its genre, focus, and the type of story it is even telling at its handful of decision nodes, and pretty much all of them offer something distinct. Ranging from the variant where Takumi and Gaku become obsessed with rituals, truly believing that this all must be the result of a malicious spirit. To an branch that builds upon the guilt and loathing Takumi feels over killing Eva, having him either choose to embrace an existence of pain, or accept his sins and lose… everything in the process. It truly feels like a nexus of ideas that all compliment each other, rather than a linear route with a couple of stray bad ends.
The broad pallet of horror explored her, the ways its mystery shifts depending on the branch you are on, and a general high creativity on display all easily make this one of my favorite routes on its own. However, Box of Calamity is probably one of the most important routes in the game. (And not just because it is needed to unlock the final Steady Foundation route.) From its design and implementation, it lays the foundation for a lot of elements that really expand the world of Hundred Line, its characters, and what they are capable of.
This conspiratorial unraveling makes the route breeze on by as well, helped by how the writer understood when to focus on the core events, skip things forward, and throw in some flavor of surprise. Whether it be a revelation that forces you to reassess everything, a murder to theorize over, or just something that is simultaneously so bizarre and so captivating it’s hard to look away.
The route not only delivers on hyper-specific things that I personally love to see, but it also throws in two pertinent sci-fi elements. Elements that force me to rethink and assess several other routes in the game, what they could mean, and how this all may be connected. It does not answer every question it introduces, leaves some mysteries unaddressed, but in a way that makes me want to keep digging deeper, because it’s clear they’re working towards something glorious.
Box of Calamity is a great route on its own, featuring a lovely blend of conspiracy, horror, and expected humor, while feeling distinctly like its own thing. And as a component of the Hundred Line experience… it might be even better. Easily a top five route here! I’m super interested in seeing what the writer does next.
Cult of Takumi Route
Scenario Writers: Kazutaka Kodaka
Scenario Length: 5 Hours
Conceptually, I was concerned about the Cult of Takumi route. The general premise is that Takumi, after sacrificing a friend at a decisive moment, is struck by a great depression. To get their revered leader out of this funk, Yugamu provides him with a new drug of his creation that— through the power of hemoanima— will enhance his body’s pheromones. A hormone that makes an animal more attractive to other members of the same species, but they neither work on nor are secreted by humans. Well, in reality.
In fiction, there’s a lot of versatility to having a character exude pheromones or ‘smell sexy.’ Alongside with its sister concept of a love potion, it’s a well worn trope that I’ve seen oodles of examples of between Western cartoons, anime transformation comics, and a sloshy deluge of erotic works. (Plus the entire harem genre, let’s be real.) It’s also a concept that I tend to roll my eyes at when it’s usually implemented. Generally, it’s an excuse for character to fawn over the protagonist or teach them that being the center of attention really sucks. …So I was pleasantly pleased to see Kodaka go all-in on the concept.
What starts as simple adoration quickly begins escalating into devotion, with characters loving Takumi so much that being around him is a highlight of their day. He becomes their core reason for being. Even when actively discouraging this behavior, characters still fawn over him, are loyal to without question, and take every opportunity they can to please him. It’s something that Sirei and Nigou should probably be against, but the mission comes before morals. They establish Takumi as a de facto cult leader, facilitate a reward system for the members of the SDU, and leave the door open for some of the most unhinged puritanical TOS violating scenes in the entire game.
Now, these scenes are not structured in a way that ever feels creepy or deliberately sexual. The writer (or maybe localizers) were more interested in the absurdity of the situation over having Takumi indulge in the decadence of any principled cult leader. It’s well worth playing this route just for these absurd scenes, but from this absurd harem scenario, the story keeps evolving. The cult becomes increasingly more cult-like in its structure and rituals. Takumi’s initial resistance falters. The once shocking reactions of the devotees become expected. And the devoted members stop viewing Takumi as a leader and more as something… less human.
The absurdity and dread mingle together to tell a consistently captivating story that makes the most of its premise, and knows when to end. With the scenario choosing wisely to cut things off halfway to Day 100 rather than drag them out like certain other routes. My only criticism is how abrupt certain shifts and decisions can be, particularly the way Takumi decides to eschew a more altruistic and understanding path, but that’s just splitting hairs on what’s another must-play route.
Coming-of-Age Route
Scenario Writers: Akihiro Togawa (Persona 5 Tactica, Persona 5: Royal)
Scenario Length: 6 Hours
The Coming-of-Age Route is a rather strange route to differentiate next to the others, as it’s not really a coming-of-age story. It would be more apt to call it an alternative, slightly truncated, and more focused, variant of what was seen in the Second Scenario, as envisioned by another writer. Which is not a bad thing. Not every route in a game like this needs a clear gimmick or premise to make it stand out. But the name here really does not mean much.
Narratively, the route is a branch from the Second Scenario where Takumi refuses to tell his peer’s Nozomi’s background or secrets, only to them, two days later, decide that he should tell them the truth. This is a minor, if semantic, difference that sends a ripple effect through the timeline, changes character relationships, and something that is firmly in line with the main scenarios of the game. That is, with a notable influx of high school anime tropes and shenanigans. …Which is not surprising considering this was penned by a Persona 5 dev.
Like most ‘guest’ writers, Akihiro Togawa introduces his own ideas and concepts, tweaks characters slightly, but is a tad bolder than most. The personality transformation of one character is used to great effect, offering a delightful contrast that interjects an appreciated amount of fierce himbo optimism to the cast. The Undying Flame Boy is given a radically different role in the story. And while his application plays a little loose with canon, it does much to further illustrate his personality and how he functions as a key part of the Special Defense Unit.
Character relationships are given a slight shake-up, namely an expansion that turns a brief antagonistic stint into a full high school anime rivalry that is solved in a perfectly heartfelt yet goofy manner. The romance between Takumi and Nozomi is put to the forefront once more, but in a way that is just self-aware enough to not be frustratingly staggered. It starts without much of a clear direction, finds its identity partway through, and reaches new heights near the end, when the story rushes towards a concluding arc that kept me on the edge of my seat.
It’s a glorious coalescence of betrayal, shattered expectations, sacrifices, and an event that leaves the team fractured, leading into a wholly unique four phase final battle. Complete with two final bosses, and a peak anime finale. Not necessarily in terms of quality, but in terms of themes and emotion. It is a glorious crescendo that does things not done anywhere else in the game, wonderfully represents core themes of the title, and despite its divergences, remains true to the spirit of its characters.
Retsnom Route
Scenario Writers: Kazutaka Kodaka and Ren Sudo
Scenario Length: 8 Hours
Retsnom starts off with a rather novel premise. One of the first decisions the player makes along the Second Scenario is whether or not they want to protect Last Defense Academy or Second-to-Last Defense Academy. The right answer is to save the people who are right in front of him, but instead Takumi chooses to leave four allies for dead, grab Nozomi for emotional reasons, and rush back to Last Defense Academy to prevent further losses. …Only to later learn that not only were his allies at Second-to-Last Defense Academy were slurped up.
This immediately tanks Takumi’s relationship with the remaining members of the Special Defense Unit, damn-near traumatizes Nozomi, and leaves him alienated from his peers. The only exception is the emo scene girl Darumi, who reaches out to her fellow outcast, becoming his primary confidant, and turning this into the de facto Darumi route of the game. As the impressions of a bond begin to form, the two quickly fall down a rabbit hole of occult ruminations, investigating some cryptic monster by the name of Retsnom. A creature, claimed in ancient texts, to have the ability to bring back the dead, thus giving the route its namesake and kicking off the core premise.
I want to pause here to acknowledge one of the more frustrating part of Hundred Line’s approach to structure. Much of the main hook of Hundred Line, a cornerstone of its narrative, is that its stories span 100 days and conclude upon day 100. This rule is not always adhered to. The Coming-of-Age route ends before day 70. Many others have time skips that break up the pacing of the 100 days, and others know when to rush for the conclusion, as there is nothing more to dwell on. When the game does not do this, it often feels as if it is spinning its wheels, padding itself with sporadically distributed free time as the writer waits until the plot can progress. …Or they just have Takumi fall asleep for two or three days. It happens so frequently that I choose to believe that Takumi has a canonical sleep disorder.
I bring this up here, because Retsnom is not only one of the longer dedicated routes in the game, but the worst example of using its time poorly. The narrative starts on Day 8, the occult investigations begin by Day 16, and while they find the place they are looking for by Day 27, they are given a truly arbitrary two week delay before acquiring the Retsnom on Day 41. This leads to a flurry of small revelations, two bad endings, and a pivot in terms of what type of story is being told. A pivot that, as a lover of transformation, I found incredibly exciting… only for the story to dawdle about for the better part of forty days, giving a whole new meaning to what a slow transformation looks like. And not in the good way.
All the story has to keep things interesting during the interim are small skit-length scenes. Glorified fetch quests that are not even presented as actual mechanical fetch quests. Because that would be more work! A subplot involving Eito that gets about half the development it should. Takumi and Darumi publicly reveal their plans only for everybody to just sorta… accept it, even if they don’t like their methods. None of these concepts are bad, but the execution is full of an excess of dead air, all without a clear intention or purpose. Things technically happen, but with the pacing one would expect of a subplot, not the main plot.
I can only assume that the writers’ intention was to have the story take place a shorter length of time— to not pad things with dozens of free time days. But this was the only place free on the flowchart tree, so here it went, biding its time before culminating in Day 93. I will not say anything about what happens, but it left me shaking with excitement, in awe that the story has the audacity to go that far, and to unabashedly embrace these concepts in such an inspired way. The revelation itself is short, but it is a dense and weighty one that recontextualizes so much, and features a twist that simply enraptured me.
This build up is subsequently paid off across a pair of conclusions, both excellent in their own ways. With the rejection ending serving as a bold assertion of autonomy and doing the right thing, even when the promise is so tempting. It even manages to end on one of the more uplifting notes in the game. Meanwhile, the embrace ending sees the characters delightfully indulge in this new power before veering off into a unique spin on the final battle, meant to feel like a power fantasy beatdown, capped off with a delectable conclusion. Retsnom has a great story to tell… once you get rid of all of the fluff. And it’s notably better if you are someone who will do crazy things to find good transformation fantasy content.
Romance Route
Scenario Writers: Yoichiro Koizumi
Scenario Length: 6 Hours
A romance route seems like it should be one of the easiest things to implement into a game like this. It is not uncommon for various expansions, fandiscs, or even spin-offs to take a mostly serious story and spin it into a romantic direction. To eschew all the seriousness of the main story and just focus on the protagonist getting every major girl. The structure should be clear— have one route for every major (female) love interest, maybe some male ones if you are feeling modern— based on the player’s initial choices. Have them go on a series of dates, divulge secrets, and become closer through the power of bonds. And then wrap up the story with an ending where their romance is firmly established in whatever way the genre, demographic, or ratings board will allow.
There is of course some wiggle room in the structure, but it is the standard for a reason, and typically should not be deviated from unless you have a good reason and better story to tell. …But Yoichiro Koizumi, the author of this route, just kind of didn’t.
After certain events, Takumi has dreams about kissing Kurara, Kiyoshika, and Tsubasa before waking up several days later. Kurara, Kiyoshika, and Tsubasa similarly had dreams where they kissed Takumi and, having fallen for him per their dreams, arrange a romance game with the help of Moko. For the remaining 75 days, Takumi will spend his time evenly between these three girls, 25 days at a time, in order to figure out which one he likes most. …And during their respective 25 days, Takumi effectively does one activity with each girl, repeated via daily micro scenes that mostly stand out due to a disproportionately high amount of voiced lines and CGs.
If this sounds like a strange premise for a romance route, that’s because it is. I could respect this level of structural deviance, yet the execution truly leaves me wondering how this outline would have looked before it was written, as there is truly very little holding this route together.
Kurara and Takumi watch a bunch of movies and the biggest thing we learn about Kurara is that she, a rich girl with a family dynasty, was engaged to someone she never met. Kiyoshika’s chapter is dominated by training sequences that, while cute, lack much direction or depth. With the biggest lore drop being how she actually has pretty traditional feminine life goals, and loves picnics. Tsubasa’s chapter is mostly just her doing machines with Takumi, with her explaining where her nausea comes from. And while there are a handful of other extra endings… they are not substantial enough to make the vision of the route cleat.
The Romance Route also suffers significantly from trying to find something of note to fill in every day of the remaining 75 days. Combined with the morning announcement pace breakers, lack of free time, and general lack of variety, it makes for one of the more repetitive routes in the game. And all for… what, exactly? It can be sweet, funny, and endearingly silly.
It has its moments, but… this is not as a romance story. Their bonds do not feel like romance, do not do enough to sell the player that these character love each other, or sell their romantic chemistry. Hell, I would say that the Cult of Takumi route did a far better job of selling the idea of affection and devoting than what was offered here. Because while they loved Takumi in an unhealthy way, it was still love, damn it!
The Romance Route could, and should, have been far better than it actually was, and ultimately disappointed me on pretty much every front.
Slasher Route
Scenario Writers: Akira Mine (No References Found) and Akihiro Togawa
Scenario Length: 15 to 18 Hours
The Slasher Route’s premise is pretty much in its name. Early on in the route, the students at LDA begin encountering a masked killer who periodically appears throughout the school to stalk its halls and hunt for their latest victims. With the eponymous slasher looking like a Zero design from Zero Escape. A person in a vintage diving suit with a single glowing red eye, wielding a power saw. Even though that would be a terrible tool for carving up bodies, because its mechanisms would get jammed with blood. Naturally, the initial goal is to determine who is behind the mask, and why they are carving up students like pineapples.
This is a solid premise in general, but one with a slight suspension of belief problem. The slasher’s suit is immune to hemoanima, but the slasher is just as vulnerable as any person wearing a rubber suit. Someone could penetrate it using a bullet, knife, or even an arrow. They are not a threatening preternatural force like Jason Vorhees, yet the characters routinely choose to run rather than try to fight them. And when they do resist, they typically die.
This further applies to other threats, whose power is routinely overstated while the students are treated like they’re as weak as any other teenager. Rather than being, you know, teenagers with superpowers. It’s a strange decision, even under the pretense of a typical slasher, but one that is ultimately necessary for the type of story that the writers wanted to tell. It’s one of the bigger suspensions of disbelief in the game, and the route’s far more enjoyable if you just assume this reason away.
Structurally, the Slasher route is effectively two storylines that feed into each other, each revealing a different side of a single greater mystery. The one that should be played first follows a considerably more violent path where Takumi is more proactive toward the threat, only for his problems to compound. This ultimately leads one threat to be exchanged for another based on a bit of incredibly obvious flavor text leading up to it, causing the genre of slasher to deviate to something similar but distinct.
Despite this shift seeming random when it’s introduced, it is handled with as much grace and care as any other route. Clearly bearing reverence for its chosen genre as characters perish for misguidedly heroic or downright stupid reasons. It’s also an expedient affair than other routes, with time passing by in large swaths as characters are left unable to do much to defend themselves. But it’s peppered with intense, high-impact moments, brief variants that that take the concept to its logical conclusion, and a main thread that was particularly privy to my interests, yet is deliberately downplayed.
As for the second branch, it is more of a test of endurance and trying to solve a broader mystery. Every day leading up to day 100 is another opportunity for the slasher to strike and everybody is to be considered a suspect. Tensions rise as efforts from the team to protect themselves fail despite attempts to pair up. As the genre dictates, the moment they step out of line, the body count starts piling up.
While the prior branch might make it seem that the answer is as obvious as can be, the more time goes on, the less plausible that becomes. Setbacks compound before the route concludes on a pair of reveals. Reveals that are exactly the kind of mind bend that I adore from this particular breed of Japanese mystery adventure game. And ones that cast a shadow over pretty much every route in the game. You never know when/how/if the game will revisit this little tidbit. It has all the tension, dread, blood, and spectacle that I could want, and so earnestly indulges in its desires that I simply adored it from start to finish. Even the ass stealth sections were fun in how ill-devised they were.
Comedy Route
Scenario Writers: Nonon Ishii, Kazutaka Kodaka, and Kyohei Oyama
Scenario Length: 8 Hours
Of all the routes in the game, the Comedy Route is probably the most aimless route in the game, and if not for the Serial Battles route, it would be the one with the least to say. Which is strange, as the route was the creation of three writers, the only route in the game with that luxury, and is by no means a short romp or tangent. The route starts on day 16, continues largely uninterrupted until day 47, and has at least one full run up to day 100. There are no character deaths, no overarching mystery, or really even much of a unique plot. It’s just another run through Hundred Line, but things are a touch more wacky.
Hundred Line‘s First Scenario is not afraid of indulging in its sillier, cartoonish, or more comedic elements, nor are most other routes in the game. This is a game that wears its silliness on its sleeve, and I think that adds to the more serious moments, to the drama, and only enhances the hard-hitting moments. Because of the tonal variety. This puts a far greater expectation for a comedy route to be more, well, overtly comedic, yet the writers… weren’t able to really do that. They had ideas, but did not really know what to do with them.
The first stretch of the route is dominated by a series of roundabout errands that, at most, serve as an opportunity for characters to flex their personalities. But in practice, they are just multiple-choice quizzes. And when the story begins to deviate, the game pretty much just cycles between blasé sitcom plotlines. Some of the ideas are interesting, have opportunity to grow, and could amount to something. But either the writers give up on their premise or they let the gag go on for far too long.
This could all work if the goal was to bombard the player with absurdist comedy, compounding upon itself as it gets increasingly bizarre. And make no mistake, this route is just flat-out weird at times. However, the most important element of comedy is timing, and Hundred Line is a game where timing needs to fit a pre-determined 100 day structure. Since the writers did not have 100 days worth of events or material to dig through, they fill up the comedic moments with free time sections.
This can be a blessing for those who want to grind affection and resources, but the comedy route has so many of these— roughly a hundred days worth of free time— I started calling it the free time routes. Because that really is the structure. Zany stuff happens throughout the story, the pre-determined battles are copy-pasted from other routes, and the glue holding this all together is the free time.
The Comedy Route become very repetitive, very fast, and turns it into a route mostly held up my skits and moments. There is some appeal seeing Takumi, Ima, and Kako collaborate in perverted antics meant to appease somebody threatening to kill them. I respect the game for taking an old Japanese man joke and playing it straight for 37 days. Takumi the smartass is Takumi in his prime. And the yuri section, while ultimately just a way to kill ten days, was hilarious in how unexpected it was. …But they didn’t need four bespoke branches to contain these ideas. …And I don’t think everything they came up with here needed to be included in the final game.
I don’t like its structure, its lack of focus is jarring next to every other route, and for a comedy route from this writing team… I expected better. It’s disappointing, and for that, it’s going into D tier. They should have just made Hundred Line: The Abridged Series.
Killing Game Route
Scenario Writers: Kyohei Oyama
Scenario Length: 12 to 15 Hours
Considering the tenure of Kodaka, I’m pretty sure Hundred Line is at least spiritually obligated to house its own killing game route after he and his team at Spike (Chunsoft) did so much to popularize the genre. …Which is why it’s surprising that the route takes a completely different direction on the concept of a killing game. Rather than being a murder-driven game of getting away with crime and being the last lone survivor, the game is instead about killing as many invaders as possible per the orders of a new character dubbed The Sponsor.
They are a malicious, seemingly indestructible figure who forces the students to compete in hunting as many invaders as possible. Those who kill the most invaders get gifts at the end of each season, and the one who kills the least is eliminated. Naturally, the students are inclined to say to hell with that and fight back however they possibly can, and they do. Through the 74 days this story persists, setbacks compound. Hopes are shattered mere days after victory seems like a certainty. And the magnitude of the threat of the Sponsor becomes something horrific. The characters are all locked into a bitter situation of manufactured competition, where death, despite their best efforts, become an inevitability. A cost of wadding things out and trying to find an opportunity.
This could be a bitter, spiteful, and angry story of people engaging in their worst impulses, forging off into cliques, and pursuing selfishness and a lack of empathy in an environment that rewards it. And, in a sense, it is. Factions form and characters who were once stalwart friends decry Takumi as a monster, choosing to blame this on him, as that is easier than accepting the innate chaos of reality. In another sense, it is a refutation of that.
No matter how imposing things may seem, Takumi does not give up. The persistence of his friends keeps him going, and when they start to falter, he keeps them going, always looking for a new goal, a new path forward. And in pursuing this path, new bonds are forged, new allies are made, and relationships change. Acquaintances become friends. Friends become romance in what feels like the most overt shipping in the entire game. And a central character’s personality undergoes a drastic change as she discovers newfound meaning in her life through the power of vampirism.
I am trying to be vague here, because what really makes this route work, what makes it special, is its ability to hone in on an oddball pairing of characters and transform them in accordance to the writer’s vision. It makes the core cast feel like they are truly part of a cohesive unit of friends, teetering into a family in some ways, and made whole with the introduction of a new character. A character who, while a brat, is a brat in the most endearing way. Competent, snarky, yet considerate enough to make their transgressions feel like they have a purpose. They are, in many way, the savior that the core cast need, and the affection the cast lobs onto them is infectious.
This sense of optimism and friendship gives the route some much needed levity to push characters forward as the cast is torn up as part of the killing game… and they do a lot of killing themselves. Many days begin or consists of Takumi and other characters going around and just slaughtering them as quickly as possible.
It’s not brutal, it’s not intense, and it’s not gory, which is the point. The characters are justified by their needed to survive, justified that these are invaders, not humans like them, and killing them is just like killing pests. It is a cold and deliberately game-y concept, but undergoes two twists. One that is obvious if anybody knows a thing or two about why hunting regulations exist. And another that anybody familiar with a certain acclaimed Japanese action RPG series with oodles of endings should have guessed by hour ten.
However, predictability neither cheapens nor worsens this story. The characters all take this reveal harshly, sickened by their actions and are locked into a state of loathing. A state they only escape through the power of bonds, optimism, and the most 2025-ass dream possible. Their hands may forever be stained by blood from the crimes they had to commit, but in the end, they still have each other. They still have bonds stronger than steel. …And I think that is part of the essence of what makes a good killing game story work. It’s not about the murder, not about the elaborate kills, it’s about the ability to persevere, to triumph!
Mystery Route
Scenario Writers: Kotaro Uchikoshi (Zero Escape, AI: The Somnium Files)
Scenario Length: 5 Hours
The Mystery Route is difficult to judge in isolation, as it is really a larger component of the Steady-Fundamentals Route. One meant to introduce a mystery, wrap up a threat, and showcase something that any fan of Kotaro Uchikoshi’s work should be well familiar with.
Conceptually, the route is another murder mystery affair, with the Special Defense Unit trying to piece together who among them are responsible for a series of murders that keep happening despite their best precautions. It’s a compelling concept that makes sense given the pedigree of the lead creative staff and their clear fascination with the genre, even if the characterization can get a bit… fluid at times. But in a game this expansive, rigid characterization is not necessarily desirable.
The scenarios are compelling enough to warrant speculation and involve a lot of murder mystery fundamentals enhanced by the closed environment structure of Last Defense Academy. While the solutions can be a bit elaborate at times, in a game as extreme as this, I’d say that’s appropriate. And it all culminates in a mind-twist of a final chapter that only urges the player to press on to the true conclusion, and it’s best that I don’t say more than that.
It is a route that feels necessary given the murder mystery lineage of its creative leads, and the foundational works of their former employers. However, in order to get there, Uchikoshi had to kind of break the whole structure of Hundred Line. There is only a single combat encounter in the route, negating the whole RPG aspect of this affair. The bad ends generally feel like they are there out of obligation and to warrant another gory CG, rather than exploring alternative plotlines. And the route is so dismissive of the 100 days structure that it teeters on the level of farce. I had been making snide remarks about Takumi being a narcoleptic leading up to this route and, after this, I think that’s genuinely part of his character.
That being said, it is far from bad, delivers upon something that fans of Danganronpa might find to be lacking in this game. And whatever odd creative choices it makes ultimately benefit this route’s tight pacing. I actually had to play through 80% of it twice because of scheduling conflicts, and if a mystery can remain captivating after that, then it must be doing something right.
Steady-Fundamentals Route
Scenario Writers: Kotaro Uchikoshi
Scenario Length: 15 to 17 Hours
The Steady-Fundamentals, or S.F. Route, is effectively the third, true, and final scenario of Hundred Line. A true culmination of everything that came leading up to it, literally crossing over in many respects, and one of the most ambitious time loop narratives I have ever seen. It’s a grand epic about characters standing up against the impossible odds of fate with the weapons of foresight, bonds, and their own relentless determination. However, it is also a storyline where I truly feel it is best to describe as little as possible, given how much it references, how many callbacks it boasts, and how robust its twists are. If one is familiar with Uchikoshi’s work, you will be able to quickly clock this as a culmination of myriad ideas he has played with over the past 15 years, but all rendered with a level of confidence, ambition, and scale that makes this feel like a career-long dream.
It is, quite simply, a worthy conclusion to one of the largest visual novel RPGs ever created. It respects the investment the player has put into it. And it aims to answers so many questions that the experience can be dizzying in its layers and complexity. As a reminder, this would be a months-long game for most people. I want to say I have nothing but good things to say about it, as it does so much so well, but it sadly does not stick the landing with as much grace as it could have.
For as much as I appreciated, admired, and respected everything that Uchikoshi was doing with the S.F. Route, it’s also home to some of his worst indulgences. The last stretch of the route features a scattering of unexplained eccentricities that were not foreshadowed or explained in the game, at all. A red herring is handed to Hiruko that sounds like it should be a key plot item, but isn’t. A pivotal character who made me question everything about the nature of the time loop is curiously mentioned twice, in passing, before departing. The bees and space rocks are just hand-waved away. And the more I think back to this stretch of the route, the more I’m convinced this was left unfinished, so concepts can be expanded upon in the announced DLC. There’s nothing here that ruins the route, but the way it ends warrants at least some criticism.
The ending of Steady-Fundamentals is presented as a joyous and complete victory where the characters somehow manage to achieve their every goal, and escape with their lives intact. However, it refuses to address a lingering mystery that has been literally hanging over the characters since the start of this game, and a mystery that I, as a player, was hoping to uncover for over 200 bloody hours. I would be upset with this… but Virtue’s Last Reward, Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony all did the same damn thing.
They tease the player on seeing an outside world, in seeing something beyond their bubble, but aside from vague snippets and hearsay, they get nothing. I thought this was a Spike Chunsoft corporate restriction at first, a desire to not show a violent nihilistic apocalyptic hellscape where humanity gave up. A belief heighten by the similar cowardice of games like Steins;Gate 0. But now I realize that… No. This is just how some creators like to tell stories. By denying you the closure of knowing the absolute truth. As a critic, I can respect that, but I sure don’t like that.
…The route’s still peak though, don’t get it twisted.
The (Hundred Line) Conclusion
If you are reading this article, you should have already beaten Hundred Line‘s main scenario and want to know about its various scenarios the game has to offer. Or you beat the whole game, and probably way faster than me. So you don’t really need me to sell you on the game or anything.
Taking Hundred Line as a whole, I can safely say it is one of the most peaks and valleys games I have played in a good while. Some routes are stellar bits of storytelling with excellent characters and engrossing revelations that feed back into the rest of the games. Narratives that collate to form a glorious culmination of decades of experiences and 40 years of genre development by veteran genre leaders who were kids when Japanese adventure games started being a thing.
Other routes, by comparison, range from good ideas with a half-hearted execution to just wastes of everybody’s time by creators who, evidently, did not fully get the project they were contributing to. Would Hundred Line be better without these lesser routes, even though they all have at least ten good moments? Generally, yes. …Fortunately, you can just ignore the crap, as none of them are required for completion. They might not even be canon— whatever that means!
Hundred Line is a flawed, imperfect, and occasionally messy affair. But after 200, or 270 hours— depending on your count— do I regret my time with Hundred Line? No. I think the game is a truly special, once in a generation, marvel. Its unprecedented scale and commitment to being what it is makes it something that I do not think could exist in a modern studio system as a new IP. And it’s something that definitely could not exist in the post-boom post-AI period of today. (God, Hundred Line is going to be one of the last story-heavy games to not use AI, isn’t it?)
It is a beyond ambitious gamble that, despite all odds, made back its budget, garnered a fanbase, and accumulated widespread critical acclaim. But one with enough jank and rough edges that I cannot say it’s above an 8/10. Mind you, it is still the best 8/10 I have ever played in my life, and it is going on my top 25 list, right behind Nier: Automata, because they’re kind of the same game.
And with that final bit of gushing, I think I have said all I need to say. …Until the DLC comes out.
