The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- Demo: Danganronpa Fans Pay Attention.
Platforms: PC/Steam, Nintendo Switch | Developer: Too Kyo Games, Media.Vision Inc | Publisher: Aniplex Inc
It Takes The Best Parts About Danganronpa’s Style
I’ve played 4 Hours of The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- and so far, it’s unapologetically Danganronpa, and the culmination of Kazutaka Kodaka’s work. It has the nostalgic flair throughout its art and presentation, over-the-top characters, and tactical tower defense-style gameplay that weaves in puzzle elements to make for something unexpectedly different. Most importantly, I thought all these things were done well, and It’s become my most anticipated game of the year. That said, there are still some things I’m unsure about, particularly some parts of the story and characters that haven’t clicked for me yet.
Ultimately, if you’re a Danganronpa fan, you’ll want to check out the Demo. You can carry over your save data to the full game when it releases, meaning you don’t have to start over. A feature I really appreciate and one that’s thankfully becoming more common. Unfortunately, the game is only available on PC and Switch, a decision I think will be a detriment to the games sales.
After a lengthy intro that drafts our protagonist into the Last Defense Academy, we are introduced to a colourful cast of characters to say the least… Now I will say that I didn’t have great first impressions of these characters, most are overbearing in their extreme personalities and are unlikeable seemingly intentionally. Danganronpa characters were also exaggerated, but fell into their roles nicely in a compelling way that enhanced the class trials. By the end of the Demo, I found this less of an issue as I expected, with characters personalities pushing the story forward and even being represented in gameplay.
One uncertainty I have is the absence of a clear “buddy” character, someone like Kaito in V3 or Kyoko from the first game. It makes things feel like something’s missing. Maybe this will show up further in the game, or maybe it wasn’t deemed necessary since everyone is working together this time.
Upon seeing art for this game, you can probably guess who the fan-favourite character will be. That’s a testament to Rui Komatsuzaki’s standout character designs. Everyone has a unique, fashionably gothic look to compliment their personality, and their skin is pale due to a lack of exposure to sunlight which is story related.
Our protagonist Takumi Sumino on the other hand isn’t as colourful. He’s a normal student with a bland life, and fits the bill for a relatable, self insert type character that players will have no problem stepping into the shoes of. To some, he may seem generic, I agree but I’m looking forward to seeing how he develops as the story unfolds.
Danganronpa In Style But…
It’s already clear that this game looks and feels like Danganronpa, but to be more specific, you’ve got the character designs, the school setting, 2D characters on 3D backgrounds, the side scrolling map traversal from Danganronpa 2, and music by the same composer, featuring very similar tracks, and sound effects. I know I'm missing more.
It’s nostalgic, and I love it, the fans will love it. But the demo is absent of a captivating mystery that their previous games are known for. I do however expect this to change, especially with Zero Escape writer Kotaro Uchikoshi on board. Here we have a dream team, and I don’t want to make too many assumptions based on the Demo.
Thats not to say the story isn’t interesting, on the contrary, I like it a lot. I wont spoil anything but the game presents some interesting questions that I’m looking forward to seeing play out.
The major difference from Danganronpa is the tactical, tower defense-style combat, with puzzle elements mixed in. In these battles, large amounts of enemies will continue to push forward every turn to destroy the target object. What makes this interesting and a bit like a puzzle game is each character’s attacks cover different shapes on the tiles, for example, Darumi Amemiya’s attacks are in a cross shape, or Takemaru’s in a square around him. Standard enemies die in one hit; tougher ones take and deal more damage, but reward you 1 AP when killed, letting you act again.
AP can be spent however you like, meaning one character could attack multiple times. To balance this, characters become fatigued after attacking and have reduced movement. The Voltage Gauge lets you use a characters special move once charged, although more interestingly, when a character is on low health, they can unleash their special move at the cost of their life. This quite funnily grants you bonus points on the reward screen towards an S-rank, so don’t feel like you shouldn’t use it!
I didn’t expect the gameplay to be a highlight, but I found it fun and full of charm. The characters personalities are represented in their abilities, such as the delinquent using a bike or the psycho throwing knifes like a madwoman. The difficulty is definitely on the easy side, but we’ll have to wait and see in the full release.
Things I Disliked Or Are Unsure of
Despite enjoying the game, a few things didn’t click for me. The outside board game-style map was something I didn’t enjoy. You move a set number of spaces based on a card you choose, and most spaces you land on will present you a scenario where your response earns materials or deals damage. Although there was nothing wrong with this part of the game, it felt uninteresting and filler to gather upgrade materials.
Free time segments also felt a little soft. You can choose to hang out with others or go exploring. Spending time with others raises social stats like literature or maths, which are tied to ability upgrades. This isn’t something I have an issue with, but I am curious about how varied this will be in the full game. During the demo I tried to hang with the same person twice, but they repeated dialogue from the previous hangout.
My final complaint is that I couldn’t tolerate the English dub for more than the intro. Usually I prefer dubs in these games, they generally do a pretty great job, but this game outside of a couple characters, I couldn’t hack it and swapped to Japanese, which thankfully sounded much better.
The Demo Made Me Excited
After 4 hours with the demo, I can easily say I’m excited to play the full game, and it will be a day 1 purchase for me. The battles where an unexpected highlight that I want to see how they evolve with more characters and enemies. And the obvious people pleaser is the amount of Danganronpa’s identity in the game, its nostalgic and makes me feel a bit better about not having Danganronpa 4.
Sadly, if this game underperforms, the studio may shut down and Kazutaka Kodaka retire. This information comes from the Japanese gaming outlet 4gamer, where he shared the statement. As in the article by noisypixel, he may have been exaggerating, but there is undoubtedly high expectations for this game. I just hope this isn’t the last we see of him.
