The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy will be right at home for those who’ve played the Danganronpa or Zero Escape series, thanks to the involvement of Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi. Also involved is the character designer Rui Komatsuzaki, who has led to a unique and endearing game. This is a game with the potential to become a breakout hit like the Persona series, and we had the pleasure of doing The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy preview ahead of release.
The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy First Impressions
What at first appears as a group of ragtag students forced into a perilous situation against otherworldly forces quickly becomes something more. This is thanks to the strongest aspect of The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy, the eclectic cast. It’s as weird as you’d expect from the minds behind Danganronpa and Zero Escape, but it also shares those games’ strengths. Within moments of meeting each student trapped at the academy, they all felt instantly iconic and memorable.
My favorites were Eito Aotsuki, Hiruko Shizuhara, and Shouma Ginzaki, though all of the students left an impression on me thanks to the diverse personalities and talented voice-acting cast. The bulk of the gameplay took the form of a visual novel, where I learned more about the characters and their situation. Each character, with some exceptions, had moments where they took the spotlight or were at odds with another. This isn’t even taking into account the strange Sirei, the mascot-like facilitator of The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy.
Combat in The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy
This visual novel exposition and storytelling were combined with simpler segments of exploration and, of course, strategic turn-based combat. The latter saw me diving into large-scale engagements and having to plan unit placement to maximize the damage inflicted.
While most strategic games like this have you focus on individual units, most attacks in The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy are capable of hitting multiple tiles. As a result, the tactics made each choice more impactful. The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy also uses AP and a Voltage meter, and balancing added further elements of strategy in order to unleash powerful special attacks.
Where The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy further differentiates itself from other turn-based strategy games is the importance of unit death. The combat used a wave-like system in which dead fighters could return to battle between these waves.
Death isn’t permanent, but it can be beneficial as it leads to an increase in the voltage bar. Managing what units were expendable in order to get a powerful special move added a depth I’d not seen in many other games, especially considering my history with the Fire Emblem series and its permadeath aspects.
The exploration phase of The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy seemed shallow at first, but it quickly became apparent how important this part of the game was. Exploring the school was crucial for finding resources, upgrading weapons, and unlocking lore, which revealed more about why each of the students found themselves there. Still, this phase is the least important of The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy, but it has its place and doesn’t stick around longer than it needs to.
Where I felt The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy suffered the most was in the social aspects. The characters are the most interesting part, and considering the pedigree of The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy’s creators, I expected more from this. Granted, this preview only gave me a portion of the game, and there is much more to discover, so this may be resolved or improved over time. While I felt this area could be improved, I did enjoy learning about the characters, their backstories and motivations, and seeing each one interact with the others. There is so much potential in The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy’s social aspects.
Additionally, having played The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy on PC, I felt the controls were unintuitive. Trying to use the keyboard felt incredibly clunky thanks to a lack of mouse features, and I promptly switched to a controller. Some improvements in this area would be a welcome change, but this is a minor annoyance that doesn't detract from the overall experience.
The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy made a strong impression on me, even in its promotional material. It remains to be seen whether The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy becomes the breakout hit it aims to be.
Its story, blend of gameplay, and visuals have set it up for success, and it promises to be a memorable experience for those who are willing to take a chance on Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi’s latest project. Anyone who enjoys a story-heavy turn-based game should absolutely keep The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy on their radar when it releases on April 24, 2025.
If you're looking for more games with a strong cast of characters, check out Persona 3 Reload Review: Nostalgic game, now with Limit Breaks on Pro Game Guides.
Published: Mar 27, 2025 11:20 AM UTC