The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy Review
So over the past month, I’ve been playing The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy. For those that don’t know, it is probably best described as Danganronpa/Zero Escape crossed with Fire Emblem. It is created by Kazutaka Kodaka, the creator of Danganronpa, and Kotaro Uchikoshi, the creator of Zero Escape, and features a strategy RPG battle system interwoven with Visual Novel story telling of the Danganronpa variety. As someone who is a fan of all three of the franchises listed above, I was very hyped for this game. And after completely finishing it, I can safely say it did not disappoint at all.
So for this blog, I will be doing a review of this game. Don’t worry, we will stick with non-spoiler stuff first and I’ll be very clear and give a big warning when the spoilers will happen. I’ll mainly be talking about two things, which are the battle system and the story. The battle system is actually really well done and a lot better than I thought it would be, and for the story I’ll be splitting it into three parts. Those are the non-spoiler section, a high-level spoiler section, and a more in-depth spoiler section.
The Battle System
So when I initially saw footage of this game, I was not that hyped for a SRPG element in my mystery visual novel game. Like, I follow Uchikoshi for the story, not the gameplay, so I was thinking that the battle system would just be like filler stuff and not that deep. Boy was I wrong. The battle system in this game is actually so good, dare I say it is better than Fire Emblem. I did a high-level video comparing this game’s battle system to Fire Emblem which you can watch here. I do recommend checking that video out because I do think seeing it in action will better convey the point than reading about it. Ultimately, for this review I want to talk about four main components of this battle system: Actions Not Being Tied to Characters but to AP, Certain Enemies Awarding AP, Unique Attacks/Skills Per Character, and Voltage.
Actions Not Being Tied to Characters but to AP
So, in Fire Emblem, each character can only act once per turn, unless they are danced. Therefore, the number of actions you have is tied to the number of characters. This is not the case in this game. Here, actions are tied to the amount of AP you have. Any action you do that’s not like consuming an item will cost 1 AP. Okay, you might say, what does that have to do with anything? Well, the important thing to note is the implication on character actions. Since the number of actions you have is not tied to the character, you do not need to restrict characters from only being able to act once. Therefore, this system grants players more freedom in allowing characters to act multiple times if the situation wants it to. Now it is not just free win spam or unlimited. After a character acts once, they become fatigued, meaning their movement is restricted to 1. What this does is emphasize the importance of positioning, especially for that initial action of a character. If you can position correctly, you can have a character basically perform combos, working within the limited movement of fatigue to attack multiple times in efficient ways. These combos provide a huge satisfactory feeling when one pulls it off and rewards that skill for players, giving that dose of dopamine when pulled off. It also emphasizes the player phase, which I personally really like because it gives the player more agency and makes it more engaging in my opinion, and this system of AP actions allows for that really well.
Certain Enemies Awarding AP
In conjunction with the above, that system of AP also leads into the fact that certain enemies (which I will call “big enemies”) award the player AP upon their defeat. So during your turn, if in one action you kill a big enemy, you essentially have a net 0 loss of AP. And if you are able to kill multiple big enemies in one action, you can gain AP for the current turn, allowing you to act even more. This does two things. The first is that it again enhances that feeling of doing combos. Gaining more actions by defeating the right enemies and continuing that steamroll is really satisfying if you are able to pull it off. The second is that it increases the strategic dynamic of target selection. It makes the decision of which enemies to target more interesting. Should you target the enemies closest to the base so that they don’t reach it and damage it? Should you target the boss? Or should you target the big enemies which can give you more actions to defeat even more enemies through those combos. That example shows how the target selection dimension of strategy is enhanced by the fact that certain enemies award AP. All of this continues to further emphasize the player phase and makes the player more active in these sorts of strategic decisions. Which in turn makes it more satisfying if the player can pull off a really cool maneuver or combo. It’s like Galeforce but emphasizing target selection.
Unique Attacks/Skills Per Character
The next component, and in my opinion the most impactful one, is that we have the fact that each character has their own set of unique attacks and skills, each with different ranges and effects. I want to first emphasize the different ranges. In Fire Emblem, unless you use Bolting or something, characters only attack adjacent enemies and/or enemies 1 space away from them, and they can only attack one enemy at a time. In this game, every attack has different ranges, and they are all area-of-effect. For instance, Takumi has an attack that attacks all enemies in a horizontal line in from of him whereas Kyoshika has an attack that attacks all enemies in like a V-shaped range. This allows each character to have more character in their gameplay, making each unit stand out more and perhaps integrating their personalities into the actual gameplay, which is really nice. In addition, this also combines with the above two points in making positioning very important. With the considerations of characters able to act multiple times albeit fatigued and the character’s arsenal of attacks, if you position correctly, you can have a really cool combo taking out swarths of enemies with a single character. The different ranges fit in really nicely with the emphasis on positioning and the player phase.
Of course, each attack a character has not only differs in ranges but also attack power and effects. This helps with balancing as you can have a very high attack power attack, but that attack has like 1 range or something, and I think this game does that really well. And of course, the different attack powers and effect and ranges make each character feel more unique and allows their own personalities to shine in actual gameplay. Fire Emblem sort of has that recently with like personal skills and different stat-growths, but I feel this game does this aspect a lot better, and also this game has personal passive skills too. Having each character have their own arsenal of attacks also means that there are certain synergies or groupings that you can figure out and try. It is rewarding figuring out good pairings and followups. Figuring out the best way to use the different ranges and effects to most efficiently defeat enemies becomes like a strategy puzzle which is really rewarding.
Voltage
The final component of the battle system I want to talk about is Voltage. As you perform actions, you gain Voltage in a Voltage Meter. Different actions fill the Voltage Meter by different amounts. Once the meter becomes 100% or more, two new options become available to every character. The first is the ability to use a hemoanima skill. There are many different types (all shared by the characters) including one that boosts your attack, but my personal favorite is the one that heals fatigue and grants you 1 AP. I like this for obvious reasons, it makes you think more in-depth about the actions you take to try to fill that meter so you can do more actions, which in turn gives the player more agency and emphasizes the player phase. It enables more cool combos which makes the turn feel more satisfying. The second is the ability to use a Special Attack. Each character has their own unique Special Attack, which is a super powerful attack with a pretty large range. However, after you use a special attack, you become stunned, meaning you can’t use that character at all (not even move them) for the current turn and next turn. This Special Attack again gives each character their own unique flavor, and is of course really cool, but the important thing is that it enhances the strategic decision-making processes of how to attack. Like do I use a special move to attack this huge group of enemies with a lot of big enemies to gain a lot of AP in return for not being able to use this character for a while? There is nice interplay there. With these two new options, managing the Voltage Meter becomes a really interesting strategic dynamic and factors into that decision making process, increasing the depth of the battle and strategy.
Putting it all Together
Now there are other aspects of the battle system (I hear you Last Yell enjoyers), but these are the ones I want to talk about. Putting it all together, all of those components above enable the player to pull off some really satisfying plays. For instance, one of my favorite pairings is Nozomi and Takumi. Nozomi is a healer character with the unique attribute of having a skill that is the only way to heal stun. Takumi meanwhile has an extremely powerful Special Attack. So one thing I like to do is stack the Voltage Meter to 200%, have Takumi fire a Special Attack, heal the stun with Nozomi, and have Takumi fire another Special Attack. With the large range of Takumi’s special attack, if I can do it right, I can get so much AP from that or just deal so much damage to like a boss. This combo is honestly extremely satisfying, and you can watch a video of this put into action here. There are of course more interplays and things I like to do, but I think that highlights how the combination of all of these components makes for a really engaging and deep battle system, one that greatly exceeded my expectations.
Non-Spoiler Story Review
Alright, now we are getting into the story. For this section, I will try not to spoil anything at all, not even at a high-level like themes and such. I’ll just describe my opinions without saying anything.
So overall, I think the core story of this game is extremely good and compelling. The mysteries I think were well set up and the reveals were both shocking and satisfying. I really started to get invested into the world of the story and wanted to learn more about it, not just because of the mysteries, but because I think both Kodaka and Uchikoshi did a really good job at making it feel alive and having a lot of depth. There were aspects that I do wish were explored more and there were definitely parts that felt underdeveloped, but overall they did a really good job with the narrative of this game.
I think they also did a really good job with the themes of this story. The themes of this story are very compelling and emotionally resonant. You really feel that the themes present have a lot of meaning behind it and for the most part each facet of lore and mystery enhances that.
I also think the characters in this game overall are really compelling. There are definitely some characters I do not like, but most characters I really do like, and their journeys and struggles do resonate with me. Each character is definitely distinctive but also has the impression of depth that I think works really well. Again, there are some characters I do not like and some that are underdeveloped, but for the most part Kodaka and Uchikoshi did a good job with the characters.
I do think the story of this game is a bit too big for its own good, to say it lightly. There are definitely aspects of the story that either felt like a drag or weren’t that good, which I mainly place blame on the ambitious nature of the game. It’s kind of similar to Fire Emblem: Three Houses in that the huge ambition of the story resulted in most routes feeling a bit lackluster. I don’t think this game suffers to that extent at all, again I do think most aspects of the story are either good to absolute cinema, but there are certainly times where it does suffer.
Ultimately though, the core story is extremely good and compelling, as I mentioned before. The story is what I was hyped about when I learned about this game being headed by Kodaka and Uchikoshi, so I’m very glad that I liked it to that extent. I honestly think the core story is better than any Danganronpa game and is among the likes of Zero Escape. This truly feels like the two of them took the best parts from each other and developed something wonderful. For any fan of Danganronpa or Zero Escape, I definitely recommend buying this game and playing it for yourself.
Okay the next section is the spoiler sections, and it will be all spoilers, so if you want to be unspoiled leave now. This is your final warning. You have been warned.
Spoiler Story Review (High Level)
Okay I think everyone’s gone now? Hopefully by now if you haven’t finished the game, you are gone because not only will there be spoilers, but it will also be really hard to follow along as I talk about spoiler stuff for this review as I do assume you will have the context.
So yeah, this game has multiple routes and endings, 100 different endings in fact. So this first section of the Spoiler Story Review will just be on the high-level, like the world, mystery, themes, characters, etc. I’ll discuss each individual route in the next section.
As I said before, the mystery and world of this game is one that I really enjoy. The world and planet of Futurum feels alive and has a lot of depth in terms of the mysteries of the planet and the Futuran civilization and mythology. There are so many aspects that are developed, from the scriptures of the G’ie, to the Box of Blessings and Calamity, to cryptoglobin and its religious significance, and to each of the Commanders. There is just a lot of lore that is compelling to learn more about. One aspect that I really liked was the Rebellion group. Seeing that really highlighted the different interplays and factions instead of having everything all monolith. It really feels like a civilization that is alive.
The truth of the cast’s origins was very shocking, but I think really well done. Learning that we are literally made and born for war with Shion’s genetic data to be able to use hemoanima works really well with the overall themes of war this game has. It felt very tragic learning that the cast was deliberately implanted with memories to have them have someone to care about to protect in order to motivate them to fight. Learning that it was all a lie and part of the Exodus scheme, specifically learning that Kaura doesn’t exist, that was heartbreaking. But I liked how in the end, they still treasured those memories, recognizing that even though it is fake, it is still a part of them and helped shape who they are.
I think the themes of this game hit really hard. Every aspect of the mystery it feels is in service to the themes of war, colonialism, and genocide. With humanity escaping Earth due to World Death and finding Futurum, only to find it already inhabited by the native Futurans, the Exodus Project aims to wipe out all current life on Futurum with the Undying Flames and have the cast unknowingly defend it until it is ready. The mysteries here showcase how people can be manipulated into doing or being complicit in horrific deeds and the extent those in power use half-truths and propaganda to further those deeds. And it shows the importance of trying to uncover these mysteries and try to find the truth and not rely on the descriptions those in power give to entire groups of people. Not to bring in real life politics too much, but not taking in the wholesale demonization of certain groups from those in leadership positions at face value is kind of resonant now. Maybe at least a little bit. Anyways, I love how the fact that this is a mystery is in service to these themes, it’s really cool. We also have to remember that the cast are like high school students. Literally molded to be weapons of war. Showing the struggles and damage the cast endures in the service of a goal they don’t fully know or understand due to the authority and circumstances, it is pretty compelling stuff.
Following from that, the characters for the most part I do really like. I think my three favorite characters are Nozomi, Tsubasa, and Hiruko. Nozomi is pretty integral to the core story, and I think she has such a heart wrenching dynamic with Takumi, especially in the Second Scenario. Tsubasa is honestly the GOAT for being really good at creating gadgets to help us and just being a really good vibe. Her struggles with her vomiting I think were also really compelling. And Hiruko is just really badass but also has her vulnerable side which is also really compelling. In terms of characters I dislike, Eito is a character I really dislike, but I do really appreciate what he brings to the story. Like he does enhance the story I think with his antagonistic character. I just hate his guts. I hate people that look down on others and has this “holier than thou” vibe that I get from him, despite him also doing pretty horrific things. But again, I do appreciate what he brings to the story.
As I mentioned before, this game has 100 endings, and while most routes I think are at least good, there are definitely some routes that I did not like. Again, I do think the game is a bit too big for its own good. I think personally, if the game was just the First and Second scenario, I would have been totally fine. I do appreciate most of the other routes for fleshing out the world and other mysteries. But not all of them. Which is funny because there are parts of the world and story that I think could use more development, so it would have been better to like not have the Serial Battle route and instead delve more into the origins of the G’ie and the mysterious lady in the lab coat in S.F. or the old guy. I think that would have been better.
Despite that though, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The mystery and world are super compelling, the themes hit really hard, I enjoyed most of the characters, and yeah. I think this story was really good. There were so many moments I had like deep chills while playing this and honestly outside of Zero Escape I haven’t really felt chills like this since. The story was emotionally compelling and resonant, and I think I will be thinking about this game for a long time.
Spoiler Story Review (Routes)
Okay so for this section, I will be going through each individual route in the order that I played them. These reviews were basically written after I completed said route, so there may be some idiosyncrasies here and thoughts that are answered later in a later route I did. Each route I give grade and hopefully you can follow along as I give my thoughts on each route. Let’s begin.
Mystery Route Part 1
This was my first route and since it was my first route on this first go, I got to a story lock. Therefore, I can’t exactly review the route as a whole yet. What I will say is that I think so far, the route is okay. There are aspects of the route that I think are weak, mainly how Takumi doesn’t really have a lot of character interactions with the rest of the cast and the mysteries of the war, the invaders, and the satellite don’t really show up. In addition, the murder mysteries are often very quickly solved. However, the mystery of who X is and what the motives are I vibe with. Why the hearts are being taken and who is X is cool. Things also started ramping up when Hiruko and Takumi began collaborating in earnest. When they found Kurara exiting a secret room, finding Kurara’s corpse and realizing Kurara has been “replaced”, that gave me chills. Apparently there is this Distress Signal Transmitter where if everyone on Team 1 dies but one, using a Liver Mortis Code, which appears after one of them dies for good, they can input the code and get back to the Artificial Satellite, which I guess explains why the killer cut out the victim’s heart, to hide that fact. But then it got story locked, so we’ll see.
Killing Game Route
I actually like this route a lot. The emotional conflicts, the feeling Takumi has of being very isolated and slowly but surely regaining allies and feeling assured is really good. Yugamu is the man. I love the dynamics between the cast here with this killing game pressure and how strained it is. Takumi definitely is at a super low point and watching him claw back trust and friendship is really heartfelt. I really like Tsubasa in this too, she’s just really supportive and cool, and her mechanic skills really shine. Takumi always having to make tough decisions because of the game and seeing his struggles, but also seeing his allies comfort him, is very compelling. The lore drops are also good. Going to that factory and learning the invaders are “processed” inhabitants of the planet, and seeing Takumi make the choice to massacre them to save Tsubasa from being the one killed off that turn, the darkness he felt, and Tsubasa and Takumi talking about it, so good. Kamyuhn is also really good here and learning more about that is cool. Again, I really like the route. The only complaints are that we don’t ever really learn who the guy in the black suit is and why he has multiple copies, and why his successor is Eito when we had killed him previously? But that will probably be answered later.
Grade: S
Slasher Route (Killer)
I think overall this route is just there and average. Nothing great but nothing terrible. I do like the high stress of the situation of having like a serial killer among them, but I do think Yugamu wearing the suit just to relieve his urges feels contrived just to make the audience not think Takumi was the one who did it. I do like the end bit where Takumi (with his mind taken over) has to choose who to chase, Nozomi or Hiruko. I think the ending with Hiruko is interesting. Hearing about G’ie just out there is wild with no context and that long discussion. Also, apparently Hiruko is like traveling through time? I don’t have a lot of context about that. Hiruko’s interactions with Takumi are really sweet and compelling though and I like how she is trying to look over and after him.
Grade: B
Slasher Route (Zombies)
Like the other slasher route, I think overall it is average. I really dislike Gaku in this one. Like before, I do like the high stress of the situation, and there are definitely character moments that shine, like Kyoshika. But overall, I didn’t really feel much except for the ending and the lore about G’ie. I think the lore drops of Gie are really cool and finding out for ourselves how much of a threat they are is cool. I will also say, Kurara’s last stand ending was really badass and I liked that a lot. And the ending where Takumi is on that operating table and has the G’ie creature heading towards him is a huge chill inducing moment. So yeah.
Grade: B
Coming of Age
I think this one is really sweet. This is definitely the most “friendship” and “shonen” of the routes so far, but I do like it. The moment when Takumi launches the bomb at V’ehxness by having himself cleaved in half was so metal I love it. I feel like for this one, the group as a whole had a really good vibe. We do get some lore drops here in this route, like V’ehxness cannibalizing her fellow commanders. I think the interactions with Shion were also really sweet and him sacrificing himself so Nozomi can live was so heartfelt. Nozomi and Takumi’s dynamic is also really good here and I really felt that chemistry. The final battle with Eito was corny, especially with Takumi accidently confessing to Nozomi, but in the best “friendship” way. The festivals, the beach training, I don’t know, I just really vibe with it.
Grade: A
Cult of Takumi
Okay this one is definitely really cursed, but honestly, the fact that it is so cursed kind of works? I don’t know, this route was just a fever dream of like watching a trainwreck in slow motion lol. So much fanservice of all stripes, but hey there’s the Takumi/Eito scene shippers wanted so much (monkey’s paw moment) so you know what, it’s worth it.
Grade: B
Conspiracy
This route is so far the biggest disappointment. We take a really cool scenario of an “Anti-Exodius” faction showing up and freeing Takumi from Sirei’s influence and it could have been really cool to have like an internal rebellion against Sirei. Which does happen, but it just feels too short honestly. When they are able to secretly convince everyone to abandon the mission and take out Sirei, it just ends as they are heading to the Second Last Defense Academy. The ending title is “Lambs to the Slaughter” which implies the choice the made was bad, but I don’t see any of it, so it just feels kind of lackluster. And the bad endings of this route are not that great either. Honestly, it just feels lacking in content.
Grade: C
Eva
Overall, I like this route. I do think it goes by too fast, but the content itself works for me. I like Takumi talking with Eva and feeling regret over what they did to her, finding solace in her, and eventually working to free her and run away to the rebellion with her. Them bonding definitely makes this route. I also like the detail of how it was Nozomi who was the one that helped Takumi free her even though they didn’t know. I liked the dynamic between Takumi, Eva, and Kamyuhn, and confrontation between V’ehxness and Eva was really cool, them being sisters. And the ending definitely tugged at my heartstrings. Again, I do just wish it didn’t feel as rushed.
Grade: B
Rebellion
I liked this route too. Honestly it really works for me. I like them deciding to abandon humanity, and Sirei just accepting it, letting himself be killed. I liked them searching and finding a Futurum, helping them and giving them a message. I liked them and the rebellion teaming up to defeat V’ehxness. Kamyuhn and Nozomi’s dynamic are amazing in this as always and it was tragic making the sadistic choice of who to save between the two. I think my one complaint is that the endings feel a bit lackluster, it could have been fuller I feel.
Grade: A
Last Defense Academy 2nd Scenario
This route is actually so peak. There is so much I can say about this route. There is a lot of overlap with many of the routes before and after in this list, but I’m including all the overlap here because clearly this is the “main” one. One thing I really liked was the tension between Takumi and Sirei. We see Takumi questioning things and even trying to get information about the truth, and Sirei coming in to basically try to modify his brain to not think those things I think is really chilling, especially in the text of the story where Takumi goes from that questioning to just trying to convince himself that it is fine because he can trust Sirei. The cast, like Hiruko, working that out and also getting intercepted is also really good, and them eventually putting two and two together and resolving that I thought was really well done. It adds this chill to the ambiance. As the main route, the lore reveals are insane. We learn that this is not Earth, but Futurum and humanity is the one that is the invaders, trying to take the planet over because the Artificial Satellite is dying. Sirei having the simulated thought process of all of humanity is a really cool touch that makes him that much more menacing since he serves then as the embodiment of humanity. It does leave a question on whether or not that true though. And still, what is the deal with what is actually on the satellite, we never figure that out. The lore drop that they are basically clones of Shion and grew in pods to basically be battle machines since cryptoglobin was the only thing that can defeat the commanders is really insane and cool too. Shion being the Second Coming stolen by humanity for that, their memories of their past all being false, it was a very compelling reveal. Again, the tension between the cast and Sirei is really good. Eito is still being Eito but he’s better in this one, especially after he blinds himself.
The best dynamic though is with Takumi and Nozomi. I absolutely loved their development in this route. It goes from Nozomi understandably being a bit uncomfortable with Takumi revealing Nozomi’s motive and secret of joining the battles to them eventually being more comfortable around each other, especially after Takumi helps Nozomi repair her relationship with Kurara. I still remember that moment on the 41st day where after Takumi helps Nozomi heal her rejection symptoms and Nozomi thanks him not just for that but for everything and gets him to reveal everything including Karua, seeing Takumi cry recounting those memories, and the pan over to Nozomi also crying despite not knowing why, oh my goodness inject that into my veins. That is such a compelling emotional heartfelt moment. But then with one line, with Nozomi saying it was her uncle that took her in and did the experiments, not her mom, that immediately changed the mood in such a good way, going from feeling heartfelt to super chill inducing. It’s just so masterful. It raises the questions and during that scene I was like “Whaaaaaa….”. And then, during the 71st day after the reveal of their memories being all a lie, Nozomi reveals how she would sneak into the research area and talk to the boy in the pod and how she thought she made a friend, and how that boy, Takumi, meant a lot to her. The CG where Nozomi and Takumi have their hands out to each other but separated by the glass of the pod is just so cute. She says she thinks her doing that left an impact on him and made Karua the way she is. So even if Karua doesn’t exist, those memories are still important. It was again a really good heartwarming scene. Yeah, the dynamic between the two here is insanely good.
And the ending is absolute cinema. Nozomi is such a badass taking down Sirei like that. And the cast facing down the protectors of the Undying Flame, representing the embodiment of humanity, them dying and passing on their hopes to Takumi, having him absorb their cryptoglobin, eventually having Takumi all alone and him, with the ghosts of the cast, killing the Undying Flame, it is actually absolute cinema. It is also so sad that Nozomi is the only survivor and her watching Takumi die in her arms is so tragic. And the ending cutscene of her struggling travels, eventually finding a group of Futurum children who are scared of her, her recognizing the weight of being the last human and what humanity has done to the planet, and bowing and reaching her hand out, the Futurum children accepting that, all that while the sun rises, it is such an emotional and effective scene. I love this route so much, it is so good.
The only thing that I think isn’t good is that there are still a lot of mysteries unexplained. What in the world is the G’ie stuff, why is Hiruko time traveling, how did Eito reappear in the Killing Game route, what is actually going on in the Artificial Satellite, etc. But those aren’t in this route itself so it is fine and will probably be revealed as I get more endings. But yeah, absolute cinema.
Grade: S+
Reset
There’s not much to say about this one. This is basically the previous route but with an ending I didn’t like as much. Like it’s fine, but after the peak of the previous one, yeah…
Grade: B
Goodbye Eito
This one is another short one, but I think it was really effective. Getting into the mind of Eito after he blinds himself but is still rejected by the team is very interesting and I think it does a good job at exploring Eito’s character at this stage. His interactions with the Futurum children and his sacrifice I think were really well done. Not a lot to say since it is short, but it is really good.
Grade: A
Multiple Eitos
This one is also short but definitely pulls up the creepy factor and psychological horror. Seeing Takumi struggle with Eito slowly taking him over is the greatest kind of horror. Eito is being his bitchass self as usual, but it really works. All the endings are so sad or creepy.
Grade: A
Serial Battles
This route essentially boils down to a marathon of battles. There are like battles every other day and it definitely gets old. It doesn’t help that there is very little story in-between, or character interactions, so it just feels like doing battles for the sake of doing battles. That said, you do get a lot of Battle Points so I did take this opportunity to max out as many characters as I can. And at the end, apparently the invaders found a time machine that Takumi sets out to also use. Maybe that will tie in later.
Grade: C
Casual
This route is pretty quick despite the number of days, and honestly I liked it quite a bit. It’s mainly all story, but it is actually pretty compelling seeing Takumi under the effects of the brainwashing, starting with meaningless things like the milk carton bet, to helping Takemaru win a card game (which was really funny), all while sprinkling in that sense of unease. Then when the cage portion happens, that was really good, how Takumi doesn’t recognize the cage he is in. And when we start to see the outside perspective, it’s honestly really sad. The ending was also really good, whether bittersweet of staying in the dream of what could be or returning to reality and Nozomi glad to finally see Takumi return as she dies in his arms. Good stuff.
Grade: A
Box of Blessings
Overall, I also really liked this route. There is a lot of good lore about the Futurans like from that old guy, visiting the art gallery, and those research notes were very juicy. It was also good to see Kako being very driven. The endings still have a lot of mystery to them though. Like what was the thing that escaped the box when they set them on fire? Why did V’ehxness become so obsessed with the Boxes? The little bits with Gaku were nice, but honestly Shouma’s arc was really good in my opinion, being that driven to find peace and getting to know the Futurans. I do think the middle portion was lacking in substance and some endings were lackluster, but overall it was good.
Grade: A
Box of Calamity
Wow, what a lore filled route. This started out pretty creepily in the best of way, with “Eva’s” ghost shenanigans and Kako being very sus knowing about the Numbers and the Relay thing from the Mystery Route. Kako was also a killer in an ending? I liked during the Eva section how Takumi comes to terms with the fact that the Futurans are just everyday people and allowed Eva to see her daughter for the last time. And how that leads into the cast dismantling the missiles. We also learned a lot more about Hiruko and apparently she is doing time loops or time travel, trying to make the best ending, which was a really good reveal. We also saw the Parallel Leap Machine which I think is how Eito got to the Killing Game Route. What’s more, we did see at the beginning those people in the black suits, and there were at least two of them. That still didn’t get explained, but it still gave me chills.
We also got insane lore drops about G’ie, their history, how they’re tied to the Box of Calamity, and how they work. Having experienced the routes I have before, it was really nice seeing things starting to lock together. I think my favorite thing about this route was Nozomi possessed by the G’ie queen. I remember when at the decision of the Revive-o-Matic how much chills I got when she went to try and kill Takumi. And that laughter at that one ending where I think everyone is like dead, absolute cinema. Honestly all the endings were pretty good. There was the Kako as mentioned, the one where I think it is implied Takumi was the killer, how the apparition was Takumi’s own guilty conscious, the one where it seems Gaku’s rituals actually could work, and of course the one where Nozomi is revealed to be the Gie queen. On the ending where you choose to reveal it, there was such a sense of melancholy, as at the point there are only three survivors and Takumi is wondering if it was worth it. Hiruko saying that it was and the information will be used to better other timelines was nice. But my favorite ending is the one where Takumi doesn’t reveal it and instead goes to his room. Nozomi going to his room to talk, them discussing Takumi’s regret over how their last “real” conversation ended sourly, but Nozomi saying “she” wanted to make things right till the very end, and that embrace at the end, it was so good. I loved that ending so much. This route slaps. It had everything, huge lore reveals and good emotional moments.
Grade: S
V’ehxness
Okay, this route was so good. We get defeated and taken prisoner in our own academy by V’ehxness and her commanders and V’ehxness and Takumi begin talking while Takumi is chained up. It was really good getting to know V’ehxness a lot more, her character, her motivations, everything. She jumped up so much in terms of villains for me. How she always has faith in herself, how driven she is, and her philosophy. There was like a scene where it was like, she only makes the choices she believes in always, how because she made the decision, it must be the correct one, and how that steadfastness assures allies of victory. There was another scene about how she says “I had the power to reach the summit, so I did so”, as if that is the most natural thing, and about her being the Paragon of Hope means having the power to make the impossible possible. It was really fascinating seeing how V’ehxness’s mind work and honestly it made her so much more compelling in my opinion. She is also really charismatic throughout all of this. I also liked how they explore the parallels of how both V’ehxness and Takumi feel a bit isolated from their allies. Takumi is obviously a bit isolated due to the time travel, but V’ehxness also feels a bit isolated because no one can reach her power. In her eyes everyone is below her godhood. This route also shows the internal dynamics of the commanders, and some were trying to organize a coup, and it was really cool especially getting to know Addamaque and his regrets. This route was pretty short with only two endings, but they were really good, especially the one where we choose to assassinate V’ehxness. V’ehxness is super happy to finally have someone that will never give up standing up to her, finally having someone at her level, and honestly that dynamic between the two, I dig it. Really good route.
Grade: S
Retsnom
It was really interesting seeing a bit of a more selfish side of Takumi choosing to lie to get Nozomi to come to the Last Defense Academy and having to suffer the consequences and trying to make up for it. It was really compelling seeing that play out. And it was also really cool seeing Darumi being thankful for being saved and her opening up to Takumi and revealing the “true her” underneath the personality she puts up. I found their bonding really sweet, which makes it all the more heartbreaking when Darumi takes in Retsnom in her own body and seeing her go through that for the Ruby Tear to revive the fallen comrades. I like both endings. The one where she leaves behind the Ruby Tear as she dies and whether or not some part of her was still there was really compelling. The other one is kind of sweet and horror at the same time, it’s interesting. The lore about Retsnom absorbing the memories to the point of committing suicide is cool, but there are still some unanswered questions. Why did we see those two in black suits again, what is this Old Guy and what is the cycle he refers to. I will say the pacing can definitely be improved as there was so many Free Times, but overall, I liked this route.
Grade: A
Romance
So, I heard about this route before I played it, and if this was like one of the first routes I got, I can totally understand why some might hate it. However, as one of the last routes I’ve done, I thought it was nice. Yeah, it is totally a filler route, but it was nice seeing and learning more of Kurara, Kyoshika, and Tsubasa, getting to interact with them more and the dynamics were cute. I enjoyed seeing Kurara opening up, seeing Kyoshika train and learn about her past, and Tsubasa being engrossed in her mechanic works and learning about her family. It was nice. The setup I felt was contrived and as mentioned it was totally a filler route, but I don’t think it was bad by any means.
Grade: B
Comedy
So, this was another complete filler route, but I definitely did not enjoy it as much as the Romance route. I think the biggest problem is that unlike the Romance route, there weren’t that many character interactions where we learned more about them whereas in the Romance route you really do get to know those three characters pretty well and that is interesting. Another problem is definitely pacing. There are legit really funny moments that had me burst out laughing out loud, and most of the endings are also really funny. The problem though is that in between all of that, there is just a bunch of filler busy work or free time I feel, which makes the route feel sluggish. And the splits mean it isn’t like the Romance route where it is just one road you go through, here there are multiple roads. The worst road is definitely the fish head road, which is really bad with a bazillion free times you have to mash through. The others are okay and legit funny at the necessary intervals, but yeah.
Grade: C
S.F. Part 1
Holy shoot, I feel like my brain is exploding. Where do I even begin with this? Well first off Hiruko acted super sus in the early days and we eventually find her in the old lab where the PLM is at. And it turns out the black suits are “leap suits” that you wear to protect you as you are doing parallel leaps, and Hiruko knows a lot about it. Eventually she reveals that she has been reliving these 100 days for like at least 146 times, and the same has been happening to us. So it’s not so much we are time travelers, but loopers, and Hiruko is haunted of the horrible things that has happened and wants to break free from the “cursed cycle” and have everyone survive until the end. Clearing the first story lock was actually so cool, with the VLR flashback moment, it was vintage Uchikoshi. And yeah, we begin using the PLM to go to other timelines at designated dates to try to prevent tragedies with the G’ie infected Takumi as much as possible. Hiruko got a restoration drive to help with that from Sirei. It was really cool because it turns out in the Slasher route the first black suit person was actually this Takumi and seeing everything play back was really cool. I don’t think in this case it was successful though because Hiruko had to give it to this timeline’s Hiruko to do it and I remember that in the Slasher (Killer) route she mentioned it failed.
Anyways, we also went to the Retsnom route to look for the old guy because he did mention the “cursed cycle” and it turns out again the black suit duo we saw in that route is us. Again, it was super cool seeing that. So this old guy says there was this legend of a loop happening and that there once existed a race known as the Brethren of the Blood with the “blood of God” (which I assume is cryptoglobin), but that evildoers from a distant land appeared and created copies of the Brethren, which sounds super familiar to our situation despite that legend apparently being long ago. Suspicious. Also, apparently there was a researcher investigating the cursed cycle named Norirou Inone so we’re trying to find their book now. Also, we learned a bit more about the Distress Signal Transmitter in that it has the capacity to have all the dead bodies on board. Anyways, it appears we are going to reveal who X is as our next jump and that is where we get another story lock.
Mystery Part 2
Oh my gosh, this was crazy. It’s kind of like everything beforehand had come together for this moment. We tell everyone about Kurara being replaced (except for the imposter of course who has disappeared) and do a frantic search, eventually chasing after them to the old lab, where there is a confrontation. The scene where “Kurara” threatens them with the grenade launcher unless they figured out their true identity was really good and gave me chills. But honestly, me figuring out that the real identity of X was the infected Kako from the Box of Calamity timeline after Hiruko from that timeline isolated her here blew my mind. Oh my goodness. “Kako-G” was pretty creepy, and it makes sense why she would want to use the Distress Signal Transmitter to get to the satellite, to spread her breed. Again, it’s like all of the info from the previous routes just fitting in so well and leading up to this. It was really sad seeing Nozomi protect Takumi, with Kako-G escaping, and Hiruko doing a leap to help Shion. On the 100th day, I really liked how everyone like “came back to life”, which those who were dead having other timeline selves show up. This probably ties into what will be happening in the S.F. route, but it is nice to see that ending. It’s interesting to see how my view on this route shifted as this was the first route I did and wasn’t exactly feeling it as much, but after all the context it definitely elevated so much.
Grade: S
S.F. Part 2
Wow, what a doozy. This route is kind of crazy in how much tie-in it does to a bunch of the other routes. It was really cool using the PLM to leap to different routes and how it was actually us in the black suits in all those other routes. Like in the Box of Calamity route Gaku spotted us, in the Killing Game route it was us that knocked Takumi out in the capsule room, it was our Takumi taking his place which is why there were moments in that route where it seemed Takumi did something without remembering it, so much like that and it was really cool having my brain explode in how everything started to link together. There were so many moments like that that I couldn’t even begin to continue listing them. Anyways, besides that, it was really nice getting to experience and learn more about Hiruko, how they are trapped in this loop and how she has the memories of all the previous loops, working to be free. The dynamic between Hiruko and Takumi is one that I really like. I don’t like it as much as Nozomi and Takumi, but it was still really good. Seeing that more vulnerable side of Hiruko made her more compelling.
Finding out that the Liver Mortis Codes didn’t actually rescue them but would self-destruct the academy was a very chilling moment and really serves well to highlight the cruelty of the Exodus Project people. One of the endings in this route is a “Golden Ending” where everyone survives and they are free from the loop, and I do appreciate at least having one ending like that. Though maybe I would have cried if that ending was just the two of them sacrificing themselves to stop the missiles. Kako-G, who definitely is like the arc villain in this route and the ones connected to this, I thought was very effective in selling the creepiness of the G’ie and inducing those chills.
I definitely wished I could learn more about them as it turns out they are not native to Futurum (which I guess was mentioned in the lore of some previous routes), but learning more about that would have been really cool, especially since apparently, they have a device that can warp travel through bloodspace. The beam light that hits Nozomi was never really explained fully, which could have been explored more there as well. In this route, it was also heavily implied that Hiruko either got visited by a future version of herself, or someone who is acquainted, as we got scenes where Hiruko says she was visited by an old lady in a lab coat who helped out with some stuff, like giving us the Material Omega (along with a memory card with schematics for a machine that can go vertically as well as horizontally, possibly the time travel device she will build and use for this), and stitching up Kako. I would have loved to see that, though it most likely comes after the Golden Ending which would obviously need to end there. I also wished we learned more about how the old man knows the things he knows, and how this Norirou Inone researcher built the PLM (or maybe it is Hiruko lol). That’s just me though. Other than me wanting more, I think route is really good with how the time leaping ties in to so many of the other routes and just fitted in naturally as we unravel what actually happened during those routes. So much happens that it is honestly hard to review other than giving a generic “I love it”, but yeah, I love it. I do think the Second Scenario is stronger, but this is still a route I love a lot.
Grade: S
Conclusion
So yeah, I’ve written way too much, so I’ll just keep this short. If you can’t tell, I really love this game. It’s not perfect and there are definitely aspects that are lackluster, but its strengths are extremely strong and compelling. It really does feel like overall, Kodaka and Uchikoshi took the best parts from each other and combined it into this labor of love. The battle system is so much better than I thought it would be, and the story and themes are very compelling. I’d definitely give this an S on my tier list and a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
So yeah, thanks for reading all of this. If you haven’t played or finished this game, well hopefully you wouldn’t read this and had left when the spoilers section appeared but definitely check it out and support the game if you want. For those that have finished it, I hope you enjoyed reading about my thoughts on the game and do let me know if you have any different opinions on routes and characters and such. Always a blast seeing that discussion. The next blogpost will hopefully not be this long, but thanks everyone for reading and hope you all have an amazing rest of the day!