Games Happy

Once I first noticed The Hundred Line -Final Protection Academy-, I believed I used to be in for a similar journey I’ve seen earlier than. I blame a part of it on the artystyle; Rui Komatsuzaki’s distinctive work on Kazutaka Kodaka’s different works made me put my guard down. I assumed regardless of the entire advertising across the recreation stating that The Hundred Line is a joint challenge between Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi, that it was going to be the identical form of recreation and construction I might seen earlier than in Kodaka’s earlier works – ignoring the opposite sturdy inventive within the room.

I get forward of myself, although. Decidedly not like each inventive’s earlier works, The Hundred Line has a a lot stronger give attention to its gameplay hook; along with being a classical narrative journey recreation, very similar to the Zero Escapes and Danganronpas that got here earlier than it, gamers at the moment are tasked with a Tactical RPG. Because the final bastion’s of humanity’s hope, you are tasked with defending the Final Protection Academy in opposition to the Invaders that hope to steal no matter mysterious “remaining hope” for humanity awaits locked inside.

Not like many TRPGs, The Hundred Line virtually all the time locations battles on the identical map. You’d suppose this might imply that battles would get outdated rapidly, however fortunately that is not the case – relying on each the enemies you are up in opposition to, and the scholars obtainable to you, battles can have a drastically completely different really feel. It is because each scholar has a unique moveset, just like one thing like how completely different items act in Utawarerumono: Masks of Fact. One character rides a motorbike, and for each tile he strikes throughout his flip, he’ll acquire defend; one other may have her whole moveset change relying on whether or not she’s drained from having already moved throughout a single flip. One’s assaults will fan out in a V-shape, dealing additional harm if the enemy focused does not any neighboring enemies to their left or proper. One other can place sentry towers, attacking any and all enemies in vary on the finish of her flip, amongst different constructs.

The top results of such a diversified solid is that every combat can really feel radically completely different; even when you have the identical characters, the place they spawn and what enemies they’re up in opposition to can change the way you deal with every combat. It would not be offbase to say that every encounter appears like a puzzle, ready so that you can remedy – along with your celebration members being the instruments with which you deal with it. The glue that holds all the pieces collectively is the AP system; virtually each motion throughout a flip will use AP, and by defeating medium and enormous enemies you may acquire AP again. Whereas smaller enemies do not provide that very same luxurious, it isn’t like they’re pushovers both – in enough numbers, they’ll change into an issue if not dealt with with due care.

Throughout the course of the battle, you may additionally acquire Voltage. It is a useful resource that can be utilized to both buff a unit throughout a flip, to execute a particular transfer that can deal a ton of harm alongside different results with out utilizing AP – although leaving the chosen character unable to behave on the subsequent flip. One wrinkle to this method is loss of life; often in a TRPG, letting a unit die is a nasty factor, however in The Hundred Line that is decidedly not the case. One of many stuff you’ll be graded on are “Nice Kills”, and one technique to assure these is by letting a unit that is low on well being activate the Desperation model of their particular assault. As a substitute of utilizing Voltage, this ends in the chosen unit dying. One a part of the technique in The Hundred Line is figuring out when a unit is an untenable scenario, and when letting them kill themselves in a blaze of glory would possibly simply be their subsequent finest transfer.

Outdoors of the scripted battles, gamers interact with a story journey not not like Danganronpa. Issues play out in a facet scrolling system not not like Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair; throughout Free Time, gamers can work together with fellow college students or learn books to boost their educational stats, run mock VR battles to realize assets, improve their gear, or head out past the wall of Timeless Flames to discover the ruined metropolis past, gathering much more assets and even key gadgets required to craft presents which – when supplied to the fitting college students – may even additional improve your educational stats. You’ll be able to’t select to do all the pieces, as no matter you select to pursue will cross the time, forcing the narrative to maneuver ahead.

If you happen to select to flee the confines of the varsity for a day, the gameplay exterior the partitions of the academy performs out like a board recreation. You’ve got various playing cards that allow you to transfer a set variety of squares, and you’ve got some management over which path you may go every time reaching a branching path. On every sq., you are offered with both a assured merchandise drop, a preset occasion that asks you the way to proceed in a hypothetical situation, or a battle. Relying in your actions, you’ll be able to acquire assets, lose HP, reroll tiles on the map, and extra. Some segments of the world exterior the Academy are blocked off by the story, requiring an improve to your extinguisher that lets you bypass the purple flames that block your path.

From a gameplay perspective, The Hundred Line is compelling. To improve your items, particular educational ranges and assets that you will solely be capable to purchase exterior the varsity are required; so it is a balancing act between determining what presents work finest for every character, and gathering the mandatory assets. Some are apparent, core components of their character traits that they put on on their sleeve – others are revealed as key phrases that you simply acquire by spending time with them. Because of this, you are incentivized to actively juggle the sport’s techniques, as completely specializing in one over the others will ultimately depart to roadblocks earlier than lengthy.

I do not wish to share an excessive amount of concerning the story, least of all as a result of the Preview tips are literally moderately strict on what I am really allowed to speak about. What I’ll say, nevertheless, is that one other facet I used to be blindsided by was each the characters, and the story. It is simple to fall into the lure and assume that The Hundred Line is generally Kodaka’s work throughout the first hours of the sport; earlier than lengthy, nevertheless, it turns into more and more clear that Uchikoshi’s finger prints are simply as evident, if not more-so. I have not completed The Hundred Line, but. Nonetheless, whereas the scope allowed for previews is a small slice of the sport – the primary month or so – I can let you know this; The Hundred Line is a really, very bold recreation, to the purpose I am virtually scared to see how far the rabbit gap goes.

I anticipate that my first playthrough alone will seemingly take upwards of 30 hours, and it is instantly apparent {that a} single playthrough will not be sufficient to see the entire story by way of. After all, that a lot is not breaking any embargoes – Too Kyo has proudly stated as a lot – however I wish to reiterate that, sure, The Hundred Line is a recreation you may clearly wish to play a number of instances. Blessedly, the sport is an ideal match for Steam Deck; and everything of my present playthrough, which is simply now shy of 20 hours, has been on Valve’s PC gaming handheld.

It is nonetheless early days, and I foresee dozens extra hours awaiting me. But if I wasn’t fairly bought on The Hundred Line earlier than, I’m now; it is a recreation to keep watch over. Precisely how properly it holds up over the remainder of a playthrough stays to be seen, however we would simply have one thing actually particular on our palms. I am unable to wait to seek out out for certain.