100 days. You must defend the academy for 100 days. It is the last line of defense for humanity. However, there is more to defending the academy than you are initially let on. Can you solve this mystery while protecting the world as the last line of defense? Let’s take a look at our review of The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-
The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-
Release Date: April 24, 2025 (Thursday)
Genre: Adventure / Tactical Battle
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (reviewed) and Steam
Language
Text: English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese
Audio: Japanese, English
Developer: Media Vision Inc.
Publisher: XSEED Games (Nintendo Switch), Aniplex (Steam)
*Special thanks to XSeed for the review Key*
Intro/Story:
From the press release:
Takumi Sumino is a totally average teenager living in the Tokyo Residential Complex, a place where every day is much like the last and nothing bad ever happens. All that changes when freakish monsters attack the town and start wreaking havoc. A strange creature calling itself SIREI appears and offers Takumi the power to protect those he holds dear… All he has to do is stab himself in the chest!
The next thing he knows, Takumi is in Last Defense Academy, a colossal school in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a wall of otherworldly flames. He and 14 other students have been drafted into the Special Defense Unit, a team tasked with keeping the school safe for the next 100 days. Initiated students transform their blood into the mysterious Hemoanima, a unique type of mutated blood which provides supernatural abilities. How much are they willing to sacrifice to take back their normal lives and save the world from the grotesque school invaders? The curtain rises on 100 days of war and despair…
You’re cast as Takumi, one of fifteen ordinary students unexpectedly summoned to a fortress‑like academy by an enigmatic AI. For exactly 100 days, you repel waves of otherworldly invaders while peeling back the layers of your new “home.” The narrative is surprisingly to the point. It is well written and delivered at a good pace. There are no bloated side arcs, so every character beat matters. I found myself genuinely caring about teammates I’d barely met, because the writing hits emotional notes in tight, well‑timed bursts.
I have to give it to the developers. The Hundred Line –Last Defense Academy – had me hooked about 10 minutes in and never let go. I found myself playing until 1 am, and as I was about to stop playing, something happened story-wise that I want to just continue. This happened SEVERAL times. With that being said, does the gameplay live up to the wonderful story? Let’s take a look.
Gameplay:
Combat in The Hundred Line –Last Defense Academy– shows off a slick grid‑based system that never feels tacked on. You debate strategy in narrative scenes, then jump straight into a skirmish where positioning, character abilities, and enemy patterns force you to think on your feet. There’s also a persuasion minigame during some conversations, meant to simulate tense negotiations, but it sometimes felt more like filler than essential gameplay. The reason for this is that you technically cannot fail this. If you get it wrong, you go back to where you got it wrong and try again. Still, the core SRPG battles are both challenging and fair, rewarding creative moves over button‑mashing
Outside of the battle sequences and the minigame, you are free to explore the school and the outside of the school. Outside of the school is portrayed as a gameboard type deal (similar to a Mario Party map, just the map) with its mechanics of exploration, too.
Technically, the game has solid framerates on Nintendo Switch with no dips at all in FPS. This game was developed with care, with no issues. There is much more to talk about, but at this point, I would rather the player discover the rest on their own.
Audio/Visual:
On Switch, the art style leans into crisp, anime‑inspired character portraits and moody environments. In handheld mode, the text can get a bit small, but the UI itself is clean and intuitive.
The soundtrack in The Hundred Line –Last Defense Academy– mixes urgent synth beats with quieter piano themes, which ramp up the tension before battles. Voice clips are limited, but the pacing rarely drags, so you’re not left waiting through long silent stretches either.
Replay value/ Fun factor:
This is where The Hundred Line –Last Defense Academy– shines. There are 100 distinct endings, some of which branch into entirely new story arcs. The built‑in flowchart system lets you jump back to pivotal choices without replaying the whole thing, so chasing that last hidden ending feels manageable rather than tedious. As of this writing, I have seen about 6 endings. Trust and believe I am aiming to see all 100.
The only requirement for this is that you must complete the game once to unlock the rest of the branches and endings. That will be easy to do because the game does a great job of getting you hooked and keeping the fun times rolling in.
Write up/Conclusion:
If you love a hybrid of visual novel/SRPG and don’t mind parsing text on a small screen (playing in handheld mode), The Hundred Line –Last Defense Academy– is a smart, surprisingly emotional ride. Its minor flaws (the persuasion scenes, tiny font) never outweighed the rush of nailing a perfect tactical plan or uncovering a shocking twist. Its polished combat and tight pacing kept me locked in for multiple playthroughs, even when the persuasion bits felt optional. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s burned out on one‑note strategy games and craves a narrative that leans on your battlefield decisions.
As of this writing, The Hundred Line –Last Defense Academy– is currently my game of the year, and this comes in a year where we had some blockbusters already.
Until next time, mgs2master2 out!
*Special thanks to XSEED for the Switch review key*
Score: 9/10 – Very minor flaws do not hinder the experience in The Hundred Line –Last Defense Academy–. This game is something special, and I recommend it to anyone and everyone.