Development of the story-rich TRPG The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy was a huge challenge for Too Kyo Games – with the storyline being longer than anything the team has ever written before, and development costs soaring past what the company could afford, it almost certainly took great effort to complete. In a pre-launch interview with Dengeki Online, The Hundred Line director Kazutaka Kodaka confesses how he almost gave up on the game’s battle system, wishing to prioritize completing the game. However, all of that changed with the belated but valuable addition of Akihiro Togawa, former Persona developer, to The Hundred Line’s development team.
Kodaka explains that, in the beginning, they were set on making a battle system that “didn’t get in the way of the story” Given that The Hundred Line is a collaborative work between Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi, two developers whose games are known for compelling storylines full of twists and turns – its main selling point would be the story. That is why, he adds, they focused predominantly on the quality of the scenario, even if that meant that the tactical RPG elements of the game would end up being less entertaining. However, development became notably more difficult as time passed, and around the time of last year’s Tokyo Game Show, Kodaka was on the brink of giving up on the TRPG parts of the game, feeling resigned when it came to making the battles feel more entertaining.
Ultimately, due to many different factors, the team couldn’t complete the scenario in time, and the release of the game ended up being pushed back to a later date – at that point, Kodaka notes, his attitude towards developing the gameplay also changed. Around that time, Too Kyo Games welcomed Akihiro Togawa, ex-Atlus game designer known for working on Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Tactica, to their team. He was among the last members to join Too Kyo games, but according to Kodaka, his addition to the team was crucial to the development and improvement of the battle system.
At first, Togawa worked only on producing the scenario and the script, however, with development taking way longer than expected, they also had him check out the tactical RPG elements of the game. Right around when Kodaka was on the brink of giving up on the game’s battle system, Togawa took the initiative in making the tactical RPG elements more entertaining, and through many discussions with co-developer Media.Vision, he was able to completely reimagine the battle system – which seems to have paid off, as The Hundred Line’s reviews have expressed pleasant surprise at how deep and engaging the tower-defense battles are.
According to a development blog post written by Togawa himself, he didn’t have it that easy redesigning the battle system – he’d write a bunch of ideas down, take walks and travel hoping he’d come up with something new on the way, try fixing his sleeping schedule – and even pray to the gods to “tell him how to make an interesting battle system.” However, he believes that the team was ultimately able to achieve battles that feel new and refreshing, and, most importantly, “hold meaning” in The Hundred Line’s overarching story.
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy it out now for the PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch.
