Candyfloss & Dreams

Tag: JRPG

The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy

The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy has been a surprisingly enjoyable visual novel style game with tower defense combat to jump in and out of over the last couple of weeks. I’ve got around 60 hours of playtime with one full playthrough and I am currently making my way through NG+ to unlock some of the various endings and reveal more of the truth of what is going on.

I didn’t actively follow this game but instead saw a tweet from Sandfall Interactive (the team behind Expedition 33) recommending it and you know what seeing smaller developers recommending other smaller developers games is a pretty nice thing to do.

A note from Guillaume Broche, @SandfallGames Creative Director:

After your Expedition, check out The Hundred Line, another great turn-based RPG that was also released last week, and made with love by an awesome team.

There's too many good RPGs coming out at the same time, these… https://t.co/AmGExVxXUp
— Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (@expedition33) April 30, 2025

So I looked into it a bit more and found out that The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy was a collaboration creation from two directors; one of which Kotaro Uchikoshi I was familiar with having played (two of) the Zero Escape games and AI: The Somnium Files. So from that, whilst this was an original IP I had some familiarity with the type of gameplay to expect. Being a fan of the Persona series and also having played 13 Sentinels visual novel style gameplay is something I’ve enjoyed a lot in the last couple of years mostly thanks to having some excellent recommendations to start in this genre with.

The Hundred Line takes place in an academy that you are tasked with defending from Invaders for the next 100 days. You play mostly as Takumi Sumino who has a very mundane life until one day he gets jump scared by a dog and it turns his life around. For the better, or worse? Well, it takes 100 (in game) days to really figure that out. The first full playthrough of The Hundred Line has you following a series of events in the Last Defense Academy alongside a group of unique characters who are there to fight alongside with you. At first, not everyone wants to fight, and its up to the protagonist to convince everyone to work together. This is dotted in with a mix of visual novel style cutscenes, bonding events to raise stats, exploration for materials to upgrade things like weapons or create gifts for your classmates and tower defense style battles where you defend the academy from an onslaught of invaders.

The game really opens up with the New Game+ feature which allows the player to use Chapter Select in order to alter decisions made for different outcomes. Each decision made slightly alters the timeline the player experiences and allows you to uncover mysteries and secrets. Supposedly the game has 100 endings but you’re not required to do all of them to find out the truth of what is going on. I believe there are achievements for around 20 unique endings. I intend to try and get as many of them as I possibly can.

The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy has been fun to play. It is quite gore-graphic with blood so that’s something to be aware of if you’re uncomfortable with that. The characters unlock hemoanima to access their powers which includes stabbing themselves and going into a blood cocoon before each fight so they can access their Class Weapons. Each character has unique abilities, some are great for support, others good for building up voltage (lets you access your superpower moves and buffs) and some make excellent tanks, alongside your heavy hitters. I found the combat engaging enough and subsequent playthroughs allow the player to skip battles they’ve already completed in alternative playthroughs of the game which does make getting a few routes easier than others. Each battle gives you rewards for upgrading your Class weapons and skills to make you stronger in combat or increase the amount of power ups and traps you can lay around the grid in each round.

My favourite character is Hiruko Shizuhara because she acts like a complete badass and has a massive axe to one shot enemies in combat. I found her one of the more intriguing characters for *story reasons* that I wont spoil and because there is still, even for me, some mystery there as I too am trying to avoid spoilers for potential endings and circumstances. Plenty of other characters have something interesting to add to the story. Some are, as can be expected with a large cast, more annoying than others.

Its a game I can see myself going in and out of still over the next few weeks as I navigate other paths and choices. Being a visual novel I find it easy to dip in and out of when I feel like it but the first playthrough really was pretty engaging enough to get me hooked in through those first 100 days. The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy is available to play on Switch and PC. I’ve been playing through Steam.

May 20, 2025
Trails Through Daybreak II Character Builds and Quartz Sets
Trails through Daybreak II finally got it’s English localised release on 14th February 2025 and since then I have been all consumed by the latest installment of the trails series. I’ll be honest and say this was far from my favourite game of the series but I enjoyed the experience nonetheless. There will be spoilers in this post, but I’ll try and stay relatively on topic. It took me 86 hours and 3 playthroughs to get the PS5 platinum trophy for Trails through Daybreak 2.

Maybe I’ll finish the nightmare playthrough for Trails through Daybreak I so I can get that last trophy but…eh

I play these games on easy mode, sometimes very easy, because I just want to enjoy the story but the combat was altered and quartz set ups were changed with both Daybreak games. The first one I paid absolutely no attention to what I was doing when it came to holo cores and quartz. I just didn’t change much and really had no idea how shard skills worked until I replayed Trails through Daybreak in anticipation for the 2nd game’s release. When I attempted to up the difficulty, I had a pretty difficult time with it until I read up on it. However, my ADHD brain really likes it when things are super easy and obvious. I did not find explanations in Trails through Daybreak easy and obvious especially when it came to trying to have a relatively optimized character builds.

When I played Trails into Reverie I found an amazingly helpful online resource full of character builds which helped me power through Nightmare difficulty in that game but with combat changes for Trails through Daybreak previous experience wasn’t that helpful. I like the way orbments are setup in both Daybreak games now I have somewhat of an understanding of how to get certain skills and found the things that worked best for me and tried to get those on as many characters as I could. I looked for Trails through Daybreak 2 character builds but struggled to find anything and so I thought perhaps I would write up a post about how I built my characters and how these got me through Nightmare difficulty.

The real enemy of the trails series; sweet stealers

There will be other players that no doubt have a better understanding than me and find Nightmare too easy I’m sure, but I am a self-proclaimed idiot and don’t usually find Nightmare mode in the Trails games easy. I find it pretty intimidating and honestly first play throughs of these games I’ve had trouble playing on ‘Normal’ difficulty. I like being completely overpowered and killing things very fast. I don’t mind grinding for levels if its possible to do, I like having the upper hand and I like feeling like I probably won’t die.

I completed Nightmare difficulty on my third playthrough of Trails through Daybreak 2 and this is what my characters looked like at the end of the game. My first playthrough I spent going through the story and experiencing everything as blind as I could and trying to take my time with things, the second playthrough I cleaned up achievements and finished the Marchen Garten additional floors and the 3rd playthrough I virtually skipped everything story related just for the final trophies for the platinum.

Characters I Used the Most

My ‘main’ team was Van as a sort of evasion tank and then Renne, Agnes and Shizuna for damage, Arts and healing. I used Risette a lot too when I could, or didn’t have the option of using the above four, but she was not really optimised. None of the characters were really and even my main four was only losely so because I get distracted and find setting up characters frustrating and tedious. So every other character was pretty much auto-equipped with quartz/gear. I did have everyone’s Onyx Steel weapons but not all of them were fully upgraded.

Van – Evasion Tank (kind of)

I didn’t really intend for Van to have such high evasion but he did so it worked well. For more challenging fights I just had Van stand sort of away from people and use coin bullets and then follow up after a high chain with Vandalise Raid S-Craft. I’d sometimes use a craft to impede an attack but he was there to draw emnity away from others mostly. His evasion was high enough that shielding him wasn’t really an issue because he dodged a lot of attacks. I mostly used Mare – Chaos for his holocore but ended the game with Lapis and didn’t notice much difference. If he had an AT Bonus for Zero Arts I tried to use the new Cetus Phantasma which is new for Trails through Daybreak II. Van’s quartz set up had him using Deadly Lance shard skill which was a follow up finisher for low HP enemies. His attacks would regularly cancel or delay enemies.
Renne – Because I Love Her

Renne was just my non-negotiable character. If I could have her in the party she was going to be there. She has great arts damage, I love her S-Craft ugrade, and used the ‘Hospitable Hostess’ craft for a stat boost as often as I could. She was mostly there for support but that doesn’t discount the damage she could do. I love her. I will always choose Renne. Renne would join in the Cetus Phantasma spam for high chain and high arts damage, had Guardian and Ark Feather/Judgement Feather to follow up with magic attacks.
Agnes – Arts Damage and Healing

Agnes S-Craft can get you out of a pinch, her shield/heal/regen regular crafts are excellent and she does great arts damage. I used Loray to increase arts power and reduce cast time. Her EP Regen craft helped keep her topped up. Basically, just use Cetus Phantasma on all your arts users for high chain and high damage then follow up with a big multihit S-Craft.
Shizuna – Strong, lots of delay, and because she was funny

Shizuna really was there because I am curious about her more than anything, her lines throughout both games were enjoyable and she’s pretty strong. She just kills things. She worked well as a balanced physical damage and arts user, I used her crafts a lot and just kept her doing damage. It was great having her as a playable character for longer in Trails through Daybreak 2.
February 25, 2025
I Tried to Complete Persona 3 Portable in Three Days

I could have left playing Persona 3 Portable in such a short space of time honestly. These games aren’t exactly known for being done quickly. I know, for one, having already played Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal. However, nothing kicks in my ADHD hyperfocus quite like a deadline, particularly if it’s something I enjoy. So how did I do, did I manage to actually complete Persona 3 Portable in three days? A game that on average takes around 65 hours to complete if you’re just there to enjoy the main story?

Persona 3 decided on using an Evoker to access your Persona power which involves your characters and party members shooting themselves in the head…which is, a weird choice but okay.

First, the backstory – you might be wondering why I thought I would attempt this (probably not), around all of the usual parenting and life things I do (because I do do things, sometimes) and a perfectly respectful answer would be for the challenge. But no, that was not the case. It is much more longwinded than that. Last month I took advantage of one of the Discord Nitro, I think? offers for a free three-month game pass through Xbox. Once applying and logging into an Xbox account I didn’t know I had I browsed through the games and saw Persona 3 Portable was available.

As I’ve said I’ve played 4 and 5 and have been wanting to play this particular version of the game for some time purely because it has the option to play as a female protagonist. I much prefer playing games with a female lead, I’m not against male leads, but for RPG’s, I like playing the character of the gender I most feel comfortable associating myself with. It frustrates me that the other Persona games don’t have that option, even more so that it was added in for P3P but not for the subsequent games. Anyway, I digress, the reason I thought I would attempt to finish Persona 3 Portable in three days is because I didn’t realise that when a game is taken away from game pass, you can’t play it anymore and have to buy it if you want to play or continue.

This, is dumb. I’ve had access to Playstation+ for years and as long as you continue subscribing, any games you download are yours to play even if they’re removed from the PS+ ‘store’. Apparently, Microsoft say no to this. So I immediately felt a rush to complete it. For one, I want to make good use of this free trial to actually help me decide if I want to continue subscribing afterwards but this revelation that games are removed and then inaccessible (although, information on this is varied, for some games have remained accessible, for others you have to go offline the day before it’s removed and complete within 30 days without going back online during that time or you lose access) has me having my doubts.

Persona 3 Reload – the remake of the original Persona 3 game (Not the portable version, no female protagonist – big sigh) is going to be available through game pass on release day and as I now have a very decent spec gaming PC I might as well make use of it rather than paying the £50 on the PSN store. I’m hopeful it will be available for some time, although I’m keen to play it on release and have it preinstalled/downloaded for the day it becomes available, I would much rather take my time to play and enjoy the remake. And because I’ve kind of sped through Persona 3 Portable I’m not sure how I’m going to feel playing the remake so close to this speed run.

There are much less places to navigate in P3P but it can still be a bit overwhelming trying to find where everyone is at times

Anyway, the TLDR version of this is no, I didn’t finish it and with the time left of me today, I don’t think I’m going to finish it. In some ways, that’s a good thing, a lot of things are unresolved, I missed out on maxing out certain social links so in a way that’s enough of a motivator to finish playing P3Reload and maybe I’ll buy it again one day in the future. The trouble with Persona games is that they do require some amount of level grinding and I am getting to the point where I have been skipping random encounters and now finding things way too challenging. I got pretty far into the game though, I’m closing in on the end of October so I’ve got the jist of the main story and if I haven’t found out all the big reveals and things yet then I feel like I’m pretty close to it. I think the highest floor I got to on Tartarus was 146 out of I think 263 floors. That’s still quite the climb!

Dark and Creepy. Just the sort of game I want to play.

Persona 3 Portable is, like the other Persona games I’ve played, a weird game. It’s dark and creepy, with some pretty heavy content in contrast to the incredibly upbeat tracks that play during the game. I played as the female protagonist which I believe has a few different social links to the male protagonist so that at least gives me some level of variety when Reload is released. It features, as always, a whole host of Persona’s to draw from to make you stronger as you level up. I think that’s really what you want to grind levels for not exactly your own character stats but because higher levels allow you to fusion and collect really, really strong Persona’s.

When I grow up I want to be Elizabeth. She makes choices.

I have really enjoyed what I’ve played so far. There are some creepy and questionable characters that did make me inwardly cringe a little bit, as almost every JRPG game I’ve played has done. There were some heartwarming conversations and relationships too. As usual I seemed to max rank a lot of non-party member social links rather than actual party members. I really need to stop doing that…However, I did max rank the Moon social link which I think is pretty critical to do so from the content I’ve seen up to this point although the fate of that character is yet to be determined and I’m going to do my best to abstain from reading spoilers.

It’s always the characters I like that the bad things happen to!

I really liked that character too and I was fully committed from the moment you first meet them that I was going to max rank that link no matter what. Brooding, grumpy guy in a long coat that kinda has a heart of gold and apparently quite skilled at cooking delicious meals? Where a lot of your social link time is spent talking, or eating food? Yes. Really there was no question that I was going to spend time figuring out what Shinjiro’s story was. I liked most of the characters. A lot of the female relationships were really nice to see develop over the course of the game I played. In fact I think really it was only Junpei I didn’t like, but as he’s the token creepy perv that was a given. I’m highly suspicious of him anyway.

Mitsuru (also a bit suspicious of as I haven’t started a social link with her yet…) telling Junpei how it is

I still don’t really know the full story behind Strega, the rival group to the SEES team who are also utilising the Dark Hour. I have encounted Death and managed to escape because I was not ready for that challenge. In P3P I have encounted Death more times than any other Persona games but I believe there’s a very good reason for that given the name of the tower you climb is called Tartarus and one of the very early cutscenes where you summon your Persona for the first time it looks like the Death persona Thanatos kind of takes the place and attacks the shadow you’re fighting really rather violently…haven’t had an answer for that so I sort of feel like I’m either making it up or missing something.

More suspicious characters…

Despite playing on beginner, because I rushed through, I did find some of the combat a challenge. Persona uses turn based combat, which is my preferred way of fighting because it gives me time to think but it really doesn’t lend itself to speeding through things. I found getting new Persona’s through shuffle time not nearly as generous as Persona 4 and doesn’t quite compare to how easy they are to get in Persona 5 Royal. Lack of items, quest deadlines and trying to remember where everyone was on what day to spend time with them was very overwhelming although having experience with Persona games already I was kind of expecting that and did follow a guide to help me get as far as I did. You also have social stats like charm, academics and courage to level up through going to school, doing exams, or going to certain venues throughout the gameplay. I maxed out all but Academics, although I was pretty close to doing it.

Either way, I enjoyed what I played and I’ll play Persona 3 Reload at a much slower pace, making much better use of the compendium and hopefully finding whatever changes are coming in the remake enjoyable.

January 15, 2024
RPG Appreciation Post after playing Trails in the Sky

I have so many words to say right now that it’s hard to find the exact right place to start but I am writing this as someone that has only very recently heard of Trails in the Sky and completely new to the series but I am already feeling myself ready to completely gush about how much I have loved playing this game for the last week or so. I’ve always loved and enjoyed a variety of video games but RPG’s have been my ‘thing’ when looking for something to completely immerse myself into. I think the mix of storytelling, worldbuilding and going through a journey with a character both physically and usually emotionally has always been a big appeal so I’m always happy to listen to other people’s recommendations when it comes to these types of games. It’s also not uncommon for me to start becoming slightly obsessed with the fandom surrounding other games and actually books now I come to think of it – I genuinely worry sometimes the amount I think, talk, look at fanart etc of A Court of Thorns and Roses as an example – I suppose I can put it down to the autistic part of my brain wanting to fully consume and know everything about something when I find something I just fall in love with.

Finding New Games to Play

I have been mostly consumed by one game for the past eighteen months or so which has mostly been an enjoyable and positive experience. However for the past six months or so I’ve not found it as compelling as I once did and that’s been a source of frustration for me in a time where I’ve been lacking in focus, motivation and dealing with some personal things I’ve been dealing with. My usual methods of escapism have been alluding me for quite some time and it ended up with me really needing to take a step back from what I was doing in FFXIV – which really wasn’t very much – but I was stuck with not having much to do and no other games were really gripping my focus or attention. After I finished levelling all of my jobs in FFXIV it felt like the right time to sort of push myself into doing something else but I wasn’t really sure what. For the first time in what feels like a very long time I don’t feel like I have to log in all day every day and that I can actually just focus on doing things I want to do and at the moment I am pretty content with just doing savage raids with my static group and occasionally doing fun content with friends who are also not online as much at the moment.

I’ve written before how I was hesitant about playing Final Fantasy XIV because I was going to have to deal with other people in the social aspect of the game. Although I went in with the intention of not really talking to anyone it turns out that the social part of an MMO is something I’ve enjoyed quite a lot and getting to know other people that have not only enjoyed playing video games but have absolutely loved Final Fantasy as a series just as much as I have has been a truly wonderful experience. I’d like to think I’ve made some genuine friendships with other people and as time has gone on the conversations that started out as raid mechanic call outs, strategy planning or casually chilling doing treasure hunting have turned into hanging out just because and talking about other things we’ve played and absolutely loved. One such conversation lead to my introduction to Trails in the Sky and after listening to someone speak with such fondness of a game made me curious and lead me to purchasing it on Steam and I have not regretted that choice one little bit.

Aforementioned fun content with friends was doing the new variant dungeons in Final Fantasy XIV and finding all possible outcomes. Making friends with other video game enthusiasts thanks to FFXIV has lead to some wonderful friendships and conversations with them have introduced me to other video games that I might not have found out about before.

I’m not usually one to read lots of reviews about a series prior to playing something but a glance over the reactions on steam to the game being positive within the community – and hearing someone who I have, I suppose, looked up to and followed in the footsteps in a way in Final Fantasy XIV and therefore come to respect and appreciate the opinion of – lead to me already feeling it would be something I’d enjoy but I didn’t quite anticipate it gripping me just the way it has done. I would say I had fairly high expectations but for a game that was just under £13 it wouldn’t have been a huge loss so to speak if I hadn’t enjoyed it. However, the age of the game originally being released in 2004 in Japan meant it was going to be quite different from what I’ve been playing lately, although I did start another (and finish this time) playthrough of Final Fantasy IX in the summer…I digress, it didn’t put me off but I was told it was more of a slow burn type of game with most of the world building coming through from reading dialogue not only from the characters interactions but other pieces of information you can pick up through the game.

Being someone that has such fond memories of playing earlier text based RPG’s such as Final Fantasy, prior to voice acting being introduced in FFX and many Dragon Quest games alongside other JRPG’s a written game isn’t really something to put me off playing. On one hand reading the information helps me process things a lot more as I’m more active whilst playing whereas I can get distracted by lengthy, acted out cut scenes. However, as I haven’t really been able to focus on reading in general lately I wasn’t sure if Trails in the Sky would be a game I could fully get into but I’m glad to say that wasn’t the case at all. It’s also been nice having someone around to talk to about it as I’ve played through although they haven’t given much away at all which in some parts I think has been equally frustrating for them having to navigate spoilers.

Playing Trails in the Sky

I can only really describe Trails in the Sky as completely charming and having everything you’d expect from an JRPG but also I suppose just giving that little bit more by having character portraits full of expression during dialogue scenes. The characters you control around the maps are chibi like versions which I suppose are commonplace in older RPGs and something I’ve always found quite endearing but seeing the full scale faces and expressions has been a really nice touch and added to, not only the humour of the interactions between characters, but also some of the more touching, emotional moments. One of my absolute favourites has been reading hidden messages and references to other media from empty treasure chests.

Some of these messages have really made me laugh and I have loved the additional thought and references put into these. ‘Feed Me Seymour’ being a well loved reference to Little Shop of Horrors which I absolutely love and something I do actually quote in my real day to day life

Each character you come across has their own unique personality and way of handling scenarios and that is so clear cut in the dialogue you have and the situations you find your characters in. Playing as Estelle Bright, who is accompanied by her adopted brother Joshua on their journey around the Liberl Kingdom to become senior bracers you see this truly beautiful friendship and dynamic between the two really flourish. Estelle is exactly the sort of main character I adore; one that isn’t afraid to keep her opinions to herself but with that kind of youthful obliviousness of coming-of-age characters that I have always loved in these sorts of games and probably why I still love and appreciate YA Fantasy novels.

Estelle is not a complex character but she is flawed which is what makes her fun to experience going through the story with. She is impulsive and quick to act which sometimes gets her into sticky situations and I like that through the gameplay she progresses at a really nice pace without losing that initial charm and spark about her. She is brash, opinionated and a little hot headed in comparison to the much more collected, strategic Joshua and the balance between them is what makes the game feel so utterly wholesome. Joshua, on the other hand, is much more reserved and sometimes almost calculating although their are plenty of interactions that play out in which you see a real gentle, heartwarming side to him too. However, with the way the game begins with Estelle’s father Cassius bringing an injured Joshua home with very little explanation and a secretive past did leave me to I suppose, I wouldn’t say suspicious, but I knew that eventually his story would come out and it wasn’t going to be an easy one to witness.

Having real societal influences and themes in games feels commonplace in RPG’s and has always been something I’ve appreciated and loved.

The cast of characters throughout the game are all built with their own unique histories and styles which makes it easy to immerse yourself into Trails in the Sky

It’s pretty clear from the start of the game from a conversation Estelle and Joshua have with their mentor Schera that the trope between the two is going to be a ‘childhood friends to romance’ dynamic which is something I suppose I don’t usually like in any type of fiction or setting. I have always been an enemies to lovers trope appreciator because I think the tension between characters is always interesting and exciting to witness particularly when they’re on opposing sides to something. Their are just very few couples that have evolved from friends to more that I have enjoyed the dynamic between but I think it’s the opposing characteristics of the two of them that add to that wholesome charm. They’re also both only sixteen so the game doesn’t focus on an outright romance between the two but as people point things out to Estelle more and she starts to process feelings she didn’t really consider or had potentially brushed off before it becomes a recurring underlying theme. So not only does Trails in the Sky focus on overall character progression by playing through quests and having to do things as Bracers but also watching Estelle become more aware of herself, her feelings for Joshua and what that might mean for them in the future is incredibly sweet.

Trails in the Sky is full of wholesome content and is overwhelming charming. The world building and character interactions make for an interesting gameplay experience.

The way Trails in the Sky unfolded was such an enjoyable experience and each new town you visit just builds layer upon layer of intrigue, mystery and development for the characters and the plot. I actually found it a really nice, easy to process style of gameplay to follow and nothing felt too heavy or overwhelming at one time. You learn what’s going on at the same time the characters do and there is an option to learn more with the addition of news articles and books you can pick up and read about the world Estelle and Joshua live in. The quests include a variety of escort missions, fetch quests and combat based monster killing which adds a really nice level of diversity to the game play. The combat is time based and strategic which I tend to prefer as it gives you a little bit more time to think and plan ahead. The orbment and quartz system did take me a little bit of time to get used to but eventually I ended up with some really well balanced characters that had a mix of offensive and support spells. It was reminiscent of using Materia in FFVII a little but more complex I felt.

I’ve come away from Trails in the Sky eager to continue and start Second Chapter which I promptly purchased and downloaded ready to go as I want to spend more time in this world and with these characters unveiling what is going on. I still have many unanswered questions about events that unfolded and I really can’t wait to see what will happen next.

Having funny moments like this helps break up some of the more serious context of the plot which allows for the player to appreciate, enjoy and process the plot in a comfortable pace

November 10, 2022