Wow. So after 240 hours and over a year of playing this game, I've finally completed every last ending it has to offer. This was single-handedly the most unique game I've ever played, and I doubt there will ever exist another game like this. They truly swung for the fences, and I think they absolutely knocked it out of the park.
Does this game have flaws? Absolutely. Are some routes better than others? Definitely. Is this game for everyone? Almost certainly not. You have to be a very specific type of person to enjoy all of what this game has to offer, and that's okay. You can play Route 0 and 2nd Scenario ONLY and leave with a satisfying experience, so if you don't want to spend months of your life chipping away at a hundred different endings, you really don't have to. However, in my opinion, a lot of what makes this game special comes from what those hundred endings bring to the table.
This game is the culmination of Kodaka's career up to this point, and the ambition and passion put into creating it definitely reflects that. This game's writing has all the insanity, humor, and cringe that you'd expect from him, so if you're not a fan of Danganronpa you should probably stay away, or at least temper your expectations. For me--a huge Kodaka fan who enjoys his wacky, over-the-top style--I loved being thrown back into it. He has become even bolder with his stories and it comes through in this game. This has some of the darkest stuff Kodaka has ever written, and it reflect in the themes--anti-war commentary, the dark effects of propaganda and the powerful sway of authority, and nuanced explorations of the gray areas of war and morality in general. There are sooooooo many war crimes in this game, and none of them feel entirely black or white at all. I would even call that ambiguity one of the big themes of the game.
Next are the characters. By nature, this entire cast is Kodaka's best work in character writing. Even the most underdeveloped characters in this game still have greater depth and nuance than those of Danganronpa games. It helps that this game is so massive that there is ample time to explore many different characters in tons of different situations. Now, that does also bring us to one of the unfortunate criticisms I have with this game: for having 100 routes, some characters STILL get neglected and do not get as much character development. The biggest offenders of this would have to be Moko, Kako, Ima, and Takemaru. In comparison to the others, while these guys still have nuance and play large roles in some routes, none of them have a route in which they are the true focus. On the flip side, the characters that are repeatedly strongly focused on by the narrative are leaps and bounds ahead of any other characters Kodaka has created. Eito alone is the best, most well-developed character Kodaka has ever written, full stop, and thanks to Uchikoshi's influence, Hiruko takes second place. Takumi is also by far the best Kodaka protagonist. I could genuinely go on for hours about Eito alone and how deeply complex and nuanced his character is, and how well-written he is across nearly all routes.
Speaking of the routes, how are they? Well, as I said earlier, some are better than others... The good ones are really, REALLY good, but the bad ones can also be pretty bad. However, I would say the majority of the routes clock in at minimum average/alright to very, very good. For a comprehensive list, I'll put it here, from best to worst, Routes that are peak: [spoiler]Route 0, 2nd Scenario, Goodbye Eito, Multiple Eitos, SF[/spoiler]. Routes that are great: [spoiler]Vexhness, Coming of Age, Casual, Mystery, Cult of Takumi[/spoiler]. Routes that are good: [spoiler]Retsnom, Slasher[/spoiler]. Routes that are middling: [spoiler]Eva, Rebellion, Reset[/spoiler]. Routes that are kiiiinda tough to go through: [spoiler]Killing Game, Serial Battles, Box of Calamity, Romance[/spoiler]. Routes that actively need to be rewritten/elaborated on: [spoiler]Conspiracy, Box of Blessings[/spoiler]. And lastly, the worst route: [spoiler]Comedy (solely because of the "Fish" side. The "Meat" side is pretty enjoyable[/spoiler].
The reasons for this variance in quality tends to be the oscillating writing quality and padding levels. Some routes are far, FAR too long and others don't get enough time at all. I do believe it's worth playing all routes (except maybe [spoiler]Comedy[/spoiler]) because of the way they weave the overall narrative together, but as a consequence of having 100 endings not all of them will be bangers.
One of the most interesting things about these routes is the carefully interlocking nature of them. I can't say much for fear of spoilers, but what at first seems like a lot of random scenarios will slowly reveal an elaborate overall storyline. And yet, even despite all these endings, it still feels like I haven't gotten enough of this game. There are many unanswered questions that I'm burning for more information on, and I think Kodaka fully intends to explore these through more DLC. I for one have had an amazing time with Hundred Line and will happily gobble up DLC for this chaotic, insane, massive, one-of-a-kind work of art.
(Also, I realized I should probably talk about the tactics gameplay. In short, it's fine. Route 0 is well-balanced and engaging while never being too difficult, while routes other than that become extremely trivially easy, which I never really minded. I began to view everything as more of a puzzle game than a turn-based one, as I started trying to win battles all without letting the enemy have a turn if possible. Really, I would say the battles were repetitive but never actively irritating, and this is coming from someone who basically never skipped battles or exploration missions. If you really dislike them you can just skip them anyway, though sometimes you miss out on new content without knowing.)
I guess all I can really say is: man...you should play Hundred Line.
