With 100 endings and a script big enough to fill 60 books, "many countries declined to localize" Danganronpa creator's massive new strategy RPG

The creator of Danganronpa's new strategy RPG, set in another deadly high school, is so big that some countries supposedly "declined to localize the game."

To quickly catch you up, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is a brand new visual novel strategy hybrid from Danganronpa lead Kazutaka Kodaka and Zero Escape creator Kotaro Uchikoshi. Before it came out last month, we already knew it was going to be a mammoth game with around 100 endings dense enough to be considered "true routes."

But in a new interview with Defaminicogamer, translated by Automaton, Kodaka broke down some more numbers, revealing The Hundred Line's script is big enough to fill around 60 paperback novels. The first draft allegedly came in at around five million characters, then bloated to six million characters before translators asked Kodaka to trim it down. Kodaka says he did just that, but as new ideas kept popping up, the final script eventually became even longer.

"This is why many countries declined to localize the game, why you don't need to clear every single route, and why I hope you'll take your time and enjoy it slowly over a long period," the co-director wrote on social media, reacting to the interview. "No matter when you play, it will offer a different flavor of storytelling."

Earlier this week, he dished out more advice for players. "Well, it's an unprecedented story structure, so you can enjoy it however you like, but my assumption, or rather, my recommendation is… Don't force yourself to do everything," he tweeted. "If you feel 'this isn't right' partway through, redo your choices and find a goal you're satisfied."

While The Hundred Line's been a hit with the Switch and PC players that have delved into its many, many routes - 89% of its 2,200 Steam user reviews give it the thumbs up - its developer Too Kyo Games isn't financially safe just yet. Kodaka recently said he'd love to port the game to more platforms, but the studio is "still on the brink of going under."

Danganronpa and Zero Escape creators' new tactical RPG was "extremely difficult" to fund: "We […] ended up with a lot of debt"