It’s been a year since TooKyo Games launched its inaugural visual novel TRPG The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, and to mark the occasion, the studio has unveiled several exciting announcements for the franchise, including an official manga adaptation and an original stage play featuring multiple endings. Reflecting on the first year of this highly ambitious project in a recent interview with Denfaminicogamer, director Kazutaka Kodaka discussed his vision for the franchise, as well as his thoughts on the future of narrative adventure games (often called visual novels in the West).
With the genre’s recent surge in popularity, driven by hits like Urban Myth Dissolution Center, the Paranormasight series, and Magical Girl Witch Trials, Denfaminicogamer inquired about Kodaka’s perspective on the current wave of modern adventure games.
“Honestly, I don’t play that many adventure games. I enjoy a wide range of game genres and also read novels. That said, I believe exceptional adventure games are those that effectively utilize their game mechanics. When it comes to story-focused adventure games, I genuinely think novels offer superior reading experiences. After all, works by renowned authors are simply more engaging,” Kodaka states.
According to Kodaka, if you aim to craft a truly captivating story, you’re competing against literary giants like Keigo Higashino (known for his mystery novels). To outshine them as a developer, you must harness the unique systems and expressive capabilities of the video game medium to evoke emotions through storytelling.
“For instance, the act of turning a page is a gameplay element, and I believe games that truly consider such aspects can be deemed outstanding adventure games,” Kodaka remarks. While acknowledging the recent boom in adventure games, particularly in the indie scene, he also notes that the genre feels “systemically” stagnant in terms of game design.
Similarly, creator of 428: Shibuya Scramble, Jiro Ishii, echoed this sentiment in a recent interview, suggesting that visual novels and story-driven adventure games may have hit an “evolutionary dead end” over the past decade. However, he points out that titles like 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, the Zero Escape Series, and Gnosia (which he labels “open-world” and “roguelike” visual novels) have opened doors for potential genre innovations.
Kodaka similarly hopes that upcoming creators from Japan can produce something to break the story-driven adventure genre out of its rut. “I truly hope a revolutionary work showcasing a completely new storytelling approach will emerge from Japan. Everyone has their preferences, but I personally want Japanese developers to create something akin to Return of the Obra Dinn or No Case Should Remain Unsolved.”
When asked about his views on recent indie successes that heavily draw inspiration from Danganronpa, Kodaka expressed relief that his flagship title remains relevant even 15 years after its release. “But if I actually play them, I’ll inevitably want to critique them. I don’t want to become a grumpy old man, so I avoid playing them altogether (laughs).”