#gotoh

THE SETUP:

//One thing that makes this analysis a little easier to cover is that the Conspiracy Route doesn't happen too long after where the Casual Route diverges, so we don't have an awful lot of story to cover.

//As a reminder, the way the Casual Route takes off from the original comes from the choice of allowing Hiruko to destroy Nigou or not, so that the group may access his memory banks.

//Choosing to protect Nigou is what spins off into the Casual Route. But letting Hiruko destroy him keeps you on the beaten path, eventually leading to where we are at now.

//However, despite letting Hiruko go through with it, Eva protects Nigou from further harm, delaying the situation long enough to allow Sirei to show up and explain things.

//...

//Then what...

//was even...

//THE POINT!?

//Takumi quite literally did exactly what Eva does here at the beginning of the casual route. But no, for some reason, HER defiance leads to the misunderstanding being cleared up, while HIS defiance leads to him being held at gunpoint and brain-raped!

//As much as I do love this game, there are some parts of the writing in the second half here that are just complete bullshit. The way that the timeline breaks off rarely ever makes sense.

//Putting my frustration aside for a moment, Sirei does ultimately explain the full situation about Eva's brainwashing, which we kind of already know, but then also gives a hint that this operation as a whole, as well as all the decisions he makes, is run on democracy, not the needs of a few selfish people.

//By this point in time, I've played a bit further, and I call complete bullshit on this point, but whatever. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

//Also, because this is the point in time where Eva was ACTUALLY supposed to join, I unlocked a new VR mission with her and Moko now on the team. I've already played it a few times now, and this one is actually kind of fucking tough, even with Last Yell strats and whatnot.

//But in lighter news...

//WOOO FANSERVICE WOOOOO!

//So yeah, what happens after all THAT shit is Gaku decides now's a really good time to set up pool party/swim meet at the Leisure Lounge, which is very clearly a scheme to get all the girls in skimpy swimsuits, but everyone decides to go through with it anyway because now more than ever, we need team bonding.

//Real talk? I LOVE the designs of everyone's swimsuits in this game.

//By this point, I'd already seen Hiruko's and Eva's. I'd seen Hiruko's in the CG from Route 0, as you know, but I ended up catching both during hangout events that happened in the Leisure Lounge. But seeing the rest of them, they're all so cool.

//The only one I don't like is Moko's, but obviously the gag with hers is that her swimsuit looks effectively the exact same as her regular outfit; just that it's modified a little bit.

//But generally, you can tell there was so much more thought put into the designs of everyone's outfits than there was in Danganronpa S. DRS obviously had some great designed, but some of them were also just fairly standard trunks and bikini's.

//Some of them also didn't really fit the specific characters, with I think Tenko being a pretty notable example, but here, that doesn't feel like much of a problem. Everyone's fits kinda suit their personalities perfectly.

//While I was looking for the CG's, I accidentally found this one that shows everyone at the pool together, including Eito, Darumi, and Kyoshika, who are obviously missing or dead by this point in time. This is clearly from a different route where I save the gang, and I guess I spoiled myself, but I'm including this image anyway to kind of emphasize what I mean.

//But this is where we get to the breakoff point.

//The next day after the pool day is the next defensive battle, and this is the first fight in this route where we get Eva on the field to fight with us.

//Maybe it's because the circumstances are different and V'ehxness has already been beaten, but I don't remember everyone being this hostile to her in the Retsnom Route. Everyone was kind of willing to get her on the squad in that one, but most people are against it here.

//Anyway, this is the fight against Addamaque, and it ends exactly as you'd expect, but to give this scene a bit of credit, I really like how this was handled compared to the other routes I've experienced so far.

//Not only is the desperation in Addamaque's voice really prevelant when V'ehxness kills him, but also the reality that V'ehxness survived Kyoshika's suicide bombing makes it hit that much harder.

//I just feel really bad, because Kyoshika's death really hit hard, and now it looks like it was all for naught, and that's very upsetting.

//That said, I got really annoyed at this part. Because it's another one of those fights that canonically you are not allowed to win, and this is like...Number 7 for V'exhness so far.

//I got her down to 1HP, and then I couldn't do any more damage to her. I don't think the game was expecting me to beat her down this easily, but I pretty much obliterated her in a single turn.

//So yeah, that's kind of annoying.

//I would have honestly preferred that I defeat her in battle, but I lose in the cutscene afterwards instead of the game just locking me from winning like this.

//Just when it looks like V'exhness is about to (bullshit) win, the UFB flies out of the school to smash into her with a super-powered flaming nuke attack or...whatever. I did think for a second during the buildup that it might be Eito coming back, but no.

//But this is the critical junction, because our next choice comes here, and instead of being a choose two options thing, this one is actually dictated by a battle.

//After V'exhness gets downed, the sneaky bitch uses her golden guardians to grab both Gaku and Kurara. And even though it's completely and utterly not the case because I've done worse for less, Sirei INSISTS that you can only save one of them.

//Which is very much the case. You effectively have to take out the enemies surrounding either Gaku, or Kurara, and whoever you do it for is saved. The other one gets absorbed by V'ehxness and dies permanently.

//Now, CANONICALLY, what you're supposed to do is let Kurara die. Because as I mentioned before, Kako did insinuate that if Gaku dies, the truth behind this whole war won't come to light, because his actions affect the timeline going forward.

//After coming back to save Gaku, I'm not sure how much of this rings true. Honestly, he doesn't really do any more than he normally does, but that's a spoiler for where I'm at currently.

//And it's also basically the confirmation you need to say that I didn't save Gaku on this go.

//This isn't an easy decision either way, and frankly, I think it's so dumb that you can't at least ATTEMPT to save both of them, because with the game's gameplay system itself, it's more than possible. And I really don't like the fact that Takumi insists that both can be saved, and Sirei just tells him. "Mm...No, don't do that."

//While I do like Kurara more, it still sucks to see Gaku get absorbed. And regardless of the choice, this whole segment is so painful to watch.

//V'ehxness is so fucking despicable, and I HATE it in stories where the bad guy's just CONSTANTLY have the upper hand. This is the point where it felt like absolutely NO MATTER WHAT we end up doing, we will NEVER win against her. Not even Danganronpa ever made me get to a point where things felt this hopeless.

//Takumi came back in time specifically to get a better outcome, but this outcome is already so much worse than the previous timeline, because the Supreme Commander is just frustratingly overpowered.

//Anyway, with that, the route diverges into the Conspiracy Route, and it starts off with Sirei putting everyone on this high-energy drink, which makes everyone act coocoo for coco pops, like they're all high.

//I was worried that this was a sign that revolved around the little shit drugging everyone, but I was wrong. Fortunately, or UNfortunately, because I'm not sure what I got was much better.

//If there's one thing I like about this scene it's that while Kurara does still think very highly of herself, she did clearly care about Gaku, and regrets being the one to survive when he didn't.

//What's even cooler is that now that I've played past this route, this respect goes both ways, since Gaku has similar survivors guilt for Kurara. Considering how at odds the two of them have always been, it's nice to see that they did value each other in some weird way.

//Where things start to go wrong is when Sirei sort of starts spitting on Gaku's memory, saying it's not a great loss because no one really liked Gaku to begin with, but when Takemaru steps up to defend Gaku's name and the two get into a fight, Nigou intervenes and ends up as collateral damage.

//At first he seems fine, but the true effects of the blow become unfortunately clear that same night, as Nigou suddenly becomes corrupted by a third AI program.

//This new AI's name is Gotoh, and apparently, Gotoh is a member of the "Anti-Exodus Faction." A group who believes that humanity dying out is a fate that should be accepted as opposed to making children fight in a war. Gotoh's objective is to send everyone back home to the Artificial Satellite as soon as possible, and to abandon Last Defense Academy.

//Gotoh further explains by revealing to Takumi privately that those who spearheaded the Exodus Project conducted research on memory manipulation at Kamukura General Hospital. He suggests that Sirei and the people behind this war brainwashed Takumi and the others into thinking their lives back on the Satellite were better than they were so we would have a reason to fight to save it.

//I know this is coming out of nowhere, but considering Eva's entire history was overwritten by Sirei, this actually sounds reasonable.

//And what's cool is that Gotoh gives Takumi the same red pill that Sirei gave him at the end of the casual route, which undoes the remains of Sirei's brainwashing in Takumi.

//He then tasks Takumi with trying to convince the other students to turn against Sirei, and go back home.

//And this is where I'm going to stop the summary, because this is where the route's choices start kicking in.

//Honestly speaking, this setup doesn't sound too bad...ON PAPER. However, in execution, this route really does do nothing but a disservice for not only the characters and the story, but to the GAME'S VERY FUNCTIONS.

//What this decision really does is kick off a conspiracy-heavy subplot with major implications for memory manipulation, morality, and control, and a rapid influx of new lore and factions, with Gotoh, the Anti-Exodus group, etc. packed into a short span.

//And as far as I am aware...all of this is COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT in every other playthrough.

//To further emphasize this, the Conspiracy Route takes place over the course of only 4 DAYS. That's not a lot of time, and the Route is defnitely one of the shorter ones in the game, yet compared to all the others I've done so far, by far as the most endings.

//We'll cover them in more detail in a bit, but so far, I've done three routes of this game: Retsnom, Casual, and now Conspiracy.

//The Retsnom Route has 4 endings, the Casual Route has 2, and the Conspiracy Route has 7.

//And without giving too much away, pretty much ALL 7 of those endings result in death, failure, or unresolved ambiguity.

//There are SO MANY ENDINGS, and yet NONE of them are good. Not emotionally, nor from a writing standpoint.

//I distinctly remember Kodaka and Uchikoshi saying they wanted all 100 endings to feel authentic, but that's just wrong here. There's nothing authentic about any of these endings. This path of the game feels like a side plot that doesn’t justify its importance or detour from the main story arc.

//Especially because, once again, nothing shown in this route has any relevance anywhere else in the story.

CHARACTER ARCS:

//Quite possibly one of the most offensive parts of this story is that the characterization of everyone here...I'm not going to say it doesn't get done, but the issue is that when the characters do develop and change their tunes, they quite literally get punished for doing so.

//They're just handled incredibly poorly, and honestly, I don't know how or why something could be fucked up so badly, considering how great the characterization was in Route 0, Retsnom, and hell, I'd argue it was good even in Casual.

//Let's try breaking this down...

//To start with, Gotoh is abruptly introduced as a seemingly helpful figure, only to pivot into an antagonist in most of the endings. Even though this is his route, he remains frustratingly underwritten.

//His motivations are wrapped in hazy philosophical rhetoric, and while he claims to be acting in the students' best interests, his actions say otherwise. He lies, manipulates, and in many branches, straight-up murders the students when they refuse to fall in line.

//It doesn’t come off as morally gray so much as directionless and inconsistent, especially when he should be serving as a compelling foil or tragic figure.

//Takumi, on the other hand, is completely mishandled. He’s forced into one no-win situation after another with no real sense of growth or resolution. He seems more like a narrative punching bag than a character with any real agency or arc.

//I'll go into more of the deep-rooted issues surrounding him in a bite, but despite the emotional weight the writers try to give him, his suffering lacks catharsis and does little to serve the story.

//Sirei too gets to play more of the antagonist in this route, but even his eventual downfall rings hollow. There’s no satisfying payoff, and no thematic closure or character insight. It's just another checkbox ticked off on the route's journey toward a bleak and empty conclusion.

//And then there's Kurara. Her decision-making in this route is jarringly inconsistent with how she was portrayed earlier.

//Yes, I understand she’s dealing with the guilt over Gaku’s death, and that emotional burden should weigh heavily on her choices, but her behavior doesn't line up with her established character. The first major choice you get in this route is for Takumi to decide who between her and Hiruko he will tell about the conspiracy first, and to me, Kurara being an option feels arbitrary, almost like the writers forgot how guarded and confrontational she used to be about their past.

//In the original route, even a mention of life before the Last Defense Academy would set her off. She’d push back, stand her ground, and shut down anyone who questioned their purpose.

//Now, maybe there is something deeper at play. Hell, perhaps Kurara always wanted to go back, and Nozomi’s later remarks in Route 0 support that. And yes, she did agree to stand down when V’ehxness made her proposal, which suggests some internal conflict.

//Even so, while she’s not as single-minded as Hiruko, she was still one of the SDU’s fiercest and most committed fighters. That makes her sudden willingness to walk away from it all feel unearned, unless we assume Takumi’s desperation, Kyoshika’s death, and the worsening conditions finally changed her mind.

//That’s a plausible interpretation, sure, but the narrative doesn’t do the work to fully sell it. It’s an idea we, as the audience, have to rationalize on our own.

THE ENDINGS (#15-#22):

//I normally don't summarize the endings until the last part of my reviews, but I want to cover them quickly, because it segways pretty heavily into the next point I want to make.

//And while it sounds like I'm just dumbing down these endings...I swear to you I am not. I am giving you basically the full recounting of each...

015: A Fair Point

//This ending happens if Takumi refuses to take the red pill, and put his trust in Gotoh. Gotoh kills Takumi.

016: Just A Test

//This ending happens if Takumi takes the pill, but still refuses to trust Gotoh and the anti-faction due to a lack of proof, also wanting to believe that this all meant something. Gotoh kills Takumi.

017: Plans Exposed

//This ending happens if Takumi decides to confide in Hiruko first about the conspiracy. Hiruko instead reports Takumi directly to Sirei, and exposes the plan. Sirei kills Takumi.

018: Empty Words

//This ending happens if Takumi decides to confide in Kurara, and then both of them decide that they can't stop fighting if it means giving up on the sacrifices Kyoshika and Gaku made. It's a touching scene that shows great character and maturity...and then Gotoh kills them both.

019: Out of Ideas

//Should Takumi be able to convince Kurara of the pointlessness of the war, the two of them start working with Gotoh, and start thinking of a plan to make sure Sirei doesn't stop them. The main idea is to kill Sirei in the same way Eito did, but it's a choice you make. Should you choose to think of another way, the plan takes too long, and Sirei catches on. Sirei kills them both.

020: Faltering Resolve

//If you DO decide to go through with killing Sirei and formulate a plan to do so where Gotoh pretends to be Nigou, giving Takumi the option to jump him, you get another choice in the moment whether to actually go through with it. If you refuse...say it with me! Sirei kills Takumi!

021: Liar

//If Takumi successfully kills Sirei, he confronts everyone in the cafeteria to explain the full story, and give everyone their pills and the red envelopes that contain the truth about their families back on the Satellite. This leads to the most difficult choice in the route: to either tekll Nozomi that everything we did was pointless, or to remain quiet, neither of which feel right. Should you remain quiet, Nozomi manages to get through to Takumi, and realize that he's been lying to himself about how he feels. About how he knows that the sacrifices meant something, and it's really touching.

//...

//...Gotoh kills everybody.

022: Lambs to the Slaughter

//This one...

//...th-this one...

//...

//I HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE!

//I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!

//This is supposed to be the true ending of this route, and it's the only one where no one actually dies. If you manage to convince everyone that what happened here was meaningless, and Takumi is surprisingly lenient with everyone. Should they believe him, or desire to stick to their gives, they don't have to join him in going home.

//This is another instance of Takumi and the group being hopelessly dumb though, since there's no evidence that there really is another escape pod at STLDA, as much sense as that makes, and the fact that Gotoh can prepare it remotely is very suspicious.

//It culminates into Gotoh showing up and admitting that what was in the red envelopes were mere fabrications, designed to push us in the "right direction," though everything else he said and did is true. All of this comes out when Takumi is too deep in to back out.

//The game ends with just dead silence, panning shots until it shows the school bus in the middle of nowhere.

//And...That's it! That's the ending! I have no fucking clue why it's called Lambs to the Slaughter. I thought we were running away!?

//But yeah, those are the seven endings to the Conspiracy Route.

//...Do you guys see why I hate this now!?

THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE IN A GAME WHERE YOUR "CHOICES MATTER."

//The Hundred Line markets itself as a choice-driven experience, promising players the power to influence the narrative in meaningful ways, boasting up to 100 distinct endings, each purportedly rich enough to feel like a definitive conclusion.

//The Conspiracy Route is proof that this notion is absolutely BULLSHIT!

//This particular branch is RIDDLED with the illusion of choice. While the game gives the impression of diverging paths, many decisions funnel into the same or nearly identical outcomes.

//In fact, Endings 15 and 16 recycle the EXACT same CG artwork, which is proof enough of the superficiality of the branching.

//This was honestly a problem even BEFORE I started this route. From the VERY MOMENT that you have to choose between saving Gaku or Kurara, when you are VERY CAPABLE of saving both, the game just doesn't let you, because it would rather undercut your agency and break you immersion, especially when differences between choices amount to nothing more than slight dialogue tweaks or timing shifts.

//Of the SEVEN possible outcomes in this route, SIX OF THEM end with Takumi being killed, either by Sirei or Gotoh.

//Tiresome and repetitive are two words to describe that. Bad writing is another.

//The constant inevitability of death, without any emotional or thematic variation, creates a kind of narrative fatigue. Rather than feeling like tragic inevitabilities, these endings feel like lazy dead ends.

//Worse still is the handling of Gotoh, arguably the weakest character in the entire game up to this point. He’s manipulative, dishonest, and fundamentally unlikable, yet the narrative insists on FORCING an alliance with him. The player’s distrust of him is never rewarded, and even when the story teases depth, the execution feels rushed and half-formed. The twists surrounding him could have elevated the intrigue, but instead, they feel like underdeveloped noise, thrown in without payoff.

//None of the endings in this route offer anything close to satisfaction. They range from maddeningly vague to frustratingly unresolved, with little emotional or narrative closure, and DEFINITELY do not enforce the "authenticity," Kodaka and Uchikoshi advocated for.

//The idea that THIS could be someone's first ending is HORRIFYING to me.

//Ironically, the STANDOUT example of this failure is the "Lambs to the Slaughter" ending, arguably the most baffling of the bunch. It's ironic, because this is the only ending in this route that doesn't end with Takumi and his friends getting fucking merced by one of these two dumbass mascots.

//There's no clarity on whether Takumi succeeded in convincing the others, no visuals to anchor the moment, and no dialogue to interpret. The scene is entirely silent and devoid of context, and rather than feeling haunting or thought-provoking, the ending lands as confusing and unsatisfying.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

//This is normally the point where I give my highlights for this game, and some of my favourite moments in the route.

//But I'm not going to that, because I have none. At least, none that I've haven't talked about.

//Ultimately, the conspiracy route feels like a missed opportunity. It's a tangled, lifeless detour in a game that promised dynamic storytelling, and instead of enriching the experience, it undermines the very concept that The Hundred Line was built on: meaningful choice.

//It is also a textbook example of quantity over quality. The barrage of choices gives the illusion of depth, but few of them genuinely alter the outcome or provide satisfying divergence.

//Despite the sheer number of endings, not a single one offers a sense of resolution, hope, or emotional payoff. They're uniformly bleak, hollow, or ambiguous, and none of them feel earned or worthwhile. Instead of presenting a cohesive alternate branch of the story, the conspiracy route plays out like a disconnected tangent that struggles to meaningfully tie into the larger narrative arc or deepen the overarching plot.

//Tonally and structurally, the route feels out of sync with the rest of the game. Events unfold in a fragmented way, and character motivations often lack the clarity or buildup needed to make key twists land. There are flickers of intriguing ideas, such as shadow organizations like the Anti-Exodus group, but they’re introduced and resolved too quickly to have impact, giving the route a rushed, undercooked feeling.

//In the end, despite its ambition and a few scattered high points, the conspiracy route amounts to little more than a confusing detour. It’s heavy on branching, but light on cohesion, character development, and emotional weight.

//And it's enough to land it squarely at the BOTTOM of my list.