Zanki Zero isn't really "new"; underneath the dungeon crawler window dressing it's too similar to its predecessors thematically to stand out as a bold new statement. The dungeon crawling elements work well enough, however, and it's hard to complain that the creators are sticking to their traditions when these games are so intensely intriguing and intelligent. Zanki Zero offers every bit the brilliance that Danganronpa did.
Zanki Zero: Last Beginning is a surprisingly good RPG with survival elements, a mature video game able to keep on their toes those who’ll have the patience to tame a rich but demanding gameplay.
Before I sing the game's praises, it has some content warnings:
Flashbacks in the game will contain SA, CSA, incest, abuse, and other terrible things. The ties that bind the party together are all trauma based.
This is a hidden gem if you're a fan of first person Dungeon Crawler RPGs, a classic genre that is usually steeped in fantasy stories. This, however, is set in the post apocalypse, with the last 8 humans left in the world. The star of this game IMO is the mystery. I see almost no one talking about the game online besides achievement hunters, so a lot of the more cryptic aspects are left a surprise for the individual to puzzle out. If you like lore-hunting in games like Elden Ring, like myself, this game is full of notes and diaries. Most will seem innocuous at first, but will often contain clues regarding puzzles. A particular series of notes tells a side story, which eventually ties into the main plot, and fleshes out the world a bit. Other times, the notes you find contain names of some of the "powers" you can equip...
The mechanics and gameplay are old school, with some twists. You navigate a grid-based map filled with monsters and puzzles. This is a real-time combat RPG, not turn based. There are no random battles, every enemy is roaming the zone freely, looking to wreck your run. Like some other Dungeon Crawlers (the Legend of Grimlock series, for example), you need to feed your party members to keep their stamina up. Zanki Zero adds in the opposing "bladder guage" however. Seems a bit silly, but the point is if your character can't find a bathroom to use, they get the Stink status, which alerts monsters to your presence and raises the character's Stress meter. Once unlocked, there are 5 difficulties you can switch between at your base, with 1 being not at all difficult (just experience the base story), and 5 being the most challenging. I'm in the 7th dungeon presently, and have more or less kept it on 5 since I unlocked it. Besides the higher difficulty of the monsters, more items will drop frequently (a must if you are a completionist, or just want to fully upgrade some of the best gear). If you have trouble with a boss fight however, it's totally valid to drop the difficulty even temporarily (it just costs some "Score" points, which is what you spend to revive party members).
There is a rather simple crafting system, for both equipment/items and foods. In order to unlock the recipes, however, you need to upgrade your base. I highly recommend upgrading the bathroom first though, because the initial bathroom increases stress due to it being unsanitary. The item storage is very helpful, but you can get by initially just dropping unneeded items on the ground at your base, as they don't despawn unless dropped into the water. It's good to horde things, because you never know when something will be needed to craft something later (protip: don't sharpen every rusty knife you find, because some high level recipes require the rusty version). Grinding for materials is a common occurrence, especially late game when you want the best gear/items. I've honestly maxed out the party's levels at 99, and still need to grind for mats.
The most important part of the gameplay is the weirdest. You die, and get reborn with "Shigabane". These are bonuses that make your party members stronger in some way, but also cost more Score to revive. It's always a bit fun to find a new way to die in the game (watch those allergies!!).
TL;DR - If you enjoy the game's mysterious premise, and the mechanics, this is a great game.
This game was fantastic, they really hit it outta the park. The characters were great and you really get to understand them through out the game. Its sad, happy and dark and had awesome moments and twists. If you like danganronpa characters and story this game will be right up your ally.
There are great ideas at play, you’ll
laugh from time to time, and it’s definitely
a story you’ll want to follow to the end.
However, where the Danganronpa games
are deliciously dark and furiously inventive,
Zanki often leans on sexual
innuendo to entertain when it
really doesn’t need to, like a fire
juggler who keeps making boob
and willy jokes. [Issue#162, p.82]
Obtuse inventory aside, there are too many systems in play at the same time to fully enjoy the first class plot and characters of Zanki Zero - Last Beginning. tone down the difficulty to enjoy a great visual novel from the creators of Danganronpa.
Zanki Zero is a fun dungeon crawler set in the remains of Earth after a catastrophic event took place with a plot that feels like it belongs in the Danganronpa series. The story and gameplay will keep you curious for most of the campaign, especially if you're comfortable with the inherently disturbing subject matter and occasionally frustrating dungeon traversal.
Zanki Zero: Last Beginning is a bit of a disaster. It looks nice on its surface, but the initially-promising setup soon devolves into complete drudgery thanks to inferior dungeon crawling, poor combat and a cast I had no empathy for whatsoever. My interest in the overall mystery got snuffed out long before it was solved.
this game is heavily underrated, it's a bit tough to get into, but once you do, you're in for a wild ride.
the combat system is unique, and it works well with every other element in the game.
but the best selling point, is the story and character design, it will stick with you.
Weird RPG with an anime-style mystery story that drags you in if you are susceptible. The combat system seems derived from games like mystery dungeon or Legend of Grimrock. You take a step, the enemy takes a step, that type of thing. The aging mechanic is weird AF but it adds a unique aspect which is appreciated. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea, and it's not like the writing is going to win any awards, but the typical anime storytelling where they plop you in an insane situation and then dripfeed you information to add suspense and mystery is alive and well - if you are into that, then this game is worth it.
Actually more people should play this game because it is just so memorable. A bizarre and interesting experience that never gets too frustrating and which has lots of nice plot twists and so on.
Only for those who like real-time first-person dungeon-crawlers and the writing in Danganronpa games.
I wasn't able to finish the game, as neither of those apply to me. Here's my five-hour impressions of the game up to beating the first boss.
If you like conspiracy theories, this game has you covered. It starts off strong with these and heads in the direction of things getting even weirder. But like Danganronpa, it sacrifices believability for the sake of weird things happening.
The story seems to be built around the game mechanics rather than the other way around. For example, the game has its characters live for only 13 days before they die of old age and are reborn. While living through different age ranges (child, adult, middle-age, elderly) characters have different skills that activate based on their age. This is the main game mechanic and the story tries hard to justify that this is something that you should take seriously.
Unfortunately, it doesn't pull it off for the more intelligent players with hobbies or careers in science. Don't expect the levels of believable science fiction that were in the first two Zero Escape games. The writing here is much worse in comparison.
While I didn't get to spend a lot of time with the characters, they were mostly uninteresting, except for one particular amputee, who was obviously hiding a secret or big plot twist that will likely happen later on.
As for the dungeon crawling, it might satisfy real-time dungeon crawler fans. I didn't find it as interesting or strategic as the last real-time first-person dungeon crawler I played (Legend of Grimrock). And it's definitely not up to par strategy-wise with turn-based games, such as Demon Gaze. The environments aren't very interesting and consist of mostly big open spaces. You have to manage your stress and pee levels, which isn't very fun. And managing your inventory is a pain, due to the limited weight you can carry.
Combat strategy consists of having your four party members attack, back up (run away) until you can attack again, and then you repeat. The first boss is the same, except required many more attacks.
So here's my partial review for the game. With its bad writing, believablitly issues, and uninteresting/unstrategic combat, I doubt I'll start this one up again.
As a fan of all works of spike chunksoft I really wanted to like this game but is tedious and boring.
The survival aspect is tedious and repetivie, dungeon are nes level of lazyness. Just walk and press switches, nothing more. The story is interesting but not enough to go over this torture. Just gonna watch gameplays.
SummaryPlay from the POV of one of eight protagonists in each chapter and explore the dungeons, towers, and islands to uncover the deadly sins of the protagonists' pasts. Hunt for materials & food while fending off monsters in real-time battle environments; but don't forget to eat, sleep, & go to the bathroom (seriously, it's bad for your healt...