Zanki Zero: Last Beginning

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 26
  3. Negative: 1 out of 26
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  1. GameCritics
    Jun 11, 2019
    35
    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.

Awards & Rankings

65
#65 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2019

User Reviews

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User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 40
  3. Negative: 13 out of 40
  1. VirgoCave
    Apr 27, 2019
    2
    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    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.    … Full Review »
  2. tantei
    Apr 11, 2019
    10
    Another outstanding game from the creators of dangan ronpa. The story is captivating and the characters are very interesting.
  3. vahn
    Apr 9, 2019
    8
    I only played about 8 hours and reached chapter 3 (or stage 3) so my review is obviously incomplete, but those 8 hours went so fast I barelyI only played about 8 hours and reached chapter 3 (or stage 3) so my review is obviously incomplete, but those 8 hours went so fast I barely noticed: the game surprised me despite its rather weird concept and the story and characters hooked me to discover more.

    Zanki Zero is a sort of blend between Zero Escape and Danganronpa - both games made by Spike Chunsoft themselves - so the style is somewhat similar when it comes to setting or at least the mentality behind the whole game: 8 people are stuck in a place called Garage Island and, supposedly, they are the last survivor of the human race and they have to help save it by using the Extend Machine in order to complete their missions. At first, they think it's a game but soon they discover that everything is more than real when two of the cast dies.

    Zanki Zero is an RPG but to be honest it has barely any RPG elements in it: leveling doesn't actually grants status bonuses but only unlocks better proficiencies and stats like better attack or cooking, meaning that you won't be grinding any levels and instead you'll be grinding mats and food for your survival. It's better to say that ZZ is more of an action adventure game, where you'll fight enemies in dungeons while also seeing cutscenes, mostly with grunts, and proceed with the plot.

    I want to start with the combat because I heard really bad comments on it, saying that it looks like etrian odyssey or other dungeon crawler RPGs...well they're partially right but it's closer to games like Dungeon Master or Legend of Grimrock instead: you don't have random battles and you can move freely during combat, which is on grids, and it's important to be able to move around while attacking or else you can die in this game. And yes, you will die...which is probably the weirdest mechanic of the entire game.

    I said that there's no progress from leveling, but that's because it's tied to the Extend Machine and its Shigabane system, which essentially rewards you for...dying. Literally.
    Whenever one character dies, their death will be recorded into the machine and the next body they'll come out will have perks that increase their stats: dying of old age grants a general buff to all stats but, for instance, dying from a physical attack might reduce the damage next time, or dying from stress or lack of sleep might give you more stamina, and so forth. In other words, you must die, a lot, in order to get the good stats and you might be grinding deaths in order to get them since there's over a hundred of them!

    Unfortunately, it's not infinite: you need to use your SCORE to clone your new body and while not expensive at first the more shigabane you get, the expensive it gets. You get SCORE from beating enemies and thankfully they do respawn, although randomly and not always timely so you can grind those score points.
    Add the fact that your characters will die after 13 days, you'll eventually have to understand the system and manage its perks properly.

    But honestly, what draws me into the game it's the story: the 8 characters aren't exactly well defined at first but the more you play, the more you want to know about them. Each dungeon is, supposedly about sin and each character is their representation, which means that not only you'll get to know them in depth but you'll also be playing from their PoV!
    Yep, each chapter (or stage) will make you play from the perspective of another survivor and you'll get to see their feelings, thoughts and mental process: you're not going to stuck with the "main" protagonist like most VN games but you'll keep jumping to each character until their story is complete. It's interesting and really hooks you in because you know what they're thinking and the game will show each part of their backstory in stylized scenes with dark figures and no voicing, which is both weird and fascinating. I played 8 hours straight because I just wanted to know what's going to happen, why did this happen, or if that character did something wrong, or why is something wrong. Even though they really don't seem to grow a lot afterward but maybe it's too early to say it.

    So, do I recommend it? Honestly yes, I do, but you must realize that this game is a little different than your usual jrpgs and it requires a little bit of patience to understand its system: the combat is simple, extremely simple, but it's also extremely simple to die from enemies (2-3 shots and you're dead) and the Clione mechanic makes the game about high-risk high reward, but that's something I haven't fully tested as of now.

    The best I can describe it is, Zanki Zero is an action adventure game with semi-survival elements and visual novel hints too, that while not perfectly flawless they make a rather intriguing and bizarre mix that I can't wait to discover more about it!.

    And considering Danganronpa and Zero Escape were already weird on their own, I hope to get the same here!    … Full Review »
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