Zanki Zero - Last Beginning (PS4)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:When this game was released in the west I was curious about it since I'm a fan of the Danganronpa series, saw that there were some similar elements and looked into it more. At the time there wasn't a lot of people talking about the game and it was mostly talk about the censorship which I looked into as well. It staggered my first impression of the game a little to see a lot of controversy surrounding the newly released game in the west. Regardless, I decided to download the demo on PS4 not expecting too much from it. Let's just say, I'm so glad I looked past the negativity I saw online as this game definitely exceed my expectations. The demo itself was enough for me to feel invested and curious to know of the conclusion of the first chapter, so I ordered a physical copy immediately. I've been wanting to find myself immersed into a new cast of colourful characters and watch as they overcome personal struggles together and a new setting clouded in mystery. I'm glad to say that this game definitely filled that void for me.GAMEPLAY:If anyone is interested in this game I would definitely suggest to download the demo so you can see if the gameplay and story is for you. It also introduces you to the basics such as the cast and the story as well as giving you a feel of what to expect. This game is a grid-based rpg in a first person perspective with (depending on the difficulty level) A LOT of dungeon crawling with survival elements and occasional puzzles thrown in. If this does not seem appealing to you, you may not find yourself enjoying the gameplay. You start the game only being able to choose the difficulty between 1-3 but it is expanded later up to 5. Difficulty 1 only having boss battles and no enemies, within the dungeons for those who want a story only experience, difficulty 3 being the recommended by the game and 5 being very punishing where even one hit from an enemy or mistake can possibly wipe your active party teammates. The higher the difficulty, the more rewards and materials you can reap for creating food and gear for the characters and even expanding your base. At first I was a little turned off from the 1st person perspective on a grid based map after playing it more (and on higher difficulties) it eventually grew on me. I do think it could be easily improved if there was more than basic attack and a "charge" attack for the combat, especially as it would feel less underwhelming for those who want to play on lower difficulties.STORY AND CHARACTERS:I really enjoyed the story and I feel like it was in chapter 2 that was when I found myself entirely invested into the story and characters. So be mindful, if chapter 1 did not completely win you over from the demo, chapter 2 may help change your mind on that. The cast is very likable and they have a lot of pleasant and fun scenes and interactions. There's a bonding system that shows more of this and you can pair up any character in the cast with each other to see how their relationship grows. This is more for fanservice however and doesn't affect how their relationships are in the story but is a very fun feature as it helps show more aspects to the characters and see them in other situations outside of the plot.With the main cast of Zanki Zero, I found myself unable to dislike any of them which was odd for me as it is rare for me to like an entire cast of characters. I was even surprised at which characters I ended up really favoring by the end of the game as a lot of them had changed from my initial thoughts. All of the characters in the main cast are expanded on and go through some nice development. They may not live up to the eccentric and loud personalities of the Danganronpa casts but this was never a problem for me. I personally prefer how they are more relatable and down to earth as it is easier to find yourself sympathising for them or even seeing aspects of yourself within a character. Each character is the protagonist of their own chapter and they all get a lot of focus as well as a look into their stories and internal struggles.As for the story as a whole, I will be as vague as possible without writing any spoilers but I will say that I really enjoyed it and the characters overall. I feel like in the last chapter there was certain things I wish had been expanded on more but it did not ruin or sour the experience of the game for me. It has been almost 3 weeks since I completed it and still find myself wanting to throw myself back into this world and it's characters as it left that much of an impact on me. Something I was not expecting at all.If you enjoy stories with dark themes and trauma handled well and taken seriously, some mature humour, emotional and bittersweet moments and a likable well written cast of characters then I would say give Zanki Zero a go. You may even surprise yourself with how much you'll end up enjoying it.REGARDING CENSORSHIP CONTROVERSY:Before downloading the demo and purchasing the game I was looking into the controversy surrounding this game because of the censorship. I was worried about some of the game possibly being cut because I saw a lot of misinformation about this being spread to discourage people from buying the game. I have played through all of the game and can assure you that the content removed did not affect the story, gameplay or character development! No gore, dialogue or any of the backstories was either. For those unaware, the changes were some image adjustments from seeing a minor's underwear and the removal of being able to view "child bedroom scenes".These changes were some images in the bedroom scenes when the event could be triggered with the characters as children (which their bodies are that of 5/6 year olds) in seductive poses in which many of the bedroom scenes are in a sexual context. The images removed from the game do not change the story, gameplay or character's development in any way and said scenes can still be viewed with the characters are adults, middle-aged and seniors.I have seen a lot of people complaining about the censorship in this game but these changes does not change anything. Besides seeing young children sexualised. If you have looked into it, you will know that they are uncomfortable to look at and they do not add anything nor take anything from the game in their absence. I understand the problems with the rise of censorship growing as of recent but the instance with Zanki Zero it is not a case of censorship worth fighting against. Spike Chunsoft stated on their official site that they HAD to remove said images to ensure that the game could be released in the West. As there are different regulations and it is very taboo and prohibited in western culture compared to Japan when it comes to (even fictional) sexual depictions of children, this is pretty obvious as to why it had to be done when you don't remove it from the bigger context. The game wouldn't have been able to have a western release otherwise. It's unfair that a good game is getting review bombed when people are looking at this at a very black and white perspective and are spreading misinformation to steer away potential fans of the game.Please enjoy and support the amazing story and characters of Zanki Zero so that we may have hope for a sequel or similar games being released to the west in the future.

I can’t remember the last time I had this little fun playing a game, I enjoyed danganronpa and was excited to play a game from the same makers of it, the storyline For the most part is enjoyable as all spike Chunsoft games I’ve played, but when the majority of the gameplay is tediously searching multiple maps to ‘find this switch’ ‘find this key’ needle in the haystack type mechanic, I got to the last chapter and was bored to an almost sensory deprivation level, having copy-paste hallways upon hallways of having to scope out items like keys and switches over and over again is not great game/puzzle design, neither is it smart or entertaining,it’s sadistic and time consuming, It’s baffling the same people who created something as fun and interesting as the ‘danganronpa’ series somehow made a game this lazy and boring. The only entertaining thing about this game is the story,If a game is only worth watching than playing then as the title says you can watch it on YouTube rather than being ripped off.

absolutely loved this game, 147h play time so far, its a 1st person real time rpg no cluckyness of having to go into combat just go up to an enemy an smack it in, good story has a good twist, engaging death system and lots more

Daughter loved it. Many thanks