Zanki Zero: Last Beginning

Zanki Zero's strange blend of roguelike exploration, survival gameplay, and sci-fi character drama is truly unique, but lousy combat and a rough beginning stretch keep it from greatness.

In the end, Zanki Zero: Last Beginning is a credible and entertaining adventure, but its potential to stand alongside its developers' best works is hampered by its systems and story's inability to come together and elevate the experience beyond the sum of its parts.

Zanki Zero is a really entertaining blend of visual novel and survival RPG gameplay. The story is just as eccentric and zany as the Danganronpa series and features that grittiness fans have come to expect. The combat system is a little simplistic, but the human cloning makes it a really unique experience. However, the title doesn't quite hit the same deliciously dark heights as Danganronpa.

The use of shock often associated with the Saw franchise would be a fair comparison to how Zanki Zero successfully generates an emotional response. If that's your thing, you'll likely have a great time. But if you were hoping for a more psychologically deep experience, it's not to be found here, just like Sho's sense of decency.

Zanki Zero drops the investigations for average survival RPG gameplay and explores themes of life, death, and rebirth with a sadistic story that goes places that Danganronpa wouldn't dare explore.The links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Wccftech.com may earn from qualifying purchases.

It's weird how a developer who is both so skilled at crafting visual novels and dungeon crawlers ended up creating a game that is not perfectly suited toward either audience.

Zanki Zero: Last Beginning has an interesting premise, although it doesn't reach its full potential. Danganronpa fans will find a fun game and characters with lots of charm.

Zanki Zero: Last Beginning oozes both charm and horror in equal measure. It's a highly enjoyable game that deserves a lot more attention than it's getting. Perfect for fans of horror, mystery, and dungeon crawling RPGs.

Zanki Zero is a game I never expected to enjoy as much as I did. With its diverse cast, bizarre storyline, and myriad of odd quirks aimed to kill your party, it's a brilliant experience, and one I plan to come back to in the future.

Although it attempts to combine a number of different gameplay mechanics, Zanki Zero: Last Beginning ultimately fails to bring these together in a compelling fashion. That said, it's a great visual novel, assuming you can handle the discomfort.