At a special panel held at Anime Expo this past weekend, game publisher Spike Chunsoft announced – to the dismay of those in attendance – that its new visual novel will be delayed until spring of 2019. Originally slated to release this year in North America and Europe, Zanki Zero was released in Japan on July 5. Based on the premise, it is a unique visual novel title that borrows elements from various different genres.
Announced back in March at the Game Developers Conference, the game was unveiled to much anticipation, especially since it was marketed as a new game from the creators of the cult-hit and fan-favorite Danganronpa series. Producer Yoshinori Terasawa and game designer Takayuki Sugawara, among others, returned to work on the project.
At the core of the game mechanics, players assume the role of one of the eight protagonists, supposedly the last survivors of a post-apocalyptic world. Survival is key, for players will explore dungeons and ruins in a first-person point of view, all the while hunting and gathering materials and supplies. Players will encounter and fight monsters while traversing these areas. Specific details of survival apply as well, such as eating, sleeping, and using the bathroom. As such, building, designing, and expanding a home base is also part of the game.
While little detail is given in regards to the abilities of these characters, we know that each one represents on of the seven deadly sins (with one more being the Original Sin). A central part of their design revolves around their bodies being human clones with a lifespan cycle of 13 days, after which they will die and be reborn.
While the game is delayed in the west until spring of 2019, there is still no concrete release date as of yet. Spike Chunsoft’s North American subsidiary will be publishing the game, and has announced the PS4 and PC (via Steam) to be the supported platforms. It is interesting to note that while the past three Danganronpa games have been released on the Playstation Vita, Sony’s forgotten handheld seems to be getting the skip for this title.