Plot Hollow

Zenless Zone Zero has been out for almost a year and a half now. The gameplay is action-packed, the characters are vibrant, and the gacha system hasn’t been too egregious. The world, overrun with pocket dimensions called Hollows, holds many secrets and spectacles. Overall, ZZZ has been fun to play.

However, as the resident story-guy, I have to draw attention to the game’s narrative. Season 1 did an excellent job keeping us engaged with the story. Season 2, on the other hand, has struggled a bit. It doesn’t feel as strong as before. What did Season 1 do right? How does Season 2 compare, and how could ZZZ improve?

Season 1

The first season’s narrative strength was in its flow. Each chapter of the main story built upon the last. With a mild spoiler warning, this is how it went:

—Business x Strangeness x Justness—

In this prologue chapter, we’re introduced to Wise and Belle, illegal Proxy siblings working under the codename Phaethon. This arc focused on rescuing members of the Cunning Hares odd-job team and securing a stolen lockbox. By the end, they discovered the secret within the lockbox: a super AI named Fairy.

—Cat’s Lost and Found—

Phaethon and the Cunning Hares stumbled upon a construction site conspiracy. In order to cut down on costs, the Vision Corporation planned to kill an entire community in a “demolition accident.” Phaethon foiled that plot. Although the company president, Perlman, was apprehended, Sarah, the vice-president and possibly true mastermind, escaped capture.

—A Call From the Hollow’s Heart—

Phaethon was called to assist Belabog Heavy Industries, a new construction company hired to take over the Vision Corporation’s building project (through proper, ethical means, of course). During the job, they discovered a locked memory drive and a monster sealed away by the disgraced father of Koleda, Belabog’s president. After killing the monster and calling the authorities, Koleda entrusted the memory drive to Phaethon.

—Mission Unthinkable—

Due to the complexity of the memory drive’s encryption, Phaethon reached out to the Cunning Hares to help them connect with a proficient hacker. During their wait, they get acquainted with two officers from Public Security. The officers in question discovered that someone was going to steal the remains of the monster from the previous chapter, broke protocol, and intervened. Although proxies are considered criminals, Phaethon helped them anonymously.

Within the chapter’s epilogue, Sarah reappears, trying to convince Perlman to take all the blame for the previous incident in exchange for good treatment. Massive hints to a shadowy organization behind the scenes, as well as someone backing Sarah, filled the air with tension.

—The Midnight Pursuit—

Perlman’s court date was set, and the Cunning Hares were required to attend as witnesses. While preparing for their court appearance, they discovered that the hacker Phaethon wanted them to contact had been kidnapped and held inside a Hollow. Phaethon took over the investigation while the Cunning Hares went on a blimp with the other court attendees.

Phaethon encountered a group called Victoria Housekeeping, who aided them in saving the hacker. As it turned out, the hacker wasn’t the only person they had to rescue. Almost everyone on the court blimp had been knocked out, and if Phaethon and Victoria Housekeeping hadn’t intervened, the blimp would’ve crashed into the Hollow and killed everyone aboard. In the wake of the rescue, Perlman hijacked the blimp and escaped, crashing in the Outer Rim.

At the chapter’s end, the hacker finished decrypting the memory unit for Phaethon. They learned that the monster was called a Sacrifice and had been made from a human. Victoria Housekeeping also kept the proxy siblings under watch, per the instructions of their employer.

—Tour de Inferno—

Billy, one of the Cunning Hares, informed Phaethon that his old biker crew, the Sons of Calydon, had picked up Perlman, who claimed to have evidence of the true mastermind behind the Vision incident. The Sons of Calydon would give Phaethon custody of Perlman if they helped them win the Tour de Inferno, an annual inter-biker gang tournament that determines which gang would control trade routes.

In the epilogue, we finally hear Wise and Belle’s true goal: their beloved teacher had been blamed for a massive catastrophe years back, and they want to find both her and the truth.

—A Storm of Falling Stars—

Sarah’s mysterious backer is revealed to be a prominent public figure named Bringer, who turned himself into a Sacrifice once he was backed into a corner. All of the previous plot threads and friends made along the way came together to take him down (complete with a sword slash and soundtrack that would make Vergil proud). His monstrous form became another lead for Phaethon in their pursuit of their missing teacher.

—Bury Your Tears With the Past—

Victoria Housekeeping connected Phaethon with their employer, the Mayor of the last city on earth. The Mayor knew Wise and Belle’s teacher and wanted to help them unlock the abilities their teacher had been cultivating in the siblings. Amidst a complicated heist with the Mockingbird phantom thieves, Phaethon’s innate powers manifested: an ability to manipulate ether, enough to prevent someone from being fully corrupted.

As you can see, each chapter pulled major and minor details from previous chapters, making past events relevant and expounded upon with new details. Now, how does Season 2 stack up?

Season 2

We’re about halfway through Season 2’s lifespan, and while there is some build-up between chapters, it’s not as diverse and intricate as Season 1. Unlike before, there seems to be only one common thread linking them all.

—Where Clouds Embrace the Dawn—

The Mayor connected Phaethon with a powerful mystic named Yixuan of Yunkui Summit. Yixuan agreed to help them master their ability to manipulate ether while the siblings looked for clues about their teacher.

During their training, they encountered the group Sarah was aligned with, the Exaltists, scamming people into getting corrupted within a nearby Hollow and, later, a full invasion. Phaethon and Yixuan worked together to stop the Exaltists’ assault, culminating in a showdown against against Sarah’s boss, the overseer Mevorakh. Despite their defeat, Sarah and Mevorakh still had something brewing in the shadows.

—The Impending Crash of Waves—

Due to Porcelumex, a major manufacturing company, being involved in the Exaltists’ attack, the company was put under investigation. Phaethon got acquainted with two of the investigators, a young heiress named Alice and a mature woman named Isolde. A prank pulled on Alice brought them to Yuzuha, a member of the online forum Spook Shack, who joined them in investigating.

They discovered that one of the two leaders of Porcelumex had been funding Exaltist experiments, including one that tested on Yuzuha as a child. Isolde, revealed to be an undercover commander from the Self-Defense Force, helped them out of a tight spot.

—Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night—

The Self-Defense Force was called in to hunt down the Exaltists. Isolde was part of the main force, although there was a general present that took full command of the operation. Phaethon joined Isolde’s team and sought out Exaltist hideouts, only to discover Sarah managing strange devices.

As tensions rose, Isolde not only revealed that she was Mevorakh, the Exaltist overseer, she murdered the general because he had sacrificed her old squad to protect bureaucratic investments rather than civilians. Wise, Belle, and their allies thwarted Isolde’s plans, but were unable to save her in the end.

[As a side note: the “Isolde is Mevorakh” plot twist didn’t land for me for some reason. Her joining the Exaltists to exact revenge on the general, I can understand, but for her to be the head honcho? Maybe it was just too early in the storyline. I don’t know.]

In the aftermath, Phaethon and Sarah made progress on their personal goals. Phaethon discovered that their teacher had been working with the Exaltists. Sarah received the power of the overseer, ensnaring the interest of Ye Shiyuan, one of Phaethon’s friends from Yunkui Summit.

—Memories of Dreams Bygone—

Manato and Lucia, two members of the Spook Shack forum, brought Phaethon along as they investigated a new Hollow area. They discovered a community of Drowned Ideals, doppelgangers of trapped people that represented alternate life choices. This community was held together by Yidhari, a missing member of Spook Shack who could project past memories. Sarah had duped her into assisting with a plan to open a hidden door from the past. The team was able to rescue Yidhari and the trapped civilians, but were unable to pursue Sarah and Ye Shiyuan.

Yes, there is some storyline stacking happening in Season 2, but the latest chapter, Memories of Dreams Bygone, nearly broke the foundations the previous chapters laid. The focus jumped between so many people, it was difficult to determine whom the story was focused on. If Sarah’s involvement had not tied everything together, this chapter would have been a frayed mess.

This brings us to the common thread of the season, the one that has, surprisingly, weakened the narrative pull: Sarah. Like a villain from a Saturday morning cartoon, Sarah pops in with a scheme and then pops out unscathed. It honestly reminds me of the Skeletor meme, “Until we meet again!” The intrigue and suspense of Season 1 feels lost. Now it’s just, “Where’s Sarah, and what’s she up to this time?” Although the story is still engaging, it’s lost some of its edge.

Perhaps it was inevitable. When you have a faceless threat, the sense of danger increases. Once the threat has a face, you can calculate how to deal with it. The fear and apprehension dissipate. I saw this firsthand when telling a story to some students during a field trip. A monster in the dark terrorized a group of campers, which had the kids on the edge of their seats. However, once I described what the monster looked like, their interest waned. I had given the threat a face, therefore diminishing the tension.

In Season 1, we knew Sarah was working behind the scenes, orchestrating major developments. However, her true identity, allies, and motives were all unknown. Once those became clearer in Season 2, the mystery and intrigue lessened.

How can ZZZ fix this?

Well, like I said before, Season 2 is only halfway done. There are still some mysteries left to uncover. We know Sarah is seeking something called the Creator, but that doesn’t have a face yet. Ye Shiyuan seems to have turned traitor, but we don’t know his true intentions yet, either. As long as there are questions, players will stick around to find the answers. If the narrative team plays their cards right, we could be in for some big revelations.

Maybe, once this arc concludes, there will be new mysteries to solve (looking at you, Fairy).

We’ll just have to wait and see.