Hello, welcome to the second part of my duology about the game called Mind Zero. If you missed the first part, you can find it here Part 1 . Part 1 was more about people/companies behind Mind Zero and as I mentioned there, Part 2 is going to be more about the actual game. Don't forget that the game hasn't yet been released in English, and so all terms used in this article are not the official translations and it may (or may not) be different in the localized version.
Story
The story is set in the present , the main locations in the real world are Akihabara, Yokohama, Amamiya and Nippori. Yes, the real world", because that's not the only world in the game. The other is "crazy spirit(ual) world" (a free translation says something like " the world of wild spirits"), where MINDs (Mental Inside Nobody Dolls) resident and dungeon-crawling takes place. These two worlds are connected by "Doors."
What happens is that sometimes MINDs use Doors to enter the real world and possess someone (usually a mentally weak/depressed person) and then things get messy. The government refers to MIND as a drug and things seen by possessed people as halucinations. There is also a police investigation going on.
Being possessed in not the only way how to connect with MIND though, you can also be dragged to the antoher world and then The Undertaker forces you to pick a weapon (and there are many of them). The voice of MIND directs you to the right weapon. If you pick the right weapon, You become connected with your MIND and you can fight together. Your MIND will follow you everywhere, but only other MIND users will be able to see it. If you pick the wrong weapon, you will die.
To cut a long story short, main characters can summon MINDs and try to discover the mystery of MINDs. Fighting against enemies in the real world is not the only thing that concerns them, but it's also government that goes after them.
Characters
Playable characters:
Kei Takanashi - The main character of the game. Person who helps anyone in trouble. He is also pretty talkative.
Sana Chikage - A heroine of the game. Very responsible girl who enjoys sports.
Leo Asahina - Comic relief character. Very cheerful and indecisive.
Yoichi Ogata - A detective with a mysterious past who cooperates with the children.
Lina Albertine - A young, but very mature girl with a great knowledge about MINDs.
Kotone Shiragiku - A mysterious girl with a lack of confidence.
Other important characters:
Shizuku Kamina - A girl who likes stuffed animals. She can see other people's MINDs even though she summon hers.
Kanade Sakyo - A boy who who bewilders the crew with his words, which could be taken as either advice or prophecy.
Yukito Kujo - A boy who ran away from home on his own.
Reika Kisaki - A strong woman who keeps secrets from the group.
The Undertaker - A mysterious woman possessing items necessary to connect with MINDs.
Hiroaki Kamat - Veteran detective who is a part of the police force's MIND division.
Nobuhiko Watanabe - Kamata's subordinate
Playable characters. From the left: Kei Takanashi, Leo Asahina, Yoichi Ogata, Lina Albertine, Kotone Shiragiku, Sana Chikage
Gameplay
The spirit world:
Mind Zero is a first-person dungeon crawler. During battles you can see 3D models of characters. Battles in Mind Zero are command-based and you control 3 characters. You can summon your MIND (Mental Inside Nobody Dolls) in battle. You can use the normal (physical) attack or MINDs (simillar to Personas, but not same). But what are MINDs? Like I said before, they are residents of the spirit world, but let's have a look at them during the fight.
You can summon and hide MINDs by pressing "L" button whenever you want. When you summon MIND, you can do choose from variety of skills to do powerful attacks which will cost you MP (MIND Points). Or you can choose " MIND Guard", which will also cost you MP. It means that you will keep your MIND summoned after your turn and if the enemy attacks you, you won't lose any LP (Life Points), but MP instead to make up for it. Sounds cool, huh?
The important thing is to know is that if you won't refill your MP with some item, it will drop to zero. When your MP reaches zero, MIND Break will happen. The bad thing about MIND break is that it leaves you with a very limited options and without possibility to summon MIND for a while. That's why you especially in later Phases (the game is divided into Phases) of the game have to think about your actions and choose them wisely, otherwise it could be your death.
After clearing a dungeon , you can return there.
First-person dungeon crawling.
Battle. You can see the number if turn in the right bottom corner.
The real world:
You move around the town using the technique similar to the one in P3P. In a free time you can go to shops, talk to people (whose icons can be seen on the world map) or enter the spirit world.
There are 2 possibilities of talking to people. Green icon indicates an optional dialogue, not related to the story and red indicates a story related. Picking a dialogue with a red icon will lead to the progess in the story. Story-related dialogues in Mind Zero are fully voiced.
You are probably wondering if there are any "social links." The answer is no.
Why? It's simple. They don't need to be there, and actually, they can't be there, because MINDs are not Personas.
Moving around town. You can see a red icon indicating a story-related conversation.
Yes, it is. ^_^
Conclusion:
Despite the look and similar themes of this game, what is presented is more of a traditional or hardcore RPG experience. Closer to Persona 1 & 2, Etrian Odyssey, Wizardry & early SMT games, this one is more for people who enjoy first person dungeon crawling goodness!. If you would like to see some in-game footage, youtuber AginoEvolutionHD is your guy, check his channel.
Mind Zero comes out on May 27th in US ( both digital and retail version will be available) and Europe (digital-only).
God bless Aksys.
What about the voices? Dual audio? Jap only?
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