Hey everyone! I just finished Ch. 4 of the story on my stream tonight, and I definitely think the story is seeing vast improvements already. Better pacing, better characters, and the story actually seems to be going in a direction now more than before. My opinions on this game are already shifting to be more positive, especially with the 1.2 update! Upon release, ZZZ was a 6/10, in my own opinion. But with 1.2, I'm thinking it's a 7/10 with the story improvements and QOL improvements they've added. I'm looking forward to seeing the other improvements they're gonna add in the future updates!
zzz has some of the best writing in a Hoyogame, the people feel alive and interconnected through sheer coincidences of life, and create little communities that best showcase the humanity of this small region of their world. I personally do feel it's a lot more casual than other Hoyogames when it comes to combat incentives.
ZZZ definitely has a cool world and aesthetic. The NPCs, as a collective, are the best out of any Hoyo game for sure. Writing-wise, I think it's hard to say it has the "best" out of any Hoyogame, since the game has barely even had a story yet. Genshin and Star Rail have great writing (at times), but that's also because they've been around for longer than a year. I can see ZZZ's story accelerating, but for now, it's just been a bit slow pacing-wise (at least, the first 3 chapters). But that's just my opinion! ZZZ has only been out for 3 months, and just recently in the 1.2 update, there has been actual progress in the lore and in the story.
I mostly agree with your review besides your take on the story, you call it very inconsequencial without any major villains or any plot that seems to lead to major story development but I think that's just because of a lack of either reading through it or paying proper attention to it. By chapter 3 alone (together with the trailers released for the game) we already have established: Sarah, someone who seems a lot more involved in what's happening in New Eridu with some powerful connections, she seems to be more of an underling that the leader of whatever her group is. The Shiyu pillars likely eventually to fail as more and more etheric activity occurs. The moon is basically half hollow (this is a hoyo game the moon is obviously going to play a part at some point) Hollow Zero, ever growing and with a lot of mysteries. Whoever the fuck killed Koleda's dad after he found out the wrong thing(likely related to Sarah) The creators of fairy and the rest of the AIs that we'll probably collect or fight against in the future (Maybe related to Sarah) What purpose does fairy really have? What is Belle and Wise's reason to want to explore hollow zero and why are they so insistent on finding their teacher? Who is Victoria's Housekeeping employer and why did lycaon and rina consider disposing of phaeton? Probably another party interested in the same thing as Sarah's group or the same group. I really don't see how you can look at all the above and think "Eh, these are all smaller scale plots driven by the factions" These are all plot points that will obviously lead to much much bigger conflicts and the game will obviously get a lot more deep as it goes on. If you were to do the same review for genshin back when it released you'd say the same thing. Back during it's launch all we had was a few major players(Archons, celestia, Harbingers), a main goal(finding our sibling), a secondary goal(exploring teyvat) and a few more tidbits relating to the fall of Khaenri'ah. I'm not, of course, counting parts of the story that were really obscured at the beginning, like the hexenzirkle. The biggest difference, at least in my opinion, is that zzz seems to be going for more of a mystery story where you have to figure stuff out and tension will slowly build up until the point in all gets released, whereas genshin has a typical story structure.
Thanks for providing your thoughts! I definitely kept my thoughts on the story very limited in this video, largely because I didn't want this video to be excessively long and I wanted to keep it spoiler-free, for the most part. My criticisms and gripes w/ ZZZ's story could be an entire video on it's own (I might consider doing this since I'm noticing a lot of comments have been criticizing this part of the video). Ultimately, my main gripes with the plot/story of ZZZ is poor pacing, vague writing, and a cast that lacks intrigue outside of a few characters. I do enjoy story structures that build a mystery, however, ZZZ hasn't really done a great job setting many interesting mysteries (of course, that's just my opinion). In my pinned comment, I have stated that I think 1.2's content has been a huge improvement. The pacing in Ch.4 was much better + story beats and intriguing plot points were laid out much more concisely. I'm hoping they will continue to keep this up in the future, it's just such a shame that Ch 1-3 of ZZZ is pretty slow, especially to the average player. It definitely has turned a lot of people away from the game. For example, most people I've talked to in my Twitch community have agreed that the beginning of the game is pretty boring and have stopped playing altogether. That being said, I think ZZZ has a LOT of potential and I'm excited to see where the story is going to go, I'm staying optimistic about the game!
bruh 6/10, this game is by far the best action gatcha at the moment and maybe you should watch the story a little bit more deeply since yes, theres multiple short plots but there's also two main (secret?) plots. Each character has it's own story/design/personality and even some random NPC's have huge background, as you sayd the game is still young and we'll get more lore with time but can't blame the game for that yet. Beside that the combat system might be simple if you play casualy but there are multiple combos that you can play based on ennemy type/buid/team. And you actually need multiple team if you wanna complete 100% S rank every mission (oustide story lines) and it might be hard if you're going free to play but doable. As a game it can be a 6 or 7/10 but as a gatcha it's definitely at least an 8/10. The game is well polished and there's a lot of details that devellopers put effort in it that most ppl wont see (ex: npc scrolling on their phone are actualy scrolling on a phone).
That's awesome you're enjoying the game this much, I think ZZZ's strong points are incredibly strong, especially in regards to the combat. Check my pinned comment. As my opinions on this game have already changed a bit since I recorded and edited this video. As for the story (pre-Ch. 4), I think the biggest problem was the pacing. I think it's important for games to hook the players early into the game, and I think ZZZ had a very slow start. The first three chapters have decent moments, but nothing super interesting imo. I agree the NPCs are great, both design and personality-wise, they are probably the best out of any Hoyo game. Playable character-wise, there just hasn't been much depth with the characters (yet). Ch.4 has seen improvement of that already, though. Sorry if my video got you heated! I just wanted to be critical and express honest opinions, since I think this game has potential to be exceptional, especially in the gacha game genre.
12:14 I stored all my pulls to get Jane cause I want people who punch or kick. However. I didn't know she was gonna be so odd looking while she fights. Like when you can't see anything she's super cool just flying around and spinning and what not, but when you win fights the game freeze frames. You just always see her butt/cooch. 6/7 freeze frames are not cool looking. Just her butt just right at the screen or one leg trying to touch the ceiling but the camera zooms so hard on her cooch. After a while i just try to see if i get lucky and get a cool position. A few rare ones are still lame and she's pretty much on all fours with like one leg in the air. I don't super get what their idea was when ending her attacks, but they super suck. I would rather she just T pose 50% of the time. At least then i'd stop getting hard zoom ins of butt. As a gay guy, its very distracting.
Hello its me exaggeration. Also if just dont play her then? If there is anything then it is that she is jst femme fatale and they really embraced that. They went the exact opposite with ceasar, nobody complains there. Also what does this have to do with being gay? huh? Another dude trying to get their lgbtq agenda into games. TLDR; Dude writes paragraphs about the game especially jane being oversexualized and is annoyed by it because he is gay
if you are a gay guy, you should have tried to get Lycaon or saved for Lighter which, funny enough, are the only S-rank males that only do kick or punch
Add more context to ratings like this, a 6/10 in comparison to what? what is the 10/10, 5/10/,0/10 games that ZZZ is being compared to. what improvements or elements does the game lack that brings it down? It has end game content, plenty for a gacha game, while not more than star rail, it definitely has more than Genshin. the story already is better than the first 3 regions of Genshin in my opinion. Genshin also only has a few select characters from each region that aren't forgettable, with their story missions also being optional. A skip button does not make a story worse, nor does it say anything about the writing/pacing/impact of the story, it's just an added feature if you aren't a player who cares for the story. If you want to talk about being hooked in, ZZZ's intro quest line is far better than Genshin's by a substantial margin. The fast paced action sequences, comedy, cutscenes, etc make you fall in love with the cast despite not knowing anything about then, Genshin's however starts you with showing you the world and hoping you stick around just for that because the characters are seriously lacking at the beginning. Nobody cares for amber, lisa, keaya, etc and you don't get their lore unless you delve into manga content. The game is far better than the 6/10 rating you gave and your reasoning seems to fall off when compared to other titles in the hoyoverse space.
I would love to make another video explaining my rating a bit more thoroughly My rating is based on how the game holds up as a whole. Also, please bear in mind a 6/10 is still a positive rating. I think the game is good, but can see some improvements. I think it lacks a lot of elements that made Genshin and Star Rail so gripping to many players. This includes story + gameplay pacing, engaging characters, and other small mentions that were in the video. ZZZ, objectively, is Hoyo's least popular action RPG right now (despite it still being very popular), a huge part of this video was finding an idea of why that might be. Also, please keep in mind my rating is subjective and my OWN rating. If you're enjoying the game to a 7/10+ level, that's great! I can see why, ZZZ is very polished and has a great foundation. Also checked my pinned, I think 1.2 content has already been a step-up.
Hey everyone!
I just finished Ch. 4 of the story on my stream tonight, and I definitely think the story is seeing vast improvements already. Better pacing, better characters, and the story actually seems to be going in a direction now more than before.
My opinions on this game are already shifting to be more positive, especially with the 1.2 update! Upon release, ZZZ was a 6/10, in my own opinion. But with 1.2, I'm thinking it's a 7/10 with the story improvements and QOL improvements they've added.
I'm looking forward to seeing the other improvements they're gonna add in the future updates!
zzz has some of the best writing in a Hoyogame, the people feel alive and interconnected through sheer coincidences of life, and create little communities that best showcase the humanity of this small region of their world. I personally do feel it's a lot more casual than other Hoyogames when it comes to combat incentives.
ZZZ definitely has a cool world and aesthetic. The NPCs, as a collective, are the best out of any Hoyo game for sure.
Writing-wise, I think it's hard to say it has the "best" out of any Hoyogame, since the game has barely even had a story yet. Genshin and Star Rail have great writing (at times), but that's also because they've been around for longer than a year. I can see ZZZ's story accelerating, but for now, it's just been a bit slow pacing-wise (at least, the first 3 chapters). But that's just my opinion!
ZZZ has only been out for 3 months, and just recently in the 1.2 update, there has been actual progress in the lore and in the story.
I mostly agree with your review besides your take on the story, you call it very inconsequencial without any major villains or any plot that seems to lead to major story development but I think that's just because of a lack of either reading through it or paying proper attention to it. By chapter 3 alone (together with the trailers released for the game) we already have established:
Sarah, someone who seems a lot more involved in what's happening in New Eridu with some powerful connections, she seems to be more of an underling that the leader of whatever her group is.
The Shiyu pillars likely eventually to fail as more and more etheric activity occurs.
The moon is basically half hollow (this is a hoyo game the moon is obviously going to play a part at some point)
Hollow Zero, ever growing and with a lot of mysteries.
Whoever the fuck killed Koleda's dad after he found out the wrong thing(likely related to Sarah)
The creators of fairy and the rest of the AIs that we'll probably collect or fight against in the future (Maybe related to Sarah)
What purpose does fairy really have?
What is Belle and Wise's reason to want to explore hollow zero and why are they so insistent on finding their teacher?
Who is Victoria's Housekeeping employer and why did lycaon and rina consider disposing of phaeton? Probably another party interested in the same thing as Sarah's group or the same group.
I really don't see how you can look at all the above and think "Eh, these are all smaller scale plots driven by the factions"
These are all plot points that will obviously lead to much much bigger conflicts and the game will obviously get a lot more deep as it goes on. If you were to do the same review for genshin back when it released you'd say the same thing. Back during it's launch all we had was a few major players(Archons, celestia, Harbingers), a main goal(finding our sibling), a secondary goal(exploring teyvat) and a few more tidbits relating to the fall of Khaenri'ah. I'm not, of course, counting parts of the story that were really obscured at the beginning, like the hexenzirkle.
The biggest difference, at least in my opinion, is that zzz seems to be going for more of a mystery story where you have to figure stuff out and tension will slowly build up until the point in all gets released, whereas genshin has a typical story structure.
Thanks for providing your thoughts!
I definitely kept my thoughts on the story very limited in this video, largely because I didn't want this video to be excessively long and I wanted to keep it spoiler-free, for the most part. My criticisms and gripes w/ ZZZ's story could be an entire video on it's own (I might consider doing this since I'm noticing a lot of comments have been criticizing this part of the video).
Ultimately, my main gripes with the plot/story of ZZZ is poor pacing, vague writing, and a cast that lacks intrigue outside of a few characters. I do enjoy story structures that build a mystery, however, ZZZ hasn't really done a great job setting many interesting mysteries (of course, that's just my opinion).
In my pinned comment, I have stated that I think 1.2's content has been a huge improvement. The pacing in Ch.4 was much better + story beats and intriguing plot points were laid out much more concisely. I'm hoping they will continue to keep this up in the future, it's just such a shame that Ch 1-3 of ZZZ is pretty slow, especially to the average player. It definitely has turned a lot of people away from the game. For example, most people I've talked to in my Twitch community have agreed that the beginning of the game is pretty boring and have stopped playing altogether.
That being said, I think ZZZ has a LOT of potential and I'm excited to see where the story is going to go, I'm staying optimistic about the game!
bruh 6/10, this game is by far the best action gatcha at the moment and maybe you should watch the story a little bit more deeply since yes, theres multiple short plots but there's also two main (secret?) plots. Each character has it's own story/design/personality and even some random NPC's have huge background, as you sayd the game is still young and we'll get more lore with time but can't blame the game for that yet. Beside that the combat system might be simple if you play casualy but there are multiple combos that you can play based on ennemy type/buid/team. And you actually need multiple team if you wanna complete 100% S rank every mission (oustide story lines) and it might be hard if you're going free to play but doable.
As a game it can be a 6 or 7/10 but as a gatcha it's definitely at least an 8/10. The game is well polished and there's a lot of details that devellopers put effort in it that most ppl wont see (ex: npc scrolling on their phone are actualy scrolling on a phone).
That's awesome you're enjoying the game this much, I think ZZZ's strong points are incredibly strong, especially in regards to the combat.
Check my pinned comment. As my opinions on this game have already changed a bit since I recorded and edited this video.
As for the story (pre-Ch. 4), I think the biggest problem was the pacing. I think it's important for games to hook the players early into the game, and I think ZZZ had a very slow start. The first three chapters have decent moments, but nothing super interesting imo.
I agree the NPCs are great, both design and personality-wise, they are probably the best out of any Hoyo game. Playable character-wise, there just hasn't been much depth with the characters (yet). Ch.4 has seen improvement of that already, though.
Sorry if my video got you heated! I just wanted to be critical and express honest opinions, since I think this game has potential to be exceptional, especially in the gacha game genre.
Tears of Themis reference?????
12:14 I stored all my pulls to get Jane cause I want people who punch or kick. However. I didn't know she was gonna be so odd looking while she fights. Like when you can't see anything she's super cool just flying around and spinning and what not, but when you win fights the game freeze frames. You just always see her butt/cooch. 6/7 freeze frames are not cool looking. Just her butt just right at the screen or one leg trying to touch the ceiling but the camera zooms so hard on her cooch. After a while i just try to see if i get lucky and get a cool position. A few rare ones are still lame and she's pretty much on all fours with like one leg in the air. I don't super get what their idea was when ending her attacks, but they super suck. I would rather she just T pose 50% of the time. At least then i'd stop getting hard zoom ins of butt. As a gay guy, its very distracting.
Hello its me exaggeration. Also if just dont play her then? If there is anything then it is that she is jst femme fatale and they really embraced that. They went the exact opposite with ceasar, nobody complains there.
Also what does this have to do with being gay? huh? Another dude trying to get their lgbtq agenda into games.
TLDR; Dude writes paragraphs about the game especially jane being oversexualized and is annoyed by it because he is gay
if you are a gay guy, you should have tried to get Lycaon or saved for Lighter which, funny enough, are the only S-rank males that only do kick or punch
@@ME-xc1st trust, I am and did. Im saving for lighter next
Who licks an apple?
somebody eating a very moist apple apparently
Add more context to ratings like this, a 6/10 in comparison to what? what is the 10/10, 5/10/,0/10 games that ZZZ is being compared to. what improvements or elements does the game lack that brings it down? It has end game content, plenty for a gacha game, while not more than star rail, it definitely has more than Genshin. the story already is better than the first 3 regions of Genshin in my opinion. Genshin also only has a few select characters from each region that aren't forgettable, with their story missions also being optional. A skip button does not make a story worse, nor does it say anything about the writing/pacing/impact of the story, it's just an added feature if you aren't a player who cares for the story. If you want to talk about being hooked in, ZZZ's intro quest line is far better than Genshin's by a substantial margin. The fast paced action sequences, comedy, cutscenes, etc make you fall in love with the cast despite not knowing anything about then, Genshin's however starts you with showing you the world and hoping you stick around just for that because the characters are seriously lacking at the beginning. Nobody cares for amber, lisa, keaya, etc and you don't get their lore unless you delve into manga content. The game is far better than the 6/10 rating you gave and your reasoning seems to fall off when compared to other titles in the hoyoverse space.
I would love to make another video explaining my rating a bit more thoroughly
My rating is based on how the game holds up as a whole. Also, please bear in mind a 6/10 is still a positive rating. I think the game is good, but can see some improvements. I think it lacks a lot of elements that made Genshin and Star Rail so gripping to many players. This includes story + gameplay pacing, engaging characters, and other small mentions that were in the video.
ZZZ, objectively, is Hoyo's least popular action RPG right now (despite it still being very popular), a huge part of this video was finding an idea of why that might be.
Also, please keep in mind my rating is subjective and my OWN rating. If you're enjoying the game to a 7/10+ level, that's great! I can see why, ZZZ is very polished and has a great foundation. Also checked my pinned, I think 1.2 content has already been a step-up.