[1.0] Beginner's Lore Guide to Zenless Zone Zero - Spoiler Free!

Only one month to go! Pre-register for Zenless Zone Zero ‪@ZZZ_Official‬ here: hoyo.link/foOiFuAL
I love, love, LOVE the premise and aesthetics of this game, but as a lore enthusiast, I wasn't sure what to expect. But I have done some digging and my dudes - let's just say the story is gonna be a banger! So in preparation for the game's launch, here's a beginner's guide to New Eridu!
*TIMESTAMPS*
00:00 Intro
01:00 New Eridu
02:40 Hollows
04:55 Ether & Ethereals
06:15 Agents, Investigators & Proxies
07:56 Carrots
08:40 Wise & Belle, AKA Phaethon
09:10 Bangboos
10:21 Speculations & Theories
*CITATIONS & ATTRIBUTIONS*
Azrial Vanity was kind enough to let me borrow some footage from later in the game that I didn't have. He has also made a Lore Guide covering some different topics!
• [1.0] A Starter Guide ...
pastebin.com/ZypyysVK

[@Truck-kun11]

How much do you want to bet that we will go to the Moon in the future to deal with some SUPER HOLLOW that will swallow the entire earth?

[@AB-jt4rs]

Almost certainly. It could be saved for 2.0 or even a later major update, but there's no way we're not going to there

[@bencegergohocz5988]

I mean... the whole dark side of the moon is a big ass hollow. That seems pretty obvious to be honest.

[@Captain.Mystic]

Heart of ember, autumntide Cooling swiftly, bleeding light Smoldering softly, biding time Marching forward, left behind

[@IMtiredal]

I mean, Hoyo seems to love the moon so much. Wouldn't really be a surprise

[@mr_daz]

or it could be the "spiral abyss" mode of this game.

[@Ali-cya]

It wouldn't be a HoYo game without metric tons of lore, world-building, foreshadowing and real world references. Which I absolutely adore.

[@brennanwn]

7:27 - 8:04 They look so cute 🥰

[@brennanwn]

8:40 - 9:36 Love the detail of these little critters

[@poliwb1]

society advances, disaster decends, society rebuilds, uses the energy from the disaster. wait, it's just honkai 🤣

[@LeoSora]

Always has been 👨‍🚀🔫

[@CaCtuSnyan]

wait, it's just genshin

[@RenardAgrume]

Wait..it's just Evangelion

[@kylekaeo6043]

@@CaCtuSnyangenshin is just honkai too

[@crunchylettuce]

wait, it's just wuwa

[@julijanamitchell6917]

I will forever remain with my impression that ZZZ in gameplay feels like what HI3 would've been if mihoyo had the budget then that they have now. Also, if everything said here sounds like honkai and honkai energy, consider that the final boss of cbt2 was literally pink, white, and black, like a classic honkai beast. Even the average ethereal's green & grey colour scheme resembles the colour scheme of the honkai beasts created by the Herrscher of Corruption. And there is not a doubt in my mind that the moon will be a major destination, if not the final one, in a few years' time. From FlyMe2theMoon to HI3 to ZZZ, there is no celestial body mihoyo has shown a bigger obsession with than the moon.

[@Anopano3000]

and the three moon sisters in genshin, too!

[@maccavann8519]

Same with me, I always thought with ZZZ that this is what they wanted to do in terms of graphics and animation and combat if they had the budget during that era for Honkai Impact 3rd at that time. Clearly you can see the vision and the similarities.

[@julijanamitchell6917]

@@Anopano3000 i skipped over the other games because i didn't want my comment to just turn into a list of all hoyo games, but yes, _all_ hoyo games are fixated on the moon

[@bbysiea]

@@julijanamitchell6917 it's not a hoyo game without a reference to the moon and real life mythology somewhere!

[@heppelhopv2]

@@Anopano3000 also liyue and mondstadt translate to "moon city" in their respect languages

[@kuroro9589]

Hoyoverse and the moon are basically married, so I hope Kiana has prepared seats for all of Hoyo’s MCs on the moon. anyway another great video from Ashi, thankyou for the hard work💥

[@arnowisp6244]

🌙🌙🌙

[@joshbrosh6626]

Its been there since their 1st published game Which focused on kiana flying to the moon with your help Idk much about ggz becouse couldnt play it but there is probably moon stuff there too Hi3rd the moon plays a major role Genshin has 3 moons in lore playing significant role and a crimson moon we see in lumine animated short where she runs Hsr has a moon focus on jingliu her Idk more then that for hsr becouse havent went into lore And now zzz having moon stuff Moonoverse

[@arnowisp6244]

@@joshbrosh6626 Hoyoverse are Lunatics.

[@heppelhopv2]

@@joshbrosh6626 Wanted to add more for genshin.Most of the names of the regions mean something along the lines of "moon city" or related to the moon if translated in English

[@joshbrosh6626]

@@heppelhopv2 corect Most of the cities have moon conections Heres another fun fact Most of the big events conect to the moon And then theres the eclipse moon hilichrull group in mondstadt

[@arnowisp6244]

Bruh. Hoyoverse really loves the Idea of an Old Previous and More Advance Civilizations in there games.

[@myshrinkingviolet2]

Oh, it's just not Hoyoverse. This trope is EVERYWHERE! Even Western stories contain so much of it.

[@heppelhopv2]

This game seems more modern.And it's not that bad

[@goodietwoshoes7238]

it's a common trope tbf.

[@sharodnowshadabdullah3598]

@@arnowisp6244 It's this really specific kind of obsession that I just absolutely adore. Bungie does this same thing across Marathon, Halo and Destiny, and I would argue they and Hoyo pull on some similar threads when building their worlds.

[@foxwhistle]

9:25 Billy is the only known AI (that we the player have met so far) to pass the Foribidden Fruit Test which means Billy has free will and an ego, which Bangboos do not!

[@LittleTilde]

I was already looking forward to this game for many reasons but lore was not one of them before. Needless to say that has changed. Should never have doubted the Hoyo lords of lore cooking.

[@spreadhappiness3250]

Same I was debating playing it because I thought it would just would be a simple city story but I didn't expect all of this

[@idyotako]

I'm sorry... am I dreaming? Did Ashikai just put out a Zenless Zone Zero video??? OK... now she's just spoiling us. And I'll eat it all up! Thank you Ashikai!

[@donut1550]

But the title says no spoilers

[@ultimate1450]

@@donut1550 haha

[@mguitar3931]

No matter how many times I watched it, i cannot get enough of Bell's animation its such a unique blend of Pixar and Anime!

[@_Nyxus_]

I'm incredibly impressed by the leaps and bounds Hoyo has made in animation. Just looking at how fluid and animated this is, from the hair and body movements to the attention of the eyes moving. Damn I'm so excited about this!

[@Fullmetal_Gacha]

The hollows on the moon are so cool to me because the fact that they chose to show them hints that we might go there at some point.

[@thomashou9082]

pray i have storage

[@pandabugdiaries2384]

You and me both

[@idaniluz652]

I pray my CPU is good enough for this game

[@rayok_zed]

For those of us in developing nations, I hope I have enough cash to buy a large enough data plan. 🫠

[@sanjeethmahendrakar]

It's not exactly an expansive open world like genshin so you should be fine I guess. I doubt it'll take more space than the honkai games.

[@kyokosakura3192]

​@@idaniluz652It doesn't have an open world, so it should be fine.

[@EwWeather]

I am SO excited for this game and I adore of you covered and mentioned it’s ancient civilization/mythology references! You’re currently the only person talking about it and my inner high school freshman is screaming cause it’s such an interesting way to call back to it in a post apocalyptic sci-fi universe!!

[@AzrialVanity]

ZZZ LORE GO BRRRRR

[@wildfire_]

Is it me or does hollow just sound like an alternate version to honkai? Same thing with the abyss in genshin. There’s probably a reason

[@midnashadow8439]

Maybe but I think I remember seeing that Hoyo confirmed that ZZZ is actually not a part of the Honkai universe so who knows

[@mzshmkn]

just knowing that an ashikai lore video is already out before the game even started would pretty much just condition me to concentrate on the story once it launches so i could get back to this video and see whether i actually understood the central themes

[@user-nd8ke1sv4t]

The art style is really distinctive, and I think it's one of the most unique in the whole Hoyo games lineup. Also, both main characters are involved in the main story, which is different from other games where you only get to choose one and the other one disappears (self insert mc yuck). I think it would be better if we didn't get to choose the main character if they're not involved in the main story. I'm glad ZZZ didn't do that because both MCs are involved in the main story.

[@Raaaycat]

whenever souls and fruits are mentioned together I remember that "alma" means "soul" in Spanish and "apple" in Hungarian lmao

[@airhead1320]

Crack Theory: The Hollows may be the Honkai but named and manifested differently. While there's no evidence that this is in the same universe/tree as other Hoyo games as "expies" are non-existent for now, GGZ confirmed that Honkai were actually parasitic and originally from outside the established Imaginary Tree. So it's still possible ZZZ is another separate Honkai-infected universe/tree within the Hoyo multiverse.

[@billcosbee2057]

Nah it's a totally valid theory. One of Sa's dialogues about the cataclysm that destroyed her home planet already confirms that the Honkai exists in most, if not all universes-it just goes by different names with each iteration because naming conventions are naturally gonna be different across cultures and dimensions (they called it the Abyss in her world).

[@IMtiredal]

But didn't Hoyo say ZZZ is not connected to Honkai

[@kitkat3762]

Proxies in cn are also called "ropesmiths" which makes me think of the myth of theseus and the minotaur where theseus was able to escape from daedalus's maze thanks to the thread Ariadne gave him to help him find his way out, Also I love the term "forbidden fruit test" because its such an efficient form of worldbuilding, the name does the work of like a paragraph of exposition. My personal interpretation is that the forbidden fruit test entails presenting an ai with a garden of eden situation, the same situation presented to adam and eve, and if they take the fruit it means they have some level of self awareness because they did the same thing as the first humans of the myth. (I find it somewhat interesting the contrast too that usually presenting someone with this situation is a test for morality where taking the forbidden fruit is a failure, where here instead its a sign of being a person or being on your way to becoming a person)

[@TheOnlyRinzy]

Thank you for the Kerning City ost, didn't realize how much that fit this game lol.

[@jonesaholic]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed!!! I feel so old lol

[@ichibanbento]

WOOO ZZZ IM AwAKE FOR THIS! I LOOOVE MYTHOLOGY

[@PoolNoodleGundam]

More excited for ZZZ than any of its predecessors. Extremely pleased to see the lore being covered.

[@JohnCivor]

I cant wait to play.. im more interested on this game lore/story than HSR and surprised you said that this one have the best story writing in all hoyo games.. now im more excited.

[@pksllayer]

That Kerning City OST brings back memories from 15 years ago!

[@TheBeardenedBear]

before this, i was like: "ok, the game seems decent, lets try it and see" now im like: "im actually impressed, ima be all in!!" dont fall into the same trap many others have, make them sponsor you xD

[@alexanderericson8628]

Honey it's time again. Yeah bring the popcorn will you

[@Cj-tu7jj]

Everytime I play archon quest and trailblaze continuance, I always bring a drink and finger foods😅🤩. And ZZZ is different I feel like I'm watching a movie or anime.

[@andrewroberts7638]

All these hoyo hating content creators: ZZZ has no story Ashikai: hold my beer

[@princen632]

Well to be fair most content creators just play the game then call it the whole story without actually looking at the informations left on the item description because they don't have time to read

[@ChaosFlute]

Hmm. I don't think I'll be playing ZZZ, but I'll be happy to watch any more videos you make on it! Sounds like it's going to have a good story.

[@NatWarrior1]

Wanted to ask in the comments what the difference between either sibling is like because i heard if you choose one sibling then you'll actually see the other sibling talk on screen a lot more and was just wondering if there are any other differences between choosing them. I like both of them tbh so i dont think it'll matter anyways but I'm just curious 💀

[@Eenkin]

Which sibling you didn't pick will basically be your assistant navigator and have a lot more lines in the story and gameplay. Other than that, I think some flavor text are different for the siblings when observing some stuff in the hub world. When playing through the story however, dialogue doesn't change regardless of which sibling you picked. It's just who says it will be different.

[@rapstarselo97]

Another belief about the Nazar Amulet is that, they do not ward off the bad energy, instead it absorbs the bad energy rather than the person who is wearing the amulet.

[@justinbailey1669]

So excited for ZZZ, even more excited after watching this!!

[@franyard8783]

Tysm for making a lore video on ZZZ, I was completely disinterested in it but I am now genuinely excited for where this game's story could go. Definitely gonna at least try it out

[@genznnGaming]

Looking forward to ZZZ, thanks for making lore videos on it and making us interested in lore

[@hanniquinn]

So excited for ZZZ and I'm so happy you're making videos on it bc you're by far one of my fave KZbinrs (': can't wait to see what theories you come up with for it

[@Sagiso511]

Amazing video, as always. ✨

[@piggletimpact]

Im so happy to see this as I haven’t been able to watch your Genshin videos for a while since I got major burnout and didn’t even start Fontaine

[@hoobop]

I can't wait for this game!! I am beyond hyped!!

[@DirecDelta]

You can always count on mHY to have in-depth lore and complex world building in their games. It's something that just can't be easily duplicated in other games. And it's such a treat to have Ashikai explain it for all to enjoy! Thank you so much.

[@bh.d.ravenous]

SO GLAD YOURE COVERING THE LORE!

[@yudhihi]

YESSSSS I'm so happy you are goint to cover zzz too! Yay!!

[@Dophish]

Great video, thank you for the upload! :) Also, 2:40 Kerning City theme, I see you! Good taste ^^

[@ReelRai]

I really hope they nail the combat in this game. I hope they can make it satisfying, challenging enough and with a high skill ceiling, cause I'm already loving the vibe and world of ZZZ.

[@kae9831]

this game is almost perfect now

[@CuriusGorg]

Ashikai: ZENLESS ZONE ZERO LORE My brain: this game looks like that one cat game stray

[@sirinkprialnik]

OM SO EXCITED FOR ZZZ❤❤❤

[@Lukz243]

I don't know if ZZZ will click for me, but I'm trusting your opinions and excitement.

[@_Nyxus_]

I am incredibly excited for this game. It looks so good and hearing that it's got a good story just makes me hyped.

[@patrulhadomultiverso5562]

this really got me into the game

[@PigeonSuWi]

Ashikai you are a genius. I really hope you will cover this game's lore too when it comes out!

[@dezthepleb]

I am so excited!

[@sylvinc3251]

Can't wait to play ZZZ 😊

[@bobbywibowo]

I did not expect a lore video already

[@chito2701]

i'm looking forward to zenless, combat seems to be very fun and the lore looks very interesting.

[@nrtamim21]

Wtf is happening in this comment section..never seen a fandom bully people for not playing a game and not acting in it ( even though the person wasn't even invited to voice )... Wuwa is a fun game I'm enjoying it but holy shit these people are making the community so toxic.

[@Aegisu]

They're seeking validation, since well, most of their CCs just cover drama instead of their game itself. Hopefully in a month, once the honeymoon has pass, they'll stop with this pathetic behavior.

[@ShadowyLycan990]

Another detail that maybe interest you: the moon is a hollow I've got into the beta a month ago and yeah it makes me wondered, does Hollow disaster happened in all of the universe and just leaves New Eridu in the earth.

[@theblackunicorn261]

My hoyo friends on discord and I were just discussing the lore of ZZZ, and you dropped this video at the perfect time

[@lisitchkajojo]

Hoyo never disappoints with their lore! Great video 🩷 excited for this game, I’m very intrigued now haha.

[@dimension_1008]

when i heard about the hollows i knew it was probably either a version of the honkai or the abyss. in honkai impact third there was the honkai from the imaginary tree and the abyss from the sea of quanta, in honkai star rail there are the aeons who don't serve for either the imaginary tree or sea of quanta and in genshin impact there's celestia which is probably from the imaginary tree and the abyss which is probably from the sea of quanta. the world of ZZZ is most likely another world threatened by the imaginary tree or the sea of quanta which is the multiverse they exist in. im not sure wether the hollows are imaginary or quantum though.

[@TravelerSaniar]

0:20 this is the hottest most flaming and blazing take that set the entire universe on fire ever

[@WinstorFoo]

I can hear Kerning City Ost played in the BG. Nostalgia indeed And definitely suits ZZZ vibes

[@thecoldsavage759]

Mad respect for using the Maple Story Kerning City ost at 3 mins in. 2006 was a good time for that game.

[@OhItsNekoAgain]

Every Hoyoverse game is a love letter to Evangelion over and over again.

[@AnArtistInAVoid]

One of the things that I immediately thought of when you mentioned the hollows being like “bubble worlds” was the sea of quanta and the imaginary tree, from hoyoverse’s other games Not sure how it relates to ZZZ, but it’s just somethin that came to mind.

[@hanipierce5710]

Can't wait for this game

[@_black_bird]

Man, with the usual Ashi video length this one passed so fast 😭 I need moooooreeeeee

[@ankurraina2730]

Damn I was going into this game for combat alone didn't think it would have good lore too.

[@pete4416]

I knew you're gonna make this video :D

[@anibalscott]

dashiki I love ur channel pls don't die

[@Orinmaxden]

Alright you got me. I'll pre register!

[@eh9618]

2:49 a good way to explain hollows is like JJK's domain expansions, as the space in it warps, its basically a domain

[@Nerakhi]

Don't have capacity for another gacha but looking forward to the lore coverage from your channel if you choose to do so!

[@Felderk5]

ZZZ is going to be a secret banger

[@markmarkmark08]

Lezzz go ZZZ 💪

[@Crossbowpeople]

Lets go yay!

[@Dimmy786]

Ashikai uploaded again? Let’s gooooooo!

[@BladeBloodTear]

Very excited to know your lore info will continue into another hoyo game. Honestly without your videos i would have dropped genshin long ago from not being able to stomach through the walls and walls of unvoiced text and the voiced events happening in such wide gaps from each other i struggle to remember the context

[@kevinstar4621]

im so fkn excited for this game dude

[@BlueDaisy33]

Yay lore! Also that computer eye looks like the evil eye charm Edit: lol literally 2 min after I comment that you explain it in the video

[@Shikasu_966]

Aghhh les GOOO the queen of HOYO lore is at it again 🎉🎉🎉

[@ivangalv]

I'm gonna watch this once the Game is out

[@presmadagascar]

I appreciate the Kerning City music

[@scaranpannoir]

Hm, first thoughts: Genshin: Aether has a twin, and you could play as either of them. HSR: Aether is condensed into a small vial, used as a leveling material. ZZZ: Aether is a dangerous substance (?) within the Hollow. Aether is everywhere.

[@PsychoXP]

Is that Maplestory's Kerning City BGM I hear 😍

[@Ruledragon]

"This game has the best writing out of any hoyoverse game thus far" kinda curious now since so far and IMO, HI3rd still holds the crown on that department.

[@criccode2993]

I will save it and watch it after playing the story of 1.0

[@viralm06]

Thank you

[@friendlygamers1743]

:0 Thanks Ashikai :D

[@d2cmp]

Pretty interesting lore to begin with

[@rawr30009]

Hoyoverse and their obsession with the moon.😭😭

[@verycloverz]

one of their old games was literally called "FlyMe2theMoon"

[@cmdrwilkens]

I honestly haven't really been excited about ZZZ much (aside from the fact that Anby looks awesome and I love her deadpan) mostly because I came to it with the same expectations you mentioned at the beginning. Now though I am now legitimately intrigued so pre-registration it is.

[@oscara8454]

I think I want the Bangboos more than the characters lol.

[@aoihitori]

I won't be playing gacha again but Lore videos are very welcome in my plate. They put all of their animation budget on this game huh.

[@dodoliy4678]

Here comes the golden age of ashikai videos

[@ghelcarreon]

Woah!!!! ZZZ lore???

[@marstic]

new ashikai vid dropped i can breathe again

[@KeppieLipt]

This is the first video I've seen of cut scenes for wise every youtuber choose belle 😞, his expressions are so silly definitely choosing him now👨‍💻

[@pipedream2556]

Im REALLY excited by the idea of Hoyo having main characters eith an actual story going on, Honkai Impact proved they could do some really good storytelling but the gameplay really didnt do it for me, while Genshin's mc is mostly just a means to an end for whatever adventured they want to use to introduce new character to us, and Star Rail is...doing more eith the player character and has a core team of main characters around them with rhe Crew, but so far theyre not doing much with that, still so focused on showing us glimpses of whats going on with pullable characters instead of going in depth with anyone. Wise and Belle having a proper history that we will be learning more about as the mysteries progress offers an opportunity for a real focused story without sacrificing the constant stream of new characters that Hoyo bases its games around since Honkai Impact, because theyll still be constantly set up to be hired by new Raiders as their Proxy, meeting new characters in a high stakes situation that could endear us to them enough to pull is built in to what the siblings are doing without sacrificing that theyve got their own story for us to get invested in!!

[@17Envy17]

So idk if anyone mentioned it in the comments, but yes, the type of metal an android/machine with AI is made of affects its Ether corruption. I found it on the official site iirc.

[@brennanwn]

13:19 - 13:46 Mythlogical references . YAY😮😅