[1.0 ZZZ] Beginner's Lore Guide to Zenless Zone Zero

[@Ashikai]

**NOTES & CORRECTIONS** - Just to clarify something I think I didn't state well: Hollow Zero is NOT the FIRST Hollow ever. It was the first Hollow in New Eridu (as far as we know) so that statement isn't completely wrong, but it can easily be confused as saying it was the first Hollow. The Zero in its name is likely because it was "ground zero" for the Hollow Disaster that destroyed the old capital. - This script was written during the third beta and nothing in it has "changed" exactly, but it IS worth noting that several scenes, quests, and even a couple cutscenes that are in the final game were NOT present in the last beta. Things like Fairy being one of four AI keys for example, was not in CBT3. This video is just meant to be an introduction to the general world building though, so the omissions shouldn't matter TOO much for now so I'm going to leave this labeled as v1.0 instead of vCBT3 because the information in it is still correct to the best of my knowledge (having finished playing through the live game).

[@Winter-27]

Hopefully you can make a follow up with the lore trailer. I've seen way too many people saying the Seven are 100% dead but as we see later in the story the Hollow disaster can't be more than a decade or two ago (Koleda and Phaethon being the biggest sign). The lore is really hooking me, hopefully you'll cover it more in the future! [CH. 3 Spoiler] Have you or anyone else found anything about the Outer Ring Perlman escaped to? It wasnt really out of the question but it was nice to confirm that there are pockets of civilization or at least survivable areas out of New Eridu. Can't have a post apocalyptic story without these random safe zones.

[@sun_spyro9537]

i want to add that when i looked at the moon for the first time in the alleyway behind godfinger arcade just to the right of the moon there is a giant shimmering orb i think is a giant hollow just hanging in the sky

[@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

[@quantranhong1092]

I wish they'll have cameo for almond water in ether resistance thing 😂

[@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

[@mr_daz]

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

[@albangashi2969]

Wow I love it ❤❤❤

[@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

[@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!

[@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

[@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

[@kylekaeo]

@@CaCtuSnyangenshin is just honkai too

[@crunchylettuce]

wait, it's just wuwa

[@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.

[@renno2679]

It's always about how older civilizations with high tech get humbled by some supernatural power lol

[@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.

[@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!!

[@pokelover02]

Tysm for mentioning the Mesopotamian stuff! I knew Eridu sounded familiar, and I had a feeling Fairy’s “eye” is based on the nazar amulet 🧿 Happy I wasn’t just making things up in my head

[@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)

[@aerissai8341]

You were right, as you are most of the time. Zenless does have the best beginning plot as of right now. Specifically, I was convinced during the Nekomata/Train story.

[@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.

[@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).

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@AzrialVanity]

ZZZ LORE GO BRRRRR

[@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.

[@Raaaycat]

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

[@thechurchstore2386]

Can’t wait for more of these. I love the connections hoyo makes with mythology in their games, but I never would’ve known that was a thing if it weren’t for this channel.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@nobuyumi8029]

This was a wonderful video with great energy and pacing.

[@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.

[@pksllayer]

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

[@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.

[@snackpaxcup]

Wow. Just gotta say, did not expect this type of lore to be dropped about ZZZ. ZZZ has these really vibrant colors, and really cool and cute characters. Haha, gonna eat some noodles and hang out with my friends! Oh wow, a music store! oh man haha playing video games! this is so silly! Then you get into hollow zero and you're in literal hell and hear some strange ominous things.

[@Lukz243]

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

[@OhItsNekoAgain]

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

[@genznnGaming]

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

[@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.

[@Dophish]

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

[@justinbailey1669]

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

[@CuriusGorg]

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

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@MarinetteWinters]

Thank you so much for the explanation!

[@Sagiso511]

Amazing video, as always. ✨

[@kae9831]

this game is almost perfect now

[@lisitchkajojo]

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

[@rhnirsilva652]

i love that its just "strange towers sudden appeared" but... black holes

[@_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.

[@yudhihi]

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

[@nathaDcocoa]

Hello, I came after the lore teaser released. I was searching for the seven heroes' references and I found that professor arche's name can be found as the "principle" or other meaning, one of Jupiter's moon orbiting the planet. I stumble uopm your video and see the moon that has a hollow on it, so I am kinda inteigued now. Really love your video. It pretty much brings up many more details and connect them so well

[@thecoldsavage759]

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

[@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

[@theblackunicorn261]

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

[@PigeonSuWi]

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

[@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.

[@TravelerSaniar]

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

[@Diabloto96]

Hell yyyeaaahhh my fav genshin lore channel also drops videos on ZZZ now! What sweet luxury 😸

[@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.

[@prism3970]

Their personalities are different so some of their lines will be different but with same meaning. The people you dont choose will speak a lot more. I loved wise’s voice and chose belle so its a win win✨

[@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

[@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.

[@Felderk5]

ZZZ is going to be a secret banger

[@insanelylonleyauthor1829]

Hollows Contains dangerous place Contains dangerous creatures Is continuously spreading GHAD DAYUM ITS A STELLARON

[@WinstorFoo]

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

[@JoelReid]

on the concept of alchemy, "ether" was for a while in some cultures considered the "5th element", relating specifically to the substance of vaccuum. it was thought to be the medium through which light travelled through. more traditionally it was the element of spirits and souls.

[@vaichius]

hey your voice audio sounds much nicer now, so deep and clear at the same time!

[@_black_bird]

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

[@kaedeharakazuha9405]

so excited!

[@BlastHeart96]

To be completely honest I agree about this being the best story in a Hoyoverse game so far. It’s handled so well. There’s great foreshadowing, structure, buildup, payoff, lore inspiration foundation. It feels like I’m watching a proper TV series. You can definitely tell there was a good amount of budget and care put forward by the writing team. It doesn’t feel verbose or drawn out (the main bits anyway). I love Star Rail’s setting and its story is good, but I wish it had one iota of this amount of care in lines and writing.

[@ankurraina2730]

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

[@bh.d.ravenous]

SO GLAD YOURE COVERING THE LORE!

[@dodoliy4678]

Here comes the golden age of ashikai videos

[@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.

[@hoobop]

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

[@mikkomuukka1755]

For some reason I got little Darker Than Black vibes from the Hollows, since they have some similarity to Heaven's and Hell's Gates, both being sort of distorted spaces that came out of nowhere that break the laws of physics that are extremely hard to navigate, since you might end up teleported around.

[@Captain.Mystic]

I think one of the biggest things that was missed in this (and initially caused confusion until i found out about it) is that it seems like hollows can grow if they become unstable or theres a lot of noise/activity that can cause hollows to be attracted to an area. Koledas story talks about how an illegal mining operation was causing a newborn hollow to become unstable and at risk of *growing*, and that combat can do the same thing *even if the combat is trying to defend yourself or kill etherials*, this suggests that companion/sub hollows are actually connected in some way and making noise or using etherial energy inside a hollow(combat/mining/etc) can cause hollows to grow by attracting larger etherials into the newborn hollow. Which is probably why the HIA dislikes anyone but themselves actually entering them for investigations/missions, because otherwise they are unable to accurately predict hollow emergencies because some idiot decided that their own profit was more important than a school getting sucked in to a magic horror labrynth and decided not to report it.

[@rawr30009]

Hoyoverse and their obsession with the moon.😭😭

[@boredteenagerinthewild]

one of their old games was literally called "FlyMe2theMoon"

[@oscara8454]

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

[@chito2701]

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

[@sirinkprialnik]

OM SO EXCITED FOR ZZZ❤❤❤

[@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

[@DanielRamirez-wj6cz]

A rose by any other name its still honkai, me playing the beta and noticing how similar the ether and honaki are

[@mr.gameplay1781]

its fire

[@HAHA4625]

Kerning City theme ❤

[@smp20.]

ZZZ lore teaser video just dropped 🎉

[@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

[@anibalscott]

dashiki I love ur channel pls don't die

[@C4ptainoodles]

Doesn't the hollow kinda seem like honkai for this planet? Like how the honkai does something slightly different depending on the civilization? And like how they refer to it differently on earth, Venus, and Mars?

[@Fabelaz]

Hollow investigators, the official ones, don't need carrots - the official thing probably has a wide collection system, not unlike fairy when it comes to carrot generation methods.

[@Shikasu_966]

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

[@Nihilore]

finally getting around to this vid now the games out lol

[@bobbywibowo]

I did not expect a lore video already

[@PsychoXP]

Is that Maplestory's Kerning City BGM I hear 😍

[@Nerakhi]

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