CyberConnect2 brought a big surprise right on the heels of the studio's 30th Anniversary celebration. The Japanese developer officially announced .hack//Z.E.R.O. as the latest Action RPG title from the legendary franchise.
This announcement is a landmark moment as CyberConnect2 will take full control of the entire production process independently. This is a major step that is unprecedented in the history of the series.
Project Status .hack//Z.E.R.O.
So far, the .hack series has always been synonymous with Bandai Namco Entertainment as the Publisher. However, the situation has changed drastically for .hack//Z.E.R.O.. Bandai Namco has given official permission to CyberConnect2 to fully manage this project.
Everything from planning, development, to publishing will be done in-house by CyberConnect2. This move signals a new era for the long-awaited revival of the franchise.
In its official description, CyberConnect2 states that Game will blend the duality of fantasy and reality with modern expectations. The project is claimed to have been planned for the past 10 years and is now finally realized as their first self-published title for the series.
New Story in The World
CyberConnect2 CEO, Hiroshi Matsuyama, explains in an interview with Famitsu that the title .hack//Z.E.R.O. reflects the message of “restarting .hack from scratch”.
He emphasized that this game has no relationship with Yokote Michiko's previously released .hack//ZERO light novel. This is a completely new original story.
The game takes place about 10 years in the future. The story will again center on an MMORPG called “The World”. The main difference lies in the portion of real world drama.
Previous games had limited budgets and publisher constraints in depicting the real world, usually only through email or internet browsers. This time, CyberConnect2 promises to bring a much more immersive real-world drama without those limitations.
Matsuyama mentioned that the theme of duality between the game world and reality will remain at the core of the story. The monochrome teaser visuals released are meant to illustrate that contrast, such as the opposition between public persona versus inner feelings.
Teaser Trailer Visual Details
The teaser trailer for the game was produced by animation studio Kamikaze Douga. The video doesn't show gameplay, but it gives strong visual clues to the game's atmosphere.
The scene opens with a real-world situation, showing someone in a hospital surfing the internet. The screen then fills with various blocking notifications before turning into a digital glitch that brings the viewer into “The World”.
Some iconic characters are glimpsed in the video. Viewers can see a figure running in the dungeon, which closely resembles the character of Kite from the original series.
There are also quick cuts of images featuring young women with the “infinity” symbol belonging to the Aura on his chest. This certainly provoked the curiosity of old fans.
The action scene shows a Heavy Blade character that resembles BlackRose is fighting against a white-armored figure with blue eyes. The video closes with a mysterious sentence: “This world is at ‘Dusk,’ it matches with us so well.” This sentence sparked strong speculation regarding a reference to the series .hack//Legend of the Twilight.
Production and Music Staff
Music is a vital element in building the atmosphere of this series. CyberConnect2 specially engaged world-renowned violinist Taro Hakase to handle the theme music to start the Project on a grand note.
Game development involves a mix of veteran staff who have been working on the .hack series for a long time and young talents.
Here is the list of key staff working on .hack//Z.E.R.O.:
- Executive Producer: Hiroshi Matsuyama
- Character Design: Seiichiro Hosokawa
- Creative Producer / Art Division General Manager: Akihiro Anai
- Creative Director: Hiroto Niizato
- Art Division General Manager: Takahito Washisaka
- Program Division General Manager: Yasuhiko Tsuneoka
- Game Design Division General Manager: Tomoyuki Kato
- Sound Division General Manager: Norikatsu Fukuda
- Theme Music: Taro Hakase
- Sound: Chikayo Fukuda
Platforms and Releases
To date, CyberConnect2 has not provided an exact release date for .hack//Z.E.R.O.. They only confirmed that the genre is Action RPG with adventure elements.
The intended platform is Home Console, However, no detailed engine specifications have been mentioned yet. More information regarding gameplay and release schedule is expected to appear in the near future.
Let's wait for the next development of this ambitious project.
