The combat really clicked with me after I realized that a) each character has their own combat gimmick like Anby's alternative attack after three strikes b) you don't need to always parry. Dodge instead. c) you can abuse the zero swap time for quick buff refreshes or canceling animations d) building anomaly and daze is really important I've played both HI3 and PGR, but ZZZ puts me into that flow state like no other game.
2:01 that's quite common for pc games, it does NOT take 110Gb of space , it just needs the space during the installation to unpack the files then delete the installer afterwards
@@tracegeezePela from HSR is also a fan of Tears of Themis and has the characters on her phone! At the very least, Tears of Themis is a game in the HSR portion of the Hoyoverse.
a new patch every 2 weeks on all three of HYV games is kinda nuts from the player perspective. they've also made both HSR and genshin less demanding over time to make room for each other. they really want you to play all three games and nothing else lol
And by nothing else is EVERY GAME EVER. Hoyo's game are notorious for alergic to sweep feature, so their dailes are quite time consuming when compared to other gacha games.
@@ikoukuhn i dont know about that. HSR's dailies are extremely easy to do on auto on your phone while you do something else. its event also last for almost the entirety of the patch, allowing you to play it at your own leisure. thats how i play the game anyway. with genshin's encounter points system now allowing you to stockpile them to claim in the future, its moving more towards demanding less of your time every day as well. ZZZ's dailies are also done just by spending your energy, which only requires 3 battles to do, so its not looking too bad. i wouldnt be surprised if they eventually introduced skip tickets to that game, making it super casual friendly.
@@ikoukuhn ZZZ's dailies take maximum three minutes if you know what you're doing. Log in, get a scratch card, opening the video store and getting a coffee is very quick once you're used to it.
Finally. someone actually compared ZZZ to HI3, the game that actually shares the same genre. I'm glad you made the comparison because a lot of people, for some reason, compare ZZZ to HSR or to WuWa, two games who are from different genres, so of course there will be pros and cons. so thank you for the fair comparison. Imho, if we make HI3 the base, HSR will technically be the sequel to its story and ZZZ the sequel to its game mechanics with its overall smoother QTE battle mechanics. not to mention, the stage by stage selection, 3 member teams + a pet like support, option to play hard mode stages, 3d visual novel interactions and QTE system are all things they took from HI3 and you can clearly see how much they improved on that in ZZZ. as for the whole not being in the Honkai universe thing, it is still too early to tell but it wouldn't surprise me if we see familiar characters (i.e. multiple bronyas), names (Fu Hua being mentioned in a material quest in Luofu in HSR) being referenced or just plain 'ol easter eggs (HSR's Pela's Tears of Themis phone case). and even if ZZZ is also in the same Honkaiverse, that doesn't mean they have to interact with the rest of the earlier games. existing is enough.
Literally my first thought on the game this feels like hi3 but just new which for usually better. Then when i saw youtube wuwa. Then the tv system reminds me of blue archive normal stage
Saying Wuwa, and ZZZ not close is like saying DMC, and Bayonetta isn't in the same genre because they don't play exactly the same. Hell, Honkai feels like a cheap copy of Bayonetta (and according to you, it's the thing ZZZ based from). Bayonetta made by the people who made DMC1, and Devil May Cry is a huge part of WuWa (even tho I'd say it's closer to Nier's combat that is a cheap copy of Bayonetta made by the same studio for the sake of accessibility). Hideaki Itsuno had the experience to make DMC3 from his time working in anime fighting game at CAPCOM, every single fighting games stemmed from Street Fighter, another inspiration of ZZZ. It's all related.
Regarding combat complexity, it’s worth remembering that gacha games (and miHoYo games in particular) have a tendency to start simple and get increasingly complex with time. That said, yeah this does seem to be starting on the simpler end for their titles. Though I’m not in that deep yet, so I might just not be seeing the big picture yet.
that is true since the game still hasnt fully fleshed out a lot of things like defensive characters cuz its just ben and ye just him and we still have anomalies and their effects which hasnt been fully realized which is akin to genshin's early game where its mostly just unga bunga i try to kill enemy to actually formulating a team comp to maximize dmg later when it matters
Even HI3rd also start this simple back then, iirc there are only 8 character at launch and all of their mechanic are also very simplistic For example : dash attack dash attack (Mecha mei), attack attack hold (ranger Kiana, this is very similar to piper actually the difference Kiana use gun, piper use axe), attack hold (bio mei, both of them, and literally every bronya) But as you see, 6 years in and you will have a character that need an entire thesis just to describe it's combo 🤣
Looking at the footage, i believe he hasn't even reached level 30... He didn't experience the difficulty spike yet which is around lv 35. Getting used to the intricacies of the soukaku/lycaon/ellen rotation to almost double your dps changes your mind fast on complexity. Also getting used to timing anomaly/disorder build up in order to make the most out of it is an ordeal in and of itself. The complexity is there, i wouldn't know if big brain energy is required but the gameplay absolutely gets technical past a certain point.
Very-very valid critiques. I feel like ZZZ suffers from being released at the wrong time to the wrong audience. For me personally it's The game I've been looking for my whole time of trying out gacha games and an isntant pick for my main game. I hope more people could appreciate it for what it is instead of comparing it to the other gacha they happen to play at the moment.
They intentionally release it now because the market for this game is empty In 2018, HI3rd release globally and will be a direct competitor for this game, which won't be good for zzz considering it's both mihoyo and releasing both near each other will just cannibalize their own market Then on 2021, PGR release globally which became HI3rd competitor, meanwhile in 2020 Genshin were released which open to a new open world market game After genshin, alot of developer realize how big of a market that open world genre can be, so we see alot of developer releasing the Same genre, due to that there are actually no one that make competitors for HI3rd and PGR In fact, those 2 were the only choice you ever has untill aether gazer release in 2023, you see how big of a gap that is. ZZZ release now because there are literally no new competitor for this genre, everyone were busy making open world game, HI3rd is not very new player friendly, while PGR is still good it's also hard to attract new player making ZZZ being your only choice if you want this type of game (what about aether gazer? Well it's not very popular unfortunately due to its horrible launch)
@@abdulzaelani9954now that I think about it, ZZZ is somewhat Hoyo's answer to HI3's lack of new player friendly. "Too late to join HI3? Join ZZZ instead!" I think they knew Part 2 HI3 won't bring too many of new players because Part 1 characters still somewhat dominate half of the roster so instead of making HI3 gave out too much of a freebies, they just make a new game for new players. Doesn't sound likely but quite funny for me
This game would have been amazing if either: it released several years ago, or it had been a singleplayer game. The character designs dont give enough appeal for a gacha. But thats not a problem for a single player game, and if the game had been released earlier everything else about it (like the god-tier animation, being different in style etc) would have easily carried the game. I think people will play the game for months have fun with it then get bored and stop playing. Aka, like a singleplayer game lengthened due to gacha progression lock. Only way I can see that being different is if they suddenly release characters that are way more appealing.
I personally love ZZZ as a lover of gacha and traditional fighting games like street fighter, mortal kombat, and guilty gear the combat in the game is what makes me want to keep playing 😂 and it’s what I hear people say that they hate the most lol
I'm having a blast with it, personally. I stopped playing HI3 after the end of Part One and it's been just long enough for me to feel that itch wanting a mihoyo brawler again. I'm liking ZZZ's systems so far even more than HI3's, even: the streamlined skills make it much easier to comprehend (and much less prone to translation problems, god I still have nightmares about reading Fallen Rosemary's skill descriptions and trying to comprehend her viking ass moveset), but there IS a lot of depth in a way that feels very visible and satisfying about whether you're engaging with it or not. My particular favorite innovation: your previous character you swapped from won't actually leave the field until they're done whatever last attack animation you told them to do, meaning they're still vulnerable to getting hurt but also you can coop with yourself depending on the moveset. That rules, that's so satisfying imo.
@@TiasungYou don’t have a launcher move, but you do have combos on Anby, who is basically Crimson Impulse, but Electric. So I give them a year, two years tops, until we have Knight: Moonbeam on our hands. And I can’t wait for “Gungnir… Execution!!!”
Surprised you didnt mention anything about attribute anomaly/disorder, the quick assist feature and how supports interact with that, and the unique mechanics characters have like nicoles full circle hold skill having 3 different potential animations , stuff like billy/zhu yuan's triggerable repositions during attacks, soldier 11's "exceed" like timing mechanic etc. As a HI3 veteran who was frequently in exalted Red Lotus/Nirvana I will say in my opinion that ZZZ has far more freedom and depth than HI3's combat system. Very rarely do you have to engage with HI3's enemies (at most some bosses require certain status application or parries) and you pretty much do very set rotations with a very stiff meta team. Here in ZZZ we have more build variety with the anomaly system and enemy engagement in the form of resource management (managing EX bars for specials, assist bars used for parries, and a shared ult). The way the stun system works also triggers different amounts of chain attacks depending on the enemy class which is something you'll want to take note during stages in Shiyu Defences as you can even continue what would be a short chain by dazing surrounding enemies. The anomaly system here is also a breath of fresh air and could be seen as a unique blend between genshin's elemental reactions and HSR's DoT. Hell you can even detonate anomaly DoT's via disorder when you apply a 2nd element over an existing one. Another thing maybe you could have covered under gameplay was the ability to swap characters mid animation and have them complete their actions off field (a bit like WW's Calcharo/Yinlin swap teams), you'll notice this particularly with Soukaku whos rather long animation allows you swap via quick assist. All these in my opinion make for more freedom of combat expression and potentially build variety (not just crit fishing gear) Maybe all this might not seem very useful in the story but in Shiyu Defence you'll really appreciate interacting with all available mechanics. In my experience with Wuthering Waves (who most ppl hail as one of the more mechanically in depth action gacha) having cleared all holograms and 27/30 starred ToA as a f2p. I would still say that ZZZ has comparable depth than you may see at first glance. Whew sorry for spewing all of that, just wanted to share my thoughts. And also just realized this was a first impression video LOL so I guess it would make sense you'd only cover the bases. Oh and also you can swap to the character behind with C since you mentioned you could only swap with one button forward.
Finally who think that zzz and wuwa combat system pretty similar. Difference only in bosses, in WuWa they just better, specially in holograms. I'm 33 level internot , and in mid of chapter 3 and didn't see all bosses yet in zzz, but exited for twins and shiyu defence high floor ones.
For the last part, you can't swap back on mobile, you still can click the swap button twice tho if you really want to As someone that also play HI3rd, I agree with you, this game does bring some fresh air, like the swap has no cool down alone already make it somewhat better, I also like the anomaly system But then again our opinion is heavily bias because both of us has play HI3rd for too long, if we play ZZZ for 2 or 3 more years we might even say the same thing for this game, for once this game is way more QTE heavy, the amount of QTE you did is way too frequent that i could see some people getting bored of it in a year or two, what worse is that the game heavily encourage you to spam QTE (break faster so QTE after) since majority of your damage is literally from the break phase and QTE.
You said it all brother. I feel like people don't understand the true complexity of the combat system which is akin to a fully fleshed out fighting game. Just today, I was contemplating how to best use my Neko, Piper, Lucy team because I felt like their kits weren't meshing well. However, I watched a couple vids from some different CC's and now I understand that I need to rotate them in a specific order to fully utilize their abilities. Also, I learnt how to use Piper's hidden fast spin tech. That's just one team, there are multiple different set up's depending on who you build too.
@@abdulzaelani9954 yeah you make a good point about us playing HI3 too long. Even 1.0 HI3 felt so revolutionary at that time. I do hope ZZZ does lean in more to the fine details they give each character so they have more identity. The point you mentioned about the focus on stunning is definitely a valid concern too, it would be sad if a too optimal loop becomes the norm in combat. And yeah I could see QTEs getting a bit old if they don't freshen up the formula with some enemy mechanics.
I was an exalted red lotus player for years too and you just summarized my exact feelings about the combat system. I've seen a lot of hate about its simplicity and their comparisons on honkai impact are always so surface level. It feels like a lot of people who compared the two haven't really played with or engaged with the mechanics as much as we have to make a fair comparison.
you cycle through the dailies of mihoyo 4 gachas and then ask yourself "what am I doing with my life?" then start doing the weeklies of the same 4 gachas
ZZZ would be near perfect if it was a pay-to-play singleplayer game. I hope Hoyo someday will make AAA singleplayer banger, just like Shift Up did with Stellar Blade
Sadly they can't because of CCP regulations Actually that is the reason lot of Chinese developers use gacha games as to navigate around standard regulations
@@katkat2673 it doesnt have to be a persona game, it just has to be a good game. Tho I will agree that it'd be more of a passion project than a revenue maker, if that's the argument
Finally someone that did the right comparison, im tired to see a bunch of content creator just compare this game with wuthering waves just for drama and views. Honkai impact 3rd is indeed the best gauge for this game, its brawler style, QTE focused combat game. Now regarding the game simplicity keep in mind that this is still v1.0 so all the character having simple mechanic are understandable, its actually the same with HI3rd at the beginning, and with time their combo will become more and more complex as well. That being said, i just hope ZZZ dont make the same mistake HI3rd did in the past, like making too much game mode which lead to too much farmable currency, which is the biggest hurdle new player need to overcome. But considering mihoyo now has better resources and experience, ZZZ will have better chance to be better game unlike HI3rd which at the time they still dont know what they were doing since it is like the first of its kind
My main gripe with ZZZ is that it's super handholdy. Every bit of the way it holds your hand and forces you to do things. QTE? Too bad, either parry/FUA or wait 3s to cancel every time. Want to swap? Too bad, only next character swap is available. Want to animation cancel? Too bad, only ult animation cancels. Want to chain ults together? Too bad, only one character can ult ever.
@@kuratse205Each game has their own QTE rules. Wuwa I need to full fill that outro energy, honkai requires me some like fast atk/time fractures/weap skill, PGR needs me to proc either 3 ping or matrix.
@@kuratse205 Chain assists are character ults if loom at their attack animation, they just dont have the pre-animation you'd associate with Ults. Cycles to previous are their, its your fault not looking into it. QTE rules vary between games. Animation cancels are there too. You just dont know how to do them. Just because you're bad at the game doesnt mean the game is bad.
3:33 there is a way to swap to the previous character in your line up. On controller swapping is done with both of the bumpers and for Keyboard its C and Space.
@senpaiseeker1330 WuWa as well. It still has no controller support, it's being worked on despite being stated to be done prior to release but was never mentioned to be PC only, sadly no ETA either on them being done
1:38 it actually tears of theme and despite not being in the same universe the new lore trailer show us characters who pretty similar to characters in honkai impact like elysia mei and kiana
A couple of things regarding the game's combat that you're missing 1) switching characters is NOT a single button thing, and the the order is NOT predetermined, I don't know the buttons on keyboard, but with a controller you can choose to switch to either off-field character at any time using the left and right bumpers 2) when switching characters mid-combo, the last character you were using will finish whatever attack you input before fully tagging out, meaning you can have 2 characters on the field at the same time attacking the same enemy at the same time, it's a small detail, but really adds to the combat and the combo potential you can pull off, and makes you think a bit more about team building and which characters' movesets compliment each the best and enable the best combos You also completely forgot to mention perfect dodges and dodge counters, as well as the fact that parrying requires assist points that you have to keep topped up on so you can't just spam the ability, as well as unblockable attacks have to be dodged, and general enemy variety and behaviors that require to stay on your toes and carefully concentrate on the battle
@@alb7466 yeah, the right bumper switches to the next character in the lineup you set up, and left bumper will switch in the opposite direction, I'd imagine there has to be a button on keyboard that does the same, it would be kinda weird if that was a controller exclusive ability
@@Azure_Iolite I saw a few comments here and checked for myself, on keyboard C swaps to your previous character. I really wish the game told you that, because that is very helpful to know
@@Azure_Iolite while that's not a controller-exclusive thing (space and C are the equivalent on keyboard and mouse) the game's definitely more designed for controller. The special hidden inputs like the 360 noscope Nicole black hole to skip her charging time is basically impossible to do with WASD
Theoretically their order is predetermined by the way you lined up your team, so if your team is Billy, Anby, Nicole and you are currently on Billy the space bar cycles to Anby and C cycles to Nicole. In this regard it is predetermined and saying as much is not a wrong statement.
I just finished the main story and ngl the final boss is actually really difficult, that was the first time i actually cared about my HP playing the game
The first time I really noticed the difficulty was the Shura Tower mode that's basically ZZZ's spiral abyss. Was doing well at first and then suddenly I notice 2/3 of my party is dead and I have to desperately limp across the finish line as Nicole-only lol
this game is just another trash gacha to squeeze money from waifu simps. period. I have played 15 year old indie games that move smoother and look better than this.
I plan on making ZZZ my main gacha game. I love the simplicity and ease of getting the items you need to level up your characters compared to genshin, especially the level cap. I also love the characters and the modern/futuristic setting. Running your own video rental store is so damn cool!
What you missed is that trust missions with agents are locked behind actually obtaining them. But since you seem to think that all systems are unlocked at around IK level 20-30, it's an understandable mistake. I guess you just didn't unlock those missions yet.
I get the whole thing about the combat being simple but when was the last time anyone played a mechanically complex gacha game? I feel like team building and working around character passives is like half the gameplay anyways
Hi3 for starters? The problem with zzz combat are 2 1-The enemies are slow and casual, they stand still for 3s t posing until they finally do the big ass slow attack for u to parry. 2-the combat is just basic atk smashing and swapping. There is no combos or special attacks. The closer thing you would find to a combo is to hold the attack button. That makes is very repetitive is just button spam and parry. If they fix these two combat issues then zzz will hold its own in the competitive gacha market. If not then most people would quit in some months
@@DantalianN 1. That's only in early stages. Later levels and mobs have much faster attack patterns. 2. There is definitely way more nuance than that. And even if it isn't complex relative to other gachas, what makes you think that "complex gameplay" = "better". "Most" people aren't competitive players looking to execute elaborate combos and techniques. The minority that is looking for a more technical, combat-oriented game may fall off. But the majority won't drop off because the combat isn't complex enough.
@servbotz 1-no lmao, i am already in shinyu defense that is the late game and the mobs remain the same, doing some 2 or 3 attacks in a row doesn't count as better attack patterns. 2-complexity equals to more variety, with give you more choices and consequently more fun. Only being able to spam basic attack and wait for parry window is to bland and became boring (i hope they change this in the future but seing the leak characters all remain the same)
This is a really good review! The only thing I'd wanna add is that Challenge Mode appears to just scale the damage and HP numbers on enemies, it doesn't do anything to change the gameplay loop of mashing basic attacks and using skills on cooldown while swapping characters to dodge and parry every attack for free. With the TV exploration mode, if you don't enjoy it, it's going to be a constant feature of the main story, sidequests, character quests, the roguelike Hollow Zero mode, and even some sidequests labeled Combat will have a wrapper of this mode around it, they only get more common the further you go. The last thing is that you talked about how ZZZ level gates a lot of core mechanics for several hours and won't allow you to farm ahead, but the game keeps forcing you to wait and farm until your account level reaches certain breakpoints to continue the main story. At account level 24 I needed to farm until I was level 30 to proceed, at 30 I needed to get to 32, then to 34, and my current quest is to get to account level 36, each of these with exactly one story mission and 3-5 sidequests in between them. ZZZ specifically demands that you do the kind of farming that would make your characters overpowered, doesn't allow you to use the materials to get that power early, and then you don't get to move the story forward more than one or two scenes at a time before you have to do it again. Basically, your first impressions are spot on, but don't expect it to get better or be different if you keep going.
I've played WuWa, Genshin, and ZZZ, and in my opinion, the endgame enemies in ZZZ are more challenging than Genshin's but a bit less challenging than WuWa's, tbh I haven't reached the last Hollow Zero node yet, but that's my take
2:00 That's because they download a full game in archives that are nearly the exact same size as the unpacked game, unpack them, and then remove the archives. The only benefit is that they don't have to download ~9k files separately. Note that they remove the archives only after everything is unpacked. That's why you need 110 Gb to install the game. 4:45 Technically. Practically, if you won't play it at roughly the same time every day (or play twice a day), you'll be loosing points. No idea why they are so stingy about providing at least a 20%~30% buffer. It wouldn't kill them to extend the cap on these points to 300 and still give only 240 a day. Genshin was actually worse. They give us 1 point every 8 minutes and yet limit was at 160 instead of 180. And to be comfortable, it should be around 220. 9:40 I'd say they screwed it up and overplayed it. In Genshin you can quickly click through trash pulls if you wish to look them one by one. Here... it takes ages to go from one to another and not even fun since instead of weapons we have these more or less uniformly looking W-Engines. So, you know that if that's not a character, then you'll be looking at another ball. Balls. So, I think most players quickly learn to skip these animations entirely. Good for players, but kinda bad for HoYo.
I've attempted to get into gacha games before but I just couldn't do it. When I started seeing animations for ZZZ pop up on TH-cam I was immediately interested because of how fluid and expressive they were, so when the game came out I decided to give it a try, and I've been having a blast. It's actually nuts how well designed this game is. Besides the quality of the animation, the music is right up my alley and I vibe with almost every track. The combat is stylish and flows very well, and oh man the sound design! Every parry gives me chills, and until using Koleda in ZZZ, I haven't enjoyed playing a character with hammers this much since the Krogan Warlord in Mass Effect 3, and all that is thanks to the super satisfying sound effects. Between the music and the sound effects, you REALLY gotta play this game with some high quality headphones to get the full experience. I guess I mainly wanted to bring all this up because as someone who doesn't really care much either way about gacha, ZZZ was the one that stood out enough to make me play, and good enough of a game in its own right to keep me playing. Going along with this, I want to add that I really don't mind the gating of content. It's pretty standard practice in single player games to progressively open up more and more of the game over time so that the player doesn't get overwhelmed, and even despite ZZZ's attempts at holding my hand, my head still spun for a while trying to understand all the different items and currencies and what they were for. For a veteran of games like these it's probably very familiar, so I get why you might think it's restrictive. But I'm guessing that Mihoyo knew that because of its unique style, ZZZ might be an entry point for players new to gacha games like me, and wanted to help us get used to it with more traditional game progression mechanics.
I'm glad you touched on the combat the way you did, too many other content creators wrote off the game before even trying any of the challenging content over it being too easy, expecting some kind of ultra-hardcore DMC game, and then went on to blast their opinion as fact all over youtube because the first hour of the game is button mashing.
There's specifically a challenge mode for all the commissions to make the combat. And i bet almost everyone who complains about the difficulty has not played past the prologue. Chapter 2 boss and the Twin Marionettes are pretty difficult on the normal difficulty
It's not as black and white. People don't want it to be elden ring. If gacha players of all people are complaining that the combat is easy then it really is that easy
AL is the only gacha if played for years now. I did play genshin a little but it lost me somewhat fast. Maybe this one will keep me playing a little longer.
I rlly enjoyed the story so far, especially the first act, but it definitely isn't anywhere near jarilo VI level, that story is PEAK! (I haven't finished penacony yet tho, might still top that)
The combat system is a beautiful example of "easy to learn, hard to master" and, unlike HI3rd, it does not show a lot of mechanics, combs and options to the player, but leaves them to discover them themselves. They were inspired by modern fighting games like Street Fighter, which means that even a casual player can jump into it and just hit the buttons and it will somehow work out, but whoever pays time and attention to it will discover a lot of possibilities. Even the tutorial doesn't teach more than just the basics.
It's unlikely, but I hope that Shiyu Defense leans into this "get better" mentality, rather than "get better gear (or, failing that, weapons + dupes)" one that gacha often fall into. The game clearly has room for skill expression and min-maxing so I hope they take advantage of it rather than pulling a Genshin Spiral Abyss or HSR Memory of Chaos. (Spoiler: I'm hedging my bets that it'll be the same as those. Thankfully, all these endgame modes are clear afterthoughts to satiate the whale or hardcore crowds, rather than the core experience of the game. Downside is that it might end up like Genshin/HSR where it's braindead easy outside of Shiyu, and Shiyu is just a gear/gacha lock.)
Hook, line and sinker there guy. This is exactly what I keep saying to people, reviews always mention how easy it is, but as someone who's well into Ch 3, the bosses and elites get much more aggressive and have dodge/parry mix ups that these people doing 1st impressions after a few hrs haven't even seen yet
Lol no? I've already mastered two team rotations within the first week. Perfectly 100% optimised. And I'm absolutely terrible at fighting games. You only say that because you never actually tried playing fighting games seriously and parroted something someone else said. This game is "easy to learn, easy to master". The skill ceiling is LOW. Especially when the goal of most teams currently is to Daze the enemies and completely remove their movement and attacks from the game half the time.
That's straight up misinformation. It does show ALL the mechanics and combos in the character sheet, and the only exception would be Nicole's singular hidden attack that everyone seems to be basing that 'complexity' on. The game DOES NOT offer any combo or options to the player since the game revolves around formulaic rotation to maximize your damage - it's Genshin's system improved. All people who repeats this 'easy to learn, hard to master' cap clearly hadn't played long enough to see that it's still the same gameplay and mechanic from the beginning to the end of the 'endgame' of 1.0.
the game size shocked me when i was downloading it, but after looking at the 3d models, its understandable why its huge. the amount of details they have is amazing. even the npcs have proper modelling for small details on their outfits
Beautiful game with super high quality art, animation, models with decent gameplay completely butchered by the gacha model and dumbed down mobile mechanics.
Yeah , if they make this game an campaign game like Hi Fi Rush , i would pay money to buy it. I love the art style but kinda bored with the gatcha model
A feature that a lot of people don't realize. While yes, you switch in a certain order with space bar, you can switch in reverse order with the c button. So if let's say you use space to switch from character 1 to character 2, you can use c to switch from character 2 to character 1. So there is some complexity to switching, especially when dealing with multiple enemies or harder bosses.
Just a quick note about swaping characters. If you use a controller on PC you can press LB or RB and it will get you your next agent or your previous one.
1:38 it seems like you haven't gotten to Lumina Square yet but I assure you, it's a fucking optimization mess. I've never gotten below 60 frames in any Hoyo game using max graphics
So far, the story is better than the others miyoho. It's being a long time I don't played that much, so yes, I think this game will get it's own fan base :)
Idk, its not sticking with me, i LOVE the animation and style, but it feels shallow atm im sure itll pickup but also playing 3 other gachas i dont know if i wanna fit another one into my totally not gacha work routine
>> swapping units is done with only 1 button and will only cycle in the order the team was placed in If you use gamepad - there are 2 buttons assigned for swapping characters - both for the next and for the previous characters. Really convenient, actually
All of Hoyos games are in the same multiverse, if you know some of the HYV deep lore you can already see how some of the pieces might fit together(Samsaras, fragmentum, world being a simulation, etc) and the lore teaser trailer shows alt versions of many honkai characters(Kiana and Elysia)
I may not play the game, but I'd watch the story or listen to the dialogue of the character voices by Clifford (forgot the characters name, it's the robot man)
I think a subtle change from Genshin is how in its equivalent to spiral abyss the last stable node _(which would be abyss 8, the last that's not in rotation)_ is more difficult than the first of the stages in the rotation. So many people don't engage with spiral abyss, but that difficulty drop immediately after unlocking the rotating stages could get a lot more players on board with that game mode. Maybe Genshin could, well, no, people wipe their butts with abyss 12 and I'm lucky to barely drag my mangled dong past 11-3
always on a lookout for an mmo gacha and at this time ToF is the only game that fills the slot, Genshin and Wuthering waves aren't even in the same subgenre being single player gachas unfortunately. I know a lot of ppl have the same sentiment on finding and playing a decent mmo gacha so i'd be surprised if ToF dies out completely any time soon.
There is depth to its combat but like you said, most casuals won't bother with it. Gameplay gave me nostalgia of 2018 Honkai Impact and how everything was locked behind progression. It stops people from procrastinating in the game, which is happening a lot in the OW Hoyo games.
just in case anyone missed it, if you play on controller you can also use the left bumper to swap to the previous character in your roster. Also works during parries
Gostei muito de ter visto voce fazendo uma review desse jogo logo apos uma semana, sinceramente estou viciado, como eu havia quitado de genshin (convenhamos genshin depois de 4 anos enjoa) eu fiquei muito intrigado com as mecanicas de combate do zzz e a historia tambem eh impressionante! Da pra ver que a equipe que fez esse jogo fez ele com amor, vou continuar jogando ele por bastante tempo. Bom video! (Nao escrevi em ingles por preguiça)
I'm liking the game so far even though it's not the most deep gameplay wise. Considering you're comparing it to HI3rd, that game wasn't as intricate with its gameplay as it is now. Characters were pretty much on a similar level to ZZZ is currently, and it took a while before they really made things complex. We're currently in 1.0 for ZZZ and the game could drastically change within a year or 2 by adding certain characters/mechanics.
Great video, I 100% agree with your praise and critiques. I do want to add that while the game is mostly simplistic in combat, certain characters do have some difficulty added. Soldier 11 players know timing your basics can be tough
I like how for most of chapter 1 and 2 most bosses and unit encounters are a breeze and the chapter 3 final boss is something that can actually kick your ass if you aren’t aware of its attack patterns
I don't wanna give up this game but that TV simulator in exploration is not enjoyable for me but in hollow zero it's fire. For now I'm just doing dailies.
3:32 For controller, you can change character in order (1, 2, and 3) with R1 button, but you can go in reverse (3, 2, and 1) with L1 button. This also works for parry swap too
You actually can switch characters in reverse order by pressing left bumper on console or "C" on keyboard, this allows you to switch directly from the first to the third person in your team and etc., this also works for the defensive assists!
Always enjoy your gacha videos Pseychie! I'll continue playing ZZZ, really enjoying the story and gameplay so far (just completed chapter 3). I also laughed when you said ZZZ might be the only hoyo game not connected to the other universe, cuz they dropped a video a few days ago and it showed a character who looks EXTREMELY similar to void drifter Kiana. I'm currently taking a break from genshin and HI3(played both games since they launched), so ZZZ's fast pace feels refreshing.
Just something to add. In combat, you can actually kinda choose who to swap to. In PC, the default keybinds are 'Space' to swap to the next character and 'C' for the previous one.
You can swap back and forth in the order of characters you have during combat btw. It’s spacebar to go to the next character and “c” to go backwards in order. So there’s still choice regarding who you swap to during quick assists.
The gacha rates are so bad though I have never had this much of a problem getting a banner character in any other game than I do in this game like damn I think i'll stick to WuWa at least it gives you a chance
I was honestly going to quit the game within the first week... that is until I saw the virtual idol group faction that's still in development, which I'm now definitely saving up for.
8:33 god I wish I got arle, I'm not into genshin at all rn but I got back into it for her and didn't get her! Also I'm still incredibly salty because firefly was the first character I ever put actual money beyond a pass into pulling for and I lost the 50/50 to E1 himeko! My gacha games are NOT treating me good lately! At least I got Ellen in like 40 pulls...
this is actually one of my favorite gacha games/games in general i love the cyber/retropunk vibe and the characters are all lovely! i know it isnt everyone's cup of tea and but personally i really dont like open world games and prefer small detailed environments a la deus ex. i really hope this game lasts for a while because im enjoying the hell out of it.
The thing about the complexity argument is that the early characters in HI3 are also very simple, even simpler than the launch character of ZZZ IMO (I do not think there is even the weapon skill button until quite a fews years after the launch). However, they just keep adding new systems with increasingly complex skill sets
Honestly you've nailed the thoughts on regards of ZZZ although I'll give them the benefit of the doubt down the line just like Honkai it might get complex, but yeah the gameplay ain't just my style despite the art style kinda bops well other than the slight "censorship" issues but at that point it's "trivial" so I won't go in-depth to it. Which is to continue on its just a "turn off your brain" game which isn't bad in a way. Other than that tho I don't really have much to say because I can't play the game, my phone's old and barely have any storage and once you've seen "everyone's special attack" for me at least I almost go sleepy. But then again because I'm so used to the high octane action of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, Bayonetta Series, Devil May Cry Series, etc. To the point where it's hard to find the gacha game that can truly scratch that itch. Maybe down the line but for now tho it's very hard despite games like Punishing Gray Raven, in an certain extent Tower of Fantasy and Honkai Impact and of course especially Wuthering waves. On punishing gray raven's case it's specific levels or bosses so its not really a 1 to 1. But yeah I think you get my point I'm just giving them unfair expectations lelz. I guess while I'll leave this comments, tell me if there's an upcoming Gacha that has similar combat to that I'll be interested to see if it does capture the feel. (Other than V.A. Proxy of course cause dang that game is Hype and Ultrakill too just incase someone mentions a non-gacha game)
There's a boss in genshin that looks like a hollow complete with dubstep music, and was released around the time ZZZ was announced and beta testing began. I wouldn't be surprised in the least of this game is part of the honkaiverse 😂
The point about the switching order applies to ZZZ as well. Not only that, you have to choose the order carefully because the Assist function always activates the next character in line (and the third character is followed by the first one). In general, you want to find a good combination of support, sub-DPS and DPS characters and know what to do with them on-field. Sometimes you want to just parry all the time (the attacks that aren't announced by the yellow flash oftentimes can't be parried but you have to dodge them instead by the way), sometimes you need to dodge a few times so you can set up a buff or a debuff etc. I also wouldn't really bring up Honkai Impact here since in that game, you are motivated to basically get one or two viable teams and just mash buttons in very specific order (and pray you have the best possible stigmata and mainly the character's unique weapon). That's one of the reasons I quit HI3 after all these years. Tl;dr: I don't say the combat system is super complex, but trying to say it's watered down too much is also kind of disingenuous. The game just favours very fast-paced combat.
I have yet to see a game with such high quality character designs and animations, so I'll be sticking with ZZZ for the near future. Who knows if it has staying power yet though
Thanks for giving me a heart attack with that thumbnail, I appreciate it
I don't see the problem... it's just :D
Right?
It's Nicole. I don't see anything wrong 😊
The true depiction of nicole lmaooo
True not enough bille bussy
The combat really clicked with me after I realized that
a) each character has their own combat gimmick like Anby's alternative attack after three strikes
b) you don't need to always parry. Dodge instead.
c) you can abuse the zero swap time for quick buff refreshes or canceling animations
d) building anomaly and daze is really important
I've played both HI3 and PGR, but ZZZ puts me into that flow state like no other game.
For b), you actually need to decide when to parry because the assist points are limited, and can only be recovered by ult or chain attacks.
2:01 that's quite common for pc games, it does NOT take 110Gb of space , it just needs the space during the installation to unpack the files then delete the installer afterwards
0:36 "Now i, myself, am someome with refine taste"
*Shows Billy's dummy thicc dumpster truck*
Me too, man. Me too.
"Unless Kiana shows up in the Hollow"
Hoyo uploaded lore video showing a person that looks like Kiana as the Inventor of Bangboo
Even got the red n blue eyes from 'everlasting flames'
Elysia was there too and the robot gives projectbunny vibes
She looks like Kiana but if she was an Arknights character
2:29 also raven here. Or natasha for hsr player
Considering Hoyo themselves stated they are moving away from Honkai universe I doubt it.
@@PanRobak. sounds cool to me ngl
1:24 everyone Really forgot about Tears of Thermis 😅
Well... MiHoyo does exists as an in-game company in Themis so it ~could~ be argued its loosely connected to the Hoyoverse
@@tracegeezePela from HSR is also a fan of Tears of Themis and has the characters on her phone! At the very least, Tears of Themis is a game in the HSR portion of the Hoyoverse.
a new patch every 2 weeks on all three of HYV games is kinda nuts from the player perspective. they've also made both HSR and genshin less demanding over time to make room for each other. they really want you to play all three games and nothing else lol
And by nothing else is EVERY GAME EVER. Hoyo's game are notorious for alergic to sweep feature, so their dailes are quite time consuming when compared to other gacha games.
I don't think hoyo are interested just on our money I think they data mining us
@@ikoukuhn i dont know about that. HSR's dailies are extremely easy to do on auto on your phone while you do something else. its event also last for almost the entirety of the patch, allowing you to play it at your own leisure. thats how i play the game anyway.
with genshin's encounter points system now allowing you to stockpile them to claim in the future, its moving more towards demanding less of your time every day as well.
ZZZ's dailies are also done just by spending your energy, which only requires 3 battles to do, so its not looking too bad. i wouldnt be surprised if they eventually introduced skip tickets to that game, making it super casual friendly.
@@ikoukuhn ZZZ's dailies take maximum three minutes if you know what you're doing. Log in, get a scratch card, opening the video store and getting a coffee is very quick once you're used to it.
@@ikoukuhnIn ZZZ you log in, open shop, have a coffee and do a scratcher. Its faster than booting up the game.
These Thumbnails never fail to make me laugh, that alone is worth the like
Finally. someone actually compared ZZZ to HI3, the game that actually shares the same genre. I'm glad you made the comparison because a lot of people, for some reason, compare ZZZ to HSR or to WuWa, two games who are from different genres, so of course there will be pros and cons. so thank you for the fair comparison.
Imho, if we make HI3 the base, HSR will technically be the sequel to its story and ZZZ the sequel to its game mechanics with its overall smoother QTE battle mechanics.
not to mention, the stage by stage selection, 3 member teams + a pet like support, option to play hard mode stages, 3d visual novel interactions and QTE system are all things they took from HI3 and you can clearly see how much they improved on that in ZZZ.
as for the whole not being in the Honkai universe thing, it is still too early to tell but it wouldn't surprise me if we see familiar characters (i.e. multiple bronyas), names (Fu Hua being mentioned in a material quest in Luofu in HSR) being referenced or just plain 'ol easter eggs (HSR's Pela's Tears of Themis phone case).
and even if ZZZ is also in the same Honkaiverse, that doesn't mean they have to interact with the rest of the earlier games. existing is enough.
Literally my first thought on the game this feels like hi3 but just new which for usually better. Then when i saw youtube wuwa.
Then the tv system reminds me of blue archive normal stage
Saying Wuwa, and ZZZ not close is like saying DMC, and Bayonetta isn't in the same genre because they don't play exactly the same.
Hell, Honkai feels like a cheap copy of Bayonetta (and according to you, it's the thing ZZZ based from). Bayonetta made by the people who made DMC1, and Devil May Cry is a huge part of WuWa (even tho I'd say it's closer to Nier's combat that is a cheap copy of Bayonetta made by the same studio for the sake of accessibility).
Hideaki Itsuno had the experience to make DMC3 from his time working in anime fighting game at CAPCOM, every single fighting games stemmed from Street Fighter, another inspiration of ZZZ.
It's all related.
Regarding combat complexity, it’s worth remembering that gacha games (and miHoYo games in particular) have a tendency to start simple and get increasingly complex with time.
That said, yeah this does seem to be starting on the simpler end for their titles. Though I’m not in that deep yet, so I might just not be seeing the big picture yet.
that is true since the game still hasnt fully fleshed out a lot of things like defensive characters cuz its just ben and ye just him and we still have anomalies and their effects which hasnt been fully realized which is akin to genshin's early game where its mostly just unga bunga i try to kill enemy to actually formulating a team comp to maximize dmg later when it matters
Even HI3rd also start this simple back then, iirc there are only 8 character at launch and all of their mechanic are also very simplistic
For example : dash attack dash attack (Mecha mei), attack attack hold (ranger Kiana, this is very similar to piper actually the difference Kiana use gun, piper use axe), attack hold (bio mei, both of them, and literally every bronya)
But as you see, 6 years in and you will have a character that need an entire thesis just to describe it's combo 🤣
Wait until you fight the twin dancers boss in chapter 3 and they become weekly bosses.
Looking at the footage, i believe he hasn't even reached level 30...
He didn't experience the difficulty spike yet which is around lv 35. Getting used to the intricacies of the soukaku/lycaon/ellen rotation to almost double your dps changes your mind fast on complexity.
Also getting used to timing anomaly/disorder build up in order to make the most out of it is an ordeal in and of itself.
The complexity is there, i wouldn't know if big brain energy is required but the gameplay absolutely gets technical past a certain point.
@@abdulzaelani9954piper is closer to rosaliya
Very-very valid critiques. I feel like ZZZ suffers from being released at the wrong time to the wrong audience. For me personally it's The game I've been looking for my whole time of trying out gacha games and an isntant pick for my main game. I hope more people could appreciate it for what it is instead of comparing it to the other gacha they happen to play at the moment.
They intentionally release it now because the market for this game is empty
In 2018, HI3rd release globally and will be a direct competitor for this game, which won't be good for zzz considering it's both mihoyo and releasing both near each other will just cannibalize their own market
Then on 2021, PGR release globally which became HI3rd competitor, meanwhile in 2020 Genshin were released which open to a new open world market game
After genshin, alot of developer realize how big of a market that open world genre can be, so we see alot of developer releasing the Same genre, due to that there are actually no one that make competitors for HI3rd and PGR
In fact, those 2 were the only choice you ever has untill aether gazer release in 2023, you see how big of a gap that is. ZZZ release now because there are literally no new competitor for this genre, everyone were busy making open world game, HI3rd is not very new player friendly, while PGR is still good it's also hard to attract new player making ZZZ being your only choice if you want this type of game (what about aether gazer? Well it's not very popular unfortunately due to its horrible launch)
@@abdulzaelani9954now that I think about it, ZZZ is somewhat Hoyo's answer to HI3's lack of new player friendly. "Too late to join HI3? Join ZZZ instead!" I think they knew Part 2 HI3 won't bring too many of new players because Part 1 characters still somewhat dominate half of the roster so instead of making HI3 gave out too much of a freebies, they just make a new game for new players. Doesn't sound likely but quite funny for me
This game would have been amazing if either: it released several years ago, or it had been a singleplayer game. The character designs dont give enough appeal for a gacha.
But thats not a problem for a single player game, and if the game had been released earlier everything else about it (like the god-tier animation, being different in style etc) would have easily carried the game. I think people will play the game for months have fun with it then get bored and stop playing. Aka, like a singleplayer game lengthened due to gacha progression lock. Only way I can see that being different is if they suddenly release characters that are way more appealing.
I personally love ZZZ as a lover of gacha and traditional fighting games like street fighter, mortal kombat, and guilty gear the combat in the game is what makes me want to keep playing 😂 and it’s what I hear people say that they hate the most lol
I'm having a blast with it, personally. I stopped playing HI3 after the end of Part One and it's been just long enough for me to feel that itch wanting a mihoyo brawler again. I'm liking ZZZ's systems so far even more than HI3's, even: the streamlined skills make it much easier to comprehend (and much less prone to translation problems, god I still have nightmares about reading Fallen Rosemary's skill descriptions and trying to comprehend her viking ass moveset), but there IS a lot of depth in a way that feels very visible and satisfying about whether you're engaging with it or not. My particular favorite innovation: your previous character you swapped from won't actually leave the field until they're done whatever last attack animation you told them to do, meaning they're still vulnerable to getting hurt but also you can coop with yourself depending on the moveset. That rules, that's so satisfying imo.
HI3 was SUPER simple when it launched. Just consider the 3-4 starting characters.
I mean, starting Mei has a launcher move and different combos you can do. Agree about the rest tho.
@@TiasungYou don’t have a launcher move, but you do have combos on Anby, who is basically Crimson Impulse, but Electric.
So I give them a year, two years tops, until we have Knight: Moonbeam on our hands.
And I can’t wait for “Gungnir… Execution!!!”
I've found your channel with the HI3rd video, watched all of your vids in like three days, and now watching them on release, nice work pseychie.
literally same LOL hes addictive
@@oncedemayo hes good at pacing, he sounds nice. hes a keeper(subbed)
Surprised you didnt mention anything about attribute anomaly/disorder, the quick assist feature and how supports interact with that, and the unique mechanics characters have like nicoles full circle hold skill having 3 different potential animations , stuff like billy/zhu yuan's triggerable repositions during attacks, soldier 11's "exceed" like timing mechanic etc.
As a HI3 veteran who was frequently in exalted Red Lotus/Nirvana I will say in my opinion that ZZZ has far more freedom and depth than HI3's combat system. Very rarely do you have to engage with HI3's enemies (at most some bosses require certain status application or parries) and you pretty much do very set rotations with a very stiff meta team. Here in ZZZ we have more build variety with the anomaly system and enemy engagement in the form of resource management (managing EX bars for specials, assist bars used for parries, and a shared ult). The way the stun system works also triggers different amounts of chain attacks depending on the enemy class which is something you'll want to take note during stages in Shiyu Defences as you can even continue what would be a short chain by dazing surrounding enemies.
The anomaly system here is also a breath of fresh air and could be seen as a unique blend between genshin's elemental reactions and HSR's DoT. Hell you can even detonate anomaly DoT's via disorder when you apply a 2nd element over an existing one. Another thing maybe you could have covered under gameplay was the ability to swap characters mid animation and have them complete their actions off field (a bit like WW's Calcharo/Yinlin swap teams), you'll notice this particularly with Soukaku whos rather long animation allows you swap via quick assist. All these in my opinion make for more freedom of combat expression and potentially build variety (not just crit fishing gear)
Maybe all this might not seem very useful in the story but in Shiyu Defence you'll really appreciate interacting with all available mechanics. In my experience with Wuthering Waves (who most ppl hail as one of the more mechanically in depth action gacha) having cleared all holograms and 27/30 starred ToA as a f2p. I would still say that ZZZ has comparable depth than you may see at first glance.
Whew sorry for spewing all of that, just wanted to share my thoughts. And also just realized this was a first impression video LOL so I guess it would make sense you'd only cover the bases.
Oh and also you can swap to the character behind with C since you mentioned you could only swap with one button forward.
Finally who think that zzz and wuwa combat system pretty similar. Difference only in bosses, in WuWa they just better, specially in holograms. I'm 33 level internot , and in mid of chapter 3 and didn't see all bosses yet in zzz, but exited for twins and shiyu defence high floor ones.
For the last part, you can't swap back on mobile, you still can click the swap button twice tho if you really want to
As someone that also play HI3rd, I agree with you, this game does bring some fresh air, like the swap has no cool down alone already make it somewhat better, I also like the anomaly system
But then again our opinion is heavily bias because both of us has play HI3rd for too long, if we play ZZZ for 2 or 3 more years we might even say the same thing for this game, for once this game is way more QTE heavy, the amount of QTE you did is way too frequent that i could see some people getting bored of it in a year or two, what worse is that the game heavily encourage you to spam QTE (break faster so QTE after) since majority of your damage is literally from the break phase and QTE.
You said it all brother. I feel like people don't understand the true complexity of the combat system which is akin to a fully fleshed out fighting game. Just today, I was contemplating how to best use my Neko, Piper, Lucy team because I felt like their kits weren't meshing well. However, I watched a couple vids from some different CC's and now I understand that I need to rotate them in a specific order to fully utilize their abilities. Also, I learnt how to use Piper's hidden fast spin tech.
That's just one team, there are multiple different set up's depending on who you build too.
@@abdulzaelani9954 yeah you make a good point about us playing HI3 too long. Even 1.0 HI3 felt so revolutionary at that time.
I do hope ZZZ does lean in more to the fine details they give each character so they have more identity.
The point you mentioned about the focus on stunning is definitely a valid concern too, it would be sad if a too optimal loop becomes the norm in combat. And yeah I could see QTEs getting a bit old if they don't freshen up the formula with some enemy mechanics.
I was an exalted red lotus player for years too and you just summarized my exact feelings about the combat system. I've seen a lot of hate about its simplicity and their comparisons on honkai impact are always so surface level. It feels like a lot of people who compared the two haven't really played with or engaged with the mechanics as much as we have to make a fair comparison.
you cycle through the dailies of mihoyo 4 gachas and then ask yourself "what am I doing with my life?"
then start doing the weeklies of the same 4 gachas
ZZZ would be near perfect if it was a pay-to-play singleplayer game. I hope Hoyo someday will make AAA singleplayer banger, just like Shift Up did with Stellar Blade
I'd buy that in a heartbeat
Sadly they can't because of CCP regulations
Actually that is the reason lot of Chinese developers use gacha games as to navigate around standard regulations
no it wont, they cant compete in the same market where persona exist, they will get compared and shit on constantly
@@predatorasap5040 how? there are plenty of chinese developed paid single player games available to the global market
@@katkat2673 it doesnt have to be a persona game, it just has to be a good game. Tho I will agree that it'd be more of a passion project than a revenue maker, if that's the argument
Finally someone that did the right comparison, im tired to see a bunch of content creator just compare this game with wuthering waves just for drama and views.
Honkai impact 3rd is indeed the best gauge for this game, its brawler style, QTE focused combat game. Now regarding the game simplicity keep in mind that this is still v1.0 so all the character having simple mechanic are understandable, its actually the same with HI3rd at the beginning, and with time their combo will become more and more complex as well. That being said, i just hope ZZZ dont make the same mistake HI3rd did in the past, like making too much game mode which lead to too much farmable currency, which is the biggest hurdle new player need to overcome. But considering mihoyo now has better resources and experience, ZZZ will have better chance to be better game unlike HI3rd which at the time they still dont know what they were doing since it is like the first of its kind
My main gripe with ZZZ is that it's super handholdy. Every bit of the way it holds your hand and forces you to do things. QTE? Too bad, either parry/FUA or wait 3s to cancel every time. Want to swap? Too bad, only next character swap is available. Want to animation cancel? Too bad, only ult animation cancels. Want to chain ults together? Too bad, only one character can ult ever.
@@kuratse205 yup bad so mad, you literally could swap to the previous character as well, and animation cancels can be done just with swaps
@@kuratse205 you can cycle to w/e character you want to, on PC the default keys are space and C, space cycles Right and C cycles Left.
@@kuratse205Each game has their own QTE rules. Wuwa I need to full fill that outro energy, honkai requires me some like fast atk/time fractures/weap skill, PGR needs me to proc either 3 ping or matrix.
@@kuratse205 Chain assists are character ults if loom at their attack animation, they just dont have the pre-animation you'd associate with Ults. Cycles to previous are their, its your fault not looking into it. QTE rules vary between games. Animation cancels are there too. You just dont know how to do them. Just because you're bad at the game doesnt mean the game is bad.
3:33 there is a way to swap to the previous character in your line up. On controller swapping is done with both of the bumpers and for Keyboard its C and Space.
Not for phone though
@@abdulzaelani9954yeah unfortunately. But hey at least the game got controller support on Mobile, Unlike other hoyo games.
@senpaiseeker1330 WuWa as well. It still has no controller support, it's being worked on despite being stated to be done prior to release but was never mentioned to be PC only, sadly no ETA either on them being done
@@senpaiseeker1330 At the very least, both Genshin and Star Rail feature mobile controller support.
@@notkirati they don't, brother. Unless you are an iOS user
1:38 it actually tears of theme and despite not being in the same universe the new lore trailer show us characters who pretty similar to characters in honkai impact like elysia mei and kiana
We don't know that yet bro this is 1.0 lmao
@@ccBAZZ Tbh, it's mihoyo and I'm not doubting these are expys of these charas.
A couple of things regarding the game's combat that you're missing
1) switching characters is NOT a single button thing, and the the order is NOT predetermined, I don't know the buttons on keyboard, but with a controller you can choose to switch to either off-field character at any time using the left and right bumpers
2) when switching characters mid-combo, the last character you were using will finish whatever attack you input before fully tagging out, meaning you can have 2 characters on the field at the same time attacking the same enemy at the same time, it's a small detail, but really adds to the combat and the combo potential you can pull off, and makes you think a bit more about team building and which characters' movesets compliment each the best and enable the best combos
You also completely forgot to mention perfect dodges and dodge counters, as well as the fact that parrying requires assist points that you have to keep topped up on so you can't just spam the ability, as well as unblockable attacks have to be dodged, and general enemy variety and behaviors that require to stay on your toes and carefully concentrate on the battle
Wait you can switch to either other character on controller???
@@alb7466 yeah, the right bumper switches to the next character in the lineup you set up, and left bumper will switch in the opposite direction, I'd imagine there has to be a button on keyboard that does the same, it would be kinda weird if that was a controller exclusive ability
@@Azure_Iolite I saw a few comments here and checked for myself, on keyboard C swaps to your previous character. I really wish the game told you that, because that is very helpful to know
@@Azure_Iolite while that's not a controller-exclusive thing (space and C are the equivalent on keyboard and mouse) the game's definitely more designed for controller. The special hidden inputs like the 360 noscope Nicole black hole to skip her charging time is basically impossible to do with WASD
Theoretically their order is predetermined by the way you lined up your team, so if your team is Billy, Anby, Nicole and you are currently on Billy the space bar cycles to Anby and C cycles to Nicole. In this regard it is predetermined and saying as much is not a wrong statement.
1:38 well, about that....
There's a character shown in one of the lore videos that looked like a mature Kiana, but with horns.
Sigh...
I just finished the main story and ngl the final boss is actually really difficult, that was the first time i actually cared about my HP playing the game
The first time I really noticed the difficulty was the Shura Tower mode that's basically ZZZ's spiral abyss. Was doing well at first and then suddenly I notice 2/3 of my party is dead and I have to desperately limp across the finish line as Nicole-only lol
@@JetsetlemmingShiyu Defense?
this game is just another trash gacha to squeeze money from waifu simps. period. I have played 15 year old indie games that move smoother and look better than this.
@@dizzlegrizzle1919 okay ?
@@dizzlegrizzle1919 bro just explain every gacha game in existence
I plan on making ZZZ my main gacha game. I love the simplicity and ease of getting the items you need to level up your characters compared to genshin, especially the level cap. I also love the characters and the modern/futuristic setting. Running your own video rental store is so damn cool!
What you missed is that trust missions with agents are locked behind actually obtaining them. But since you seem to think that all systems are unlocked at around IK level 20-30, it's an understandable mistake. I guess you just didn't unlock those missions yet.
I get the whole thing about the combat being simple but when was the last time anyone played a mechanically complex gacha game? I feel like team building and working around character passives is like half the gameplay anyways
I mean the only hard gacha that comes to mind is Limbus but even that's just a matter of characters.
No gacha game really has a complex gameplay it a pachinko machine that's the point
Hi3 for starters? The problem with zzz combat are 2
1-The enemies are slow and casual, they stand still for 3s t posing until they finally do the big ass slow attack for u to parry.
2-the combat is just basic atk smashing and swapping. There is no combos or special attacks. The closer thing you would find to a combo is to hold the attack button. That makes is very repetitive is just button spam and parry. If they fix these two combat issues then zzz will hold its own in the competitive gacha market. If not then most people would quit in some months
@@DantalianN 1. That's only in early stages. Later levels and mobs have much faster attack patterns. 2. There is definitely way more nuance than that. And even if it isn't complex relative to other gachas, what makes you think that "complex gameplay" = "better". "Most" people aren't competitive players looking to execute elaborate combos and techniques. The minority that is looking for a more technical, combat-oriented game may fall off. But the majority won't drop off because the combat isn't complex enough.
@servbotz 1-no lmao, i am already in shinyu defense that is the late game and the mobs remain the same, doing some 2 or 3 attacks in a row doesn't count as better attack patterns.
2-complexity equals to more variety, with give you more choices and consequently more fun. Only being able to spam basic attack and wait for parry window is to bland and became boring (i hope they change this in the future but seing the leak characters all remain the same)
2:45 "it's clear that story is not what miHoYo specialises in"
Penacony main quest: "Bonjour"
I love this game, it's mad fun, I was completely addicted to it for like 2 weeks. The combat is kinda simple tho, that's my one complaint...
I didn't even think about the persona comparison, that makes so much sense
This is a really good review! The only thing I'd wanna add is that Challenge Mode appears to just scale the damage and HP numbers on enemies, it doesn't do anything to change the gameplay loop of mashing basic attacks and using skills on cooldown while swapping characters to dodge and parry every attack for free. With the TV exploration mode, if you don't enjoy it, it's going to be a constant feature of the main story, sidequests, character quests, the roguelike Hollow Zero mode, and even some sidequests labeled Combat will have a wrapper of this mode around it, they only get more common the further you go. The last thing is that you talked about how ZZZ level gates a lot of core mechanics for several hours and won't allow you to farm ahead, but the game keeps forcing you to wait and farm until your account level reaches certain breakpoints to continue the main story. At account level 24 I needed to farm until I was level 30 to proceed, at 30 I needed to get to 32, then to 34, and my current quest is to get to account level 36, each of these with exactly one story mission and 3-5 sidequests in between them. ZZZ specifically demands that you do the kind of farming that would make your characters overpowered, doesn't allow you to use the materials to get that power early, and then you don't get to move the story forward more than one or two scenes at a time before you have to do it again.
Basically, your first impressions are spot on, but don't expect it to get better or be different if you keep going.
I've played WuWa, Genshin, and ZZZ, and in my opinion, the endgame enemies in ZZZ are more challenging than Genshin's but a bit less challenging than WuWa's, tbh I haven't reached the last Hollow Zero node yet, but that's my take
Finally, a truly good opinion/review
Great job as always Mr. Pseychie 👏
2:00 That's because they download a full game in archives that are nearly the exact same size as the unpacked game, unpack them, and then remove the archives. The only benefit is that they don't have to download ~9k files separately. Note that they remove the archives only after everything is unpacked. That's why you need 110 Gb to install the game.
4:45 Technically. Practically, if you won't play it at roughly the same time every day (or play twice a day), you'll be loosing points. No idea why they are so stingy about providing at least a 20%~30% buffer. It wouldn't kill them to extend the cap on these points to 300 and still give only 240 a day. Genshin was actually worse. They give us 1 point every 8 minutes and yet limit was at 160 instead of 180. And to be comfortable, it should be around 220.
9:40 I'd say they screwed it up and overplayed it. In Genshin you can quickly click through trash pulls if you wish to look them one by one. Here... it takes ages to go from one to another and not even fun since instead of weapons we have these more or less uniformly looking W-Engines. So, you know that if that's not a character, then you'll be looking at another ball. Balls. So, I think most players quickly learn to skip these animations entirely. Good for players, but kinda bad for HoYo.
I've attempted to get into gacha games before but I just couldn't do it. When I started seeing animations for ZZZ pop up on TH-cam I was immediately interested because of how fluid and expressive they were, so when the game came out I decided to give it a try, and I've been having a blast. It's actually nuts how well designed this game is. Besides the quality of the animation, the music is right up my alley and I vibe with almost every track. The combat is stylish and flows very well, and oh man the sound design! Every parry gives me chills, and until using Koleda in ZZZ, I haven't enjoyed playing a character with hammers this much since the Krogan Warlord in Mass Effect 3, and all that is thanks to the super satisfying sound effects. Between the music and the sound effects, you REALLY gotta play this game with some high quality headphones to get the full experience.
I guess I mainly wanted to bring all this up because as someone who doesn't really care much either way about gacha, ZZZ was the one that stood out enough to make me play, and good enough of a game in its own right to keep me playing. Going along with this, I want to add that I really don't mind the gating of content. It's pretty standard practice in single player games to progressively open up more and more of the game over time so that the player doesn't get overwhelmed, and even despite ZZZ's attempts at holding my hand, my head still spun for a while trying to understand all the different items and currencies and what they were for. For a veteran of games like these it's probably very familiar, so I get why you might think it's restrictive. But I'm guessing that Mihoyo knew that because of its unique style, ZZZ might be an entry point for players new to gacha games like me, and wanted to help us get used to it with more traditional game progression mechanics.
I'm glad you touched on the combat the way you did, too many other content creators wrote off the game before even trying any of the challenging content over it being too easy, expecting some kind of ultra-hardcore DMC game, and then went on to blast their opinion as fact all over youtube because the first hour of the game is button mashing.
There's specifically a challenge mode for all the commissions to make the combat. And i bet almost everyone who complains about the difficulty has not played past the prologue. Chapter 2 boss and the Twin Marionettes are pretty difficult on the normal difficulty
@@banana-bunnythat challenge mode is just more hp and more damage, in the end its just as easy as normal mode
It's not as black and white. People don't want it to be elden ring. If gacha players of all people are complaining that the combat is easy then it really is that easy
AL is the only gacha if played for years now. I did play genshin a little but it lost me somewhat fast. Maybe this one will keep me playing a little longer.
You know it's promising when there's a disclaimer about the video not being sponsored 😎😎
I rlly enjoyed the story so far, especially the first act, but it definitely isn't anywhere near jarilo VI level, that story is PEAK! (I haven't finished penacony yet tho, might still top that)
2:03 It's probably because most of the cutscenes are pre rendered videos and they take up quite a lot of your storage.
The combat system is a beautiful example of "easy to learn, hard to master" and, unlike HI3rd, it does not show a lot of mechanics, combs and options to the player, but leaves them to discover them themselves. They were inspired by modern fighting games like Street Fighter, which means that even a casual player can jump into it and just hit the buttons and it will somehow work out, but whoever pays time and attention to it will discover a lot of possibilities. Even the tutorial doesn't teach more than just the basics.
i think this is the perfect explanation for the combat
It's unlikely, but I hope that Shiyu Defense leans into this "get better" mentality, rather than "get better gear (or, failing that, weapons + dupes)" one that gacha often fall into. The game clearly has room for skill expression and min-maxing so I hope they take advantage of it rather than pulling a Genshin Spiral Abyss or HSR Memory of Chaos.
(Spoiler: I'm hedging my bets that it'll be the same as those. Thankfully, all these endgame modes are clear afterthoughts to satiate the whale or hardcore crowds, rather than the core experience of the game. Downside is that it might end up like Genshin/HSR where it's braindead easy outside of Shiyu, and Shiyu is just a gear/gacha lock.)
Hook, line and sinker there guy. This is exactly what I keep saying to people, reviews always mention how easy it is, but as someone who's well into Ch 3, the bosses and elites get much more aggressive and have dodge/parry mix ups that these people doing 1st impressions after a few hrs haven't even seen yet
Lol no? I've already mastered two team rotations within the first week. Perfectly 100% optimised. And I'm absolutely terrible at fighting games. You only say that because you never actually tried playing fighting games seriously and parroted something someone else said. This game is "easy to learn, easy to master". The skill ceiling is LOW. Especially when the goal of most teams currently is to Daze the enemies and completely remove their movement and attacks from the game half the time.
That's straight up misinformation. It does show ALL the mechanics and combos in the character sheet, and the only exception would be Nicole's singular hidden attack that everyone seems to be basing that 'complexity' on. The game DOES NOT offer any combo or options to the player since the game revolves around formulaic rotation to maximize your damage - it's Genshin's system improved.
All people who repeats this 'easy to learn, hard to master' cap clearly hadn't played long enough to see that it's still the same gameplay and mechanic from the beginning to the end of the 'endgame' of 1.0.
the game size shocked me when i was downloading it, but after looking at the 3d models, its understandable why its huge. the amount of details they have is amazing. even the npcs have proper modelling for small details on their outfits
7:54 idk if that's too fair, having your characters in the city wouldn't change that much!
1:21 Bro Tears of Themis is crying in the corner.
The combat off ZZZ vs HI3 feels like driving an automatic vs a manual car.
Beautiful game with super high quality art, animation, models with decent gameplay completely butchered by the gacha model and dumbed down mobile mechanics.
Yeah , if they make this game an campaign game like Hi Fi Rush , i would pay money to buy it. I love the art style but kinda bored with the gatcha model
This is quite literally too polished to be a gacha and it's the gacha part holding it down
You ever noticed how the zzZ looks and sounds like the sleep icon? Ever wondered why? ;)
A feature that a lot of people don't realize. While yes, you switch in a certain order with space bar, you can switch in reverse order with the c button. So if let's say you use space to switch from character 1 to character 2, you can use c to switch from character 2 to character 1. So there is some complexity to switching, especially when dealing with multiple enemies or harder bosses.
Just a quick note about swaping characters. If you use a controller on PC you can press LB or RB and it will get you your next agent or your previous one.
Kiana is on the moon bro. Look at it. She forgot to turn off the stove again smh
1:38 it seems like you haven't gotten to Lumina Square yet but I assure you, it's a fucking optimization mess. I've never gotten below 60 frames in any Hoyo game using max graphics
So far, the story is better than the others miyoho.
It's being a long time I don't played that much, so yes, I think this game will get it's own fan base :)
Idk, its not sticking with me, i LOVE the animation and style, but it feels shallow atm im sure itll pickup but also playing 3 other gachas i dont know if i wanna fit another one into my totally not gacha work routine
>> swapping units is done with only 1 button and will only cycle in the order the team was placed in
If you use gamepad - there are 2 buttons assigned for swapping characters - both for the next and for the previous characters. Really convenient, actually
Same on keyboard and mouse, press C if you havent changed keybinds. It also works with quick assists.
seeing him branch out from nikke is always so funny because you get to see different peoples reactions to his thumbnails and theyre always THE SAME
All of Hoyos games are in the same multiverse, if you know some of the HYV deep lore you can already see how some of the pieces might fit together(Samsaras, fragmentum, world being a simulation, etc) and the lore teaser trailer shows alt versions of many honkai characters(Kiana and Elysia)
6:45 i don't think every game needs to be like that tho and it makes sense for this game to be more linearized than genshin or star rail
I may not play the game, but I'd watch the story or listen to the dialogue of the character voices by Clifford (forgot the characters name, it's the robot man)
You are so right about the gacha rates, and that they are not really justified… leaves a sour aftertaste 😐
I think a subtle change from Genshin is how in its equivalent to spiral abyss the last stable node _(which would be abyss 8, the last that's not in rotation)_ is more difficult than the first of the stages in the rotation. So many people don't engage with spiral abyss, but that difficulty drop immediately after unlocking the rotating stages could get a lot more players on board with that game mode.
Maybe Genshin could, well, no, people wipe their butts with abyss 12 and I'm lucky to barely drag my mangled dong past 11-3
always on a lookout for an mmo gacha and at this time ToF is the only game that fills the slot, Genshin and Wuthering waves aren't even in the same subgenre being single player gachas unfortunately. I know a lot of ppl have the same sentiment on finding and playing a decent mmo gacha so i'd be surprised if ToF dies out completely any time soon.
There is depth to its combat but like you said, most casuals won't bother with it. Gameplay gave me nostalgia of 2018 Honkai Impact and how everything was locked behind progression. It stops people from procrastinating in the game, which is happening a lot in the OW Hoyo games.
just in case anyone missed it, if you play on controller you can also use the left bumper to swap to the previous character in your roster. Also works during parries
Gostei muito de ter visto voce fazendo uma review desse jogo logo apos uma semana, sinceramente estou viciado, como eu havia quitado de genshin (convenhamos genshin depois de 4 anos enjoa) eu fiquei muito intrigado com as mecanicas de combate do zzz e a historia tambem eh impressionante! Da pra ver que a equipe que fez esse jogo fez ele com amor, vou continuar jogando ele por bastante tempo.
Bom video! (Nao escrevi em ingles por preguiça)
I'm liking the game so far even though it's not the most deep gameplay wise. Considering you're comparing it to HI3rd, that game wasn't as intricate with its gameplay as it is now. Characters were pretty much on a similar level to ZZZ is currently, and it took a while before they really made things complex. We're currently in 1.0 for ZZZ and the game could drastically change within a year or 2 by adding certain characters/mechanics.
Another lovely review keep it up :3
idk, the game feels like an experimental lab for other games with that stamina system and things.
My man had to put a disclaimer at the start of the video lol
1:25 people rlly keep forgetting that tears of themis exists
you’re the only gacha youtuber i watch for good reason, keep it up
2:08 what is this game name plz tell me
isn't that star rail? I never played it, but he was talking about "other mihoyo games"
Great video, I 100% agree with your praise and critiques. I do want to add that while the game is mostly simplistic in combat, certain characters do have some difficulty added. Soldier 11 players know timing your basics can be tough
I like how for most of chapter 1 and 2 most bosses and unit encounters are a breeze and the chapter 3 final boss is something that can actually kick your ass if you aren’t aware of its attack patterns
I don't wanna give up this game but that TV simulator in exploration is not enjoyable for me but in hollow zero it's fire. For now I'm just doing dailies.
3:32 For controller, you can change character in order (1, 2, and 3) with R1 button, but you can go in reverse (3, 2, and 1) with L1 button. This also works for parry swap too
Please give us a wuwa review too Pseychie
I'm digging the first impression videos. Well thought-out analysis.
Haven't been playing for long but the combat slaps and as long as it continues to slap I will continue to play it.
You actually can switch characters in reverse order by pressing left bumper on console or "C" on keyboard, this allows you to switch directly from the first to the third person in your team and etc., this also works for the defensive assists!
Always enjoy your gacha videos Pseychie! I'll continue playing ZZZ, really enjoying the story and gameplay so far (just completed chapter 3). I also laughed when you said ZZZ might be the only hoyo game not connected to the other universe, cuz they dropped a video a few days ago and it showed a character who looks EXTREMELY similar to void drifter Kiana. I'm currently taking a break from genshin and HI3(played both games since they launched), so ZZZ's fast pace feels refreshing.
Just something to add. In combat, you can actually kinda choose who to swap to. In PC, the default keybinds are 'Space' to swap to the next character and 'C' for the previous one.
You can swap back and forth in the order of characters you have during combat btw. It’s spacebar to go to the next character and “c” to go backwards in order. So there’s still choice regarding who you swap to during quick assists.
The gacha rates are so bad though I have never had this much of a problem getting a banner character in any other game than I do in this game like damn I think i'll stick to WuWa at least it gives you a chance
THE WAY KIANA ACTUALLY DID APPEAR IN THE HOLLOW
i don't think tears of themis is set in the honkaiverse, so it's not the first non-honkaiverse hoyo game
They all could be for all we know, but it doesn't matter either way until there's a connection between them
Progression locked behind player level has been the same way since Genshin
Correction on PC (idk mobile controls) you can switch characters with space and c with space next in order and c as previous in order.
A small tip: you can also swap team in reverse order by pressing C and it also works in parries
I was honestly going to quit the game within the first week... that is until I saw the virtual idol group faction that's still in development, which I'm now definitely saving up for.
You should do a video on Wuthering Waves
8:33 god I wish I got arle, I'm not into genshin at all rn but I got back into it for her and didn't get her!
Also I'm still incredibly salty because firefly was the first character I ever put actual money beyond a pass into pulling for and I lost the 50/50 to E1 himeko! My gacha games are NOT treating me good lately! At least I got Ellen in like 40 pulls...
3:04 you can also press T and it'll stay sped up at least until a combat node
You can still choose what character you swap to, if you press C instead of space you will change in the third character shown in order.
Someone compared the game to Jet Set Radio and I think it sticks; it’s not deep at first, but 100% is using its sense of style to pull you along.
Half or even more of the people that hates on the gameplay and says that the puzzle doesnt make any sense are the same ones who skipped the story smh
I thought the tv level with the mech on top of the building with a big red heart was peak gameplay LOL
this is actually one of my favorite gacha games/games in general i love the cyber/retropunk vibe and the characters are all lovely! i know it isnt everyone's cup of tea and but personally i really dont like open world games and prefer small detailed environments a la deus ex. i really hope this game lasts for a while because im enjoying the hell out of it.
A ZZZ video not sponsored and vetted by mhy?
Incredible, what a bold new concept.
The thing about the complexity argument is that the early characters in HI3 are also very simple, even simpler than the launch character of ZZZ IMO (I do not think there is even the weapon skill button until quite a fews years after the launch). However, they just keep adding new systems with increasingly complex skill sets
Honestly you've nailed the thoughts on regards of ZZZ although I'll give them the benefit of the doubt down the line just like Honkai it might get complex, but yeah the gameplay ain't just my style despite the art style kinda bops well other than the slight "censorship" issues but at that point it's "trivial" so I won't go in-depth to it. Which is to continue on its just a "turn off your brain" game which isn't bad in a way.
Other than that tho I don't really have much to say because I can't play the game, my phone's old and barely have any storage and once you've seen "everyone's special attack" for me at least I almost go sleepy. But then again because I'm so used to the high octane action of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, Bayonetta Series, Devil May Cry Series, etc. To the point where it's hard to find the gacha game that can truly scratch that itch. Maybe down the line but for now tho it's very hard despite games like Punishing Gray Raven, in an certain extent Tower of Fantasy and Honkai Impact and of course especially Wuthering waves.
On punishing gray raven's case it's specific levels or bosses so its not really a 1 to 1. But yeah I think you get my point I'm just giving them unfair expectations lelz.
I guess while I'll leave this comments, tell me if there's an upcoming Gacha that has similar combat to that I'll be interested to see if it does capture the feel. (Other than V.A. Proxy of course cause dang that game is Hype and Ultrakill too just incase someone mentions a non-gacha game)
There's a boss in genshin that looks like a hollow complete with dubstep music, and was released around the time ZZZ was announced and beta testing began. I wouldn't be surprised in the least of this game is part of the honkaiverse 😂
The point about the switching order applies to ZZZ as well. Not only that, you have to choose the order carefully because the Assist function always activates the next character in line (and the third character is followed by the first one). In general, you want to find a good combination of support, sub-DPS and DPS characters and know what to do with them on-field. Sometimes you want to just parry all the time (the attacks that aren't announced by the yellow flash oftentimes can't be parried but you have to dodge them instead by the way), sometimes you need to dodge a few times so you can set up a buff or a debuff etc. I also wouldn't really bring up Honkai Impact here since in that game, you are motivated to basically get one or two viable teams and just mash buttons in very specific order (and pray you have the best possible stigmata and mainly the character's unique weapon). That's one of the reasons I quit HI3 after all these years.
Tl;dr: I don't say the combat system is super complex, but trying to say it's watered down too much is also kind of disingenuous. The game just favours very fast-paced combat.
I have yet to see a game with such high quality character designs and animations, so I'll be sticking with ZZZ for the near future. Who knows if it has staying power yet though