I never wrote an opinion article on what I thought of Zero no Kiseki. So… I’ll go ahead and do that now.

However, to change things a bit, I will be talking specifically about one thing that specifically hit me hard in this game.

If you have heard the soundtrack and played the game, there should be only one thing that comes to mind when you hear the track ‘Demonic Drive’.

This is probably, in my opinion, one of the most intense scenes I’ve ever seen in a game. I am lumping this into major scenes that have been mind blowing to me. Some of these are like… um…

FFIX’s “You’re Not Alone!” scene is something that’s always rung with me.
The scene in Wild ARMs 2 when Ashley has to go against Lord Blazer.
The final case of Phoenix Wright Justice For All.
And I’m sure there are several others in here that I’m not thinking of because it’s early and my brain hasn’t kicked into gear. XD;;

…of course, there are more than these, but I’m at work and I’m not going to really think further than just that for this post. Especially when Zero no Kiseki is the topic of this post.

Music can help intensify a scene, though. Here, if you’ve not heard the song:

These are, in my opinion, the penultimate scenes in a video game. These are the point when the stakes are at their highest, and you see one or more characters rise to the occasion and pull through. Now, of course, all stories of this nature will have something like that, but there is just sometimes a moment that just sticks with you, even long after you’ve played the game, read the book, or seen the movie.

Those of you reading this probably know exactly what I’m talking about, too. It’s a combination of the setting, the characters, the music, all coming together to create one big mindblowing moment.

That’s what Falcom did with this scene in Zero no Kiseki, and I think they managed to do it in such a way that it’s going down along with those absolute favorite scenes in all the other games I’ve played and loved. I will never forget the moment my heart sank when the phone rang at the beginning of the scene. Or the ‘wait. no. don’t. D:’ when Dudley and Sergei offered to stay back. And to make it more incredible is that it just did not end there. The scenes in the IBC building were amazing. Then there’s the long succession of battles. And the drive to get to the final dungeon. D:

Holy crap..

All I can say is well played, Falcom. Well played.

The new Kiseki game should be announced any day now this week or next. I’m eagerly awaiting it. Falcom has raised the bar significantly with Zero no Kiseki. They’re proclaiming that the next game will be bigger?

Bring it on! I can’t wait!