Earlier today, Russell Iriye from Aksys Games shed some light on Mind Zero‘s NA release date and shared information on the upcoming role-playing game. Set in your typical Japanese high school, the game takes place in the Saitama Prefecture; as the plot advances, the main character becomes aware of the division between two alternate worlds. One that is recognized as the ‘real’ world, and the other which has been dubbed as the ‘spiritual’ world. The latter is a realm where players hold the unique ability to call forth their individual MINDs (Mental Inside Nobody Dolls), or Persona-like counterparts. The comparison was going to make itself known, sooner or later; but the straight-forward answer is yes– this game walks, talks, and sounds like an uncanny role-playing game that the developers at Atlus would find rather familiar.
Below is the official North American trailer with the debuted release date that’s set for May 27, 2014. Feel free to take a quick look, perhaps you can count just how many resemblances it holds to Persona. As well as differences that might make Mind Zero memorable as its own stand-alone series.
And with the lingering comparison out of the way, we can get down to business on some of the details that PlayStation’s official blog published in terms of how the RPG is going to construct itself on the PS Vita. Russell Iriye described the central plot as being suspenseful, “Kei is a normal high school student until his life turns upside down when he forms a contract with a MIND, a weapon/being with deadly powers,” explained the advocate from Aksys Games. “With the government and other forces trailing him and his friends, Kei will need to discover the secret behind MIND before it’s too late.” So it’ll be a fast-paced race against the clock to uncover the reasoning behind your MINDs existence, as well as your affiliation within the spiritual world.
How will the gameplay pan out, you ask? Well, it’ll be a lot like what you’d expect from an RPG title. From the information that was released, it looks like it’ll maintain a tactile approach to the role-play game genre. With each character acquiring particular abilities, attacks, and another special “Burst” feature that’ll speed up your selected character’s movement. There are also going to be another limited skill-set for each character’s specific MIND; and those powerful creatures will serve players well in the heat of battle. Thus, if you’re looking for an RPG that’ll expand your arsenal another notch; Mind Zero might prove to be a pleasant pit-stop. Especially since Atlus’ newest installment of the Persona series is not set for North American soil until 2015.
The digital copy of Mind Zero will be accessible on the PSN, as well as available at all retail locations later this spring.