Zero (Drakengard)

Zero (ゼロ) is the main protagonist and playable character of the 2013 action role-playing game Drakengard 3, the third main entry in the Drakengard series, developed by Access Games and published by Square Enix. She is also featured in the prequel manga Drag-on Dragoon 3: Utahime Five and the arcade game Lord of Vermilion III. Zero is an Intoner, one of a race of god-like beings who control magic through their singing abilities. In trying to destroy the flower which gave birth to her powers and tried to use her to destroy humanity, she sets out to kill her "sisters", clones spawned by the flower to carry out its mission.

Zero was created by Taro Yoko, the game's director and co-writer, and designed by Kimihiko Fujisaka. Yoko wanted an unusual type of protagonist that had not been featured very often in games. Fujisaka crafted her to emulate the dark tones of the series, although he also added features to create a feminine vibe, such as the flower in her eye. Despite being criticized for her characterization and personality, she has also been praised for her interactions with the other characters and for standing out among characters within the genre. Fans of the Drakengard series in Japan have also received her positively.

Creation and design
Zero was conceived by Taro Yoko, the director and co-writer of Drakengard 3. While conceiving her, Yoko thought it would be interesting to do a character who had worked in a brothel, as the concept had not been often explored and the Drakengard series offered an opportunity for such a protagonist to be created. One of the earlier ideas for Zero's role in the game was to have her as a schoolgirl with a cellphone in a contemporary setting, but this was quickly decided against. Eventually, Yoko decided to create more female characters for Zero to interact with: one of the reasons behind this was that all other possible choices for the game had been rejected. Her number-based name, along with the names of all her sisters, were meant to make it easier for players to identify and distinguish them.

Zero was designed by Kimihiko Fujisaka, a designer who had worked on each entry in the Drakengard series. His original design was meant to emulate her status as a god-like being and be similar to traditional video game protagonists, but as the game's atmosphere was finalized, Fujisaka redesigned her with some unaesthetic elements, taking direct influence from the game atmosphere: this was the main reason behind adding her prosthetic arm. She originally had no flower in her design, but Fujisaka wanted to add an aspect of femininity to her appearance. The decision to place it in her eye was to add originality to the character: while the game's producer Takamata Shiba originally fearing it would clash with the game's atmosphere, Yoko approved of the design. After Zero was finalized, Yoko decided on more female characters, and told Fujisaka to "think Puella Magi Madoka Magica" while designing them. Her design, along with the rest of the main characters, was inspired by modern clothing styles and fashion in contrast to the "medieval" inspiration of previous games.

Appearances
In Zero's prequel novella, "A Rain to End and a Flower to Begin", it is revealed that Zero was abused by her mother and sold into prostitution. Eventually escaping, she grew to live by killing and stealing, with the killing eventually becoming an unconscious instinct. Eventually, she was weakened by a deadly disease and was caught and imprisoned, dying from her illness there. Upon dying, she was revived by a magical flower which wished to use her as an instrument for destroying mankind. Upon realizing this, Zero tried to kill herself, but the flower kept her alive, and spawned five clones as a safety measure: these clones were Zero's "sisters", who eventually took control of the land from the native warlords. Eventually, Zero decides to kill her sisters, then herself to rid the world of the flower. By the events of Drakengard 3, Zero had forged a partnership with the dragon Michael: as dragons are the only beings that can destroy Intoners, Michael would help Zero kill her sisters, then kill her to finish off the flower. Their first attempt to take down all the Intoners ends in disaster, with Zero losing her arm and Michael being wounded and forced to reincarnate as the child dragon Mikhail. During their second attempt, they attack each one individually: after killing one, Zero takes on their Disciple, a servant created to magnify the Intoners' powers, who each help in battle and act as a personal harem. Before facing One, Zero reverts her disciples to their original bird forms, releasing them from their servitude. During the battle, both One and Mikhail is killed, then Zero is killed by a male clone of One created as a fail-safe in the event of Zero's victory.

Around this central timeline, various "branches" appear, caused by "singularities", namely Zero, her sisters and the Disciples. During her progression through these branches, Zero is monitored by Accord, one of a race called Recorders charged with monitoring all of time and all alternate timelines created by singularities such as Zero. In the second branch, while going to kill her sister Three, Zero witnesses the flower driving her sisters insane, with Three dying from poisons in the forest and One being murdered by an unhinged Two. In the ensuing battle, the Disciples and Two are killed, then Mikhail is poisoned. Zero uses the flower to form a "pact" with Mikhail, resurrecting him. In the third branch, Zero's Disciples are killed when Two self-destructs, and Mikhail regresses to a childlike form incapable of properly defending her. When Mikhail is killed by One's dragon, Zero and One do battle and One is killed. Mentally unbalanced by the event, Zero sets off to find another dragon, but it is hinted that she fails. In the fourth branch, Zero manages to kill all of her sisters and absorb their powers, managing to take down One with help from Accord. After absorbing all their powers, she and Mikhail are transported to another world and Mikhail destroys the monster Zero transforms into. With this, the flower's magic is sealed away, although Accord speculates that Zero might have survived and would reappear in some form.

Zero has also appeared in the prequel manga Drag-On Dragoon 3: Utahime Five, which is told from the point of view of the other Intoners. It is revealed that she is indirectly responsible for the destruction of the Cathedral City, interrupting a dangerous magical experiment before engaging One in battle. Beyond the Drakengard universe, both Zero had her dragon Mikhail appeared in the second sequel to the arcade game Lord of Vermilion.

Reception
Zero has received a mixed to positive reaction from western video game critics. GamesRadar's Becky Cunningham praised Tara Platt's performance in the role, and that her relationship with Mikhail helped humanize her. GameSpot's Heidi Kemps found Zero entertaining despite her negative portrayal, enjoying the points where she critiqued the game and finding that she "related to her as the game progressed, which is not something I typically feel for antihero characters." Eurogamer's Chris Schilling found that Zero's presence turned the game into "a jet-black comedy", while finding her honesty about her motives appealing and being reminded of Jordan Belfort: while both unlikable characters, there was "something magnetic about their horribleness." RPGFan's Derek Heemsbergen referred to Zero as "foul-mouthed butcher", although he was generally positive about her story and her interactions with Mikhail and the disciples, calling it "strange and often hilarious".

Anime News Network's Todd Ciolek was fairly non-committal about his opinion of the character, instead describing Zero as a conscious mockery of standard action-game protagonists, referring to her as "murderous, foul-mouthed, impulsive, abusive, and all but impossible to like." In contrast, Kimberley Wallace of Game Informer was not as enthusiastic, saying that while Zero had some good one-liners, "the better efforts are buried in a lot of bad party banter." IGN's Meghan Sullivan was also fairly negative, saying that Zero's character, interactions and motivation were badly let down by poor writing. USGamer's Kat Bailey was generally unenthusiastic about Zero's general attitude and portrayal, saying that she was "characterized in large part by her apparent love of killing and her aggressive bitchiness toward her companion dragon".

The character has also been positively received by series fans in Japan. In a popularity contest for the characters of Drakengard 3, Zero came in as the fourth most popular character of the game, with her dragon Mikhail taking first place. In the 2014 Dengeki PlayStation Awards, Zero was placed as the fourth best character of 2013.