Lose Your MIND
“Now that you’ve appeared here, you have two choices. Choose a weapon and live… or choose a weapon and die…”
—The Undertaker note
Mind Zero, stylized MIND≒0, is a dungeon crawler role-playing video game developed for the Play Station Vita portable video game console. It was developed jointly by Acquire and Class of Heroes developer ZeroDiv, and published by GungHo Online Entertainment. It was released in Japan on August 1, 2013, and in May 2014 in Europe and North America by Aksys Games, with a Steam release following on March 8, 2016. The story centers around two worlds: the "normal" world, taking place in the Akihabara, Yokohama, Amamiya, and Nippori regions in Japan and a "crazy spiritual world".
This game provides examples of:
- Aborted Arc: During the final dungeon, Togetsu's plan is revealed to be that he is trying to open a Door to the Inner Realm in order to bring his dead sister back to life. After he manages to open the door, Shizuku is pulled inside and bringing the dead back to life is never mentioned again, with the Doors purpose changing to "Making her the Empress of the MINDs."
- Additionally, Leo apparently has a subservient contract with his MIND, meaning it will eventually consume him and he will lose his free will. This is dropped almost immediately after it's brought up and is never mentioned again. Though Lina states immediately after that as long as he doesn't void his contract in any way, he'll be perfectly fine.
- Battle Butler: Lina's MIND is her butler too.
- Badass Family: The Albertine family, which has supposedly spent the past 200 years fighting MINDs and closing Doors to the Inner Realm. They also have Dominant contracts with their MINDs, allowing them complete control over their MINDs
- Big Fancy House: Lina's.
- Bland-Name Product: Rollies, which are fictional Heelies.
- Bonus Dungeon: The Lost Labyrinth, which becomes available after beating the game.
- Can't Catch Up: Despite the Leaked Experience mechanic, characters that aren't used regularly will be behind in quite a few levels, to the point of being unusable without grinding them up to par. Though even then, they would still be weaker than the member they replaced for a while.
- Strangely though, after you get your full party back at the end of Phase 6, the rest of your party members are instantly upgraded to the same level as your highest level character.
- Cast from Hit Points: Many abilities cost life points; magic points are rather used to keep your MIND up and running, as well as serving as a replacement for life points as they do so.
- Cerebus Syndrome: Phase 6, during which a Door is opened at the school and the MINDs begin attacking students. The phase ends with Shizuku being kidnapped. Also, Phase 9, which ends with the party having to fight and kill a ten-year-old boy.
- Conveniently an Orphan: Lina.
- Cool Sword: Kotone & Lina's weapons certainly qualify.
- Damsel in Distress: Shizuku.
- Difficulty Levels: Which can severely bite you in the ass if you don't use Sana and Leo, due to Phase 6 forcing you to use them.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Lina.
- Elemental Powers: Like many RPGs it sports its own elemental magic based on the classical elements: Dishing Out Dirt, Playing with Fire, Making a Splash, Blow You Away.
- Evil Hand: Leo's left arm fuses with his MIND.
- Fake Longevity: After Shizuku is kidnapped by Togetsu, Kanade starts giving Kei calls about where she will be next, only for the heroes to go through a new dungeon and meet one of the villains at the end, who refuses to answer their questions and dispatch some monsters to deal with them before teleporting away. It happens twice.
- Backtracking: Unless you can find the "teleport spot" while exploring the floor.
- Loads and Loads of Loading: You get loadings for: loading a saved game, entering/leaving a dungeon (also when moving between floors) and changing party members in the menu.
- First-Person Perspective: The dungeon crawling bits are done in first person.
- Fun with Acronyms: MIND stands for "Mental Inside Nobody Dolls" in the Japanese version and "Major Inner Node Displacement," in the English version.
- Gameplay Automation: There is an option to put battles on auto.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: Phase 6 forces you to use Leo and Sana, due to the situation being too urgent to get any other party members, as well as the police perimeter set around the school. However, there's nothing stopping you from leaving, heading to a different area, and grinding in a different dungeon. You still can't change party members, though. Even if you stop at Yoichi's agency.
- Guardian Entity: MIND's.
- Government Conspiracy: One that apparently exists to keep the truth about what MIND is from the public. This conspiracy also kills the police inspector after he learns the truth about MIND by blowing him up with a car bomb.
- He Knows Too Much: In the ending, inspector Hioaki Kamata is killed by a car bomb to prevent him from spreading the truth about MINDs.
- I Cannot Self-Terminate: After seeing practically all her classmates possessed by MINDs and turned into soulless monsters, and fearing that the same might happen to her, Shizuku preemptively asks Kei to kill her if it ever does.
- Ignored Enamored Underling: Reika, despite being treated as just a pawn by Togetsu, professes how she supports him so wholeheartedly that she's willing to die for him if she has to.
- Implausible Hair Color: The Japanese Sana, having blonde hair. Though they might be dyed.
- Inconveniently-Placed Conveyor Belt: The third dungeon, Lament of Death, has these.
- Informed Attribute: Yoichi is called an old man on multiple occasions, despite only being in his 30s.
- Invisible to Normals: MINDs and the weapons associated with them are invisible to normal people.
- Lazy Backup: To the point where the backup is right behind the battling party, as you can see dialog boxes pop up as they cheer you on, but like hell would they ever join in if the main party is defeated.
- Leaked Experience: Though not done very well.
- Magically-Binding Contract: Picking a weapon enters you into a contract with a MIND.
- Marathon Level: Lost Labyrinth has fifty floors. Luckily it's an optional post-game Bonus Dungeon.
- Most Common Super Power: Every (grown-up) female MIND.
- No Ending: After you defeat the final boss, Shizuku (who, by this point, you have spent half the game trying to rescue) is pulled through the unsealed door to the Inner Realm because "She is going to be made the Empress of the MINDs." Togetsu laughs and says something about "Those old men must be scared shitless right now" then dies. Kei screams NOOO, then the scene switches to the two cops, with their car EXPLODING for literally no reason. Only the young cop survives, also screaming NOOOOO. THEN the scene shifts to Kanade talking on the phone, then hanging up and wondering if he'll ever meet the party in person. The game finally ends with a black screen of text saying "This is only the beginning."
- Phenotype Stereotype: The one non-Japanese character is blonde haired and blue-eyed.
- Pointy Ears: Many of the MIND's have them, especially female ones.
- Pretty Boy: It is mentioned in-game that Sana's MIND is a Bishōnen.
- Protagonist-Centered Morality: The "heroes" straight up murder a 10 year old boy working for Togetsu simply because Togetsu was the first person who wanted to be friends with him. After his death, they fail to inform his parents (who filed a missing child report) that he died and he is never brought up again.
- Random Encounters: Except for a few battles that can be seen on-screen as "enemy signs", most are random encounters.
- Sequel Hook: The entire ending of the game resolves nothing and sets up about 3 different plot threads, such as Shizuku supposedly being made Empress of the MINDs, the inspector dying before he could tell Watanabe the truth about MINDs and the man in the white suit supposedly looking for the party on behalf of the "Old Men." The game just ends with a black text screen saying "This is only the beginning."
- The Stinger: There's a post-credits scene where The Undertaker welcomes a new customer to her shop, mimicking her dialogue at the beginning of the game. Also, there's a scene before that of Shizuku waking up in the Inner Realm.
- Visual Novel: Cutscenes are done in visual novel style.
- Western Zodiac: Most enemies faced on random battles are based on them.
- Whip of Dominance: Reika is a domineering and sadistic villainess whose weapon is a thorn-covered whip. She likes to crack the whip to intimidate others and her special attack has her commanding the party to "kneel before her" while she lashes at them several times.
- Written Sound Effect: Attacks and summoning of the MINDs are accompanied by written sound effects.
- Would Hurt a Child: The party, who kill a ten year old boy working for Togetsu.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Sana points out that Kotone is everything an ideal Japanese woman should be.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: In the ending, after finally finding Shizuku and defeating Togetsu, she is pulled inside a Door to the Inner Realm.
