I’m not exactly what you’d call a gamer, but damn if I wasn’t immediately drawn to 2022’s first teaser image for Zenless Zone Zero (pictured above). It’s mix of near-future Tokyo-inspired aesthetics, bold character design and “edge” (for lack of a better word) gave me distinct Jet Set Radio vibes—another game I loved—but with a more modern-day spin.
Now, I never was a gacha gamer, nor do I care to ever really become one, but the continued drip marketing was just so good—or at least tailored to my specific tastes—I just had to see if the game itself lived up to whatever hype I had built up in my head. Flash forward to July 2024, I download the game (I mean… it’s free) and find that, yep, the game itself is that good.
While I won’t wade into the debate as to whether or not the current state of the game is as strong as it was at launch, nor will I make a tier list as to who the best waifu is (because it will always be A-rank Anby). But it’s hard to deny the amount of work, love and detail that went into creating the initial maps of Sixth Street and Lumina Square, and it’s even harder to deny that someone on the design team is a serious car nerd. Who else would think to tease their game with anime girls and a robot on a modded 2nd-gen Civic hatchback?
Getting into the game itself, let’s start with the car of our main characters, Belle and Wise, which we find conveniently parked behind their video store:
Those three dots on the grille look almost like Mitsubishi’s diamond-star logo, but the ride itself almost looks like a Suzuki Wagon R built for an early-2000s appearance at the Tokyo Auto Salon. Check out the serious oni camber on that rear wheel.
And speaking of things that look like Mitsubishis, what’s that parked outside the parking lot gate?
Yup. It’s a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III, with a headlight texture just different enough to keep the lawyer’s at Hoyoverse and Mitsubishi happy. It’s hard to get a good shot of it through the fence using only our in-game camera. Thankfully we can see it roaming elsewhere in the game world. The simple fact that the design team even thought to put a tow hook on this model shows their nerdery runs deep.
Hanging out on Sixth Street is this kei delivery truck, which looks a lot like a 3rd-generation/early 1970s Subaru Sambar, parked outside the 141 convenience store.
That sign on the wall is an ever-changing billboard. Someone had a little too much fun with that Rocket Cola ad. But wait for a bit and it’ll change to this:
An AE86 Toyota Corolla that just needs a big cutout in the hood to be considered a legally compliant piece of art.
Keep roaming these back alleys of Sixth Street and we’ll see this thing parked just outside of the map’s invisible barrier:
I guess this proves that the answer to everything is “Miata.” Here we see one with a hard top, bolt-on overfenders and a noticeable rear diffuser. Also note the hippari (“stretched”) tires with stenciled logos.
Just beyond that we see another slammed kei wagon. I’m guessing the net on the window is supposed to be a nod to the kanjo racers that run the Osaka loop.
If we want to leave Sixth Street, we can find a color-swapped version of this ride in a Lumina Square back alley.
Like Hondas? So do the art directors of this game. Check out this two-door Honda Fit:
Note the tow hook, and the fact that these Fits seem to be riding on ADVAN Sa3r wheels.
The internet’s favorite 4×4, the Suzuki Jimny, is here in Zenless Zone Zero. Here’s one outfitted for adventure parked at Port Elpis.
Prefer your trucks to be old, American, and rusty? Here are a couple parked in the city outskirts of Blazewood. I don’t know my classic American cars all that well, but this looks to be heavily influenced by the Chevrolet C10.
Head into one of the Hollows—the combat areas of the game—and you’ll find some car models not seen anywhere in the normal overworld. This in-game model looks like it started life as a mid-1980’s Jeep Cherokee Chief.
There are a lot of these old sedans throughout the Hollows as well, all of which seem to be a not-at-all changed E90 Toyota Corolla. Or maybe the in-game car is a “disguised” something, and the ‘Yota itself is just that generic-looking.
Also scattered throughout these Hollows are a ton of kei vans, which look to be inspired by a mid-1990s Subaru Sambar, but with the front windshield rake of an ‘80s Toyota Van.
Even though they were just background objects, the cars featured here did a phenomenal job of helping to build the world of Zenless Zone Zero. I instinctively knew who lived on these streets, what they did, and what they were into. But for better or worse, Zenless Zone Zero has drifted away from its early street-heavy aesthetics in favor of something inspired by Chinese mysticism. So not only do these newer agents have zero drip, the game itself hasn’t added any cool new background vehicles for several patches now. Maybe we’ll get new background cars and cooler character designs whenever 3.0 comes around. Or maybe I’ll just have to pick up Neverness to Everness if I start to feel that what my gacha game is lacking, is cars.
