is a

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its historical simulation games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based o ...

for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

. It saw a Japan-only release on October 7, 1999, and a re-release in 2000 under the "Koei the Best" line. A

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

called ''Zill O'll Infinite'' was released in 2009 on the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

, and a prequel, '' Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll'' was released in 2010 for

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

. While superficially similar to ''

Final Fantasy is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...

'' franchises, the game has

character creation Character creation (also character generation / character design) is the process of defining a player character in a role-playing game. The result of character creation is a characterization, direct characterization that is recorded on a charac ...

and a

nonlinear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system (or a non-linear system) is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathe ...

scenario system that allows the plot, including the ending, to be affected by player decisions, with time passing when moving from place to place.

non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...

s can die depending on the player's involvement in their quest. Nevertheless, it was poorly received in the West and seen as a ''Final Fantasy'' clone, ultimately never being localized.

Release

''Zill O'll'' was the 4th best-selling video game in Japan for the week between October 4, 1999 and October 10, 1999.

Reception

The game's turn-based combat and other gameplay was often compared to the ''

'' series by critics. In a preview of the game for Tokyo Game Show 1998, ''Console Plus'' called the game's graphics more detailed than '' FFVII'', and remarked on its "superb" cutscenes. Christian Nutt of ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' rated the game 4.8/10 points, calling it "Koei's ''Final Fantasy''". Saying it had "very little original content", he characterized the graphics as "quite mediocre". While praising the fact that individual enemies were visible in dungeons, he nevertheless said that they moved "lethargically" and were easily avoided. ''New Zealand Station'' called the game "highly unoriginal" and "a straight rip off from ''Final Fantasy''", saying that it "thankfully" had not made it to local shores. ''

Dengeki Online was a Japanese video gaming publication by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks). It primarily features information pertaining to the PlayStation brand. ''Dengeki PlayStation'' was originally founded as a magazine in 1994 and ran until 2020, ...

'' praised the game's high degree of freedom in an anniversary feature, remarking on how the player could change the story and which party members joined.

Remakes

''Zill O'll Infinite'' and ''Infinite Plus'' were remakes of the original game, released for PS2 and PSP, respectively, with new elements.

References

;Translation ;Citation

External links

* * * {{Koei Tecmo 1999 video games Action role-playing video games Fantasy video games Japan-exclusive video games Japanese role-playing video games Koei games Koei Tecmo franchises PlayStation (console) games PlayStation (console)-only games Single-player video games Video game franchises introduced in 1999 Video games developed in Japan