Steins;Gate 0 (visual novel)

Steins;Gate 0 (シュタインズ・ゲート ゼロ) is a Japanese visual novel developed by Mages, and a side entry in the Science Adventure Series, serving as an interquel to the original Steins;Gate visual novel.

The marketing for Steins;Gate 0 referred to it as a "true sequel" to Steins;Gate, as opposed to a spin-off or alternative story, like the previously released Steins;Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram. Zero itself takes inspiration from the series of light novels known as the "Epigraph Trilogy", though it is not a direct adaptation.

Steins;Gate 0 was released in Japan on December 10, 2015 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Vita. It was later released for Windows on August 26, 2016, the Xbox One on February 21, 2017, and the Nintendo Switch on March 20, 2019.

An English localization was released by PQube for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita on November 25, 2016 in Europe and four days later in North America, both with regular and limited editions. It was later re-released for Steam by Spike Chunsoft on May 8, 2018.

Overview
Steins;Gate 0 takes place after a hypothetical bad ending to Steins;Gate, where main character Rintaro Okabe fails to save the life of Kurisu Makise after travelling back in time and gives up. Zero follows the consequence of Rintaro's choice and the effects it has in the world, as World War III draws closer with each passing day.

Several months later, Rintaro attends a lecture by Alexis Leskinen and Maho Hiyajo, from Viktor Chondria University, the university at which Kurisu worked. There, he is presented the project Amadeus, an advanced artificial intelligence capable of replicating a person based on their memories, by using Kurisu's previously published thesis as a basis.

Upon getting to meet Maho Hiyajo and Dr. Leskinen, Rintaro is presented with the opportunity to act as a tester for Amadeus, or, more precisely, a version of Amadeus that uses the memories of the deceased Kurisu Makise.

Gameplay
Zero features a new twist on the "phone trigger" system introduced in the original work. The protagonist Okabe's old mobile phone has been changed to a smartphone, and the story's route can be changed using two applications installed on the new device.

As a tester given access to Amadeus, Okabe is able to communicate with "Kurisu" through a dedicated app, and "Kurisu" is able to contact him at will as well...

Further, in place of the emails from the previous work, a messaging app called RINE, which was developed by Daru, is used to respond to Okabe's friends. Even the digital stickers used in the app are expected to effect the course of the game.



Cast

 * Rintaro Okabe: The ex-mad scientist and leader of the Future Gadget Lab. He has given up on saving Kurisu Makise and reaching the Steins Gate, and suffers from severe PTSD due to his experiences on other worldlines. He is trying to live a normal life, even if he knows that World War III is bound to happen.
 * Mayuri Shiina: Rintaro's childhood friend. While she still remains as enthusiastic and naïve as before, she is the one that is the most affected by Rintaro's change in attitude.
 * Maho Hiyajo: A researcher at Viktor Chondria University, specialized in artificial intelligence, and Kurisu's senior.
 * Alexis Leskinen: A professor at Viktor Chondria University, and the main mind behind Project Amadeus. He quickly develops a liking for Rintaro.
 * Suzuha Amane: A time traveler from the year 2036, and Itaru Hashida's daughter. She is trying to convince Rintaro Okabe to go back in time and change the future.
 * Itaru Hashida: Rintaro's hacker friend, and the only one that keeps using the lab besides Suzuha. He has recently also acquired a part time job, though he does not want to talk about it.
 * Kagari Shiina: Mayuri's adopted daughter from the year 2036. She came back alongside Suzuha, but went missing in 1999.

Staff

 * Planning and Author: Chiyomaru Shikura
 * Producer: Tatsuya Matsubara
 * Character Design: huke
 * Scenario: Naotaka Hayashi, Toru Yasumoto, Masaki Takimoto, Tsukasa Tsuchiya
 * Music: Takeshi Abo

Release
On March 28, 2015, Chiyomaru Shikura, executive director of Mages. Inc., held a TwitCast, in which he announced the visual novel. It was originally slated for release on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PS Vita on November 19, 2015. However, on October 13, 2015, 5pb. announced that the game would be delayed until December 10, 2015 in order to improve product quality. On March 31, 2016, a port for Windows PC was announced, slated for release on June 24, 2016. However, its final release date became August 26, 2016. After announcing on January 26, 2017 via Twitter that a digital-only release would be coming soon for Xbox One, the Xbox release was launched on February 21, 2017, during a special Winter Sale held by 5pb. for several of its titles.

The English release of the title by PQube for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita was announced on May 25, 2016. The title launched in Europe on November 25, 2016 and four days later in North America. The game released in English and Japanese on Steam on May 8, 2018. Zero has been given a "'C' ages 15 and up" rating by CERO in Japan. A PEGI rating in Europe of "ages 16 and up". And, an ESRB rating of "Mature, ages 17 and up" in North America.





Promotion
Since the game was first announced in early 2015, a variety of promotions were held both in Japan and abroad for the Japanese and English releases, ranging from convention giveaways and voice actor panels to video trailers and online countdowns.

Music
The opening song is sung by Ito Kanako with lyrics written by Shikura Chiyomaru and is entitled "Amadeus"(アマデウス). Zwei sings the ending song, entitled "Lyra"(ライア). Shikura Chiyomaru once again provided the lyrics and Oshima Kousuke did the composing.



The new BGM in the second trailer is used in the story.