Zone of the Enders: Enders Project Announced

A new Zone of the Enders game in the works? It’s true. Learn what we know so far about the next potential sequel to the robot-battling, space colony war saga by Kojima Productions.

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The splendid high-definition re-release of the two main Zone of the Enders games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will be released in Japan on October 25, but Kojima Productions head and force behind the Metal Gear Solid games, Hideo Kojima, had more than just a shipping date to share at a recent Zone of the Enders HD event.

Zone of the Enders: Enders Project. Redundant, yes, but more importantly, it’s the long-awaited sequel within Konami’s cult-favorite big robot action series. (Hooray!) At least it could be. (Huh?) The Enders Project is way far off from entering production and is currently in the “we only have 3D render stills of robots” phase. (Aww, dirtballs.)

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Will anything of worth come from dusting off a past KojiPro hit? That’s up in the air for now, but Kojima did make it clear with big puppy-dog eyes that he really wants to make this game. Let’s hope he gets the green light, because these Fox Engine-rendered images for one of the concept mechs, the Orbital Frame, are quite nice.

And the concept illustrations from Yoji Shinkawa, who’s brilliant work always graces the box for every Metal Gear Solid title, are absolutely fantastic. They certainly do have a subtle different take on his previous efforts within the Zone of the Enders franchise, though; these have more of a fantasy, Escaflowne-like vibe going on.

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It’s an intentional style-change, as the story for the Enders Project takes place in an ancient civilization. Does that mean sometime before the colonizing of Jupiter by humans in the Zone of the Enders’ timeline, or a separate civilization altogether? Good questions, indeed.

Not that any of them, sadly, will get answered any time soon (if at all, mind you). There’s the forthcoming Zone of the Enders HD Collection on the horizon, which looks cool-beans, and should land on North American shelves not too long after the Japanese date; satisfying the hunger of Z.O.E. fanboys, myself included, until more info on this project is known.

That reminds me, we here at Walyou try our best to satisfy your hunger for all things nerdy, geeky, or what haves you, by deilvering the latest news on a robot who creates custom messages in cups of espresso, and retrospectives on the mack daddy of all sci-fi franchises, Star Wars, as it celebrates its 35th anniversary.