Fujisaka crafted her to emulate the dark tones of the series, although he also added features to create a feminine vibe, such as the flower in her eye.

[7] Yoko helped write her dialogue to complement the game's unusual situations, such as rude conversations between her and the disciples during moments of carnage.

[8] Multiple aspects of Zero's character and worldview were incorporated into the game's theme song "This Silence is Mine" by composers Keiichi Okabe and Onitsuka Chihiro.

[5][7] After Zero was finalized, Yoko decided on more female characters, and told Fujisaka to "think Puella Magi Madoka Magica" while designing them.

[q 2] Their first attempt to take down all the Intoners ends in disaster, with Zero losing her arm and Michael being wounded and forced to reincarnate as the child dragon Mikhail.

During their second attempt, they attack each one individually: after killing one, Zero takes on their disciple,[Note 2] a servant created to magnify the Intoners' powers, who each help in battle and act as a personal harem.

[q 7][Note 3] In the third branch, Mikhail is regressed by the Intoners to a childlike form incapable of properly defending Zero, and Zero's disciples are killed when Two self-destructs.

"[19] Eurogamer's Chris Schilling found that Zero's presence turned the game into "a jet-black comedy", comparing her favorably to Jordan Belfort: while both unlikable characters, there was "something magnetic about their horribleness".

[22] James Stephanie Sterling of The Escapist wrote that Zero's portrayal, especially her sexual empowerment and the fact that she had dominance over the male characters, was "refreshing".

[24] Ron Duwell of Techno Buffalo, while commenting on the quality of the design of the characters, claimed that Zero was "the best looking of the bunch with her acrobatic kicks and sword slashes being pulled off without a hitch.

"[25] Geoff Thew of Hardcore Gamer complimented the character, calling her actions, attitudes and language "a nicely self-contained example of how [Drakengard 3] plays with juxtaposition.

I loved Zero's look in particular; her white flowy dress only serves as a contrast to her violent behavior since it gets drenched in blood the more you tear enemies apart with her weapons.

"[27] RPGFan's Derek Heemsbergen referred to Zero as "foul-mouthed butcher", although he was generally positive about her story and her interactions with Mikhail and the disciples, calling the latter "strange and often hilarious".

[29] Anime News Network's Todd Ciolek described her as a conscious mockery of standard action-game protagonists, referring to her as "murderous, foul-mouthed, impulsive, abusive, and all but impossible to like.

"[30] In contrast, Kimberley Wallace of Game Informer was not as enthusiastic, saying that while Zero had some good one-liners, "the better efforts are buried in a lot of bad party banter.

"[31] RPGamer's Michael Cunningham found Zero to be an "angry, vulgar woman [...] impatient, aggressive, and easily irritated", and that the lack of explanation behind Zero's actions negatively affected the plot.

"[35] Crunchyroll's Nate Ming was highly critical of Zero, calling her "a ruthless, backstabbing, front-stabbing, cold-hearted bitch", and said that she would be the villain in any other game.