Zenless Zone Zero En-Nah Rising Star Event: A 2026 Retrospective

In November 2024, Zenless Zone Zero launched the limited-time En-Nah Rising Star event, a companion piece to Main Story Chapter 3, The Midnight Pursuit. By 2026, the event has long since concluded, and its minigames and medal are no longer obtainable. Even so, the structure of the event remains an interesting snapshot of how HoYoverse mixed story commissions, Bangboo-focused comedy, and timed quiz challenges during the Version 1.3 era. The event asked Proxies to step away from Hollow combat for a while and assist Coach Aster, a character buried under an avalanche of work. Instead of fighting Ethereals, players became substitute Bangboo training assistants. Their duties included alumni follow-ups, training supervision, and other lighthearted tasks that expanded the world of New Eridu through the eyes of its mechanical companions.

The event ran from 2024/11/16 10:00:00 to 2024/12/02 03:59:59 server time. Access required completion of Main Story Chapter 3, The Midnight Pursuit. That prerequisite ensured participants already understood the stakes of the chapter and the personalities involved. Once inside, Proxies found a multi-phase event that gradually unlocked over time. It was not a single burst of content. Instead, it unfolded in stages, encouraging players to return across multiple days. Each phase added new Story Commissions and minigame stages. When a new phase arrived and all previous content had been cleared, fresh Story Commissions and minigame stages became available.

The event contained three main pillars: Story Commissions, Commemorative Photos, and Training Supervision. Story Commissions drove the narrative. They placed Coach Aster at the center of a chaotic training program and let Proxies interact with various Bangboo. The tone was comedic and warm, contrasting with the darker Hollow investigations of the main story. Commemorative Photos and Training Supervision provided the interactive challenges.

Component	Description
Story Commissions	Narrative missions involving Coach Aster, Bangboo alumni follow-ups, and training supervision.
Commemorative Photos 📸	Proxies visit specific Bangboo and take group photos according to their requirements.
Training Supervision 🎥	Proxies watch videos and answer questions within a time limit. Correct answers advance; wrong answers restart the stage.

Commemorative Photos was the more relaxed minigame. Proxies needed to find particular Bangboo scattered around the event area and arrange group photos that met each Bangboo's request. The requirements might involve composition, companions, or location. It was a small photography puzzle rather than a combat challenge. The activity gave players a reason to observe details and revisit characters they might otherwise overlook.

Training Supervision was the more demanding minigame. Proxies had to watch videos and then answer questions within a strict time limit. A correct answer allowed progression to the next stage. An incorrect answer forced a restart of the stage. This format turned the event into a memory and attention test. It also fit the fiction of supervising Bangboo training, as if Proxies were reviewing footage and checking whether the trainees had learned the right lessons. The combination of video observation and timed responses made Training Supervision the event's main skill check.

The phase structure tied the minigames together. In each phase, Proxies found the corresponding Bangboo to complete Story Commission and Commemorative Photo missions. Completing those missions unlocked the Training Supervision stage for that phase. Only after clearing the current phase could players move toward the next set of content. This design created a clear loop: talk, photograph, supervise, and repeat. It also prevented players from rushing every reward in a single session.

Rewards included the En-Nah Rising Star Medal, Polychromes, and additional items. Polychromes are always valuable in Zenless Zone Zero because they convert into Encrypted Master Tapes and Bangboo Channel attempts. The En-Nah Rising Star Medal served as a commemorative trophy. In 2026, that medal is a mark of participation during a specific window. Players who missed the event cannot earn it through normal gameplay. The event itself has not returned in a permanent form, and there has been no indication that its minigames will be added to a regular rotation. This makes the medal a small historical artifact.

For modern players, the event's legacy is mostly archival. The main story chapter remains available, but the limited-time En-Nah Rising Star content does not. Its Bangboo-focused humor and unusual minigames represent a particular moment in the game's live-service schedule. It showed that Zenless Zone Zero could slow down and tell smaller stories about New Eridu's everyday life. Coach Aster's overwhelmed schedule, the alumni follow-ups, and the training supervision sessions all contributed to that lighter side.

In retrospect, En-Nah Rising Star was a compact event with a clear identity. It required Chapter 3 completion, ran for roughly two and a half weeks, and rewarded players with Polychromes and a commemorative medal. Its phases encouraged steady participation. Its Commemorative Photos minigame offered gentle exploration, while Training Supervision tested observation under pressure. By 2026, the event is closed, but its structure remains a useful example of how Zenless Zone Zero blends narrative commissions with playful side activities.