Inside the “Chaos Zero Nightmare” 1st Anniversary “Nightmare Carnival” Collaboration Cafe 2026-11-05

Will it be a nightmare, or a sweet dream?

On October 18, at Maidreaming’s Hongdae branch, “Chaos Zero Nightmare” (hereafter CZN) celebrated its 1st anniversary with a special festival: the “Nightmare Carnival.” At the cafe, characters from the game transformed into maids to welcome Protos. A variety of menu items, merchandise, and events capturing each character’s personality were also on offer.  

The Smilegate Newsroom team paid a visit to CZN’s 1st anniversary celebration. Here’s a look at the festival where CZN marked its first birthday with a joyful time alongside Protos.

*Protos: The title used for both the Captain, the game’s protagonist, and the player. Players become the Captain of the SS Nightmare and lead the story and battles themselves. 

*Protos: The title used for both the Captain, the game’s protagonist, and the player. Players become the Captain of the SS Nightmare and lead the story and battles themselves..

Welcome, Captain. This Is All for You

As soon as we arrived at Maidreaming Hongdae, familiar faces caught our eye right from the entrance. Standees of in-game characters such as Rossweisse, Blazebell, and Dahlia dressed in maid outfits greeted Protos. The interior walls and staircase were also decorated with CZN illustrations. With the entire space transformed into the world of CZN, it was truly a festival for Protos.

On the first floor, three collaboration drinks were available: “Garden Cafe Coffee,” “Rescue Drink,” and “Signal Amplification Drink.” Protos each picked a drink to suit their taste.

“Oishiku nare~ Moe moe kyun!” 

Time to chant the “spell to make it delicious” with the maids! Even Protos, who command battles in the game, joined in and repeated the maids’ spell. Protos also made sure to collect the coasters featuring the three new characters, given out at random with each drink. 

Sweet Dreams, Made to Order for Protos

“ようこそ(Welcome)”

As we went up to the second floor, the maids greeted us warmly in Japanese. Here, six menu items capturing the personalities of CZN characters were on offer. 

There were three dishes—“Rossweisse’s Squid Ink Pasta,” “Blazebell’s Ube Basque Cheesecake,” and “Dahlia’s Double Tteok-kkochi (Rice Cake Skewers)”—and three drinks: “Heidemarie’s Sword Rain Ade,” “Sereniel’s Plasma Lemonade,” and “Arabella’s Black Spica Drink.”

Best of all, cosplayers dressed as popular characters such as Rossweisse, Dahlia, Blazebell, and Renoa served guests in person, leaving Protos thrilled.  

“Captain, what kind of dream would you like to have tonight? A sweet dream, or a nightmare?”

The spell changed depending on which dream you chose. Choosing “Sweet Dream” led to a spell using the character’s affinity lines, while choosing “Nightmare” led to one using their “Mental Breakdown” lines.

*Mental Breakdown: A system unique to CZN that weaves characters’ traumas into combat gameplay and cinematics.

“Hey, Captain. Better watch close—the light descends! Be delicious!”

Seeing the game’s characters right before their eyes and hearing their familiar lines in person, Protos broke into bright smiles. 

The character food picks and stickers served with meals, along with the button badges offered as a set menu bonus, also brought fun and joy to Protos. During the Halloween period, limited-design button badges are also available, so visitors can get different bonuses depending on when they visit.

CZN’s First Birthday, Leaving Precious Memories in Every Heart

After the cafe experience, it’s time to browse the merch shop. A wide range of merchandise, including acrylic stands, sticker sets, random photo cards, character packages, and T-shirts, had Protos eager to add to their collections.

The biggest hit, as expected, was the photo time and Polaroid event with the cosplayers. Protos made special memories taking photos with cosplayers who looked just like the characters from the game.

Protos who filled their stamp cards, earned by ordering food and drinks on the first and second floors, received a specially made poster commemorating the 1st anniversary. Between enjoying delicious food and drinks and taking photos with cosplayers of their favorite characters, Protos found themselves walking away with a limited-edition poster too!

Tasting their favorite characters’ menu items, hearing familiar lines up close, and filling up on memories through merch and photos, it was a dreamlike time. Protos celebrated CZN’s first birthday, each in their own way.

After a year-long voyage, the SS Nightmare is now preparing for its next season. What kind of fun awaits in the next season? We look forward to the next chapter of CZN, to be written together with Protos.