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[Lindsay]

April 3rd, 2002. The first episode of .hack//SIGN aired on TV-Tokyo marking the first public release (actually, Legend of the Twilight began in Comptiq magazine in January, 2002) of .hack. Twelve weeks later .hack//Infection came out and from there the rest is history! 2 movies, 3 tv series, 11 games, 7* manga, 6* novels, 5 audio dramas, 14 soundtracks, 3 TCGs, countless comas, and some other things add up to 10 years of "ya either like it or ya don't" material! And remember~ if ya ever hear this sound..., you're prolly boned.


Series Timeline:

-> 2006

Era: "frägment"

Epitaph of Twilight
//While visiting her uncle Harald, Lara Hoerwick starts playing a game on his computer while he's out. She's excited to find herself in the world of the epic poem Epitaph of Twilight, until realizing she's stuck in the game...

-> 2007

??
//??

Era: "The World"

-> 2008

Intermezzo (Flashback)
//Mimiru using her original character (unnamed) goes into a very dangerous dungeon along with a character named Mimika to save her (again unnamed) friend..

-> 2009

AI buster
//Albireo, leader of the Cobalt Knights, is going about doing his job deleting "junk data" when he encounters a young Vagrant AI named Lycoris. As he corners her and prepares for another routine deletion, she manages to escape, leaving him driven by failure to pursue her.

AI buster 2: Story 1 - 2nd Character/Haruka Mizuhara's Situation
//The story of AI Buster told from Hokuto's, an unusual friend Albireo made, point of view. What impact did she leave on Albireo and perhaps even "The World"?

SIGN
//Finding himself unable to logout of the game and in possession of illegal powers, Tsukasa is forced not only to fight against the self-appointed keepers of justice called the Crimson Knights. But a much more sinister force is working in the shadows. Just what will happen if he dies within the game...?

AI buster 2: Story 2 - Wotan's Spear
//With his previous adventure still fresh in mind, Albireo now investigates a young Wavemaster said to be controlling an illegal monster...

ZERO Vol.1: Phantom Pain
//A Heavy Axeman named Carl comes across a Twin Blade named Sora and decides she likes his style. Unfortunately, each time they meet problems with the game seem to occur...

Intermezzo (Present)
//Mimiru and Bear enter an extremely dangerous dungeon which had been closed for two years. Inside, Mimiru flashes back to her beginner days and the journey through that very dungeon which help shaped who she became in "The World".

-> 2010

Another Birth Vol.1: Infection
//Initially declining her brothers invitation to the game, Akira Hayami, also known as BlackRose, is soon left with no choice but to log in. Before long she encounters Kite and begins her quest to save somebody dear to her, all the while trying to maintain a normal school and social life.

Infection
//Three months after the events of SIGN, a new player called Kite logins to the game for the first time. He sets off with his experienced and well-known friend Orca to learn the ropes of the game. The tutorial doesn't last for very long as Orca is put into a coma and Kite is left with either the power to save or destroy "The World".

Liminality Vol.1: In the Case of Mai Minase
//While sneaking into the schools computer club to try out "The World," Mai Minase and her boyfriend encounter a monster known as Skeith in a field. The two of them soon fall into comas though Mai soon recovers. Meanwhile, Junichiro Tokuoka a former CC2 employee learns of her and tries to persuade her in joining his cause to discover the reason behind the coma victims...

Another Birth Vol.2: Mutation
//Troubled by bullying incidents in real life and the lack of progress the fall of Skeith brought, BlackRose must redouble her efforts in both the game and real life. Things continue to not go her way when a system administrator named Lios forces her and Kite to abide by his demands.

Mutation
//Targeted directly by the system administrators, Kite and BlackRose are threatened with account deletion. Under the orders of Lios they are told not to make any movements. However the Cursed Wave isn't taking a break, forcing them to ignore the admins orders. After retrieving one segment of Aura, the mysterious and powerful monster known as Cubia appears and attacks...

Liminality Vol.2: In the Case of Yuki Aihara
//Learning of a girl named Yuki Aihara from the Member Address list of Mai's boyfriend, Tokuoka schedules a meet-up with her. In order to pass the time Yuki goes to the theatre to watch a movie when a little ways some unexpected words flash across the screen...

Another Birth Vol.3: Outbreak
//As the network crisis temporarily calms down BlackRose can't help but wonder if their victories over the Cursed Waves were what caused the disasters in the real world. After arguing and making up with Kite, she finally confides in him the reason she had been fighting alongside him this whole time.

Outbreak
//The results of the prior battle left Kite and BlackRose in shock and doubting everything they've done up to this point. No longer are the problems remaining within the game... they are spreading to the real world. While questioning if what they're doing is doing the right they find one friend acting strangely and another they must say goodbye to while proceeding to investigate.

Liminality Vol.3: In the Case of Kyoko Tohno
//Tokuoka heads to the city of Hida-Takayama to meet with a girl named Kyoko Tohno. As they make their way around the city, trying to piece together information regarding the author of the Epitaph of Twilight, messages to them, Mai and Yuki reveal their actions are being monitored even in the real world.

Another Birth Vol.4: Quarantine
//Akira is becoming depressed. She scored poorly in her final exam in school and loses her spot on the tennis team. In the game she is upset at her findings regarding the sixth Cursed Wave. After that painful battle, even more are thrust upon her and Kite as the situation grows more and more desperate.

Quarantine
//Time is running out. "The World" is becoming less and less stable while the Cursed Waves and Cubia continue to grow in strength. Can our heroes defeat these monsters, restore Aura, and awaken the coma victims...?

Liminality Vol.4: Trismegistus
//On Christmas Eve the group meets up in Tokyo Bay and board a boat heading towards the CC Corp data station. After successfully hacking their way into the building they begin preparations to follow through with Helbas plan. When the buildings security team comes to investigate, the heroes must stall for time.

-> 2011

Quarantine - Epilogue
//As Kite & Orca resume their journey, Aura asks them to meet with her a Δ Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field. Shortly afterwards, she sends Kite & Elk an e-mail telling them of a life trying to be born at Ω Hidden Darkside Holy Ground...

Another Birth Vol.4: Quarantine ~ Chapter 7
//Akira is now a junior in highschool and captain of the tennis team! Because of this she hasn't logged into "The World" for a while. One day while checking her e-mail she spotted one from Kite, which prompted her to immediately head back to the game...

Unison
//A celebration will be taking place in Net Slum, uniting the cast of SIGN & the games! Will everybody be able to make it in time? And more importantly, get along?

-> 2013

AI buster 2: Story 3 - Kamui
//Kamui is now the head of the Cobalt Knights, who are still tasked with deleting "junk data". Will she follow in her old boss Albireos footsteps?

AI buster 2: Story 4 - Rumor
//A Blademaster named Brigit learns the hard way not to trust random players. This event results in her friend quitting the game, leaving to play the game Brigit all alone.

-> 2014

AI buster 2: Story 5 - Firefly
//A young girl creates a character named Hotaru on "The World's" japanese server. Almost immediately after logging in she becomes entangled in an event she can't figure out. Fortunately for her, the .hacker Sanjuro offers his assitance!

Legend of the Twilight (manga!!!)
//Wanting to spend time with her twin brother Shugo, Rena enters a contest which wins the two stylized avatars based on the .hackers Kite & BlackRose. While practicing in a beginners area they're attacked by a monster many levels higher than themselves and Shugo is quickly killed! Luckily someone very special comes to his aid and bestows upon him a great power...

Rare Hunter: Here comes Mireille-chan!
//Mireillie teaches a fellow player, and perhaps us all, what it means to be a true hunter of rare items!

Reflections in the Azure Sky
//Paperwork piled high? Boss goofing off? Just an ordinary day at work for Reki!

-> 2015

Era: "The World R:2"

Chup Chop Case (1)
//??

Chup Chop Case (2)
//??

The End of "The World"
//The diary of former CC Corp employee Jun Bansyoya. In it he recalls the days surrounding the end of "The World" R:1, and the origins of Project G.U.

-> 2016

First Login
//Ovan and Shino meet up at the Arche Koeln Waterfall to discuss the revival of the Twilight Brigade.

.hack//G.U. Vol.1: Rebirth - Chapter 1: First Day
//Upon logging into "The World R:2" for the first time, the Adept Rogue Haseo forms a party with a pair of players names IYOTEN and Asta. They set out to a beginners area to teach Haseo about the way the game is played...

Roots (Episodes 1 - 19)
//The search for the legendary item "Key of the Twilight" begins anew, bringing the major guild TaN into conflict with the smaller guild Twilight Brigade. However the TaN guildmaster Naobi seems more interested in Ovan and anything & anyone he is interested in, such as the two newbies Haseo and Tabby.

Cell
//In the real world a girl named Midori is suffering from an unknown illness. In the online game "The World R:2", a player character named Midori runs a peculiar business. What, if any, is the relationship between these two Midori's?

Roots (Episodes 20 - 23)
//Haseo now mad with the power he's acquired goes around PKKing in the hopes of eventually coming across Tri-Edge. Meanwhile Tabby searches for her own purpose to continue playing the game.

Alcor
//The Twin Blade Nanase joins a new and small guild called Canard, simply because she has a crush on its guildmaster! Yet he seems to only have his eyes on the recently crowned Demon Palace Emporer, Alkaid. Jealousy and ties with a previous guild will test the bonds between her and the other Canard members.

-> 2017

Roots (Episodes 24 - 26)
//Haseo reunites with Ovan who had been missing for over six months. Ovan tells him where he can find the mysterious Tri-Edge and avenge Shino. The outcome of their battle is not in Haseo's favor one bit. He makes amends with Tabby and finds the determination to carry on.

G.U. Vol.1: Rebirth - Chapters 2 - 31
//Finding his character and account back at square one Haseo must grind his way back to the top! Despite being distrusting of others he'll need all the support he can get since the famous PKKer is now easy pickings. All while seeking the power needed to challenge Tri-Edge once more.

Chup Chop Case (3)
//??

Online Jack (1 - 3)
//Popular reporter Salvador Aihara begins his investigation into an illness known as Doll Syndrome. His no-holds-barred stype nets him an interview with a professor studying DS, and a teacher who's students have been afflicted with it. Okay everyone! Let's call our Salvador Aihara!

G.U. Vol.2: Reminisce
//Battles with Tri-Edge never seem to end well. Almost immediately after it, every player currently logged into "The World" find themselves unable to logout! While seeking to resolve this problem even more questions arise, and the data anomalies known as AIDA are growing stronger.

Online Jack (4 - 6)
//The hospitalized school children vanish from their rooms, leaving only a cryptic message behind. The search for the missing kids brings Salvador and Michiru to the school the kids attended... Okay everyone! Let's call our Salvador Aihara!

G.U. Vol.3: Redemption
//There's little time to dwell upon the truth which had been revealed to the members of G.U. as they're forced into very unfavorable situations, including a tournament which has the odds heavily stacked against them.

Online Jack (7 - 9)
//Salvador becomes hospitalized and viewers begin turning against the show questioning its legitimacy. Undeterred, the Online Jack team presses onward into their investigation of the truth. Okay everyone! Let's call our Salvador Aihara!

Peaco's Story
//Atoli feels Haseo's grumpy towards her and so she asks Pi for some relationship advice. Atoli misinterprets what Pi was trying to teach her, and ends up creating a character named Peaco to try and get Haseo's attention.

Returner
//The cast of Roots & G.U. are sent an invitation to Δ Hidden Forbidden Festival. What they find there is something they would have never expected...

-> 2020

Era: "The World R:X"

Link (game!!!)
//Avid gamer Tokio Kuryuus life is shaken up when transfer student Saika Amagi offers him a chance to play the latest version of "The World". Upon activation however, he is literally sucked from the real world into the video game world! Tasked with finding items called Chrono Cores before the hacker group Schicksal can, Tokio must travel through "The World's" past in order to save its future.

-> 2021

??
//??

-> 2022

After 2021
//Tokio, Saika, and

Spoiler

Flügel

are casually roaming "The World R:X" when a glitch in the system sends them back the year 2010...

Quantum (I)ntruduction
//Asumi plays "The World R:X" for the first time and her character is saved by the handsome Tobias, whom she quickly develops a crush on! Asumi tries persuading her friend Eri to play the game while going on and on about the handsome guy. Little do they know, the player behind Tobias is closer then they think!

Quantum
//Best friends in real life and in the online game "The World R:X", Iori (Tobias), Eri (Mary), and Asumi (Sakuya) soon discover not all is right with the game. The trio become personally entwined with issues currently ravaging the game and its players.

-> 2023

bullet
//As part of his new job, Sogabe Ryuuji pays a visit to Jyotaro Amagi...

-> 2024

Era: "The World -Force Era-"

The Movie: Beyond the World
//Sora Yuuki's feeling left out. All of her friends are playing "The World" and the guy she has a crush on seems like he's not interested. She reluctantly gives the game a try and almost immediately encounters a virus, and someone with a plan to thwart it.

-> 2025

Versus
//Beta testing for the very first fighting game based on "The World" has begun! Numerous players from the MMO's history have gotten the first wave of invites to try it out. They'll soon find out that some thing, and some one are lurking within the game...

Thanatos Report
//Network Administration Bureau agents David Steinberg and his partner Eleanor set out to put an end to "mama". The organization purportedly behind each Network Crisis. In the past, teens have saved the world via games. But in the agents case, their very real adult bodies and selves will be put on the line.


...there's a bunch more be it non-canon stuff or events mentioned in the above series themselves.


-----
Key:
• Game
Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine
G.U. Vol.1: Rebirth, G.U. Vol.2: Reminisce, G.U. Vol.3: Redemption
.hack//Link (JP-only), .hack//Versus (JP-onlyy)
• Novel
Epitaph of Twilight (JP-only), AI Buster, .hack//Zero (JP-only), Another Birth, Cell
• Manga
Legend of the Twilight (contains short stories Rare Hunter & Reflections), Alcor, Quantum I(ntroduction) (JP-only)
• TV
SIGN, Roots
• OVA
Intermezzo, Liminality, Unison
Online Jack, Returner (JP-only)
.hack//Quantum, Thanatos Report (JP-onlyy)
• Movie
.hack//The Movie: Beyond the World (JP-only)
• Other
Chup Chop Case (featured in .hack//Link), First Login, After 2021 (All JP-only)

-----
Real World
• San Diego - USA
• Nuremberg - Germany
• Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture - Japan
• Makuhari, New City - Japan
• Redding, Oregon - USA
• Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture - Japan
• Kujūkuri, Chiba - Japan (Malibu, California - USA in the western release)
• Yokohama, Minato Mirai - Japan
• Yokohama, Sakuragi - Japan
• Yokohama, Kannai - Japan
• Yokohama, Keihin - Japan
• Shimokitazawa, Tokyo - Japan
• Tokyo, Suginami - Japan
• Yokahama, Nogezaka - Japan
• Omiya - Japan
• Italy
• Ireland
• South Dakota - USA
• Boston, Massachusetts - USA
• Kyoto - Japan
• Russia
• China
• Central Asia
• New York - USA
• Nagano - Japan
• Las Vegas - USA
• Hokkaido - Japan
• Arita, Wakayama - Japan
• Mongolia
• Homburg - Germany
• Brazil
• Saitama - Japan
• Sapporo, Hokkaido - Japan
• Chicago - USA
• Mitaka, Tokyo - Japan (mispelled Nitaka)
• Okinawa - Japan
• Aoyama, Tokyo - Japan
• Orlando, Florida - USA
• Canada
• France
• Osaka - Japan
• Kochi, Shikoku - Japan

-----
Real Names
• Akira Hayami = BlackRose
• Fumikazu Hayami = Kazu
• Natsume Ogure = Natsume
• Yasuhiko = Orca
• Tominari Kasumi = Sieg
• Mayumi Kurokawa = Mistral
• Ryo Sakuma = Bear
• Kazushi Watarai = Albireo
• Terajima Ryoko = Terajima Ryoko
• Shugo Kunisaki = Shugo
• Rena Kunisaki = Rena
• Saki Shibayama = Kamui
• Asako Saito = Magi
• Mirei Kurokawa = Mireille
• Satoshi Fujio = Reki
• Kaho Izumi = Kaho
• Shino Nanao = Shino
• Carlos (Salvador) Aihara = Kazubolo
• Midori Shinomura = Midori
• Chika Kuramoto = Alkaid
• Masato Indou = Ovan
• Aina Indou = Aina
• (first name unknown) Yuasa = Nanase

-----
New Character, Same Player
(stuffs spoilered for a reason!)
• W.B. Yeats ->

Spoiler

Hokuto

• Gram ->

Spoiler

Balmung

• Unnamed ->

Spoiler

Mimiru

• Macha ->

Spoiler

Mia

• Sora ->

Spoiler

Haseo

• Sieg ->

Spoiler

Kuhn

• Elk ->

Spoiler

Endrance

• Piros ->

Spoiler

Piros Act 2

->

Spoiler

Piros the 3rd

• Wiseman ->

Spoiler

Naobi

->

Spoiler

Yata

->

Spoiler

Nala

• Bridgit ->

Spoiler

Rena

• Ender ->

Spoiler

Pi

->

Spoiler

Shamrock

• Tawaraya ->

Spoiler

Tohta

• Seisaku ->

Spoiler

Seisaku (beast)

• Hideyo ->

Spoiler

Hideyo (beast)

• Nanase ->

Spoiler

Sophora

• Atoli ->

Spoiler

Peaco

-----
Genderswap!
• Female ->

Spoiler

Tsukasa

• Male ->

Spoiler

Kaochin

• Female ->

Spoiler

Magi

• Male ->

Spoiler

Asta

• Female ->

Spoiler

Gord

• Male ->

Spoiler

Saburou

• Male ->

Spoiler

Ita

• Female ->

Spoiler

Sophora

• Male ->

Spoiler

Saku

• Female ->

Spoiler

Kite (Sora Yuuki ver.)

-----
.hack//Quarantine - Item Completionists
• 2 Slice Toaster
• Lindsay
• Man God

-----
Other threads in the "GAF Plays: Anniversary" Series:
In honor of Final Fantasy's 25th anniversary, GAF Plays: Final Fantasy games
In honor of 25 years of Demon Summoning, GAF Plays: The (Shin) Megami Tensei series
Rockman/Mega Man 25th Anniversary |OT|

 

[Man God]

I finished the item completion quest in February.

 

[Typographenia]

Has it really been that long? Man...

I watched the entire series when it was airing on Cartoon Network. I disn't want to play the games myself, so I convinced my brother to play them, and I watched.

We got down to like the second half of the fourth game and just never finished. I need to see if I can get my hands on my copies and play through them myself...

Edit: I never had much interest in the later games. I did buy the manga of the earlier stuff where the brother and sister won the Kite and Blackrose character models or something. That wasn't very good, but I was too into .Hack at the time to care.

 

[Lindsay]

I went back to where it all began for me and many others by watching SIGN ep.1!

//SIGN

ep.01: "Ah who cares. It doesn't really matter once I logout of here."
Tsukasa riding on the grunty looks so silly! Bear and BTs introduction is so cheesey. Mimiru sticking out her tongue at Tsukasa is another silly moment. The realization that he can't logout is when things start getting creepy. Silver Knights glowy red eyes are stupid!
"I'm not in front of a terminal, so there's no terminal to reset."
Inconsistancy! Ya can't open the same gott statue treasure box twice, unless that was changed in a version update between SIGN & the games. The first data drain!
"I think I like it here" ...flash to the real world where a young person lies unconscious on the floor with ambulance sirens blaring in the background. What a way to start!

I finished the item completion quest in February.

Thats a great first post! Completing that quest is just like wow. Sorta stupid yet satisfying! Guess I'll have ta do it again~

Has it really been that long? Man...

I watched the entire series when it was airing on Cartoon Network. I disn't want to play the games myself, so I convinced my brother to play them, and I watched.

We got down to like the second half of the fourth game and just never finished. I need to see if I can get my hands on my copies and play through them myself...

Edit: I never had much interest in the later games. I did buy the manga of the earlier stuff where the brother and sister won the Kite and Blackrose character models or something. That wasn't very good, but I was too into .Hack at the time to care.

You two went that far and quit so close to the end? Pretty crazy! Its such a good ending to! I think ya need to re-read LotT most of all though. It was just a fun story with little in the way of drama. Plus it had Mireille and Zefie which = win!

WAS IT A GOLDEN AXE OR A SILVER AXE?

It was neither one gramps! Now level up my loot!

 

[Onion_Relish]

WAS IT A GOLDEN AXE OR A SILVER AXE?

 

[Lindsay]

I'm gonna have ta carry this thread myself aren't I? I knew it would come to this. Got a bunch more stuff done so there isn't no stopping now!


//SIGN

ep.02: The whole grunty bit at the start is so very weird! "Your member address if you please..." Sora has arrived! The Crimson Knights are serious roleplayers. Never in PSO/PSU did I see any group like that. "At least we know he's on this server." um no he just used the Chaos Gate so he coulda used it to go to another server! A lil sleeping Aura appears! So cute! Bears talk about reseting games always gets to me ;.; Silver Knight got amnesia from being DD'd... wonder if that'll happen to anyone else...

ep.03: "Mr. Sora? I've never been addressed as mister before." hint hint. Flashback to lil Tsukasa taking care of a kitten and some jerk adult hitting him and taking it away is so wrong!! "I must get stronger!" Seems Haseo was channeling Mimiru all that time! Ohhh Hulle Granz Cathedrals first appearance, with no Aura statue in sight~

ep.04: Tsukasa's been playing for 10 days straight? Thats hardcore! "Hey. What happens if I die here?" I guess we'll never find that out! "Idiots love to climb up to high places." LOL. Real-life Bear went to a hospital? He'd make a great GAF 'Net Detective! "Are you the player a girl?" "Not that its any of your business, but I'm a guy." Well that settles that. The Guardian is going to town on those card girls and its determined that Tsukasa is outside the system parameters! The first but not the last!

//AI buster Vol.2 ~ Story 2: Wotan's Spear
Poor Albireo, still haunted by Lycoris. I way prefer Saki the newbie system administrator to Kamui the jerk. To think PKKs were mentioned as far back as this novel~ And Albireo loses to Tsukasa/Macha much like everyone else so far. The last few pages take place after the end of Quarantine? Gotta make a note of that when I attempt to further convolute the timeline I put together!

//Another Birth Vol.1 ~ Chapters 1 - 2

Totally forgot Akira had another, even littler brother. Fumikazu trying to get his big sis into videogames, unfortunately letting her choose the keywords for him turned out to be a huge mistake. I love how BlackRose makes Kite out to be the weirdo lol. Her PoV should totally be canon!

//Infection

Being able to almost but not quite make out the dates on the board postings is frustrating! Orca's tutorial only took like 10 minutes and that was with me playing along not spamming through it. I dun get the complaints people have about it. But oh gawd I'd forgotten how huge the "mini"-map is in IMOQ x.x; Wooooah. Siegs voice is way off from its Liminality counterpart! Why would they do that? They must've had access to the Liminality cast since in the very same scene Tokuoka's VA is used for Edajima! There's a cat character around? So what! I'm off with BlackRose to a Level 2 forest area and dungeon.... which took 45 minutes to complete and nearly took our lives on several occasions. But we leveled up to L5 and used Data Drain enough times to get the first Ryu Book!

 

[Triple Da G.O.D!]

I've been sitting on Outbreak and Quarantine forever. May be time to put those to rest for old times sake.

Thanks for making this thread Lindsay.

 

[Grokbu]

.

 

[I'm an expert]

A decade later I still have the Sign soundtrack on my mp3 player. Got it right after I saw the first few episodes.. good memories.

Oddly enough I never played the games even though I hunted them down for years in eBay. Isn't there a new one coming out? Might have to finally jump in..

 

[Tokubetsu]

I always thought the show was boring, and a bit weird. It was paced like a thriller/horror show if I'm remembering correctly. Always wanted the games too but I was a broke kid. Setting was always interesting though.

 

[Orin GA]

hmmm...no and no...

 

[Lindsay]

FACT .hack//'s fields/dungeons are visually superior to G.U.'s and Links. FACT
(gameplay-wise not so much)

I've been sitting on Outbreak and Quarantine forever. May be time to put those to rest for old times sake.

Good luck if ya do! Outbreak might be the toughest one if you're aiming to do all the bonus dungeons and are outta practice! Its also tough on the ears since pretty much every area has that one sound mixed in with the music x.x

As I've been interested in getting into this series and would like to experience it in the order it is intended to. Is it recommended to play Sign before or after starting with the PS2 quadrilogy (Infection etc.)? Also, should I watch the Liminality OVAs before or after playing each game?

I by play SIGN ya mean watch it then yes by all means watch it before moving on to the games. Its not necessary of course but makes some moments extra cool. Just avoid "episode 28" (Unison) if you happen to have it as that takes place after the games. Liminality can be watched before or after the games, except for the 4th one which should be viewed after the last games ending (before the Epilogue though) since they briefly crossover.

A decade later I still have the Sign soundtrack on my mp3 player. Got it right after I saw the first few episodes.. good memories.

Oddly enough I never played the games even though I hunted them down for years in eBay. Isn't there a new one coming out? Might have to finally jump in..

A decade later and I have nearly 500 pieces of .hack music on hand @_@ The new game is a fighting game which if canon would, I'd guess, take place at the very end of the series. Not the best place to jump in o.o

I always thought the show was boring, and a bit weird. It was paced like a thriller/horror show if I'm remembering correctly.

I dun think ya are remembering right. Thriller I could maybe see alil but horror? Nooo. Drama/Mystery is more like it! That pretty much applies to the entire series.

hmmm...no and no...

I'll take that as Read: No - Watch: No - Play: ???

 

[Typographenia]

You two went that far and quit so close to the end? Pretty crazy! Its such a good ending to! I think ya need to re-read LotT most of all though. It was just a fun story with little in the way of drama. Plus it had Mireille and Zefie which = win!

Yeah, I'm not sure why we dropped it. I think he just didn't care to play anymore, and I didn't feel like making him play. I need to see the end, though. It's weighed heavy on my mind ever since those days...

 

[zerokoolpsx]

Not touching the item completion quest. I did do all the optional bosses like Parasite Dragon, Angolmore, Black Beast and the final dungeon to resurrect Mia. Can't believe it's already been 10 years. Wow.

 

[Yjynx]

Ahh .hack - didn't like the original 4 game that much. But I consider G.U trilogy is the best hack games of all time.

 

[MaximusNeo701]

Great now you make me want to sit down and complete a 150hr 4 game grindfest. GAF why do I love you?

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Never have bought the full .hack// series on PS2, but Infection was quite fun when I used to play it. And the series had killer music.

 

[vid]

Oh man, I 100%ed Infection around the time of release, bought Outbreak several years later (without having Mutation, do I never played it...), and just got Mutation recently.

Ten years, huh? I guess it's time to find Quarantine and finally finish my foray into The World...

 

[Chemo]

Played through the original four games as they came out and completely loved them. Would kill for an HD collection.

 

[Hasemo]

Uh, as much as I'm a .hack franchise fan, I think I'll pass. Got totally burnt out when 100% Link (didn't get all character's affection to the max in the end, it was just too much).
Good luck to those who try though.

 

[Grokbu]

.

 

[Deadly]

I never got to play Quarantine =( I rather enjoyed the games too...

 

[2 Slice Toaster]

Finished the item completion quest in August. Didn't really have time for games with classes and work, but it was relaxing to just jump in for a few minutes and grab a few items each day.

I've got G.U. sitting there waiting for me, but I've still got a month of classes left and I'm still a bit burnt out after playing through the first series all in a row last year. But soon!

 

[Lindsay]

//SIGN

ep.05: Finally Crim! Blown off in his first scene lol. "I would do just about anything for you, you know." *Subaru silently turns and walks away* Crim blown off again! BT and Sora and Silver Knight all scheming together makes for a very mismatched trio. And Tsukasa is walking right into their trap like a dummy. Subaru and Tsukasa meet, could it be love at first sight?! And off to virtual prison he goes...

//Infection

Instead of continuing the story Kite & BlackRose head off to a random dungeon. It ended up going something like this:
"Data Drain is out of control! 200 EXP is lost!"
"Data Drain is out of control! Suvi Lei is cast on all!"
"Data Drain is out of control! Dek Do is cast on all!"
"Data Drain is out of control! SP is drained from all!"
"Data Drain is out of control! Maj Lei is cast on all!"
"Data Drain is out of control! Mumyn Lei is cast on all!"
"Data Drain is out of control! 800 EXP is lost!"
"Data Drain is out of control! Duk Lei is cast on all!"
"Data Drain is out of control! Miu Lei is cast on all!"
"Data Drain is out of control! Ranki Lei is cast!"
"Data Drain is out of control! Magical Accuracy is down!"
"Data Drain is out of control! 400 EXP is lost!"
Using DD 30~ times in one dungeon'll do that to ya. After that its off to our first corrupted area.

Administrator: This areas screwed up, go play somewhere else.
Kite: Yeah whatevers. I'm going in anyway.

The reward is worth it because... Mistral GET! Now Piros shows up so that I may bear witness to his awesome deeds? "May the stars shine until the end of your journey!" BlackRoses e-mail chain is already done an outta the way! More random dungeon time in order to level the two of them up and get the remaining Ryu Books. And then...

Waaaaauuggh! My attempts at progress get smacked down. 3 Game Overs in the "Meet up with Mia" dungeon oh so very early in the game. Even leveled up it takes time cause ya gotta go it solo and its 5 floors deep with no avoidable monter portals! I even went and leveled up and that Data Bug still got me!

Yeah, I'm not sure why we dropped it. I think he just didn't care to play anymore, and I didn't feel like making him play. I need to see the end, though. It's weighed heavy on my mind ever since those days...

Ten years, huh? I guess it's time to find Quarantine and finally finish my foray into The World...

I never got to play Quarantine =( I rather enjoyed the games too...

So many unfinished tales ;.;

Not touching the item completion quest.

No one'll hold ta against ya. The reward is just the last song for your desktop but it is an apt one. Cause ya gotta have some sort of Obsession to wanna complete that quest.

Great now you make me want to sit down and complete a 150hr 4 game grindfest. GAF why do I love you?

Pfft! Whats 4 games? I'm doing all the canon material released in north america!

Uh, as much as I'm a .hack franchise fan, I think I'll pass. Got totally burnt out when 100% Link (didn't get all character's affection to the max in the end, it was just too much).

100%'ing Link... now that is something I'm not gonna do again anytime soon!

 

[Lindsay]

//Another Birth Vol.1 ~ Chapters 3 - 4

Akira makes first-string on the tennis team despite being a freshman. She's so cool! "Uh-huh. Yellow ones are normal treasure boxes, so if you open them you get items or gold." NOVA you're full of crap I never got gold from a treasure box! Piros joins BlackRose & Kite to Θ Quiet Eternal White Devil. Thats canon and I'm sticking to it! This is the reason I'm reading AB ahead of the games. Totally sucks she's getting bullied and depressed. Its to much for one person to deal with -_-

//Infection

Finally passed that dungeon... only to get drug right into another bugged area with my new low level friends. Stop testing me Mia x.x! Someone named Natsume posted on the board about wanting a Spiral Edge, so I'ma help her out! "Oh? Are you sure? But I can't give you anything in return. Well... except maybe myself." "What?!" lol. First two Goblin Tag challenges complete! Off to explore the Theta server!

//Liminality

Vol.1: This starts off on the mean streets of San Diego, USA of all places with goons pounding Tokuoka into the pavement. Then over to Germany for a flashback with on of the very few scenes of Harald when he was alive. And at long last back home to Japan where ditching school is treated like a casual thing!

"I'm sure not as good as the descendant of Fianna." No kidding they don't even recognize you lol. Mai can't remember much of what happened before she passed out? Amnesia strikes again. "Here in japan there are at least six people in Tomonari's condition." I can think of 5 so whose the 6th? Mai's mom is freaking harsh >.<! After seeing what happened to them at &#920; Chosen Hopeless Nothingness I sure hope I never have to go there!

btw love Liminalitys menu. Its just like the games!

 

[Kincaido]

One of my favorite series ever. Just played the G.U. trilogy around June or July last year. Would love it if they made an HD collection with all three on one disc. I finished Link some time after. I don't think I'll replay the games anytime soon though. I sill listen to all the music from the games.

 

[The Last Wizard]

I hated hunting for virus cores, it got to the point that I got all the ones needed in the beginning of the games just to keep the pace from slowing.

But man do I love the .hack franchise, so many good memories. I really loved the backgrounds, root towns, music. Really loved the root towns can't stress it enough, Mac anu and carmina gadelica were my favorites.

The atmosphere of the games were great, id love a hd remake of 1-4 and gu. Would love to watch roots.

 

[Psxphile]

Damn. I loved this series to bits. Too bad I don't have the original quadralogy (sic?) anymore. Still have G.U. and the Terminal Disc though. Really wanted to play LINK but I'm not import-friendly.

Maybe I'll join you once you get to G.U., but I tend to play through games slowly. Do the games play reasonably well on Pcsx2? I'd like to take screenshots.

 

[Gilgamesh]

I like the .Hack series in theory, but I never found actually playing them to be enjoyable.

I really like //Sign though. Great show.

 

[keeblerdrow]

I have all 4 of the SIGN games sitting on my shelf. I never got out of the first game both times I tried for a full "play through". I think I might want to give it a go over the next few months. But I only really want to do this if I can somehow get access to the GU trilogy as well. Does anyone know of a place I could get all three under a cool $80-90? The first game's price varies WILDLY from the only places I know of to look.

 

[Lindsay]

More stuffs/changes added to the OP! Check 'em out!


//Another Birth Vol.1 ~ Chapters 5 - 6

Study for exams or investigate "The World"? Since Akira only squeaked by with passing marks its clear which she chose. Alphs name is misspelled and also mislocalized as a "he" just like in the games... I guess theres something to be said for consistency? BlackRose getting caught up in a "replayed" scene of when Orca & Kite got owned by Skeith was pretty crazy.

Tennis matches are apparently really long with lotsa "games" & "loves" and whatever, I dun really get it but Akira losing her first school matches still sucked! Sneaky little Kite was gonna go face Skeith alone but BlackRose & Mistral forced their way into his party lol. They won but suddenly got knocked outta the game shortly after when a crazy big monster showed up. Yipes!

//Infection

As it was written Kite/BlackRose/Piros went off to the area posted on the board and while it was kinda bugged out we checked the entire area and found no girl or red wand not even a data bug! Over in Mac Anu Elk was expressing his liking of Mia which was cute but then he drug me off to some field based on a lie! Getting back Mia tricks Piros with a "magic love potion" and Kite lols at him before agreeing to help find the cure!

One of the people posting on the message board goes by "Black Dot"... the really had things well planned out for this series eh? Anyway two more new friends were gained (Sanjuro & Gardenia) shortly afterwards and I cleared two more Goblin Tag challenges! Then at &#920; Cursed Despaired Paradise Kite/BlackRose/Mistral stumbled into a strange white room full of teddy bears and strange words~

Do the games play reasonably well on Pcsx2? I'd like to take screenshots.

I have noooo ideas. Someone find out an let us know! Cause I wish I could do the whole screenshot thing but my pc's way to old >.<; Time for an upgrade~?

I have all 4 of the SIGN games sitting on my shelf. I never got out of the first game both times I tried for a full "play through". I think I might want to give it a go over the next few months. But I only really want to do this if I can somehow get access to the GU trilogy as well. Does anyone know of a place I could get all three under a cool $80-90? The first game's price varies WILDLY from the only places I know of to look.

The G.U. games prolly had a lower print run than the originals so I guess prices won't be very friendly 5~6 years later. Good luck finding 'em all at a good price!

 

[Ledsen]

Always liked the visual design and combat in this series, also loved the "fake mmo" bit with answering email etc. Funny because i loath actual mmos tried watching the anime back in the day but it bored me to tears. A bit sad that i never finished the third and fourth games

Great now you make me want to sit down and complete a 150hr 4 game grindfest. GAF why do I love you?

It's not that long, i completed infection and mutation in about 15 hrs/each.

 

[Lindsay]

//Infection

So its come to this. Back to the very first field to meet a friend of Orcas who tells us where we can meet another friend of his for info. &#916; Buried Pagan Fiery Sands, I tried to invitie BlackRose but she's unavailable same with Lonely Silent Great Seal (inconsistencys with Another Birth!!). At least now with the Fiery Sands keyword I can hunt for Snakey Cactus! After finding another weird white room BlackRose finally gets back to me and its time to meet Meg! Turns out she was no help at all though >.<; But there are some people on our side and cause of that Kite/BlackRose/Mistral are able to head off to &#920; Chosen Hopeless Nothingness. Game Over'd at Skeith but came back strong ta win the rematch!

"We had come so far...
...but we knew so little.
And now...
The true battle was about to begin..."

Game Cleared: 15:54:01
Game Cleared 100%: tbd

It's not that long, i completed infection and mutation in about 15 hrs/each.

Yup! The first series can totally be done in I wanna say~ 80 hours? Somewhere around there, prolly alil less! G.U. games are up around 90 hours just for the story. Link was 65 hours for me. But if ya wanna "100%" its well over 100 hours for each saga!

 

[vazel]

I really like the idea of this franchise but I find it really difficult to get into it. The anime takes itself way too seriously and the first game was repetitive crap(promptly sold my first copy). I've been forcing myself to give it another shot lately, hopefully I can make it through it all this time. I heard GU is a much better improvement so that's something to look forward to.

 

[Lindsay]

//SIGN

ep.06: BTs still so very smug and full of crap! "Would you please just make a normal appearance for once?" never gonna happen, Sora needs his stylish entries! And boy is he one skilled PKer! Crim/Sora rivalryhas begun! Tsukasa just wants to be alone which is what he's been saying from the start, whys no one ever listen to him? Looks like the Guardians off having fun on its own o.o not a good thing for normal players!

ep.07: Starting with a brief glance of real world Mimiru! "You irritate me." well said Mimiru. Mimiru meet A-20 she's a super newb and super silly! ...and she's only been playing for a week instead of two. "I'm afraid that's my own personal business." first rule of The World, don't ask about real life! They made it to the end of a dungeon that was way outta their league, thats pro! I wanna find Golden Grunties in treasure boxes. I think there's a keyword out there which may hold 'em...

//Infection - Overtime

The games real grind is in its post-game. While everything aside from the bonus dungeon can be completed before the battle with Skeith, that's not the way I play it! The #1 Grind is obtaining about 50 of each of the 6 different elemental drinks~ the box/jar/crate/egg/etc smashing sound is forever burned into my ears! Its worth it ta get your hands on the stat-up items but sheesh! The next toughest thing was getting all party members to 250 affection. It cost alot of items/time but max'ing out is what 100%'ing is all about. This also enabled me to finish all remaining e-mail chains and get the final e-mails!

Raising one of each Grunty was no problem at all, nor was beating the final Goblin Tag challenge! Getting all 115 monsters in the game logged in the Ryu Book IV was no problem since I keep handy the areas I'd found 'em all in the past! The three secret dungeons were a breeze since the area levels were quite low. Gaining 1st place in the Hero of Zeit challenge was super simple. I blew away Balmungs time of 2:12 with a record smashing 1:42! Last of all was the bonus dungeon and boss. Short dungeon, painful boss. But I came out on top to claim its rare weapon and now its time ta move on~

- Infection
Game Cleared: 15:54:01
Game Overtime: 08:37:10
Game Cleared 100%: 24:31:11


On an unrelated note my LotT, Quantum & Movie singles cds arrived yesterday! Now over $1700 spent on .hack stuffs over the years.

 

[Lindsay]

//SIGN

ep.08: "I've decided to hang around with Tsukasa until I just can't take it anymore." pretty bad plan Mimiru you seem to get sick of him real fast. "Do you know about little Tsukasa?" asks Sora as he goes around PKing people. Hmmmm. Oh yeah Crim is fired up to renew his search for the Key of the Twilight! "I'd get scolded if I stayed up any later." whaaat? Theres someone out there that Sora is afraid of? Mimiru's plan worked she stayed logged into the game for possibly days but Tsukasa did appear! Now she should totally go get a bath. "The higher up it is dropped, the worst the crash will be. Hope is the best spice to bring out despair." thats an ominous note to end on!

//Another Birth Vol.1 ~ Chapter 7

This chapter actually covers the early parts of Mutation go figure. BlackRose is pretty smart already wondering if they're the cause of the server crash from defeating Skeith. A shame she can't confide in NOVA & Chimney yet Kite is super carefree by inviting all sorts of regular players into dangerous places! So its BlackRose/Natsume/Sanjuro who tackle the bonus dungeon with the Parasite Dragon. "Ray Rack!" shouted Sanjuro. Excuse me Tokyopop but shouldn't that be "Rairaku"? Also Helba calling Lios an ignoramus instead of a pighead doesn't feel right.

//Another Birth Vol.2 ~ Chapters 1 - 2
On top of everything else going on Akira has to make sure her brothers subscription is paid for and as a bonus gets to snoop through his diary! Makes me wonder how much a sub costs for the game. Anyway it turns out the sys-admins aren't the ones creating protected areas... so who or what is?? BlackRose is really smart I never woulda figured out the answer to Sheratons riddle/question >.<;

//Mutation

Oh man "International Geographic" has been discontinued! Such is the fate of print media huh? "The World" updated to Version 2.90 and now players can do Flag Races with their Grunties! So lets check that out even though BlackRose wants to return to the dungeon we fought Skeith in! ...Balmung in first place with a time of 20 seconds? Blah forget it I'll do that later! The dungeon looks the same but all the magic portals are gone which is good because I didn't wanna plow through 5 floors of monster again! Kite thought a graphic on the wall moved? Could it have been...? "Explain my ass. You don't know anything!" well put BlackRose! Back to town and I can't call on any friends for an adventure. Boo. Guess I'll log out and check my e-mail or something...


edit:

Noticed this while watching and capped it now. I know the background is just like representing a computer circuit board and all, and the labels are probably just saying which parts go where... but the R1 and R2 really stuck out to me~

 

[Laughing Banana]

I still hum the battle music from the first ps2 three games until this day. So goddamn catchy!

And the world music in the Haseo's trilogy games is so unbelievably good.

And who can forget...

SKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

 

[Esura]

These games are so expensive now.

 

[Lindsay]

//SIGN

ep.09: BT is certain the KotT does exist. A random cute girl is asking Tsukasa to take care of her little grunty for three days! Thats a tall order. Bear says his real job is a secret, he's a tough one to crack. The cathedral used to be surrounded by water huh? I wish I coulda seen it in that state just once. The baby grunty has grunty distemper. It never got a vaccine and now it needs a purple cherry? Grunty raising was much harder back then! "Keep your trap shut weirdo!" lol. Why are glimpses of little Tsukasas real life always so sad? >.<; Helbas a friend of a friend of Soras, he's got some serious connections. He made it back with the cherry but it was to late and the baby died... ;_;

ep.10: Bears son wants 5,000 from him for a car and he's asking rather rudely! "You know what. You're selfish and you really don't know anything at all." cold. Poor old Bear. hehehe A-20 still doesn't know how to play! "Lady Subaru will not see you." Silver Knight you're such a dickish white knight. Woah woah woah! Topless Crim! Hot! "Do you think someone before Tsukasa was unable to logout?" *looks up at the series timeline* I'd say thats a safe bet. Looks like the old man got the confidence to deal with his kid and Tsukasa in the end!

And now I'm caught up on the episodes which aired prior to Mutations release!

//Mutation

Logging out to check my mail actually worked! I got an anonymous one with an area keywords in it! But first I was feeling nostalgic so I headed to the cathedral. Inside I faintly saw and heard three players "Are you the player a girl?" "Not that its any of your business, but I'm a guy." after some conversation amongst themselves they fade away. How very weird. On the bright side I got a much sought after Golden Grunty out of it o.o!

Back on track, the area the e-mail told me about is another all white room... full of sys-admins! They let us off this time and now we can go to Carmina Gadelica! I fed a baby Grunty a bunch of random stuff expecting to get Noble Grunty but instead got Snakey! That was pretty amazing! Mia and Elk wanna join me on a trip to a protected area and Mia's speech input is messed up. "Light, rhet Z goh." k! "Why are you in the way? Are you Mr. In the Way?" ummm not that I'm aware of! This Sheraton person is weird so its no wonder Mistral feels a sense of kinship with him lol.

There was a Data Bug (Another Birth Kite claims they didn't run into any!) which was taken care of more easily than most. "Just because there's no use for it, is it futile? Sometimes the existence itself is enough." Mia that all went way way over my head! Oh and for using Data Drain I unlocked Drain Arc which I'd totally forgotten about! Supposed ta report back to Lios but that can wait. Goblin Tag 2 is here and R stands for racing! The first gob went down real easy. I remember picking up some areas from the board so I decided to go check out a "show" being held in one of 'em. Other people had gone to see it to but... "Why is grass green? Why is the sky blue? And why is water wet?" some left after each question until just Kite was left! In the end the Long Arm performing the show gave me his member address!

And who can forget...

SKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTHHHHH

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Alternatively:
OVAAAAAANNNNNN
SHIIIIIN0000OOOOOO
AAAATOOOOLIIIIIIIIII
PIIIIRRRRROOOSS

These games are so expensive now.

Remember how Tales fans bugged Namco and finally got a game or two outta 'em? .hack fans should totally bug them to! Asking for, at the barest of minimums, to re-release them for $10 each on PSN!

 

[encephalon]

I really enjoyed these games for PS2, despite selling them all (maybe that was a mistake). Given how "effective" the games are with their resources I'm surprised that they're not releasing another.

 

[Man God]

Be warned if you want to relive your nostalgic early mid ps2 RPG days, the four .hack games are ugly as sin.

GU is gorgeous in comparison but is way too easy and the plot is sort of naif and some of the character classes are complete rubbish.

 

[BlackGhost]

I really enjoyed these games for PS2, despite selling them all (maybe that was a mistake). Given how "effective" the games are with their resources I'm surprised that they're not releasing another.

Yeah I wish I never sold my copies :"/ , never Played the Gu series

 

[Finaika]

The TV series was crap, and I love Noir.

 

[Lindsay]

//Another Birth Vol.2 ~ Chapters 3 - 4
"Just obey Lios for now." c'mon Kite show some backbone! Akira finally standing up to the bullies on the tennis team is a fine example to follow! The Kite/BlackRose/Elk team headed for &#923; Ressurecting Confused Judgement where they soon encounter and battle Innis. For all the time they spent seeking Skeith it sure didn't take long to bump into the next phase! Winter is approaching meaning Outbreak/Quarantine must've taken place really close together. ["Ol Repth!" Mistral healed the entire party.] shouldn't that be Ola Repth? Fumikazu's pet wanting to wait for him at the front door is so ;_;

//Mutation

I decided to take a break and head back to the cathedral since its nice and peaceful there but wouldn't ya know it? Two people where there. "Your member address if you please..." after some chatter the Twin Blade killed the Wavemaster lady...that guy gives Twin Blades like Kite and Natsume a bad name! At least I got a Silver Grunty for witnessing this scene! Next I wanted to check out a "trading convention" so I went to the dungeon but Kite ended up being an errand boy! Well at least we got a new friend in Rachel outta it. Also for the second dungeon in a row I spotted some guy called Moonstone who quickly warped away again.

Gardenia invited me to a really tough area but we managed to clear it out entirely, level up along the way, and saw Moonstone again. The next Goblin Tag went well since I poisoned Jonue R! Then its off to &#923; Ressurecting Confused Judgement... or it woulda been if I'd had D & E virus cores! After finding some gate hacking was no problem! In the dungeon some jigsaw puzzle-like thing appeared over and over but it wasn't until the final room that it fought for real. Innis had even more attacks than Skeith and they hurt but it went down slightly easier. Back in town no players were there (Another Birth says no NPCs either but there were, for gameplay purposes?) and Lios yelled at us. "Maybe like Balmung says, its the bracelet. Am I the cause of the problems?"

In world news Flash Cola is working with CC Corp to release anti-theft vending machines with 10 million pixel cameras and internet connectivity to report to the closest police station. Crazy to think that even vending machines will have eyes! And US president Alex Coleman wants the internet shutoff on this upcoming Dec. 24th in observance of the 5 year anniversary of the Pluto's Kiss virus. That's going a little far I think! Oh look an e-mail from Aura... and one from Moonstone to?

Be warned if you want to relive your nostalgic early mid ps2 RPG days, the four .hack games are ugly as sin.

GU is gorgeous in comparison but is way too easy and the plot is sort of naif and some of the character classes are complete rubbish.

Ugly?? Thats crazy talk! I'm playing on my hdtv with PS2 & component cables and it all looks pretty fine to me! G.U. does look better in ways but the amount of jaggies and shimmering really stands out in a bad way.

 

[encephalon]

Be warned if you want to relive your nostalgic early mid ps2 RPG days, the four .hack games are ugly as sin.

GU is gorgeous in comparison but is way too easy and the plot is sort of naif and some of the character classes are complete rubbish.

I still buy Sega Saturn games.

 

[Lindsay]

//SIGN

ep.11: Starting with Tsukasa running around having fun with Aura ends with her stabbing him to death?? Oh it was just a bad dream he was having! "I'm afraid I don't have a good grasp of time." being stuck in a game will do that to you. Him Mimiru and Bear decide to play the game normally by taking part in an event! "There were 12 stones that were to become the foundation for the 12 gates on the walls in New Jerulsalem. Which of these is the Second True Treasure?" uuuhhhh wha? what kind of event is this?? Bear knows the answer is Amethyst but I dun get it at all! Bear mapping the area by hand is oldschool! Next is a riddle using calculator font how weird! "Hey Tsukasa what does your family do in the real world? What kind of job does your dad do?" real world flashback says drinking and yelling at little Tsukasa ;.; "Shirley was cheating on her husband with her boss in Jack's room. Who was the director?" I umm wat. This event is SO not for me. "Woah Tsukasa you rock." says Sora enamoured with the Guardian. And Mimiru teaches Tsukasa there is no I in teamwork. Event complete! At a hospital in the real world an adult tells a doctor he wants the life-support system turned off as it pans over a certain comatose patient...

ep.12: "Patients in a vegetative state have a chance of recovering." says the doctor. "Like the family of Nancy Cruzan?" questions the man. Mimiru tries to give Tsukasa a new weapon but he has no interest in updating his gear. Subaru wants to be notified at any time of day if someone wants to see her? She must have a lot of free time. Barbed vines wrap around the sleepy Aura which Tsukasa tries to remove and Macha is pissed. In the real world the man pulled the plug himself and in the game Tsukasa fell to the ground clutching his chest. "The patient in question had numerous bumps and bruises on his body already when he was brought to the hospital." abuse... -_- (also dub keeps using he/him while the subs use no gender). Morganna is threatening the heck out of him. "So I'm the little mermaid in this game? Is that what you're saying more? That I'll find nothing good in reality and should stay right here?"

ep.13: Subaru wants to know the power they have to fight against. Bear is pissed at BT for not keeping the secret he shared with her and rightfully so! "Give a guy a break. I'm not that bad, just misunderstood." lol @ Sora. Helba passed along three words needed to go to an area without waiting for the Twilight Eye. "Then you actually believe that the real Tsukasa is a girl?" yes Mimiru just like Bear initially thought.

Tsukasa decides if they find the key he wants to use it to awaken the sleeping girl instead of to logout. Good on him! Suddenly a Helba appears to meet with Bear! The old version of the game didn't use the three keyword system to generate fields... well then that version sucked! Stop, Water, Navel all words relating to the cathedral. Macha is pissed that Tsukasa is going. Wow using a fairy's orb at the cathedral blows away the clouds surrounding the place and a red chaos gate appear!

ep.14: So this legendary land is an upside down castle in the sky? Neat! "This feels more like an action game than an rpg." the series will get there eventually Crim. Bear tells Tsukasa the keywords needed are &#920; Bitter Fantasy Mirror World, sounds cool. "I sense something very bad here. Its evil. I have a very bad feeling." crazy. Crim vs Sora round two! Deep inside the castle a strange sound and screen distortions occur... and BT gets to the end first, which holds a trapped, floating upside down man.

"The unlocking of the seal is to great a burden." well that meeting freaked her out pretty good! The weird man keeps going on and on about love and "our" daughter and leaving tangible evidence, talk about wacky! "This place seems to be inside the game but at the same time seperate. Its outside some sort of boundary." interesting concept. And just when they're leaving Macha makes the Guardian Data Drain Tsukasa...

Over halfway through the series now!

//Another Birth Vol.2 - Chapters 5 - 7
NOVA & Chimney must feel like BlackRose is giving them the shaft always saying she'll play with them another time. "For a second, I was stunned. Mistral's a housewife?! Mistral? it shocked us all. This along with making up with a friend and coincidentally running into and escorting a player who was friends with Kazu has finally taken some of Akiras gloom away! Heck now she's comparing Balmung to how she used to act!

"It was considered rude to ask people about their real life while playing the game." thats something some people'll never grasp lol. "Either way, I couldn't figure out why Wiseman would hang out in this desolate place anyway. Is he eccentric?" isn't the root of that autism? Hrm. Ohh Akira gets asked out and gets all blushy yet has to turn him down in the end cause she's just to busy. She really didn't have ta throw his info away though. K/B/M head to &#923; Blooming Promised Walkway, ya know just for the record an all.

"I returned to &#916; Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. I'd grown strong in the past two months, so if anything attack... I felt ready for it." so Infection-Mutation take place over 2 months in early to late fall! Akiras class is creating a haunted house for the culture festival in november. Oh japan even in the .hack universe we can't escape your school fesitvals! K/B/M also head to &#923; Pulsating Worst Core together. "I hate frustrating stuff like this! You handle it!" I'm with BlackRose on this navigation puzzles are hard! When they fight Magus its Mistral that gets the last hit! The look on BlackRoses face as they see Carmina Gadelica is just wow. ;.; Right after logging out Akiras mother directs her to the tv news showing many areas of Yokohama on fire and in general disarray...

//Mutation

Upon logging in Mistral is at the gate wanting to join up and Kite isn't about to turn her down! The town is full of weirdos so no point in sticking around! "I am totally into collecting items! Complete item list! Yeah! XD" so cute! Kite told her about his situation but she thought he was simply roleplaying! That changes when Aura briefly appeared but Cubias appearance gave no time to dwell on it. A long draining battle to knock out its core took place but we won... or did we? It escaped instead of dying.

Piros found the dungeon Mia is in and wants revenge for last time, Sanjuro found a place with a good sword, Natsume claims to have found a place to make her 10x stronger, I still have to properly meetup with Moonstone (although I somehow already have his member address), and some guy called Marlo posted on the boards calling Kite a phony and wants to meet him alone. Kite sure is popular!

 

[Lindsay]

Old post upgrade! They're now looking more uniform & I added pics of SIGN! Figured since after running a .hack fansite for years an sitting on a mountain of materials I could put some more effort into my posts! Game pics are in the works to~


//SIGN

ep.15: So... who here likes recap episodes? >.> What can I say about this one? Its basically Subara thinking back over the situation while scenes from the past 14 eps play (but mostly just the past two). Why'd I bother ta rewatch this? To be a completionist!

//Mutation

"Annihilate all monsters in the dungeon." - Moonstone
"Do you mean destroy all the monsters in the dungeon?" - Kite
~_~;

Goblin #8 was looking tough until I found I could use Saber Dance to keep him near me. So after calling Kite out Marlo completely forgot what he wanted to talk to him about! Sheesh! New member get in any case. Sanjuro gave me a really good twin blade weapon in return for helping him get a new sword. Win-Win! Goblin #9 was super easy all I needed to do was put him to sleep and slash away! "I don't know what I'd do without your advice." aww Natsume really respects Kite. Last of all is helping Piros out (which progresses the story as this was the only mandatory mission)! At the bottom of the dungeon we found Mia who in the end played another trick on Piros lol.

Linda sends a mail saying Balmung is investigating &#923; Dying Madness Haunted Land so lets check it out! ...Much sanity and many Restoratives were lost along the way due to those freaking Killer Boxes!! In the white room here was a buncha birdcages which I wanted to stuff Balmung into for being so pigheaded! After that annoying place I needed to cool down so off to the cathedral I went!

This time 4 people were there! "She means it is possible he is also a victim." the female Heavy Axeman, two male Blademasters, and female Heavy Blade seemed to be discussing another player, weird but it netted me another Golden Grunty. I remembered getting an area from the boards on and decided &#920; Rejecting Oblivious Wavemaster would be our next stop.

The field outside was nice but the inside was icky like the inside of a body, and at the entrance was a player named A-20 who said she's collecting ugly items called Golden Gruntys. Pretty strange to collect things ya don't like! "Greetings, I'm Mimiru." hellos! She was interested in Kite's rare color and that he seemed powerful... but Kite was dumbfounded and completely speechless. Her friend Bear had called her there but decided to change the meeting place! She gave me "Mimiru's Sword" as a parting gift which was nice of her!

 

[B.K.]

I watched SIGN, ROOTS, Legend of the Twilight, the four game OVAs and played the first four games and all three G.U. titles. I never want to do that again.

 

[Verelios]

I watched Sign and Roots.
Read the 3 volume manga with the 'new' Kite. Also the light novel (which was surprisingly not that bad for what it was).
Played all four original .Hack games. And the OVA's that came with them (which were interesting)
Went back for the G.U. series.
Tried to play .Link but said fuck it.

Yet I still haven't covered all, or most, of the .Hack ground? The fuck? This is pretty much where I have to give up until a new game comes out. Oh, and the new series? Other than the effects and animation (which I love .Hack for), it does not seem worth it.

 

[RomanticHeroX]

I bought them all, because at that time an episodic game seemed so novel and full of promise. Beat the first and played a few hours of the second before getting bored. The one thing I remember most is how ridiculously difficult the boss of the first game was. Everything up till then was pretty easy but I arrived at that fight (I thought) overleveled and still managed to burn through a full inventory of healing items to barely scrape by.