Review: .hack, by Lime-kun

The TV series throws new ideas regarding the mysteries of The World every handful of episodes. The plot twists will screw with you freely; SIGN's bendy plot isn't quite mind-blowing like Serial Experiments Lain, but it's definitely uniquely weird. Episodes end at strange times and conflicts are left unresolved...or are they? Keeping up with SIGN's story can be quite the task the first time around, so just take heed. The animation is nice on all accounts: character designs, color schemes, and backgrounds are all lush and beautiful, although occasionally animated movement can get a little choppy (though it doesn't subtract from the momentum of SIGN's story). The series boasts 26 episodes and two TV specials which work as semi-continuations of the series. There's no manga to compare SIGN to, but there are no filler episodes and only a single recap at episode 15 which is very, VERY needed. Especially for people who aren't the sharpest tools in the shed and can't follow the plot very well. Like me. Woo, pretty colors! *walks away*

The only downside to SIGN is that the story is slow. I repeat, slow; it's not uncommon for entire episodes to be conversations between characters. Surprisingly enough, this doesn't subtract from SIGN's coolness. The show pulls itself off well and is definitely worth that initial viewing, so get watching so we can move on.

Part II : hack//DUSK, aka .hack//TASOGARE NO UDEWA DENSETSU (Legend of the Twilight)

The second, very cute television series of .hack is known as .hack//DUSK. Although not as popular as its predecessor SIGN, DUSK remains a fan-favorite in .hacker's hearts. Rumor has it Bee Train didn't take control with this one like with SIGN. The three creators of Project .hack reportedly wanted DUSK to be a romance/comedy break from the intense emotion of SIGN, but some say DUSK sums up what SIGN didn't.

Unlike what it may seem like at first glance, DUSK does not feature the same characters from the video games. The story revolves around two normal high school students, Rena and Shugo, who are very close twin siblings separated by separated/divorced parents. Shugo and Rena are left alone in their separate houses by their workaholic rents, so what do they do? Sit around and watch TV? No! They sit around and play video games like good children should. Shugo finds The World installed on his computer by his sneaky sister after a visit one day, and shortly after he receives an extremely lucky e-mail--one that tells him he won the "character avatar campaign" and can now legally use the same character that the legendary .hacker, Kite, used at an earlier date. Rena soon calls and says she also won the character avatar campaign, except she got the avatar of legendary .hacker BlackRose. Coincidence or luck, maybe. *insert uproarious laughter* Now Shugo has been chosen to pursue the history that Kite left behind, but that involves a little trick we like to call "breaking the law"--.hacking, to be exact.

Animation in DUSK is about the same as in SIGN, but the character designs are based off the manga here. The series has only 12 short episodes, which is a shame, and although it follows a different story from the manga the pace is still way faster than that of SIGN. Filled with comedy, spinoffs of our favorite .hack characters, and even a few very emotional moments, DUSK is the Prozac to our SIGN disorder.

Manga

The .hack manga from Tokyopop, called .hack//Legend of the Twilight (TASOGARE NO UDEWA DENSETSU in Japanese), was written, drawn, and published in the early developmental stages of Project .hack. This was very risky, as Kazunori Ito himself once said, considering that DUSK is supposed to happen after all other events in Project .hack. Everything about this manga is the same as DUSK save the plot and episode structure. Shugo and Rena once again battle their way through The World's mysteries, only this time with more comedy than DUSK and featuring a unique plot (entire chapters of the 3-volume series do not occur in the DUSK TV series). Written by Tatsuya Hamazaki and drawn by Rei Izumi, the manga was originally serialized in Kadokawa's 'Computeek' magazine. Since Legend of the Twilight was meant to be happier than other complex and disturbing branches of .hack, grab yourself a copy and relax for once. And now that your guard is down...

Games

.hack just wouldn't be .hack without the games. The four games released under the .hack title, all of them for the Playstation 2 console, are the central core of the .hack story. Focused on main character Kite and his discoveries, the .hack games are connected to each other and will drive you more than a little bonkers before you're through.

The first volume, fully named .hack//INFECTION EXPANSION, is simply known as .hack//INFECTION. This game introduces you to Kite, a simple seventh-grader who is invited into The World by a friend; but on his first excursion, this friend goes into a coma after being attacked by a mysterious monster. After this, a strange girl dressed all in white gives Kite a gift--the strange ability to illegally alter an enemy's data and defeat it. Who is this girl? Why is his friend in a coma? Why is data drain illegal, and why can only Kite perform this magical skill? In the first volume, everything is very introductory: you see all the main characters once or twice and get to know the basics of gameplay. The battle system is decent and well-balanced in my opinion, although this is up to debate with some. Think Kingdom Hearts's battle system but more retro. Since I'm not going into a full review of the game, hop on over to www.rpgamer.com or www.rpgfan.com if you're now falling into a fit of uncontrollable twitching without more information.

The second game, .hack//MALIGNANT MUTATION or simply .hack//MUTATION, is much more story-oriented than its predecessor. Overall a better game, MUTATION allows Kite to gather more items from those monsters he data drains, including the virus cores which enable him to "gate hack" into areas of The World locked due to a spread of system viral infections. The cause for the virus spread is unknown, of course. As the story proceeds, Kite sees mysterious images of the characters from SIGN, but they turn out to be only illusions. Messing with your head yet? Good. The battle system advances as much as the story, so expect better graphics, enjoyability, and character development in MUTATION. It only takes about 10 hours to complete, but that's better than 40 hours of a game that bites, right?