.hack// game series?

[Chancie]

I've been wanting to get into the .hack// (not entirely sure if that's spelled right) series for a little while now, but there are so many and I have no idea where to start. I've heard that Infection is the first part but there seem to be two different series. The only thing that I know about it is the character Haseo, and it seems like he's in the second "series." I think so, anyway.

If anyone's played these games, I'd love if you could help me out.
Should they be played in order?
Should the series be played in order? (.hack// and then .hack//G.U.)
What's the gameplay like? Turn based, real time, hack and slash, etc.

Any other info would be awesome. xD I'd love to get into the series, but there's just so much, I dunno where to really start. Thanks!

 

[Julianking93]

there's .Hack and then the G.U. series which is okay but it isn't as great.

Play them in order. .hack//Infection is the first in the series and while a little slow, builds up the rest of the games.
And the combat is a real time RPG style. It plays a bit like Kingdom Hearts if you ever got into that.

.hack is actually one of my favourite series but I didn't get into it until recently either, so yes, I'd recommend it ^_^

 

[jumjalalabash]

Before you play any of the games you may want to check out the animes online. They do cover a bit of the story and character development especially with G.U. series.

 

[Chancie]

there's .Hack and then the G.U. series which is okay but it isn't as great.

Play them in order. .hack//Infection is the first in the series and while a little slow, builds up the rest of the games.
And the combat is a real time RPG style. It plays a bit like Kingdom Hearts if you ever got into that.

.hack is actually one of my favourite series but I didn't get into it until recently either, so yes, I'd recommend it ^_^

Any chance you could tell me the order? Aren't there like 8 games total between the two sub-series?

Before you play any of the games you may want to check out the animes online. They do cover a bit of the story and character development especially with G.U. series.

I'd thought about checking out the anime before too...so, I might still do that. If I were to still play the games first, would I be totally lost or could I still understand the story?

 

[Shining_Pyrelight]

First series-
.hack// Infection
.hack// Mutation
.hack// Outbreak
.hack// Quarantine

Second series-
.hack//GU Rebirth
.hack//GU Reminisce
.hack//GU Redemption

I'd play them in that order since you can transfer your data from one to the other. If the story matters, then definitely that order.
If you want, imagine each series as one big game with a lot of filler.
Haseo is in the GU series, the original has Kite as the main character.
The gameplay in the first series is a hack n' slash RPG, sort of like a console MMO (which is what it tries to emulate). The second series has way better gameplay and is more action oriented, but with an overall weaker story.

The games are rather hard, but I recommend them. They're fun, and if you can track them down I think it would be worth it.

 

[FalloutJack]

First series-
.hack// Infection
.hack// Mutation
.hack// Outbreak
.hack// Quarantine

Second series-
.hack//GU Rebirth
.hack//GU Reminisce
.hack//GU Redemption

I'd play them in that order since you can transfer your data from one to the other. If the story matters, then definitely that order.
If you want, imagine each series as one big game with a lot of filler.
Haseo is in the GU series, the original has Kite as the main character.
The gameplay in the first series is a hack n' slash RPG, sort of like a console MMO (which is what it tries to emulate). The second series has way better gameplay and is more action oriented, but with an overall weaker story.

The games are rather hard, but I recommend them. They're fun, and if you can track them down I think it would be worth it.

I'll second this. The .hack phenomenon has been a great piece of work, overall, so good that I additionally devoured the anime and manga to go with it. Well, most of it. I just wanted to know the whole story. The original games ARE somewhat better in my opinion. It's an MMO simulator with the rather meta idea that you're playing the player of the game and dealing not with just a fantasy world, but fantasy made by technology which is threatening to destroy all you hold dear (which is more than just the game).

 

[Korten12]

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Should they be played in order? Their is the show - .hack//sign (prequel to the universe, but not totaly vital, as far as I know) and then he .Hack//Infection series (4 games) and then the legend of the twilight manga (not needed but is still good) and then .Hack//roots and then .hack//GU (3 games) (roots and GU are very connected as it shares the same main character)
Should the series be played in order? (.hack// and then .hack//G.U.) Yes, their is many, many references to previous games and books.
What's the gameplay like? Turn based, real time, hack and slash, etc. - Real Time Hack and Slash. If there is one buff I had with the game is that it can get a bit tedious after the second game, but the story imo was very good and so its easy to continue playing just for it.

I never beat the Infection series but I read all of the Legend of the Twilight manga's and roots and read wiki for the Infection series as well as a long video that came with the collectors edition of GU. (watched on the internet). I also did beat all of the GU games, almost twice.

I know you may be on edge because I mentioned books (the series did begin with .hack//sign, so it did start out as a show.) but they add a lot of depth to the universe. Though I will say the games already do a fantastic job of it already, they just show stuff that didn't fit the game structure.

I really love .Hack, sadly I was slightly dissapointed with the turn they made with the series: .hack//link so I kind of ignored it. Maybe the new OVA episodes of .hack//Quantom is good...

edit: Check out .Hack//Liminality, it takes place during the Infection series! Its really really good.

 

[Julianking93]

Any chance you could tell me the order? Aren't there like 8 games total between the two sub-series?

Oh woops, sorry >.<
Yeah, it goes Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine.
Then the G.U. series is Rebirth, Reminiscence and Redemption.

 

[Korten12]

Any chance you could tell me the order? Aren't there like 8 games total between the two sub-series?

Oh woops, sorry >.<
Yeah, it goes Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine.
Then the G.U. series is Rebirth, Reminiscence and Redemption.

Good to see a fellow .Hack lover. Rarely hear anyone mention the series anymore...

 

[jumjalalabash]

Before you play any of the games you may want to check out the animes online. They do cover a bit of the story and character development especially with G.U. series.

I'd thought about checking out the anime before too...so, I might still do that. If I were to still play the games first, would I be totally lost or could I still understand the story?

With the original series not so much, but with G.U. it does assume you already know what is going on with the story. The anime ending is basically the beginning of the game.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I've been wanting to get into the .hack// (not entirely sure if that's spelled right) series for a little while now, but there are so many and I have no idea where to start. I've heard that Infection is the first part but there seem to be two different series. The only thing that I know about it is the character Haseo, and it seems like he's in the second "series." I think so, anyway.

If anyone's played these games, I'd love if you could help me out.
Should they be played in order?
Should the series be played in order? (.hack// and then .hack//G.U.)
What's the gameplay like? Turn based, real time, hack and slash, etc.

Any other info would be awesome. xD I'd love to get into the series, but there's just so much, I dunno where to really start. Thanks!

Everyone has already given you the order, so I'll skip that and answer your question about the gameplay itself.
X-Play summed up the gameplay pretty well. "Instead of Dot Hack, this series should be called Dot Hack-n-Slash. Repetitive doesn't even begin to cover it." You will be fighting the same enemies over and over, going through the same dungeons over and over, and constantly mashing the attack button. Some of the quests can get a little brutal because of this, especially each game's post-end-game dungeon. Be warned: If that sounds boring to you, stay away.

The story is a bit hard to follow, and even after having played all the games, I'm still not certain about everything. However, the characters are fun and interesting. G.U. seemed to fix some of the issues that were in .Hack, but it's essentially the same game. You don't need to play the original series to enjoy G.U., but you'll be missing little things here and there if you skip it. I highly recommend that you rent one Infection if you can. If you can't, rent one of the other games and just ignore the story because you are going to be lost. See if you like the gameplay. If you do, get the whole series. If you don't, you should skip it because it never changes. Personally, I like the series.

 

[Chancie]

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Thank you so much for all the info! Very helpful!
Then, I have another question for you. I found a site where I can watch all the .hack// anime. So, then, does the anime have to go in order with each sub-series? I haven't seen any of it, so if I were to start with .hack//Roots, would I be lost?

Thanks for answering all the tedious questions. xD I really appreciate it!

 

[Zaik]

Yeah, they're labelled 1 2 3 and 4 on the actual box. I never could find the 4th one though.

 

[Korten12]

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Thank you so much for all the info! Very helpful!
Then, I have another question for you. I found a site where I can watch all the .hack// anime. So, then, does the anime have to go in order with each sub-series? I haven't seen any of it, so if I were to start with .hack//Roots, would I be lost?

Thanks for answering all the tedious questions. xD I really appreciate it!

No, not really. It might be slightly confusig but for the most part it won't be but after a bit you will fully know whats going on. Though later in the show you will be confused because it has a huge reference to the old games and such, as I can remember...

 

[Erana]

.Hack// and .hack//G.U. are two very different animals. I adore everything .hack, but I found G.U., Roots and anything else like that just unbearable. Which is a shame; I'd like to watch what happens...

But yeah, try .hack//SIGN, the anime. If you don't like it, still give .hack//INFECTION a try. Its in the same world, but they have different appeal.
Then, if you don't like either of those, you need to try G.U. Its a lot more "Normal anime/JRPG-ie than its predecessors, and could prolly stand its own if you read a few wiki articles.

Just understand that .hack// stuff is one of those things that should be incredibly boring, but has an inexplicable appeal to a lot of people. If you like .hack//INFECTION and its sequels, then you're going to spend hours and hours going through the same few copy/paste environments and love it regardless. For me, it feels like soloing MMORPG gameplay, but with the satisfaction brought by proceeding in a standard JRPG.