freeofgreed
Member
I've always been interested in this series but never got the chance to play any of them. So how was the original quadrilogy and GU trilogy and do they hold up?
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How were the PS2 .hack games?
- Thread starter freeofgreed
- Start date
lupe121283
Member
I need to find the last one with the Anime disc.
THEN I can finish the game and the anime.
THEN I can finish the game and the anime.
RiderKairuu
Member
The GU trilogy was fun for me at the time, but very repetitive looking back. The job extension stuff was cool across those games. Each one offered something a little different. Haven't played the original four games.
SerTapTap
Member
GU holds up quite well, looks pretty good (fairly late PS2 game after all), fun combat, minigames. Only real complaint was the limited partners (at first anyway) and much lower breadth of areas--there really aren't too many different dungeon types.
The quadrilogy has sort of the opposite problem--fantastic locations, but the gameplay is pretty eh, plain attacks are particularly awkward and you need to fuss through menus in otherwise realtime combat. It's also a bit hard to go back to visually but that's not a problem for everyone. I love their spell nomenclature though--it's not much more complex than Final Fantasy's "fireaga" but it gives magic some personality.
Story in both is good, I'm very glad to have played them but regular .hack is very hard to go back to but I really love some of the stuff they do there, like the phases, the corruption, Harold's rooms, the random area generator.
I...still need to watch those anime disks. For some reason I kept putting that off, and watching the last half of the anime (I've done that now). I need to hunt down the rest (that was released in english anyway)
The quadrilogy has sort of the opposite problem--fantastic locations, but the gameplay is pretty eh, plain attacks are particularly awkward and you need to fuss through menus in otherwise realtime combat. It's also a bit hard to go back to visually but that's not a problem for everyone. I love their spell nomenclature though--it's not much more complex than Final Fantasy's "fireaga" but it gives magic some personality.
Story in both is good, I'm very glad to have played them but regular .hack is very hard to go back to but I really love some of the stuff they do there, like the phases, the corruption, Harold's rooms, the random area generator.
I...still need to watch those anime disks. For some reason I kept putting that off, and watching the last half of the anime (I've done that now). I need to hunt down the rest (that was released in english anyway)
thewhitehawk
Member
I have the original four games with the anime disks. They were repetitive, basic action-based roleplaying games. Graphics were mediocre and the story was convoluted but for some reason I just find them immensely endearing and appealing. Maybe that's because of how much I enjoyed .hack//SIGN, maybe that's because of how much I like the concept and the offline aspects of the game but I liked them, specially the later games which were significantly more difficult but also had a lot of the series' characters join you as party members.
Small aside but let me just say that I think the first game has one of the best video game covers of all time. The second and third games' covers are dreadful by comparison :/
The GU games didn't feel like they had any of the charm or what I found appealing in the first games. They felt like an imitation. I do realize that they had much better gameplay, immensely better visuals and the story was also better constructed though eerily similar to the original games, but the characters and the setting just felt generic and uninspired and that says a lot when you think about how bland most of the maps and dungeons you visited in the original .hack games were.
Small aside but let me just say that I think the first game has one of the best video game covers of all time. The second and third games' covers are dreadful by comparison :/
The GU games didn't feel like they had any of the charm or what I found appealing in the first games. They felt like an imitation. I do realize that they had much better gameplay, immensely better visuals and the story was also better constructed though eerily similar to the original games, but the characters and the setting just felt generic and uninspired and that says a lot when you think about how bland most of the maps and dungeons you visited in the original .hack games were.
sensui-tomo
Member
They were fun games at the time, problem is that the original quad has not aged well at all, voice cast was alright and iirc it had dual audio, the only issue i had with the game was the last disk and some stupid grind it had for one particular stage. I havent touched the GU trilogy but i've heard mixed reviews on that. I'd love for namco and sony to release these games on the psn store as classics or remaster them since i dislike the way they've been going with dot hack. I havent liked their recent games and stories and the only one i havent followed up on was that psp game.
TheBlueRogue
Neo Member
Everyone's pretty much put the nail on the head already, .hack//IMOQ is a decent game with great lore behind it. "The World" has always been one of my favorite backdrops in gaming because of the sheer amount of mystery the game exudes. The game did quite a good job of simulating an MMO (if you ignore how everyone has perfect spelling) but the combat system is pretty lackluster. I mean, you have to essentially pause the game every time you want to cast a spell.
.hack//GU is much better from a gameplay perspective but the lore isn't quite as deep as the first time around. I'm a big fan of the .hack franchise and I can really only recommend playing GU at this point.
.hack//GU is much better from a gameplay perspective but the lore isn't quite as deep as the first time around. I'm a big fan of the .hack franchise and I can really only recommend playing GU at this point.
I had them and they were kinda fun, but the difficulty creep is kind of crazy if I remember right.
1. Enemies are kind of balanced and have weaknesses you don't really need to exploit.
2. You start to find enemies that have weaknesses to a few elements.
3. Enemies begin to have only one weakness.
4. Introduces a new type of enemy that only takes damage from one element. period.
It gets pretty unfun having to switch your weapons around every single encounter and the game just doesn't hold up through the entire series even though bringing the same characters through each game is kind of novel.
1. Enemies are kind of balanced and have weaknesses you don't really need to exploit.
2. You start to find enemies that have weaknesses to a few elements.
3. Enemies begin to have only one weakness.
4. Introduces a new type of enemy that only takes damage from one element. period.
It gets pretty unfun having to switch your weapons around every single encounter and the game just doesn't hold up through the entire series even though bringing the same characters through each game is kind of novel.
The Last Wizard
Member
They're fucking great! Still got all my copies and would kill for another series on console released in the west.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
Tetralogy had a spammy battle system and recycled assets, but I'd play through it again to see if the story and dungeon-crawling's held up. Great use of UI to simulate the look and feel of a solo-/group-friendly MMORPG as well as its community aspects, nice and tidy for the plot of course. Music's not particularly complex, but interesting, and the art direction sticks with me up to now. I've got a feeling this wasn't much better than Level-5's Dark Cloud games in terms of design, but memories are nice to have.
BassForever
Member
The games are fun but get very repetitve, if you want to play through the series make sure you break up each episode with another game or you will burn out.
I played some of Infection recently for the first time, and the whole backdrop is done really well, and I kind of liked how the combat was based on hitting weaknesses and getting skills from equipment, though I wish the buff spells felt less completely mandatory. The problem is that after only 12 hours or so it's already the most repetitive RPG I've ever played. It's cool that you can combine keywords to make fields that have various parameters, but even when I was doing nothing but following the leads that the game gave me the formula still got really old fast.
I got up to Outbreak and just couldn't make it through the rest. They were pretty monotonous. I actually bought Quarantine last year, so I could try to replay the original series.
G.U. seems to have a better artstyle, but I cannot say much about the gameplay as I've only played the first 15 minutes of Part 1.
G.U. seems to have a better artstyle, but I cannot say much about the gameplay as I've only played the first 15 minutes of Part 1.
The first 4 were pretty repetitive but I enjoyed them. I never beat the very final mission (or what I thought was the final mission) because the dungeon was simply too hard for me. Every room had unbelievably strong enemies. I liked the universe. Black Rose is the best character.
I never played GU but heard they were good.
I never played GU but heard they were good.
Wait so your saying that they are teasing for a new entry?
Sheriff_Battlesnake
Banned
CLANG
They were pretty stale even when they were released. But the storyline was good. I managed to have fun with it but I knew the combat was lacking even then
SweetJohnnyCage
Member
I really dug the first 4, but I didn't play the GU series because I couldn't swallow having to buy another 4 games like that. Investment was too much $ for me.
SerTapTap
Member
I think the last several times we thought they were teasing for a new .Hack it was actually more JoJo and Naruto. Wish they'd make one of course, closest thing I've played to .Hack since GU is playing with Cycerconnect2 in Neptunia
Commanche Raisin Toast
Member
Really liked GU but never finished it. The way it fused the story into the faux mmo world was great. Wish it had been released as an HD rerelease on PS3 or PS4 so I could zip through it all.
Tried the first .hack//sign game in the first quadrilogy but it was a bit assy.
Tried the first .hack//sign game in the first quadrilogy but it was a bit assy.
SoulUnison
Banned
I tried to get into these really recently, as it hits a bunch of points that I love in games.
I love the "fake MMO" concept, as well as the "Faux Desktop OS/Internet" trappings of the series, and I like the sort of "Megaman Battle Network-esque" system of meeting other characters and how the world feels like it's going on around you, but the battle system is just so barebones and clunky, and the cutscenes are *really* "Early PS2."
I wanted to get into it, but I just couldn't get into the actual "game" part of it
I love the "fake MMO" concept, as well as the "Faux Desktop OS/Internet" trappings of the series, and I like the sort of "Megaman Battle Network-esque" system of meeting other characters and how the world feels like it's going on around you, but the battle system is just so barebones and clunky, and the cutscenes are *really* "Early PS2."
I wanted to get into it, but I just couldn't get into the actual "game" part of it
Commanche Raisin Toast
Member
The first .hack games or the GU series?
Valkerionseven
Member
Always wanted to get the whole series but fell off after the first game for w/e reason. Had some annoyances that I can remember which would turn people off these days. Played a bit of GU and thought it was way better.
threelights
Member
The original quadrilogy is my favorite, but they didn't age well at all =X
They are still fun for what they are though. (and the story holds up)
The GU had a worse story imo, but overall the only thing that didn't age well were the animations for the game =P
If you want to play one, go for the GU trilogy, and after, if you think you can play a dumbed down version of that (gameplay-wise) then go for the originals.
Also, Grunties are awesome (and better in the original quadrilogy).
They are still fun for what they are though. (and the story holds up)
The GU had a worse story imo, but overall the only thing that didn't age well were the animations for the game =P
If you want to play one, go for the GU trilogy, and after, if you think you can play a dumbed down version of that (gameplay-wise) then go for the originals.
Also, Grunties are awesome (and better in the original quadrilogy).
PandaShake
Member
I really loved the first game. For its time, it felt innovative and I was immersed into the faux mmo world. The plot was interesting and I cared for the characters and the dangers they were facing. Generating dungeons through a seed (I think) was a neat idea and the bonus anime disk felt like the package was a good value.
The sequel (2nd of the series) came out, and I was extremely excited. I can finally continue the adventure and see what awaits the characters and witness how the story/world unfolds. Then I beat the game. Fuck. What the fuck? That's it? As a kid, I waited until I was able to get the game as a present. A crazy fucking boss appeared and then the fucking credits rolled? I couldn't believe it ended on a cliff hanger. I was baffled and felt betrayed as a fan and customer. I checked my playtime and it was at 13 FUCKING HOURS PLAYED for an RPG. There were plenty of cutscenes too if I remember correctly. Oh yea, I fell asleep watching the second bonus anime too. The fucking shit was full priced in its day. By then, I had disposable income and I wasn't going to waste any money on the series when they obviously took barely two games worth of material and tried to spread it across four games because they can.
Fuck that series.
The sequel (2nd of the series) came out, and I was extremely excited. I can finally continue the adventure and see what awaits the characters and witness how the story/world unfolds. Then I beat the game. Fuck. What the fuck? That's it? As a kid, I waited until I was able to get the game as a present. A crazy fucking boss appeared and then the fucking credits rolled? I couldn't believe it ended on a cliff hanger. I was baffled and felt betrayed as a fan and customer. I checked my playtime and it was at 13 FUCKING HOURS PLAYED for an RPG. There were plenty of cutscenes too if I remember correctly. Oh yea, I fell asleep watching the second bonus anime too. The fucking shit was full priced in its day. By then, I had disposable income and I wasn't going to waste any money on the series when they obviously took barely two games worth of material and tried to spread it across four games because they can.
Fuck that series.
MonkeyDLuffy
Banned
Just to give my two cents on the deal... Loved the IDEA of the games, but the original had such bland gameplay that I never got into it. Didn't finish it, didn't play any of the others.
Then when the new series came around, that GU thing, I gave it another try. SO much better. I got so addicted to that game and spent an entire weekend in my college dorm playing it. I watched the sun come up and go down as I played that game. I finished it 100%. So I would recommend skipping the original quadriligy and going right to GU.
Then when the new series came around, that GU thing, I gave it another try. SO much better. I got so addicted to that game and spent an entire weekend in my college dorm playing it. I watched the sun come up and go down as I played that game. I finished it 100%. So I would recommend skipping the original quadriligy and going right to GU.
InfiniteNine
Rolling Girl
I loved them at the time but I think the G.U. series has aged better and is more appropriate to get into. I actually recollected the games a couple of years ago to finally finish it. (I lent the last game to a friend and never got it back. >
PandaPandaPanda
Member
The 3rd game in the original series makes you farm a shit ton virus cores(or whatever they're called) to the point where I lost interest in ever finishing the 4th game. I had fun up until the massive necessary farming in the 3rd game though.
At the end of 2013 Matsuyama said it's only a matter of time.
Stone Ocean
Member
Infection was a pretty mediocre and short game, but it was kinda fun.
Mihos
Gold Member
They are still pretty good. I am playing through them again, but right now only on part 2. I would like to see an updated version where the 'World' is actually online
InfiniteNine
Rolling Girl
I've kinda been hoping for a new .hack series since last gen. That PS3 fighter is such a tease. x:
Crankshaft
Member
I played the first one and enjoyed but I didn't feel like paying 200 dollars to get the whole story. I told myself I would wait until the game was cheap and finish it out.
Fast forward to now. I'm checking the price of the games on ebay and they are going for 180-200 dollars still. BLAHH!
Wheres a HD port when you need it. I want all for games for 40 bucks lol.
Fast forward to now. I'm checking the price of the games on ebay and they are going for 180-200 dollars still. BLAHH!
Wheres a HD port when you need it. I want all for games for 40 bucks lol.
striferser
Huge Nickleback Fan
Yup.
Playing it all is not really recommended. There usually a time before the next game come out. And don't worry about forgetting the plot point. The game allow you to replay important plot point movie.
Each game is short for RPG btw, only around 15-20 hours of gameplay. GU have longer gameplay time, but by the end of it, you probably reach around 70-80 hours of gameplay
Also, if you're going to play the game, might as well watch the anime and hunt the manga.
Same. I have the first three but so many things came up that I never got around to getting the 4th game and finishing off the series.
threelights
Member
This reminds me that .Hack//Link is pretty fun and I'll never know the story...
Damn it CC2 >.>
Damn it CC2 >.>
Haven't played GU, but I've hit everything else that's come out in English (IE the original games and all the anime (except that apparently awful GU tie-in that never got anything but singles), manga, light novels). And I'm a huge fan of the world building and presentation/ideas of the whole thing. But the original games just straight up aren't good. And also REALLY should've been 1 game, 2 absolute max. The plot didn't need the division at all, it was reusing assets like crazy, and even with the bonus dungeons I still only got 15 hours a piece out of 1 and 4, and 10 each for the 2 and 3, which is crazy for RPGs. (Also, the final bonus dungeon of the series is impossibly douchey and I really shouldn't have forced my way through it but I did).
First series was flawed and janky but really compelling in gameplay/story with a world you could get immersed in. It was repetitive and full of flaws but I loved it.
Second series improved on the jank and upped the production values and combat, but lost a lot of the charm and the story wasn't anywhere near as good. Nor was the world. Was still good though.
I'd take a new series any day though. Especially with CC2's modern cell-shaded visuals. Would look amazing.
Second series improved on the jank and upped the production values and combat, but lost a lot of the charm and the story wasn't anywhere near as good. Nor was the world. Was still good though.
I'd take a new series any day though. Especially with CC2's modern cell-shaded visuals. Would look amazing.
Basically what Bebpo said. The first game has a really interesting worldview and really made a good try at the whole multi-medium concept. Understanding the story from the perspectives of the game, the anime, and the manga is really satisfying, if you can find all elements of them at a cheap price.
The second series works better as games, but they have a really lacklustre plot that seems to really stall from game to game with some really asinine set-ups.
The second series works better as games, but they have a really lacklustre plot that seems to really stall from game to game with some really asinine set-ups.