I believe there's 4 installments in the series from what I've seen. I've read positive reviews mostly for this series and it's one I do not own. I'm not interested in GU as it was met with mediocrity in many publications and sites I trust for reviews.
But my question is if the original .hack series is worth picking up if I can find it for a reasonable price?
What is the length of each title? What is the battle system like? Is the game linear or open ended? Any thoughts at all are welcome.
Full Version: The Original .Hack series For PS2
Personally I really didn't get to into them, it had a pretty open real time battle system if I remember rightly, Kinda like the kingdom hearts one.
I never got to far in the story/game because I found the dungeons and such pretty bland, I guess I couldn't follow an anime games storyline.
(which is odd given I loved the GITS:SAC game).
I never got to far in the story/game because I found the dungeons and such pretty bland, I guess I couldn't follow an anime games storyline.
(which is odd given I loved the GITS:SAC game).
Honestly, it's a very good series. The storyline can be a little dull at certain times, but it picks up as you go.
As for battle systems? It's actually a pretty simple system. Like kingdom Hearts, you can move freely and attack with skills and such.
The only thing that is tedious in these games are Levels. The story might make you face a God-knows-how-strong-monster when your nowhere near strong enough to beat it. And to level up is actually hard, unless you train in an area that is a few levels higher than your current level.
Other than that, it's a cool game and has a ton of side quests.
(PS: You should really at least try G.U., after you play the originals of course.)
As for battle systems? It's actually a pretty simple system. Like kingdom Hearts, you can move freely and attack with skills and such.
The only thing that is tedious in these games are Levels. The story might make you face a God-knows-how-strong-monster when your nowhere near strong enough to beat it. And to level up is actually hard, unless you train in an area that is a few levels higher than your current level.
Other than that, it's a cool game and has a ton of side quests.
(PS: You should really at least try G.U., after you play the originals of course.)
I thought G.U.'s gameplay was better, but it seems overall Project .hack had the better plot.
G.U.'s .hack Conglomerate was too heavy revolving around Haseo's character, so it's kinda of a hit-or-miss thing, depending on how much you appreciate his character.
Otherwise, the two multi-episode games are pretty similar in style. They dramatise MMORPG and tell a tale around make-believe virtual world that have real impact on the living world. LOL
Keep in mind that you'll be paying for four discs that make up the story of a single game, so I wouldn't recommend paying too much for them unless you know what you are paying for.
G.U.'s .hack Conglomerate was too heavy revolving around Haseo's character, so it's kinda of a hit-or-miss thing, depending on how much you appreciate his character.
Otherwise, the two multi-episode games are pretty similar in style. They dramatise MMORPG and tell a tale around make-believe virtual world that have real impact on the living world. LOL
Keep in mind that you'll be paying for four discs that make up the story of a single game, so I wouldn't recommend paying too much for them unless you know what you are paying for.
I would since you should be able to find all four games for the price of 20-30 U.S. dollars. Still, you be shelling out 80-120 U.S. dollars for one game. I'm only saying I would get it since I believe you're a collector. For the play factor, the game is repetitive and quite boring. I quit after I finished the third installment myself and the main reason I avoided G.U. for a number of years before picking it up earlier this year and enjoying G.U. Still, that doesn't change my opinion of the original series which is ever more repetitive and demands more time from while G.U. is repetitive, too, but doesn't demand as much time as original did. Also, G.U. controllable character Haseo is able to fight with more variety than Kite of the original series, who's no different than another Twin Blade except with Data Drain.
Storyline? I prefer G.U., but that's all about preference. I found both plots to be good. I would have finished the original, but the tedious nature of dungeon crawling and the battles just bother me. The only time I got turned off in G.U. was during the Forest of Pain, a 150 level dungeon. Remind me of the tedious nature of the original.
Storyline? I prefer G.U., but that's all about preference. I found both plots to be good. I would have finished the original, but the tedious nature of dungeon crawling and the battles just bother me. The only time I got turned off in G.U. was during the Forest of Pain, a 150 level dungeon. Remind me of the tedious nature of the original.
Right on. Yeah I like to collect the RPG's that are worth owning or decent enough to play through on the PS2 so I'll probably start picking up the series as I go.
Thanks for the info guys.
Thanks for the info guys.
It's very linear.
You can generally grind and do optional dungeons at almost any time, and there are a few side things, but overall there's a lot of linearity, especially for a game that takes place within an MMORPG. To that end, the MMORPG in question doesn't have a lot of content to it. If you've played and enjoyed an actual MMORPG, the little references to MMORPG culture within .hack will surely be appreciated, but ultimately, it doesn't satisfy the actual desires of one who MMOes.
The conbat system is a very straightforward action RPG system, with allies controlled by a playstyle that the player customizes. However, guys you set aside for healing like, won't heal themselves often, and won't use MP-restorative items to get them ready to heal again, so the player will still have to micromanage their actions instead of a system that put better AI and more customization into play like Final Fantasy XII. Honestly, after FFXII, get ready for ally AI to disappoint you in .hack. I've said of this problem:
And while the quests all sound different in nature, they're really the same type of "come to the 5th floor of the dungeon" fetch quests every single time.
So there, be warned.
Let it be known, however, that even though I bitch like I do above, .hack is one of very few games (sets of games?) I've played through purely for the story. Everything else about the game has been done elsewhere, better, but the story was really interesting to me, so I went on through it and didn't regret my time doing so. I felt it was all worth it and while the stuff I said above was annoying, and sometimes VERY annoying, I enjoyed the games.
Evil Dead: I'd proceed with caution and not buy all 4 at once or anything. Get the first one or two and see if you like those before pushing on.
You can generally grind and do optional dungeons at almost any time, and there are a few side things, but overall there's a lot of linearity, especially for a game that takes place within an MMORPG. To that end, the MMORPG in question doesn't have a lot of content to it. If you've played and enjoyed an actual MMORPG, the little references to MMORPG culture within .hack will surely be appreciated, but ultimately, it doesn't satisfy the actual desires of one who MMOes.
The conbat system is a very straightforward action RPG system, with allies controlled by a playstyle that the player customizes. However, guys you set aside for healing like, won't heal themselves often, and won't use MP-restorative items to get them ready to heal again, so the player will still have to micromanage their actions instead of a system that put better AI and more customization into play like Final Fantasy XII. Honestly, after FFXII, get ready for ally AI to disappoint you in .hack. I've said of this problem:
QUOTE
But .hack's MMORPG simulation doesn't come without its flaws. The most memorable of the inaccuracies appear in battle. All too often, one of Kyte's comrades will completely defy logic, whether by doing something ridiculously stupid or by not doing anything at all. Some examples that come to mind are total ignorance of special situations. For example, if an enemy is listed as immune to physical attacks, meaning any regular attack does 0 damage, that won't stop Black Rose from endlessly swinging her sword at the foe. She'll even say to you "It looks like it's immune to physical attacks," while she's swinging at it! How retarded is that!? In addition, the mages, called "wavemasters" in The World, will often sit idly while the battle rages on. Fortunately, the player can issue special commands to the other two party members, which can make up for some of the lame A.I. Broad orders such as "Magic!" are available, on top of the ability to designate the exact skill you want a team member to use. Again, though, there's a problem with this. If you give the "Magic!" command, your characters just use any old spell. There might be a fire-based enemy that would be stricken down by a good water spell, but the clunky A.I. will have a mage use a fire spell instead, which gets the team nowhere. So in almost every important battle, players will have their hands full with controlling Kyte in addition to wading through a slew of menus to ensure that the other crew members don't do anything stupid.
And while the quests all sound different in nature, they're really the same type of "come to the 5th floor of the dungeon" fetch quests every single time.
So there, be warned.
Let it be known, however, that even though I bitch like I do above, .hack is one of very few games (sets of games?) I've played through purely for the story. Everything else about the game has been done elsewhere, better, but the story was really interesting to me, so I went on through it and didn't regret my time doing so. I felt it was all worth it and while the stuff I said above was annoying, and sometimes VERY annoying, I enjoyed the games.
Evil Dead: I'd proceed with caution and not buy all 4 at once or anything. Get the first one or two and see if you like those before pushing on.
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