111) .hack//G.U. Vol. 1//Rebirth (2006)

With development beginning in late 2002, near the tail end of the production cycle for the original .hack series, .hack//G.U. sought to fix some of the issues players had noted with the original series while having a story that was connected yet separate enough as to not alienate new players. Where the original series was comprised of four entries, .hack//G.U. was developed to tell its story over the course of only three. Though the release was initially delayed, this was in order to coincide with the manga and anime adaptations. The ambitious scope of the project, much like the original series, saw all three games being worked on in tandem, leading to an impressively short window between releases. This development cycle also allowed for save data from each game to carry over to the next, helping to truly make the series feel like one continuous journey.

Set in the far-off distant year of 2017, everything we experience in the game is meant to be a representation of how the protagonist views the internet via ubiquitous VR headsets. Most of the story unfolds as we play the most popular MMO, called simply "The World", though we can also check emails and message boards, which is what everyone wants to do when playing a video game. We play as Haseo, who starts out naive, as he is quickly taken in by users known as PKs, or Player Killers. These oddly common types of players take joy in attacking and killing other players, as the name would imply. In response, Haseo becomes a PKK, or Player Killer KILLER, because all subtlety and nuance has been thrown out completely. Eventually, he runs afoul of a mysterious character who doesn't seem to follow the rules of The World. When this character kills a player, the effect is far more drastic, as we see when Haseo's character is completely reset to level one.

After this brief and somewhat confusing opening, we're introduced to the story proper. Haseo, now weakened and full of angst, is forced to accept the aid of other players who believe him to only be roleplaying the story he tells them. We're given a series of tutorials that don't seem that intrusive until they constantly point out that someone of Haseo's infamous and high ranking skill should absolutely know all of this stuff. It's weird to think that he somehow never learned the basics of how the game is played, but I'm willing to let it slide. Less so with his attitude, however.

Haseo is presented as your run of the mill, angst ridden JRPG protagonist that was all too common at the time. As such, and since he needs to be edgy, he comes off as a completely unlikable brat that treats everyone around him poorly. He only begrudgingly helps others, and even then only when it suits him. This is in stark contrast to the majority of the other characters, who are saccharine to a fault. Even when he needlessly yells at and belittles those around him, they continuously prove to be the better people as they rather instantly forgive him. It's such a bizarre way to write a main character, though I will give it credit for accuracy in depicting an angsty teenager, so there's that.

The primary gameplay loop consists of doing missions and quests in one of incredibly same feeling dungeons, performing combat that is pretty accurate to what one would find in an MMO, and then watching baffling or frustrating cutscenes or checking your email to see where to go next. If that sounds immensely engaging, then I've given it too much credit. I can certainly forgive the dungeon design, as it's never outright bad and the reuse of assets is fine, if not fitting for the MMO aesthetic. Combat is also forgivable, though its lack of depth is buoyed somewhat by its flashiness. I can even appreciate the moments outside The World, as things are never obscurely hidden ad it does add to the primary conceit of the setting.

The absolute worst part of the experience, at least for me, is how they seemingly tease aspects of the MMO experience that the player can't access. They go into detail about different races and classes that would be available to players at character creation, but we never get to create a character. Instead, these are simply there to explain how out allies look and act. I can understand why this is the case in terms of storytelling, but it makes the game feel like the most boring parts of an MMO experience. This likely worked much better 20 years ago, when MMOs were still in their relative infancy, but it comes off as baffling now.

To top it off, as this is the first in a three part series that released in the span of less than a year, the ending of the game is somewhat abrupt and incredibly unsatisfying. It ends on a cliffhanger with brief glimpses of what's to come, all while raising more questions than it ever dares to answer. I'm hesitant to say this is a bad thing entirely, as I can certainly respect the vision of the series as a whole, and given the unique nature of how they were developed and released, players wouldn't have to wait long for the next installment. On the other hand, if you're going to split your narrative into different parts, you should probably ensure that each installment is satisfying in its own right.

As my first experience with the .hack// series, I have a ton of respect for the concept and vision that the team had for the experience. Releasing three games in such a tight time frame, all while developing them over the course of about four years, is insane. While I can respect the vision and the process, it's hard for me to be invested in such an aggressively unlikable lead character, and the rather monotonous gameplay and an ending that seems to fizzle out don't help it in the slightest. I mostly enjoyed my time with the game, and found myself actually loving the world that was presented, but I guess I'll have to play the rest of the series before I can tell if this was simply a fluke or some version of Stockholm syndrome.