.hack//G.U.-Vol.1:Rebirth(Out On 10/24/06!)

Owenashi

In about one week, the newest chapter in the .hack story will begin with the translated release of .hack//G.U. Vol 1: Rebirth.



Set in the year 2017, the game delves back into the online game known as 'The World' though it's not the same after a fire destroyed the servers the game's data had been saved on. Salvaged with programming from a new game CC-Corp (The World's owner) had been making at the time, 'The World:R2' as it's known now has become a lawless game with those seeking to have fun inside as carebear players have been needlessly attacked by PKs (Player-Killers). Two top PKs have become well-feared by the time the game's story properlly begins; the mysterious PC known as Tri-Edge who has the twisted appearance of the legendary .hacker Kite and who's meetings seem to leave players unable to return to The World, and the PC known as Haseo AKA The Terror Of Death, a merciless PKK (Player-Killer Killer) who seeks Tri-Edge for his own private reasons.



Those who've know enough of the .hack storyline will reconize Haseo's special title as belonging to the first boss from the original game. There are others in //G.U. who also share the special titles that each of the eight-in-total bosses, known then as Phases, held.


Atoli AKA The Mirage of Deceit: A Harvest Cleric (healing-based Wavemaster/White-Mage) who develops a special relationship with Haseo due to her character's appearance.


Kuhn AKA The Propagation: A Steam Gunner (ranged-melee fighter) who used to be leader of the newbie-aiding guild Carnard but still continues to be a ladies' man.


Yata AKA The Prophet: A secretive Dance Macabre (melee fighter who uses dance-like moves to attack) who runs the mysterious guild known as Raven.


Sakubo AKA The Machinator: A Shadow Warlock (attacking-based Wavemaster/Black Mage) who seems to sport two different personalities in The World depending when you meet her.


Endrance AKA The Temptress: A Blade Brandier (Blademaster/sword-using melee fighter) who's the champion of the W:R2's PvP Arena thanks to some secret help (and yes, he's a he).


Pi AKA The Avenger: A Tribal Grappler (hand-to-hand melee fighter) who has connections to the death and rebirth of The World.


Ovan AKA the Rebirth: A Steam Gunner who's mysteriouslly-sealed left arm may hold more harm for Haseo and the others then help.

Voice Actors:
Haseo: Yuri Lowenthal
Atoli: Bridget Hoffman
Kuhn: Jhonny Bosch
Yata: Steve Jay Blum
Sakubo: Erin Fitzgerald
Endrance: Liam O'Brien
Pi: Jessica Strauss
Ovan: Jamieson Price
Silabus: Sam Riegel
Gaspard: Dave Wittenberg
Piros the 3rd: Daran Norris
Zeikova: Wendee Lee
Sakaki: Crispin Freeman
Kaede: Kari Wahlgren

Besides the game's story and much-improved graphics over it's predicessor, there's also a stronger and more action-based battle system with combos and sneak-attacks, bigger towns to visit, fights against not just monsters but other PKs in fields and arenas, and special boss fights. Also, a unique disk is being included with the limited version of the game, much like the original game's four OVA disks. Known as the Terminal Disc, it holds unlockable information about the .hack series past and present as well as what occured between the end of the original .hack storyline in 2014 and the begining of the //G.U. storyline in 2017. As for the OVA part, you can find it in the game itself as //ONLINE JACK, special news reports Haseo recieves on his desktop from time to time.






For more info on the upcoming game, turn to these websites..

http://dothack.wikia.com/wiki/.hack//Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.hack//G.U._%28video_games%29
http://www.dothackers.net/gu.php

"Welcome To The World."

Furu

Welll.....huh

This certainly makes both the games and .hack//ROOT a lot more interesting.

Eliot Dubois

I just got back into a .hack phase (hardehar) and now am more interested than ever. Plus that is pretty much the greatest cover I have ever seen to a video game.

Owenashi

Eliot Dubois wrote:

I just got back into a .hack phase (hardehar) and now am more interested than ever. Plus that is pretty much the greatest cover I have ever seen to a video game.

True. Hopefully they'll keep it around as the US cover as well. I can't wait to see the Haseo/Tri-Edge fight from the trailers on my big TV screen rather then on a smaller computer screen. Incidentally, some fans scored an extra disk with the game's purchace, one that had among other things the original version of the game's first trailer, one done in 2004. Dothackers placed it up on their front page as a watchable YouTube for now untill they can host a DLable version of it. It's quite interesting as it makes clearer some things not seen well enough on the second version of the trailer though it's hard to tell if any of it's still legit due to what can change over a game's development. For example, the name known as AIDA, which is a term used in the game for certain A.I.s had multiple definitions, simular to G.U. Some of them were...

[spoiler:5ae368f931]-Agent of ID Dominational Act
-Appearance from Illusion and Dance in the Actuality
-Automatic Idea Damnating Affection
-Anti Intrusion Device for "Aura"[/spoiler:5ae368f931]

Bionic Monkey

Did the last four games have a conclusion that made more sense than the .hack//SIGN anime? I like the series, but fuck, I need a bit more resolution than they're offering me. I still don't know why people were unable to leave the game world.

Furu

Bionic Monkey wrote:

Did the last four games have a conclusion that made more sense than the .hack//SIGN anime? I like the series, but fuck, I need a bit more resolution than they're offering me. I still don't know why people were unable to leave the game world.

I blame SIGN solely on the clusterfuck animation studio that is BEE-TRAIN, who couldn't write a well-paced story if their lives depended on it.

And yeah, I'd say the games had a pretty conclusive ending.

Eliot Dubois

SIGN had a great ending fucker, all the unanswered questions are answered by playing the games.

Furu

Eliot Dubois wrote:

SIGN had a great ending fucker, all the unanswered questions are answered by playing the games.

It didn't end so much as just...stopped.

The pacing in that show was awful. Things happened about every ten episodes. I know it was mostly about backstory and such but damned if it didn't just slow to a crawl after the first three or four episodes.

Bionic Monkey

Furu wrote:

Bionic Monkey wrote:

Did the last four games have a conclusion that made more sense than the .hack//SIGN anime? I like the series, but fuck, I need a bit more resolution than they're offering me. I still don't know why people were unable to leave the game world.

I blame SIGN solely on the clusterfuck animation studio that is BEE-TRAIN, who couldn't write a well-paced story if their lives depended on it.

And yeah, I'd say the games had a pretty conclusive ending.

Rock. I played up through about half of the third game before getting side-tracked. I've been meaning to go back and finish the entire series now that all four are out and can be found cheap/used. But the lack of solid conclusion in both animes has held me back because I was afraid they'd pull the same stunt with the games.

Eliot Dubois

Man, that's why I love it so much, nothing is going on except this little mystery. A bunch of people coming together for no other reason than to find out why this character can't log off. The last time I "watched" it I just popped in the DVD's and listened to the show while typing out some work. It makes one hell of a radio drama. It has great characters, great music, and event though I didn't watch them much last time some really impressive visuals. Really does a great job of setting up the first game and adding some meaning to the world.

You gotta be prepared for the show though. It's like Ghost in the Shell without any awesome future robot cop stuff, just the philosophy.

Owenashi

Furu wrote:

Eliot Dubois wrote:

SIGN had a great ending fucker, all the unanswered questions are answered by playing the games.

It didn't end so much as just...stopped.

The pacing in that show was awful. Things happened about every ten episodes. I know it was mostly about backstory and such but damned if it didn't just slow to a crawl after the first three or four episodes.

Personally, I concider SIGN as part one of the .hack storyline, with the game being part two. AI-BUSTER and LEGEND work as prologue and epilogue to the storyline, bookending the two parts nicely. ROOTS oughta make disgruntled SIGN viewers happier though as it more directly connects to the opening of the G.U. game, filling in the missing time they skip over in the begining. Of course...

[spoiler:801aeedde6]...if what I heard is true, some will still be ticked as the plot so far revolves around the search for the Key of Twilight, just like in SIGN[/spoiler:801aeedde6]

Furu

Owenashi wrote:

Furu wrote:

Eliot Dubois wrote:

SIGN had a great ending fucker, all the unanswered questions are answered by playing the games.

It didn't end so much as just...stopped.

The pacing in that show was awful. Things happened about every ten episodes. I know it was mostly about backstory and such but damned if it didn't just slow to a crawl after the first three or four episodes.

Personally, I concider SIGN as part one of the .hack storyline, with the game being part two. AI-BUSTER and LEGEND work as prologue and epilogue to the storyline, bookending the two parts nicely. ROOTS oughta make disgruntled SIGN viewers happier though as it more directly connects to the opening of the G.U. game, filling in the missing time they skip over in the begining. Of course...

[spoiler:6539d51609]...if what I heard is true, some will still be ticked as the plot so far revolves around the search for the Key of Twilight, just like in SIGN[/spoiler:6539d51609]

Yeah, but

[spoiler:6539d51609]that's been established as the entire point of the series. I'm curious how the Key factors into the new version of the World, though.[/spoiler:6539d51609]

Eliot Dubois

if you pick up Infection and start playing it the moment you watch the end of SIGN, you'll have one totally awesome experience. Even though there is some time storywise in between the two, the game is twice as awesome this way. This is how I ended up doing it, as I just happend to get Infection the day Cartoon Network finished SIGN. That was quite the mindfuck, I'll tell you.

Furu

In that case, I can see what you mean by awesomeness.

Too bad Roots probably won't air over here and give us the same situation.

Owenashi

I beat Infection, but then waited like months before trying out the rest of the other three. I'm glad though that the first G.U. game will hold bonuses for those who have cleared saves from all four parts of the original game. The Terminal Disc holding the cutscenes from the original game but redone in G.U.'s graphic engine is pretty sweet as well. I just hope they don't screw us out of the unlockable bonus for /fragment's save-data just because we'll never get it.

Eliot Dubois

I swore Fragment has a US release date...

Furu

Eliot Dubois wrote:

I swore Fragment has a US release date...

At E3 2006 Bandai straight-up said it's never coming out in the US.

Eliot Dubois

Damn the man.

Actually, its ok, I never had a big interest in Fragment. Plus haven't they taken it easy on the US before with the data flag thing? I thought that you had to have four clears in the JAP release to watch GIFT, but its right there in the NA release.

Clawshrimpy

Yeah, this is going to be awesome, I've allready been watching ROOTS, and it's amazing.

Owenashi

Clawshrimpy wrote:

Yeah, this is going to be awesome, I've allready been watching ROOTS, and it's amazing.

[spoiler:6752f958e5]Tri-Edge shows up in Episode 6 or 7, doesn't he? Any hints on who or what he is yet?[/spoiler:6752f958e5]

Clawshrimpy

I believe so, but I havent seen those episodes myself yet.


[spoiler:874d16619f] I have a theory though. As much as I'd i'd like to to be Kite's Player or Sugoh or whoever was playing the character at the time decided to go off their rocker and go crazy with the killing. There is just too much evidence pointing to this Theory. The Theory is that Tri-Edge is Cubia. When Haseo first mentioned Tri-Edge in the trailer, a Mysterious Pk, "Wreathed in Azure Flame.". Also, Remember how Cubia had to Copy Kite's Data to keep up with him? I think Tri-edge is Cubia's backup of the data. and it's Cubia itself controlling. From this, we can confer that Cubia/Tri-edge has A few Objectives, his Primary one is the Destruction of the Cursed Wave/8 Phases, Probably why he drains Haseo. Socndly, the destruction of all the players breaking the rules in R2m Well, the rules of "The World" Cubia knew, where PK was against the rules. Thirdly, there was a Trailer somewhere with Tri-Edge Data Drining an enitire area, trying to reformat it. it may be trying to delete and rebuild the world. [/spoiler:874d16619f]

Also, Avatar Battles look hot.

Owenashi

For those who haven't beaten the original game...

[spoiler:61cc0cbc4d]Cubia didn't so much HAD to copy Kite's data as it was the yang to the yin which was Kite's Bracelet. As it grew stronger (especially by Data Draining and killing off the Phases), Cubia grew. That's why Kite and Blackrose had to destroy the Bracelet in order to kill off Cubia. Without one, the other couldn't exist. Your theory of Tri-Edge being connected to Cubia is a popular one. Also up there is that Tri-Edge is the living remains of Kite's PC-data (which could explain Tri-Edge's zombie-like look). Also, that scene with Tri-Edge Drain-Hearting a White Room seems to be more along the lines of it/him healing it/himself with the data that makes up the Room's bounderies.[/spoiler:61cc0cbc4d]

And yes, the battles between Avatars look sweet. Those used to Drakengard and Panzer Dragoon's airbound fights might be enjoy 'em best.

Clawshrimpy

[spoiler:92788e7446]Also, aother piece of evidence is after you beat part 4 and get a data flag, Kite and Orca meet with Aura again and Aura makes the mistake of giving Kite another bracelet. This could possibly couse Cubia to be reborn in the future somehow. [/spoiler:92788e7446]

Seta FD

Are there any videos of a PK battle?

Clawshrimpy

heres the short Arena video.

Owenashi

Clawshrimpy wrote:

heres the short Arena video.

Linking media from dothackers directly doesn't always work as experiance has proven to me.

http://www.dothackers.net/media.php

The first and third (subtitled) movie links are quite good. Plus further down, they have a link for the new form of field-transportation that replaces the Grunties as well as the trailers for the original game's parts for those who haven't seen them yet.

Clawshrimpy

On the front page of dothackers.net is an interesting circa 2004 prototype video. The odd thing is that prototype trailer had amazing art. the Prototype Tri-edge for example, looks cooler than the current Tri-edge.

Owenashi

There's a nice sense of contrast and simularity between the 2004 trailer and it's second version that people are more familiar with. And as I mentioned before, the 2004 one brings up some terms into clearer focus that the proper one doesn't. The new Terminal Disc information which I editied into the first post of this topic doesn't bring up anything on the AIDA's alternate definitions yet at any rate.

On another note, for those not paying much attention to who'll be joining up and meeting Haseo during his first-game journey, I think those who've played the original game will be 'happy' to note that one of the original .hackers will be coming back in //G.U. at least. Here's a screenshot for those who wanna take a guess at who it is...

Clawshrimpy

Hehe, yeah.


Anyway, I've been trying to finish off quarantine, but Corbenik keeps kicking my ass. specifically in the Leaf phase when he constantly life siphons. it's like I can't get any progress.

Clawshrimpy

Also, I just went to EB to preorder, And I ended preordering a special edition with a Figure. BADASS. I wonder what it is.

Man, I have to get my clear though. I'll Gameshark that Corbenik bastard if I have to!

Owenashi

For those who want to know more or less the original .hack game's plot without running all over used-game bins to find the four parts, Tokyopop's released the first of the Another Birth novels, books which show the game's events from the point of view of the main female lead, Blackrose. While some of the hard-core fans have found a couple of translation faults, it's not a bad read so far in my eyes. I'll post my thoughts on it later once I'm done reading it. For those interested in finding it for themselves, look for this cover in your nearest bookstore.

Lanz

dammit.

I want //G.U. and I want it now

3rdrocket

Clawshrimpy wrote:

Also, I just went to EB to preorder, And I ended preordering a special edition with a Figure. BADASS. I wonder what it is.

Man, I have to get my clear though. I'll Gameshark that Corbenik bastard if I have to!

I have to get some of that. It sounds delicious.

The Lovely Bastard

I am ridiculously hardcore, and I HAVE to read the manga I did not know about.


I am thinking of going back into .hack and filling out all the Ryu book objectives. Even if they are annoying.

Also, I want to talk to Noble Grunty again.

I wish //Fragment would come out here. Though GU will kick ass.

Dondums

What's the US Release Date?

3rdrocket

The Lovely Bastard wrote:

I am ridiculously hardcore, and I HAVE to read the manga I did not know about.


I am thinking of going back into .hack and filling out all the Ryu book objectives. Even if they are annoying.

Also, I want to talk to Noble Grunty again.

I wish //Fragment would come out here. Though GU will kick ass.

I wish Tokyo pop wasnt so expensive though. It could be worse though. Dark Horse could have picked it up.

Owenashi

3rdrocket wrote:

The Lovely Bastard wrote:

I am ridiculously hardcore, and I HAVE to read the manga I did not know about.


I am thinking of going back into .hack and filling out all the Ryu book objectives. Even if they are annoying.

Also, I want to talk to Noble Grunty again.

I wish //Fragment would come out here. Though GU will kick ass.

I wish Tokyo pop wasnt so expensive though. It could be worse though. Dark Horse could have picked it up.

Actually, if you're taking about Another Birth, it's a 3-4 novel series and not manga. However, a manga based on the original game IS coming out and like Another Birth it will show new scenes to flesh out the game's story.

3rdrocket

Owenashi wrote:

3rdrocket wrote:

The Lovely Bastard wrote:

I am ridiculously hardcore, and I HAVE to read the manga I did not know about.


I am thinking of going back into .hack and filling out all the Ryu book objectives. Even if they are annoying.

Also, I want to talk to Noble Grunty again.

I wish //Fragment would come out here. Though GU will kick ass.

I wish Tokyo pop wasnt so expensive though. It could be worse though. Dark Horse could have picked it up.

Actually, if you're taking about Another Birth, it's a 3-4 novel series and not manga. However, a manga based on the original game IS coming out and like Another Birth it will show new scenes to flesh out the game's story.

Oh, interesting.

Owenashi

For those not up for downloading a translated (and thus made bigger) movie trailer file for //G.U., good news. Dot Hackers managed to score a copy of the U.S. trailer for the game. To check it out, go here.

http://www.dothackers.net/media/%5Bwww.dothackers.net%5DGU_US_promo.wmv

If that direct link doesn't work, either subsitute the %5Bwww.dothackers.net%5D for [www.dothackers.net] or go straight to the web-site where it has the link on the front page.

www.dothackers.net

In other news, a French gaming site has scans from Japan on the second G.U. game including what might be the cover for it, one that will probably widen some eyes of old-school .hack fans. Here's the link for the scan with the possible cover on it..

http://www.jeux-france.com/Webmasters/Images/5228520060614_183546_1_big.jpg

...and here's the second page scan link. As a warning for 56Kers, the scans are somewhat big.

http://www.jeux-france.com/Webmasters/Images/5228520060614_183545_0_big.jpg

Remember to keep any spoilerish discussions of what might happen in the games in the spoiler-blocks!

Furu

Whoa whoa whoa

[spoiler:cc7de6ac82]Evil Balmung?[/spoiler:cc7de6ac82]

Owenashi

Here's a clearer look at the potential second G.U. cover, abiet still linked due to potential spoilers to the first game's content.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/Owenashi/G.jpg