Where do I start with .hack//?I have time to watch the whole thing.I don't have time to learn Japanese so I'd like to just watch the animes with subs that don't significantly overlap story-wise for now...>I just finished watching SOA and it was a bit of a grind>No I will not read
>>283642943Ok I found this answer and chart:https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/13646Starting with .hack//Sign should be alright?
>>283643438Yes, but the thing you need to understand is that the .hack franchise revolves around the PS2 games. SIGN can be enjoyed on its own, but it's also one long prequel to the PS2 games. Every other piece of .hack media is tied directly to those PS2 games.Like, there's literally no point in even watching Liminality if you're not playing the PS2 games, since it's just supplemental content for those games.
>>283643629Hm.Well sure, that's fine.I can watch a playthrough, or use cheats, or do an actual playthrough if I like the gameplay. It'll be fine.Are there significant perks to starting with "a game" and not with SIGN?
>>283643629Holy shit I watched //SIGN when it came out and this entire time I thought it was a sequel to the ps2 games not a prequel
>two years without internet and online gamesMan, Pluto's Kiss would do our world a favor in many, many ways.>>283644398Same. I thought for sure Kite (Infection) was the start of everything.
>>283644398>>283645051>I thought Sora getting data drained by Skeith happened long after Skeith was defeated and the sidequest where you free Sora's mind from Skeith's wandDamn, you guys are retarded.
>>283645233I never really played the games, emulating them with my shitty PCs would've been a shore and a half at the timeI just did some reading and digging instead, but not to the point that I could tell you anything but core conceptsI didn't even know Tokio was a thing (that design is a fucking mistake, what were they thinking)
>>283645446OP here, are there actual "core concepts"?I just sat through SAO and the plot and mechanics were like Swiss cheese with rancid cum on it, a bit of a bummer.
>>283642943It is a good series, but just watch a youtube recap of the video game stories as they are EXTREMELY clunky by today's standards and very clunky by the standards of when they came out. You will have fun with this bittersweet series.
>>283642943//SIGN > //IMOQ > //GUIgnore Roots
>>283642943Watch Sign.Play IMOQ and watch Liminality, 1 episode after each game.Watch Udeden.The order for Roots and GU is pretty complicated since Roots takes places earlier, but also ends with a pretty big spoiler.
>>283642943What is it with this staff? Did .hack invent the type of staff or was only an early adopter?
>>283642943.hack// is a multi media franchise that tells its story from different aspects. What's going on inside the game, what's going online, and what's going on in the real word. So if you're going to watch the anime then expect to play the games to go along with it. Otherwise its just a bunch of unfinished analogies. The simplest order, we'll call the 1st part just for this explanation, is>.hack//Sign | \/>.hack//Liminality [OVA] | \/>.hack//PS2 games(Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine) Anything else is just extra background lore if you want to know more about the world. Its not mandatory like other franchises that tried to do multi media projects(Square Enix). The list above takes place during the 1st revision of The World(name of the mmo). The PS2 games are basically 1 game broken up into 4 parts and together total up to your average jrpg in length with your save file carrying over to each part so its not something like Xenosaga and all its episodes. The Liminality ova's came with each game part back in the day and is sort of meant to be watched along with each part.The original PS2 games are a bit dated though that most fans will agree so if its not your thing its fine to skip, watch a recap, or use cheats to try to make it decent. It does have some nice bits like the atmosphere, the story, characters, the soundtrack, the internet replicating the early 2000's internet culture but the gameplay is the biggest hurtle.If you're still interested in the series lore then you can watch or read the other .hack media that takes place in this era.[1/2]
>>283645921Anime had already been doing it for a while.
>>283646469>>283642943The next part is based on the 2nd revision of The World, called R:2 which is the sequel series that takes place several years after my previous post. The core media are>.hack//roots[anime tv series]|\/>.hack//G.U [PS2 and also Remastered to Switch and Steam](Rebirth, Reminisce, Redemption)|\/>.hack//G.U. Returner [OVA]Anything else is just pure fan service and more lore wank. .hack//roots set up the story for the GU games and some would argue that the final episode spoils a major reveal in the GU games so its best to skip it until you finished at least part 1 of GU. Gameplay wise GU is a whole lot better than the original games but story and characters went down a more battle shounen route. The tone, the characters, atmosphere, music, all got cranked up to 11. This is either good or bad depending on what you liked about the earlier series however GU is the most meme worthy series.I believe the GU remaster also gives you a recap video that recaps the entire series up until that point. This also make it easier to start the .hack series from here because of how different the 1st and 2nd revision era are. The Remaster of the GU games also added a part 4 so there's that. .hack//G.U. Trilogy movie is a faster paced recap movie of the GU games in the game's artstyle which was pretty impressive at the time. A lot of changes and different ending though. I only give it a nudge because you don't see too many games getting movies in its original game style.[2/2]
>>283643438Whoever made this chart and that site recommendation should be put in jail.
>>283646596>its best to skip it until you finished at least part 1 of GUIt spoils the end of part 2.
>>283646780Haven't played the series in forever. I actually forgot where part 1 and 2 ends.
>>283646810I haven't played since Last Recode was released, but I definitely remember part 1 ends with the fight against Azure Kite.
>>283645536Not a fan of SAO but apparently fans tell me the novels go more into the gameplay. The sao anime is basically a shitty romance with mmo's as a backdrop. For .hack, especially with the anime, movies, and ova, is more about the people playing the mmo or more the social aspect towards playing them. Its a dialog heavy series for the most part so this may or may not be your thing. .hack//GU does crank things up though. For .hack// you learn about the gameplay elements from the games and even then, games are more about the social aspect. So its not just the mmo characters but the people behind those characters, all have lives.You need to call up one of your friends to party up to help save the world? Sorry they're pregnant and in a hospital.
>>283642943just watch sign, the others were made only for more money
>>283645233Never played them.
I'll spare you the pain op. It's a shit property about some lesbian tranny being sad. Nothing cool happens and the plot barely has a pulse. Smashing your nuts is about as fun as getting into hack with the added benefit of being faster. Don't let some faggot anon convince you it's a big brain show either
>>283642943
>>283649888>>283649893Your spambot is glitching out again
>>283646596Also, pt 4 of GU invalidates Returner.
>>283646658That's an autogenerated anidb chart, newfag.
I started by playing GU games and it was meh. The story itself was ok, but the stupidity of some characters and the same gameplay from volume to volume made the games less enjoyable.
