.hack//G.U. Vol. 1: Rebirth - review

The company called Namco Bandai published their RPGs. Mostly, their RPG's aren't popular in the west here, but they are big in my favorite country Japan. That includes the company's main series, the Tales of series. Many years ago, Bandai publishes the .hack series. That is when CyberConnect2 made it. The series were old because after many years later, the stores are no longer selling the series. Because the whole series comes in parts or volumes.

Japan's RPG games are so far popular, including the .hack series. As a fact, the whole country with players all over still cared about the series. I guess it's time to read a review about it.

.hack//G.U. Vol. 1: Rebirth is the beginning part of Project G.U. After the previous series, different players are here, and the massive MMORPG gets better than ever.

The Desktop:

The Desktop is .hack's home where you can check out the other stuff. In order to progress the game, you need to log off "The World" to check your email. There's other things you can do in the Desktop, like Crimson VS, which is out of service until either after meeting certain conditions or until Vol. 2. If you're looking for a refresher course, check out Online Jack under News Capture and the news.

Online Jack:

Online Jack, one of my favorite events made by Salvador Aihara, is the clip that gives the scoop on what's happening to "The World." CC Corp offers 3 episodes every part. The professors are salvaging what they can from the secrets of "The World." In many ways, the professors salvage the secrets on how "The World" becomes a dangerous MMO. The situation took a turn for the worse when the disease was caused from playing the online game. Salvador films on what's the scoop to the game. So far, a couple of people rejected him in the first episode. While Online Jack was set within "The World," you can use some refresher course.

Welcome to "The World:"

"The World" is a MMORPG where players around the game can live, gather items, fight monsters, etc. In fact, this is the setting where .hack takes place at. The whole game is expanded to "The World: Revision 2," which is a setting for .hack//G.U. This MMORPG contains a some things that aren't in the previous "The World." This MMO has @HOMEs, farming, jobs, quests and more. However, "The World" is not a real game you can play, so don't try this at home.

The main part is using the gate that can take you to an area using the 1st, 2nd and 3rd words to the area. That is called the Chaos Gate. The Chaos Gate wards off monsters and can take you to any place. It's sort of like a magical portal, but better.

The Story of Rebirth:

The main character was named Haseo, the Terror of Death, who just went back from lv. 133 to lv. 1. It's because of Tri-Edge, a bitter villain who marks the "A" shaped signs on the walls. In Mac Anu, Haseo meets the two degenerates, Silabus and Gaspard. Their first adventure takes place in an area where beginners start their journey. While the situation goes bleak, Haseo is nearly ticked off when all his equipment is gone. Thanks to Tri-Edge, Haseo must defeat him.

Eternal City Mac Anu:

Rebirth takes place at a sunset city called Mac Anu. The city is for beginnner players, whose level is 1-50. The city was also in a previous .hack, which is a setting for Part 1: Infection. It's in the delta server.

Managing Your Party:

In order to manage your party, go to the menu by pressing the Triangle button and go to Party. You see a list of member addresses. You can have up to 2 people with you. There are three statuses. The Online status means they are free to be invited anytime. Busy means they can't be invited because they have important things to do first. Offline means they are logged out.

The Gameplay:

Now, the gameplay in .hack//G.U. looks completely different than .hack because it works more like an action RPG. There are enemies on the field and dungeon. To start the battle, simply press X. To start the battle with the surprise attack, make sure you look behind the monsters and press X without getting caught. During the battle, the blue fence makes an area to make it virtually impossible to escape. Unless you have the special item that can let you escape only when you're in trouble. As you level up, monsters get weaker and weaker. It's exactly like other MMORPGs. Make sure you pay attention to your HP, which can indicate your life.

The blue gauge is the SP gauge, which can be consumed using Skills. Skills can be used using the R1 button to perform a Skill Trigger. To learn new skills, earn EXP for your weapon. When the enemy's status flashing purple, it represents a chance for a Rengeki Finish. As you use the Skill Trigger on the enemy with the purple aura, the Rengeki is activated. You get bonus EXP for using the Rengeki.

The Power of Morality:

The Morale gauge was indicated at the top right corner. To fill it up, your allies' message lets out the particles to the gauge. When it's full, press the Square button to activate your Awakening. In Rebirth, you can have the Beast Awakening, which can give out speed and attack power, making enemies slow by comparison until the gauge runs out. The Demon Awakening allows you to tap X to execute a powerful magic attack, which doesn't require SP.

The Avatar Battles:

When Haseo summons his Avatar, he is able to fight in Avatar battles. His Avatar is Skeith. As you reach a certain part, you can start an Avatar battle. The controls are pretty simple. Press Square for range attacks and X for melee attacks. The enemy is stunned when shots are at it a lot of times. When it's stunned, get up close and use the melee attacks. When the enemy's HP reaches 0, the protect break is performed. During that state, quickly use the Data Drain before time runs out by holding X until the gauge reaches at max then release X to shoot a ball of energy. The enemy can stop for a split second then quickly shoot it. Data Drain will take the enemy's data.

The Arena:

The fighting arena takes place at Warring City Lumina Cloth where the tournament is always held. In Rebirth, the Demon Palace Tournament was being held. The arena battles have the same action as regular battles, but in the arena battles, you can't use items, the opponents can use the Rengeki and it can be countered. To use the counterattack, aim the Skill Trigger to an enemy's status flashing yellow. It won't deal as much damage as the regular one. After beating the opponents, WP is earned. WP represents your score in the rankings. During the tournament, if you die, you can retry, but since you can't retire in a tournament, you will be forced to get a Game Over if you decided not to retry. Make sure you level up before you enter in the tournament.

The Conclusion:

The fact about .hack//G.U. was it wasn't a hard game to play. The good points was "The World's" main thing was creative. I can call this perfect because there's no bad points to it. Even Bandai fans would play this game that was very old. But Rebirth is the first part of the series, so there will be more action. Although I could call it niche since Japan uses a lot of hard working. That is when the old anniversary of .hack is celebrated many years ago.

Pros:

+Epic storyline
+Great music quality

Cons:

There are no cons

If you're a .hack fan, then you should know this old game will be given a perfect 10. Also, you can order it online if necessary since the stores no longer selling the series.

RGR Fun Thought - .hack

So I know I have already written some thoughts, but I guess I'll do it again. Okay, when I was walking to the mailbox, I found this brown bag that has this thing inside. When I looked inside, I found that it was a game inside! Many years ago, .hack//G.U. releases to the west. As of right now, the stores no longer sell .hack games anymore, but I ordered it from Amazon and the used one costs $40.

I picked up .hack//G.U. Vol. 1: Rebirth, which I'm hyped for years! Amazon's PS2 games don't have such a deal. As for the game, it looks outrageous! The battle system was different and feels a lot like Xillia. Since I gotten everything down the line, I just noticed that Tales of Xillia 2 is around the corner, so this is definetely gonna keep me busy until Xillia 2 releases to the US in August! Sadly, I haven't gotten this far into the game yet, and no Lynchpin yet. Now, a review about it will be written soon.

Also, I've been hoping for .hack//G.U. HD Collection for years and still no dice! But I heard a new .hack game was being trademarked. I hope it's a collection. So far, we have Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5/2.5 Remix and Tales of Symphonia Chronicles.

RGR Fun Thought - Visual Novels

Yours truly, I haven't posted in a long time, but now that I posted again, the next fun thought is here. Have you read visual novels before? They are types of games that don't have the gameplay and for you to watch. They can be boring after awhile and can make you sleepy, but they can help you pass the time. I'm not a huge fan of visual novels, but I planned to pick up XBlaze Code: Embryo, a visual novel that was set within the BlazBlue world. The visual novel contains BlazBlue references and will let you enravel into the BlazBlue mythologies that can be dramatic as Skullgirls, a rip-off version of BlazBlue.

A young boy was named Touya Kagari, whose world is turning upside down. That is until the "seithr levels" rise. If you're a BlazBlue fan like me, then you might experience it. Now, with that stated, I'm looking for a Skullgirls visual novel. Will I ever look for more ideas? Who will make a contradiction for next year's RPG games? The answers will be revealed soon.