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Context: At the time I was half joking. When I was doing this series I was mostly pulling things from their original games, but WOL didn’t have much in FF1 and I didn’t think to look at Dissidia itself for help. But now that Strangers of Paradise is out it has some new things regarding WOL that I think was a nice addition! God SOP was good!

I have a feeling that we might see more .hack things this year in preparation for CC2’s 30th Anniversary in 2026. That line from Piros in last recode also sort of hints that something might be coming

@@KeyToDarkness i have fairly high hope on .hack// reemerging, with many developers chose to remake many old game title like Silent Hill and Final Fantasy. But if Bamco still hard-headed to give CC2 permission to make another .hack, I'll probably turn myself into an Anti-Existence like Cubia. Sorry for my bad English, I'm not a native speaker

It’s alright. I’ve been speaking English my whole life and even I don’t have the best comprehension of the language lol. Considering that Onimisha, Okami, and other great IPs are getting released, perhaps Bandai wants to follow the trend. Here is to hoping for something!

Whether it's SAO or .hack, we all win as we get something we can enjoy!

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video! Signs is a good show!

Thank you for putting those videos together! I've also pinned this comment since it contains helpful information for those who want to get into the game.

I do think LINK is underrated the more I play it. I’m kind of juggling back and forth on it this is better than IMOQ. I like the story of IMOQ way better but the gameplay in LINK has a good foundation that builds off of GU. I’ll have to see when I finish the game, but so far I’m liking it.

Take your time! The video will be here when you are ready :)

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It’s good to have perspective from all these different franchises and see how they build their worlds and themes. Each one has their own merit and I hope that with this video more people can look at both series and find value in them

Makes more money, certainly. Lower effort to make however I disagree. Animation is really difficult and takes a lot of time to even get a minute of an episode done. While I’ve never drawn any cells before I have played with frames of an animation while working on some of my other projects and for a minutes worth of video sometimes it would take me a couple of hours to put together

@KeyToDarkness I'm talking about the games, Bandai don't animate Sao, that's A1 pictures.

Oh if you are referring to the games than my statement applies here as well! For games like the two PSP titles for SAO and .hack you would be right as Link has more animation variety and presentation than the SAO title. It really depends on the game and the engine and code they are working with that determines whether something would be lower effort to make. And even then it would also depend on other aspects like art direction and the cinematography, especially when it comes to games on newer hardware :)

@KeyToDarkness Yeah but my main thought on why Sao games are lower effort seeing as graphics vary from game to game and quality relys on a variety of factors is just that Sao isn't an original property where they have to come up with their own ideas plot wise seeing as Reki usually writes the script to

Let’s define originality: What makes something original? An idea that no one has other thought of? Or a transformational outcome that has shaped something else into a unique creation? To the first I will say that it is really hard to come up with original ideas as a lot of topics, ideas, and visions usually have a prior piece of creation. Most of the time we take inspiration for our creations by the things that leave an impact on us. Link from the Legend of Zelda in OOT to creative designs from things like Peter Pan with the green tunic and a fairy accompanied by Link. And yet he is considered an original character because he is vastly different than Peter Pan as a individual. Even .hack took inspiration from SAO with the design of Haseo’s 5th form as he is wielding a long sword while wearing Kiritos Black Jacket but the other aspects of the design like the AIDA tattoos on his stomach and the design of the Ouroboros Sword make it an original design. We are all time taking inspiration from other sources to make our work better, and sometimes it doesn’t work out when we do. In SAO’s case they have original content in its general design that has obvious .hack inspiration and that’s ok. We all benefit it in the end :)

@@jacktony3531 .hack’s story is all interconnection Witt many branching paths that come back to each other. SAO looks like a show that people can just have a good sit down and have some mindless fun with :)

That is the truth! Both series have their own merits that people find enjoyment in whether it be the themes or how they present the concepts! :)

@@bacd-nn2lg I didn’t realize it was a web novel before the light novel! :)

Nothing weird about liking both! Both series have their merits and disappointments

There are a lot of issues that kept .hack from succeeding and I think if CC2 were given a chance and plenty of time they probably could make a product that people can enjoy!

Yes!

Hard disagree with that. They don't really mesh just because they are themed on MMOs. One is a very anime story, while the other is a story in the anime format. I'll clarify and say not because of the themes, but because it's not that typical a story you see now. One is more for general audiences and the other is trying to bring contemplation.

So oddly enough it wouldn't be entirely impossible. Because SAO doesn't touch much on the past and even takes place later than .hack at 2020 they don't really contradict each other and it isn't like the tech is even all that incompatible either. Some events could even have happened simultaneously.

@@4akrosslastname764 They don't use the same tech or hardware. How would two different games become one? That doesn't even make sense on a practical level, omitting the fantasy. It would contradict how each game is setup and operates individually. Now for themes, they are not remotely the same. One didn't prioritize action and the other is your standard anime. Then the animation comes into question because SAO has fancy effects, but less detailed when it comes to characters and G.U. anime was about par. I think people relate the MMO similarity and don't think beyond that. It would have to be the most shoe-horned setup that just feels forced in the end. Nothing wrong with them being their own thing. .Hack// has had longevity with it's fans since the 2000s. Nothing wrong with that.

You can go ahead and write your thoughts here! Might open up ideas for a new video in the future

​@KeyToDarkness it's quite long, so here's the link to it so that way it's easier for you. Again, I'm up for being a guest in the vid as if it was and interview you're doing. Sounds fun.

​@KeyToDarkness seems the link can't show. You have discord i can share it to you?

I would take anything .hack at this point

@@KeyToDarkness Well if you haven't checked out the Little Tail Bronx series, Tail Concerto, Solatorobo, and Fuga, I recommend it. There's been hints throughout the latter two games that both .hack and LTB might be connected to each other in some way. Though the lore Solatorobo established does contradict .hack's at the moment. I wouldn't be surprised if they retcon it with Fuga though as I can see them using that connection to cross promote both series going forward. I'm also hoping CC2 can convince Bandai to let them remake Tail Concerto, Solatorobo, and .hack IMOQ someday. The former two would be really easy to remake by comparison to the latter, so I can see those happening first. Fuga 1's true ending also kind of teased something for Solatorobo, so I'm hoping that means they're going to at least try and remake that game. IMOQ would be harder to remake, but not by too much IMO. Bandai could also give it to a remaster developer like the one that remastered Baten Kaitos and we could get a fairly decent remaster as well. I'm hoping they keep the English dub though if that's the case. I would also like parody mode to be restored as well even if the jokes might go over western audiences heads as that was the reason they didn't include it originally.

I’ll have to check them out! Thanks for the recommendation

@@KeyToDarkness You're welcome. CC2's other original games Silent Bomber and Asura's Wrath are also worth checking out as well.

I’ll keep those titles in mind!

We are still waiting on a new boat to sail to a new .hack

And some of the things that happen in both series (minus to fantastical parts) have been achieved in our modern day. VR headsets, VR Games, MMOs 😂

​@KeyToDarkness right like how much of the culture and lifestyle they handled so accurately, even down to the message boards which still exist even in similar forms such as Reddit

It’s amazing how many things GU predicted that came true. How well they accurately predicted tech and how people interact online

@@KeyToDarkness another thing I thought of while playing IMOQ was the news articles. How alot of topics they were covering relate to things we talk about to this day as well. clearly I have a bias as well LMAO - elder

Lol yeah I made sure to disclaim my bias before anything just in case. It adds to the immersion of the setting and expands on things that we don’t typically see in game

GU was my introduction into .hack and it was the OST that kept me playing! :)

correction, sao did not come out in 2009, thats just the light novels, it started as written for a contest around the time .hack was first starting out with its anime before its games, then it became a web novel series, and it was a big hit in japan even then, to the point later after the popularity of accel world, they decided to get reki to turn it into light novels and later an anime adaption and video games. in reality .hack and sao came into existence around the same time, just .hack was in the works a year earlier. sao focuses more about being a romance between kirito and asuna and their experience between multiple vr worlds and exploring the risks of virtual reality and trying to bridge the gap between reality and virtual reality, alicization was written years in advance in the web novels long before the light novels. unital ring is the first ever new arc in sao.

also what do you mean using 'delving into artificial intelligence' as a plus for .hack over sao? alice is literally an artificial intelligence, but unlike the ones in .hack, she has a human soul. the people of underworld in sao alicization/war of underworld are descendants of data clones of the creators of underworld, they literally cloned themselves, mind and all, into the virtual world and had them have families and descendants, all to make a digital human society with set laws and restrictions, all to build an ai from the ground up with a human soul for military projects(alice), literally using system called the soul translator that studies someone's soul, or 'fluctlight'. literally a ton of this stuff you're claiming .hack does better, sao does too but does it in a better way to where it comes across easier to people. sao is deep too, especially the light novels, which the anime is a stripped down version of without the character povs and added context to things.

Yes I do! So much has been added and tweaked since this video. Just head into either my discord or dothacknetwork’s discord under the TTRPG section and all of the documents and updates will be there!

Sadly Bandai is the only roadblock, which is why creating fan content and videos does help get people looking into the series.

That is true! I would also suggest making content. Either fan art, stories, or even videos as it’ll get people to take interest in the series. Like a Fan-ran marketing lol

It definitely has some memorable tracks!

🙂👍

It was fun! Thanks for being in the video! :D

Oh absolutely! Imagine an IMOQ remake with VR options, that would really boost immersion!

Heeeeyyy Meowza! Hope you’re having a good day! :D

I’ve seen more and more people make videos about the series over the last year or so. I think more people are being aware of it now :)

Thank you! This project has been worked on for about 2 years and more will be coming by December when I have things planned out!

I’ll take anything at this point lol

I think a proper IMOQ remake would definitely revive the series!

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video!

We can only hope for a Fragment R:2!

@@KeyToDarkness agreed I also loved feeding & making different gruntys & riding them

It’s a shame it never came back in GU. Imagine a Lucky Animal Farm where the LA you kick teleport to a new area where you could feed them and get benefits from their blessings

Neato! I eventually want to get some .hack merchandise.

@@KeyToDarkness heck yeah dude also can't wait to watch more of your content it seems super dope!

Thanks for watching! I’m glad you enjoyed the video!

Yeahhh. Those were good times

Thank you! I think it’s a nice vid as well :)