.hack//G.U.

".hack//G.U." is the title of a series of three video games for PlayStation 2. The first title in the series, "Vol.1 Rebirth", was released on Japan on May 18, 2006 and on October 24, 2006 in North America. "Vol.2 Reminisce" was released on September 28, 2006 in Japan and on May 8 2007 in North America. "Vol.3 Redemption" was released on January 18, 2007 in Japan and on September 10, 2007 in North America. ".hack//G.U Trilogy" the movie, was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 25, 2008 in Japan.

The games take place after the ".hack//Roots" anime series. ".hack//Roots" serves as a prologue to the G.U. video game series in the same way the ".hack//Sign" anime series served as a prologue to the four original ".hack//Games".

Volumes

* Vol.1 nihongo|Rebirth|再誕|"Saitan" lit. Resurrection
*:Vol.1 Special Edition comes with 2 discs.
*:*Disc 1 is the game itself.
*:*Disc 2 is the Terminal disk called "End of The World" detailing the events that led up to ".hack//GU." It will only be included in the Limited Edition for the North American release.
* Vol.2 nihongo|Reminisce|君想フ声|"Kimi Omou Koe|" lit. "The Voice that Thinks of You"
*:Includes first episode of .hack//Roots
* Vol.3 nihongo|Redemption|歩くような速さで|"Aruku you na Hayasa de|" lit. "At a Walking Pace"
*:Includes sixth episode of .hack//Roots and four .hack//4koma movies.

ummary

R.A. Plan

As revealed in "End of the World", the "Restore Aura" Plan was the strategy the programmer Jyotaro Amagi devised to restore Aura through reconstructing Morganna under the control of CC Corporation. Through "Project G.U.", the remnants of the 8 Phases data (also known as the "elements of Morganna") were recovered and incorporated into special characters known as Epitaph-PCs, which were based on Sora's condition during the events in ".hack//Zero". Jyotaro speculated that each phase required a certain type of person in order to use it effectively, in the way Sora had been attached to Skeith, so these PCs were then to be used by scouted candidates with Amagi's "R.A. Program". The first choice as a candidate was Sora himself, but he wasn't playing the game anymore at the time.

With candidates located, and the Epitaph-PCs prepared, Jyotaro began the test, but something went horribly wrong. Most of "The World"'s data was lost instantly, and all 7 Epitaph-PC players fell into comas. Amagi, who was using a "Dummy Program" to replace Tarvos (which had been stolen by Jun Bansyoya), fell into a state of delirium and set fire to the CC Corp Japan Building. Afterwards the Epitaph-PCs escaped onto "The World", where they waited for the right person to "connect" to.

The Terror of Death

The story follows Haseo, at first depicted as a PKK (Player Killer Killer) known as the "Terror of Death", a former member of the disbanded Twilight Brigade guild.

He is seen seeking out a PK (Player Killer) known as Tri-Edge, whose victims supposedly are unable to return to "The World" after he PKs them. Haseo's friend, Shino, was attacked six months prior to the events of the game by Tri-Edge, and the player herself, Shino Nanao, was left in a coma.

Haseo encounters Azure Kite (believing him to be Tri-Edge and blaming him for what happened to Shino) but is hopelessly outmatched. Azure Kite easily defeats Haseo and Data Drains him, reducing his level from 133 to 1 and leaving him without any items, weapons, or member addresses. His desktop is completely erased and reformatted leaving Haseo in confusion. After his meeting with members of G.U., his inner power as an epitaph user calls out his own avatar, Skeith, The Terror Of Death.

Gameplay

The gameplay in the ".hack//G.U." games is similar in overall nature found in the ".hack//Games" series. The game is presented to the player as an operating system belonging to Haseo's real-life persona, with programs to be run such as "The World R:2", "Crimson VS", "Mail", and so forth. In this mode, the player can read the virtual in-game message boards and mail, reply to some of these, and also read about the fictitious events occurring within the game's real world as they coincide with the game's story.

The primary application that the player will use is "The World R:2", a virtual MMORPG game which plays similar to the original "The World" in the first series of games. Within "The World R:2" the player, as Haseo's in-game character, starts in one of several towns where they can buy and sell equipment or items, invite or remove members from their party, interact with non-player characters to trade, and so forth. "G.U." adds Quests which can be taken on within a town, and Guilds which the player, as Haseo, will join as part of the story and offer a way to sell collected goods as well as to upgrade equipment (this process is called "alchemy"). While there are several different classes within "G.U.", the player remains as Haseo, an Adept Rogue, though through the series, Haseo's class will be improved to allow access to different weapons.

From the town, the player can then enter a field or a dungeon by combining three words at the town's "chaos gate". The three words determine various parameters for the field: the difficulty of the monsters; the type of environment; and the type of treasure that can be earned. Field words must be learned from other players, message boards, or given as rewards for completing a field successfully. Most fields are randomly generated based on these parameters, but several fields tied with the main or side plot will have fixed layouts. Within a field, regardless of the reason for the visit, the player will typically have a mission, such as defeating a "boss" character (a monster with higher hit points than the regular monsters on the field), or collecting all the keys to open a Beast Temple within the level. Monsters are shown wandering on the field allowing the player to avoid a fight, if possible, as well as treasure chests, boxes and containers, and special objects that can be interacted with to release "Chim-Chims", odd creatures that try to avoid the player but can be kicked to stop and collect them. Chim-Chims are used on several levels to open doors or activate warp points in order to progress in the level. Warp points can be used to return back to town.

Battle is done in semi-active time, due to the fact that accessing special moves, items, and the like involve navigating through menus which can momentarily pause combat. The player can use several weapons and skills to take down a foe, and may change weaponry in the middle of battle at later points. If a foe has taken a good deal of damage from their player's team, the foe will be lit with a purple aura. At this point, the player can initiate a "Rengeki" skill attack which does more damage and improves the team's morale. When the team's morale is maximized, the player can initiate an "awakening" move which gives the player an extremely strong attack or a special ability for a short time.

"G.U." also adds the ability to fight other virtual players within the game. A special city, "Lumina Cloth", houses a tournament arena where the player can enter into matches. The storyline requires the player to complete specific fights, but the player can optionally engage in battles to improve their ranking in the tournament for additional bonuses. Player battles are similar to regular combat, except that a player can counter-attack(the name is han-geki,but in the English version is ren-geki).

Player to player encounters will also occur while going through various fields and dungeons. At times, Haseo may encounter an ongoing battle which is represented by an isolated battle-cage which he cannot see through. Entering the cage effectively throws Haseo and his friends into the fight. He must then rescue a player from monsters or PKers, and will receive a reward for doing so while keeping the player alive. An added bonus are the seven "most-wanted" blacklists, famous players known as chaotic PKs who appear at random with increased stats and difficulty, like the ability to take a staggering blow without flying.

As part of the plot in "G.U.", Haseo will face special avatar battles with AIDA creatures. In these battles, combat is more like a shooter game; the player can shoot the foe with bullets, swing a large scythe for direct damage, and dodge a foe's direct attack. Once the AIDA foe is drained of health, the player must then attempt to Data Drain the foe by hitting it with a charged bullet within a short time frame (typically 45 seconds). If this is not done, the foe will gain some health back and the player must try to defeat it again.

Starting in Volume 2, the player has access to the desktop application "Crimson VS", a card game based loosely on collectible card games and using art inspired by "The World" (both R:1 and R:2). Each "deck" consists of a General card and 3 Support cards. When two decks face off, each Support card fights, with at most one winning card from each. Any winning Support cards then grant effects to the General card. The General cards then fight until there is a winner. The player creates a deck and then submits it into automatic tourneys; winning these will grant the player more cards which can be used to improve their deck.

Characters

Major Characters

The first eight characters listed, known as the "Infinity 8", retain the same titles as those of the Eight Phases from the original ".hack" series. Note: The "Infinity 8" can also be known as the "Eight of Epitaph".

* nihongo|Haseo, the Terror of Death|ハセヲ|Haseo (Ryou Misaki) - Adept Rogue: The protagonist of the G.U. franchise and a PKK (Player Killer Killer). He is first shown seeking Azure Kite, who is believed to be the infamous Player Killer Tri-Edge, who sent his friend Shino into a coma. He is depicted as skilled and quick-witted, but prone to lose his temper. He is trained by Kuhn and Pi of the guild Raven to control his Avatar, Skeith.

* nihongo|Atoli, the Mirage of Deceit|アトリ|Atori (Chigusa Kusaka) - Harvest Cleric: Seemingly the female lead of the series. "The World" is the first net game she has played and she is very friendly and upbeat. She is part of the Moon Tree Guild and idolizes Sakaki. She also appears to be fond of Haseo despite the fact that he only spends time with her because her PC (Player Character) resembles Shino of ".hack//Roots". She is a 16-year-old high school student named Kusaka Chigusa in real life. She controls the Avatar, Innis.

* nihongo|Kuhn, the Propagation|クーン|Kūn (Tomonari Kasumi) - Steam Gunner: A strong and flirtatious man who wishes for peace in The World. He is a member of "Raven" and part of the project to destroy AIDA. He was once a member of the newbie help guild Canard, and even now, he is admired by Silabus and Gaspard. Kuhn currently lives by himself and is single despite his popularity with girls in "The World". He controls the Avatar, Magus. In reality, he is the ex-boyfriend of Mai Minase, one of the heroines of .hack//Liminality, and a former coma victim from the previous version of the World, much like Haseo/Sora.

* nihongo|Yata, the Prophet|八咫|Yata (Takumi Hino) - Macabre Dancer: Formerly Naobi, Guildmaster of TaN, he is now the Guildmaster of Raven. Yata is a System-Administrator and in charge of Project GU, a project meant to use Epitaph-Wielders to destroy AIDA within the game. He was formerly known as Wiseman, a Wave Master who helped Kite during the first four .Hack games. Sakaki takes over GU for a short period of time in vol. 3 which makes him withdraw and ultimately results in his Avatar going berserk. He controls the Avatar, Fidchell.

* nihongo|Sakubo, the Machinator|朔望|Sakubō (Iori Nakanishi) - Shadow Warlock: Supposedly a PC played by two people; Saku, who speaks in Kansai-ben, and Bo; a shy and quiet player. Saku is an alternate personality of Bo (albeit the much more forward of the pair), and is obsessed with Endrance. They control the Avatar, Gorre.

* nihongo|Endrance, the Temptress|エンデュランス|Enduransu (Kaoru Ichinose) - Blade Brandier: A player with so much skill and power that he's considered superior even by the greatest players in "The World". He is the Emperor of the Demon Palace in Lumina Cloth and has numerous fans. However, he's extremely cold and only ever shows emotion towards the cat he has on his shoulder. In real life he is a 20-year-old hikikomori and the former .hacker Elk .hack. In the game he is also an Epitaph User that controls the Avatar, Macha.

* nihongo| Pi, the Avenger|パイ|Pai (Reiko Saeki) - Tribal Grappler: Previously a member of TaN known as Ender, she encounters Haseo shortly after he's Data-Drained and comments on his strange powers. She is a member of Raven and involved in the project to take down AIDA. She trains Haseo in the game to use his Avatar, and is attacked by AIDA when they reach the end of the dungeon. Haseo then Data Drains her infected Avatar. She's a 24-year-old system engineer named Saeki Reiko in real life, And controls the Avatar, Tarvos.

* nihongo|Ovan, the Rebirth|オーヴァン|Ōvan (Masato Indou) - Steam Gunner: The former Guildmaster of the Twilight Brigade (a Guild devoted to finding the "Key of the Twilight") and an old friend of Haseo's. He is one of the greatest mysteries of "The World" and seems to know more than he lets on. His PC's data is apparently as large as that used for an entire game field. This is because of his left arm, kept sealed away, which has an AIDA (in the form of a third arm, named AIDA ) attached to it. It is revealed that he is the person who PKed Shino and leaves the A-like signs around on fields. Has the uncontrollable Avatar, Corbenik.

* nihongo|Azure Kite|蒼炎のカイト|Sōen no Kaito - Twin Blade: A Player Killer who is famous for sending players into comas after he kills them. He resembles a more haggard version of Kite from the original games and wields a pair of triple-bladed swords (known as "Empty Skies", or in the original Japanese versions "Twin Fangs of the Abyss"). He is later seen paired with Azure Balmung and Azure Orca. They are AI created by Aura to protect "The World" from anomalies.

* nihongo|Silabus|シラバス|Shirabasu (Yuuichi Morino) - Blade Brandier: The Guildmaster of Canard at the start of the game, he eventually makes Haseo the Guildmaster. He and Gaspard are the only members of Canard at the start of GU. He is in awe of former Canard member Kuhn. He is a 19-year-old university student named Morino Yuuichi in real life, and started using the internet at the age of 9. he's interested in UMAs.

* nihongo|Gaspard|ガスパー|Gasupaa (Kouta Maki) - Shadow Warlock: A member of Canard who follows Silabus and assists in helping Newbies. He and Silabus are the only members of Canard at the start of GU. He is in awe of former Canard member Kuhn. He is a 13-year-old middle school student named Maki Kouta in real life. Gaspard's favorite part of The World is the card game feature called Crimson VS., which is not available for the first volume. Gaspard is rather sensitive and clumsy but plays The World for the sole purpose of having fun.

* nihongo|Antares|大火|Taika (Mikihisa Ogata) - Blade Brandier: The creator and former Guildmaster of Icolo; a Guild for champions. Antares lost his position as Emperor of the Sage Palace when he was defeated by Taihaku and feels Icolo has grown arrogant. He believes Haseo can pull Icolo out of this state(translating the name Taika:Tai-Great Ka-fire:TaiKa/Great Fire).

* nihongo|Sakaki|榊|Sakaki (Tooru Uike) - Edge Punisher: Leader of the Second Division of Moon Tree, Sakaki is famous throughout The World and commonly associated with Moon Tree. He appears to be part of a sinister plot and because of this, tension has grown between him and Zelkova. He tries to create an ideal world by dominating the minds of people through the eight phases and the internet. Sakaki is a role model of Atoli as she cannot seem to stop talking about him. He is a ten year-old elementary school student named Uike Tooru in real life. He replaces Yata as leader of GU in vol. 3 for a short period before being killed by Azure Kite and going into a coma. He awakens with no memories of what happened after the rebirth of the internet.

* nihongo|Zelkova|欅|Keyaki - Flick Reaper: Zelkova is the Guildmaster of Moon Tree and the leader of the First Division. He has a great rivalry with Sakaki for being the creator of Moon Tree and yet not being as famous as Sakaki. He is a hacker and a resident of Net Slum Tartarga. He is the one who grants Haseo's PC the Xth form. Some seem to think he only exist's "inside" of The World.

* nihongo|Aina|アイナ|Aina (Aina Indou) - Shadow Warlock: Ovan's little sister, whose consciousness was sealed in his AIDA arm after it went berserk and PKed her. In real life she is ill and her being in a coma made her life-saving operation impossible.

* nihongo|Bordeaux|ボルドー|Borudō (Nina Kircheis) - Blade Brandier: Bordeaux is an established PK and usually parties with Negimaru and Grein. She is also a member of Kestrel and well respected in the PK community. She is obsessed with gaining fame by being the PK that PKed the Terror of Death. In Vol. 2, Bordeaux is infected by an AIDA which gives her greater fighting capabilities. She is a German-Japanese fourteen-year-old middle-school student named Nina Kircheis in real life. She gives Haseo her member address at the end of the game.

Minor Characters

* nihongo|Negimaru|ネギ丸|Negimaru (Kazushige Ooyama) - Twin Blade: Negimaru is an established PK and usually parties with Bordeaux and Grein. He is also a member of Kestrel and is treated as some sort of crime-lord. He was PKKed by Haseo on their first encounter.

* nihongo|Grein|グリン|Gurin (Souji Komiyama) - Edge Punisher: Grein is an established PK and usually parties with Bordeaux and Negimaru. He is also a member of Kestrel and generally acts as Bordeaux's bodyguard. He was PKKed by Haseo on their first encounter.

* nihongo|Gabi|がび|Gabi (Daijirou Washio) - Edge Punisher: Gabi is the Guildmaster of Kestrel and adopts a laissez-faire attitude to running his Guild. Although his Guild is overrun with PKs, he is not a PK himself. He is an old friend of Kuhn's but he does not have a large impact on the plot. Haseo's first encounter with Gabi shows the speed of Gabi's movement, the reason for this is because Gabi's PC is a hacked PC.

* nihongo|Piros the 3rd|ぴろし３|Piroshi3 (Hiroshi Matsuyama) - Lord Partizan: Piros the 3rd is the same .hacker Piros from the original games. He is the Guildmaster of the coincidentally named Project GU (Graphics Umai meaning "Good at Graphics"; in the English adaption, "Graphics Unbelievable") Guild and works as a Graphics Designer for The World. Piros is also in chase of Tri-Edge along with Haseo, but for his own reasons.

* nihongo|Kaede|楓|Kaede (Kyouko Kaga) - Blade Brandier: A member of Moon Tree and the leader of the Third Platoon. Kaede is one of the many supporters of Zelkova in his conflict with Sakaki and often opposes Sakaki on his decisions. She is known for her kind and sincere attitude. She gives Haseo her member address in volume 3.

* nihongo|Matsu|松|Matsu (Shingo Kudou) - Adept Rogue: A member of Moon Tree and the Leader of the Seventh Platoon. Matsu was once a famous PK but has since grown ashamed of his past and chosen not to fight. He is a supporter of Sakaki. Because of this, he never uses his Edge Punisher form - the form he opted for most when he was a PK.

* nihongo|Sirius|天狼|Tenrō (Min Myeon-Do) - Tribal Grappler: One of the current members of Icolo, Sirius is known for his arrogance and is generally a dislikeable character. Being a member of Icolo means he is the Emperor of the Holy Palace; above Endrance and below Taihaku. Later on he is infected with AIDA, and goes on to fight Haseo in the arena. It is then revealed that the Orca and Balmung associated with him were mirages created by Atoli's infected Avatar.

* nihongo|Taihaku|太白|Taihaku (Keisuke Kurokai) - Steam Gunner: Taihaku is the current Guildmaster of Icolo and, therefore, one of the most powerful characters in "The World". Being the Guildmaster of Icolo makes him the Emperor of the Sage Palace; above both Endrance and Sirius.

* nihongo|Alkaid|揺光|Yōkō (Chika Kuramoto) - Twin Blade: A former member of Icolo and Emperor of the Demon Palace before she was defeated by Endrance. Though she is incapable of seeing Endrance's Avatar, she is adamant that Endrance cheated and has vowed revenge. Alkaid was put into a coma after being attacked and PKed by Bordeaux who was infected with AIDA at the time. She has an infatuation with Haseo.

* IYOTEN (Naoya Sakai) - Blade Brandier: The leader of a pair of PKs that targeted Haseo when he first logged into "The World". Ovan first met Haseo after PKing the two.

* nihongo|Asta|アスタ|Asuta (Tatsumi Hori) - Edge Punisher: Iyoten's partner in a pair of PKs that targeted Haseo when he first logged into "The World". Ovan first met Haseo after PKing the two.

* nihongo|Azure Orca|蒼海のオルカ|Sōkai no Oruka - Blade Brandier: One of the "Three Azure Knights" and presumably one of the antagonists in ".hack//GU" Vol. 2. This Orca is similar to Azure Kite in that it resembles a haggard version of Orca that appears as if it were stitched together of various body parts. He is known by players as "The Naked Man". Aura gives Haseo his member address at the end of Vol. 3.

* nihongo|Azure Balmung|蒼天のバルムンク|Sōten no Barumunku - Blade Brandier: One of the "Three Azure Knights" and presumably one of the antagonists in ".hack//G.U." Vol. 2. This Balmung is similar to Azure Kite in that it resembles an almost feral version of the original Balmung. He is known as by players as "The Winged Man." Aura gives Haseo his member address at the end of Vol. 3.

* nihongo|Nala|楢|Nara (Takumi Hino) - Lord Partizan: Nala is the leader of the Fourth Division of the Moon Tree Guild and appears in Volume 2 of ".hack//G.U." He holds a neutral position within the Guild and is actually another PC used by Yata.

* nihongo|Hiiragi|柊|Hīragi (Yuki Fumihiko) - Macabre Dancer: Hiiragi is the leader of the Fifth Division of the Moon Tree Guild and appears in Volume 2 of ".hack//G.U." One of Sakaki's followers. A 22-year-old closet homosexual named Yuki Fumihiko in real life.

* nihongo|Sophora|槐|Enjū - Twin Blade: Sophora is the leader of the Sixth Division of the Moon Tree Guild and appears in Volume 2 of ".hack//G.U." Sophora appears to support Sakaki and seems to be the player behind Nanase from .Hack//Alcor

* nihongo|Shino|志乃|Shino (Shino Nanao) - Harvest Cleric: Shino was a former member of the Twilight Brigade and, upon falling into a coma, instigated Haseo's search for the revival of the Lost Ones. She finally awakens at the end of the series, and gives Haseo her member address again (he lost it when he was data drained by Azure Kite in vol. 1). After being PKed by Ovan, her consciousness was sealed in his arm and she was with him watching over Haseo all along.

* nihongo|Tabby|タビー|Tabī (Moe Kubo) - Tribal Grappler: Tabby joined the Twilight Brigade around the same time as Haseo and wanted to help him in his quest to revive Shino. She stopped playing in order to become a nurse at the end of .hack//roots anime, but returns in vol. 3 stating that she will remain online for just the day. She later offers her extended help to him, though it is unknown what became of the "one day".

* nihongo|Natsume|なつめ|Natsume (Natsume Oguro) - Twin Blade: Former .hacker Natsume from the original games returns in vol. 3, and is now a Chaotic PK with a split personality. She is in search of Tri-Edge (which she believes to be a weapon) and still has an obsession with Kite from seven years ago. Haseo gets her member address after clearing the Chaotic PK side quest.

* Phyllo: A character owned by Antares but used to be owned by an old man who helps Haseo in the first episodes of .hack//Roots. His real player died because of cancer, leaving the character to his friend Antares. In Reminisce he leads Haseo to the Great Temple of Caerleon Medb, a Lost Ground containing Lost weapons, weapons that can help destroy AIDA.

Features

* Save data from the first four games and ".hack//frägment" will unlock three emails; one from BlackRose that was sent to Kite after the battle with Corbenik (Meaning Haseo doesn't canonically get it) and another from Hokuto that was meant for Rena but mistakenly sent to Haseo. The last one being another from Hokuto apologizing for sending Haseo an E-mail meant for a friend. In the English version, all three are gained from save data from any of the first four games, as ".hack//frägment" was never released outside of Japan.

* There was a Special Edition of Vol.1 from GameStop and EB Games stores taken only from pre-orders. The Special Edition of Vol.1 came packaged with an exclusive Haseo action figure (Haseo's 1st form) and a Terminal Disc (entitled "End of The World"). The Terminal Disc contains summaries of the previous four games and provide an explanation for what happened between the end of ".hack//Quarantine" and the start of Vol.1. There are more features in the Terminal Disc that can be unlocked via save data from all three G.U. video games.

*During the confrontation with Azure Kite, if you transferred data from the original .hack games, he will keep the same name given to your character, Kite. An example would be if you named him Bob in the first four games. In this case, Azure Kite would be named Bob as well during the fight. The name also appears in the credits by the name of the character's voice actor.

Voice cast

External links

* [http://www.cyberconnect2.jp/gu/main.html Official .hack//G.U. Site (Japanese)]
* [http://dothack.wikia.com/wiki/GU_Games .hack//G.U. Games at .hack//Wiki]
* [http://www.dothackers.net .hack//G.U. News] at dothackers