Operation Backlog Completion 2026

CyberConnect2 Wants Fans to Ask Bandai Namco About .hack Remakes

 Video Games  5 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jul 192023
 

Remember a year ago when we got our hopes up unreasonably for a potential collection of the original .hack games, only for them to be dashed?

(“Last Recollection” turned out to be a Sword Art Online game.)

Well, .hack hopes are in the air once again – not because of any rumors, but because the developers would like to see it return as much as the fans would.

For a quick explanation if you’re unfamiliar with the series, .hack began with four games developed by CyberConnect2 for the PlayStation 2 set in a fictional MMORPG.

These four games are .hack//Infection, .hack//Mutation, .hack//Outbreak, and .hack//Quarantine. This is why you might sometimes see the original quadrilogy referred to as IMOQ, taking the first letter of each title.

The original four games were followed by an actual MMORPG adaptation in Japan, an anime series, manga, novel tie-ins, and other additions to the franchise, and eventually a sequel trilogy for the PlayStation 2 called .hack//G.U., along with even more spin-offs and tie-ins.

So while conversations about the series often focus on IMOQ and GU, there’s been a lot of .hack media over the years.

Anyway, 2017 saw the release of a remastered collection of the sequel trilogy, .hack//G.U. Last Recode, which also added a short fourth volume. The original four games, however, remain stranded on the PS2 without any ports or remasters in sight.

I played .hack//G.U. thanks to the Last Recode collection, and I enjoyed it! Although some parts were repetitive, the story was interesting enough to keep me invested. It came with a recap of the first four games that I watched, but I’d love to have a chance to play them.

In a recent interview with Noisy Pixel, the Vice President of CyberConnect 2 said they would love to bring back or remake the original .hack quadrilogy, but can’t do so without Bandai Namco’s permission. They “urge the readers to fire away all the requests to them so that we can get the green light from them to work on those titles.”

This has led to a new wave of fans tweeting with the hashtag #dothack and petitioning Bandai Namco in the hopes that the series will return.

Fan movements are nothing new – some of my earliest blog posts here are about trying to get Capcom to localize Ace Attorney Investigations 2 (which I still haven’t given up on) – but it’s less common for it to happen at the developer’s request. If enough .hack fans make their voices heard, maybe we’ll see the a .hack quadrilogy collection or even a brand-new .hack series after all!

Higurashi When They Cry Chapter 3: The Mysteries Deepen

 Reviews, Video Games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jul 172023
 

Look at that, I actually continued Higurashi without letting another year pass me by again.

So far, each chapter of Higurashi has felt quite different. The first episode was a slow build-up to intense paranoia. The second episode played out like a mystery, with surprises waiting just when it seemed everything was resolved.

That brings us to Higurashi When They Cry – Ch. 3 Tatarigoroshi.

Like the previous episodes, the third entry begins with a slice-of-life section in which everything seems lighthearted and fun. This time, those fun days are cut short by sadness, with an unhappy section of the story that retains the slow pace but sees the main character falling into despair as he’s unable to do anything to help a suffering friend.

The tone felt much more somber than the previous two episodes, and then it took a darker turn in a much different way.

And from there, things start getting strange – adding even more mysteries on top of those from the first two episodes. As I played, I started to develop theories about what was actually going on, only for later developments to throw those theories into confusion again. The ending, especially, left me with more questions than ever.

That’s about all I can say without spoilers.

Click for Higurashi Chapter 3 spoilers
Right now my two major theories that I keep being torn between are “Keiichi is an unreliable narrator with false memories” and “there are parallel timelines and Keiichi jumps between them sometimes,” but neither of those has an explanation for the creepy footstep.

The story Keiichi’s friends tell about him being with them at the festival seem to overlap with what happened in one of the previous chapters, which is why I started to wonder if they could all be running parallel to one another. And the previous chapter, like this one, had people being alive when they were supposed to already be dead; it can’t be all just delusion.

It feels like each chapter carefully builds up to a plausible rational explanation for the curse, only to pull the rug out from under you with an inexplicable incident.

Then there are characters like Ooshi and Takano, who seem to be more sinister in each new episode.

This wasn’t my favorite chapter, because of how long it took for things to really start happening, but the questions raised once they did were worth it.

Higurashi When They Cry – Ch. 3 Tatarigoroshi was sad, disturbing, and confusing all at once, and I’m really curious to see how this will all be wrapped up. Maybe for this October, we’ll actually get through the whole series to see how it plays out!

New Shantae Game Announced at LRG3

 Video Games  3 Responses »  Tagged with:
Jul 142023
 

While not held during June like the rest of the “Not-E3” events this year, Limited Run Games held its 2023 “LRG3” showcase on Wednesday.

I expected some announcements of previously digital-only games I’d want to pick up physical copies for, and maybe some old classics being resurrected again.

We certainly got that, and even the Clock Tower rumors came to fruition, with an enhanced port of the original SNES game announced with a translation for the first time.

But what I never saw coming was a new Shantae game.

Shantae Advance was originally planned as Shantae 2 for the Game Boy Advance, but the lack of sales for the first game meant the game’s ambition couldn’t be realized, and it was cancelled. Now it’s back – and they aren’t just releasing the incomplete pieces, but finishing the game to release Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution as a new full entry in the Shantae series.

Not only that, but it’s being completed and released as an actual GBA game.

So far it’s unclear if Risky Revolution will be released on modern platforms or if it will be a GBA exclusive. When asked on Twitter, WayForward said they don’t have anything to announce at this time about it coming out on other platforms.

While it seems like a strange decision to release a GBA exclusive in the year 2024, it does contribute to the sense of this old cancelled game being released as it was originally conceived. Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution preorders will open in September, with the game itself being due out in early 2024.

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