Sword Art Online

@takashichea:

First off Yeah dot .hack is VERY Dense

containing not to mention mangas

(in chronological not release order what they were and my opinion)

1. .hack//sign (anime good)
2. .hack//(I forget the name anime that follows the games ehhh)
3. .hack//infection (main games good)
4. .hack//mutation (main games good)
5. .hack//outbreak (main games good)
6. .hack//quarantine (main games good)
7. .hack//legend of the twilight (anime really bad)
8. .hack//roots (anime good)
9. .hack//rebirth (main games good)
10. .hack//reminiscence (main games good)
11. .hack//redemption (main games good)
12. .hack//quantum (anime never seen it)
13. .hack//the movie (anime movie never seen it)
14. .hack//link (Game japan only)

got some additions and comments though.

.hack sign has more connection to SAO then that.

For one the crimson knights in .hack//sign as compared to the knights of the blood oath was it? both an order of knights designed to defend and fight for the players who dress in uniform white and red who are lead by a male commander and a female for the most part figure head

.hack/sign is about a character (Tsukasa if I remember correctly) who is stuck in the world until a set event

both kirito and kite have seemingly randomly given special ability that separates them from the rest of the player base Kirito has duel wielding kite has data drain

In season two of SAO the villains are heads of the games, where in .hack CCcorp the makes of the world are always a side villain if not the main villain.

on the differences side

.hack anime's tend to be more physiological/mystery based and SAO is more Combat and romance focused making the combat in SAO way more fun to watch

.hack works more subtly and slowly while SAO is fast paced and not very subtle for better or worse

.hack's world works in a mysterious ways often the "strange" elements of the world are a mystory (I.E. the only thing know about how the game traps you is before you are "locked in" you hear I high A note, that if one can Identify the note meaning they are musically trained, it has no effect on them, the rest is a mystery) where ever little thing in SAO (except for some BLATANT plot holes during the season one finale) is explained (though in my opinion the explanations are hamfisted and in the opinions of Mr. biology and Sir. physics are often impossible)

Romantic relationships always fail in .hack expanded universe it seems, no real reason why they do...but its depressing.

Grey comparisons

Aura is more of a plot device then the lead female. The opposite to asuna would be black rose in the main games who is a tough solo female swords-woman who shares little in common with asuna in terms of personality just in plot relevance. (that is to say, no plot relevance at all (at least in the first season of SAO) just a romantic figure for the MC)

the man who made the world, Harold, in .hack// made it in such a way that he may have meant for all the bad stuff. he just passed away before it all happened in .hack. (presumably by CCcorp)

I got way more for you later but thats just a bit now

@Acura_Max: theres kinda a romantic thing between the kite nock off in legend of the twilight manga where he is assumed to not only have a relationship with her but also to have a little girl with her (auras little daughter is awesome), but then again legend of the twilight is the red headed stepchild of the .hack series.

My knowledge of these series is really low, cause I haven't watch SAO and got bore to death with .Hack first series (sorry)

I might watch SAO, after reading this blog. It sound interesting

@Destinyheroknight: Different strokes I guess.

@takashichea:

ALRIGHT I CAN DO THAT FOR YOU CAPTAIN

.hack//sign (Prequel to the kite story)

So this dude named Harold desided to make the greatest game every, however before he finished he caught a bad case of the death. However before he died he finished “the world” a game who is both run and is the AI Morgana. This AI program to help develop and raise the perfect AI of human intelligence and emotion Aura, Harolds “daughter” in his place.

Well morgana decided that Aura wasn’t perfect or right and that she should make her own perfect AI for Harold, but we’ll get to that nose later, for reasons understood later Morgana decides to stunt her growth by limiting her absorption of what it means to be human with a miserable human player Tsukasa, who morgana locked into the world again stunt auras growth. It deals with setting up what’s going on in the first game, who morgana is how aura was made and the people trapped in the game. Most of the episodes deal with Tsukasa and friends trying to figure out who tsukasa is and how to save him.

.hack//infection-quarantine (kite story)

So kites this kid he joins the game after his friend tells him to play it with him, turns out kites friends name is orca, the biggest badest player of them all. Whoda thunk it? Anyways out while teaching how to play they stumble onto a AI fight between the AI Skeith the shadow of death one of the 8 AIs known as the “phases” (oddly enough my giant bomb username) and the AI Aura. Well more like a chase. You and orca jump in to try to save the young girl and Skeith kills the f@#k right out of him putting him into a coma in the real world. You a weak player of level one survive and given the “key of the twilight a bracelet” that gives him power of “Data Drain” something aura had meant to give to orca to stop morgana the phases and, Aura then escapes sending you away. You and a team of people attempt to solve all the mysteries or the world, morgana, the people in comas, and later the fate of the real world. It’s my favorite JRP series.

.hack//legend of the twilight (side story post kite story)

Kites little cousins play the game with character models and names of the heros of the kite story. They mess around for three volumes or 26 episodes…I earnestly don’t remember what they were doing.

.hack//roots (Haseo story prequel)

The world R2 is released this dude named Haseo starts playing (he’s Sora from .hack//sign) he decides to try it gets almost PKed just as hes about to be killed this guy named Ovan saves him. turns out Ovan runs this guild looking for the key of the twilight with a girl named shino. Haseo falls for Shino and joins the guild. Needless to say that doesn’t go well and Shino is killed by a famous PK named Tri-edge, which puts her into a comma. Under the theory that if he beats Tri-edge maybe shino will come back he sets on a quest too kill every PK in the game. In the process he becomes the infamous and nigh invincible “PKK Haseo the Shadow of Death”

.hack//G.U. rebirth-redemption (Haseo Story)

Starts with Haseo finding Tri edge, if you wanna know how it goes here it is

So data drained back to level one you play as him find out Shinos death may have more to do with a Virus called A.I.D.A. and that Tri-edge seems to have something to do with it. Also that Haseo was not put into a comma because his character has the AI Skieth in it. (I’d explain how but I’m lazy) Mystery unfolds from there explaining and growing more complex. Games are really good

The other .hacks have to do with the world r3 no idea what they are about aside from that.

This is all just really brief and simplified. 14 separate pieces of games and anime is a LOT to try and explain…-_-

oh and for auras interests you might want to add, sending kite really annoying cryptic emails > .>

One unmentioned similarity is that Yuki Kajiura composed the original sountracks for both .Hack//Sign and for SAO

@UsachanMaN: Really? I find that strange since I absolutely love the .hack//sign's soundtrack, but SAO's is just functional to me not in any way memorable. Not doubting you at all, but color me surprised.

@takashichea: more then welcome man, if you got anymore questions I know pretty much every little think about .hack from sign to G.U past that your on your own.

@Elfenlied1012 said:

@UsachanMaN: Really? I find that strange since I absolutely love the .hack//sign's soundtrack, but SAO's is just functional to me not in any way memorable. Not doubting you at all, but color me surprised.

Yup its her :) Yea I find that her SAO soundtrack is a bit different. I know when I watched Pandora Hearts and heard the .hack/sign track I instantly figured she was the composer, but with SAO, it was a tiny hunch and after looking into it I realized it was her. If you keep an ear out during the episodes, you can hear the "Yuki Kajiura-niss" (lol) of the music XD

@takashichea: Yup it was me that mentioned her on the Sword Art Online thread XD

@Ace20A: Agreed! Sometimes I find the vocals / chanting soothing...but sometimes it gets creepy O.O

@Ace20A: Hmm, well I find Ensei by Kajiura pretty soothing :D And its got chanting, well I dont really think its really chanting but kinda like soft opera-like (I dunno XD); whereas M01 - Kara No Kyoukai 1 sounds kinda creepy O.O ( i stil listen to it though XD)

@Ace20A: Oh yea? I had no idea..that's an interesting thing to note. Thanks for sharing!