It seems appropriate to update the party system as Haseo grows more akin to working within a party instead of being a lone wolf. That includes the morale system. Not only is the duration starting to lengthen but you no longer have to wait for it to fill up to use it, you can use it pretty much whenever but the longer you wait, the longer it'll last. New weapon too, you're pretty much where you were when you were the Terror of Death which is really saying something. You can even switch weapons in battle albeit it's through the menu or special. But having a good relationship via email with your party helps because it unlocks new attacks. Because of these improvements, the gameplay is slowly shaping up to be really enjoyable at times. I did actually manage to crash it from button mashing though…

The Versus card game is open now which means you can collect cards to play in the form of some really cool art. Same with the forum which you can in turn make your wallpaper in the desktop (which was a feature from IMOQ but done in a different way). The bike turns out that it was bland on purpose last time so they added an upgrade system where you can buy parts and mix and match to make it run how YOU want (really you just buy the best parts but it markets as how you want).

So now we're properly into spoiler territory and with that we're properly into SAO now with the players being stuck within the game. You can no longer head to the desktop to check your email. And with that, Atoli can't speak, can only send mail. But here's where it gets tricky because that's not the game's plot, in fact, the whole scenario is over pretty early, it just introduces that possibility and what it could possibly mean as well as the consequences it created.

It started becoming clear to me how much of a reinvention/reimagining GU really is to IMOQ because it's using a lot of the same elements just differently, like the Data cores (instead of virus cores). Donald Duck even returns!

wait... But as far as structure, it also takes after the first volume taking place with a tournament…again. Nowhere near as long though. But just know that once you've set your difficulty, you've done it for all the vols so…yeah.

The side-quests aren't nearly as meaningful but I'd have to say that the overall story jumped to being pretty good, there are some lines in there where I was very well shocked at how impactful they were. The only real complaint I have about it is the villains and I got spoiled about them but the way it's done (so far) is pretty cheesy, but I imagine it will be expanded upon and will actually make sense later. But yeah, this makes the first .hack that I actually properly enjoyed, thoroughly and genuinely, there was always bits and pieces but this one finally seemed worth it.

Technically played this via the Last Recode collection on PS4.

Volume 2 is where things really starts to properly shift into high gear for .Hack//G.U. as after Atoli gets attacked and falls unconscious following last game's cliffhanger, everyone finds themselves trapped in the game servers leaving Haseo and the others to investigate what is going on. This quickly sets off yet another chain of events that will lead into the third and final game.

The combat's is mostly the same with some tweaks to make it a bit better but Haseo's already going a long way to being more likable than last time and the twists and turns with the story kept me invested and more than ready to see how this tale concludes.

Definitely a big improvement on the first volume. Also that final boss music slaps hard.

hoo boy, this was certainly a game. I will give them credit, this did feel more like a sequel continuing on the story of the first game than IMOQ's "disc 2" approach so that's something. Gameplay is mostly the same as the first volume, they added a weapon switch feature but what's the point when your heavy sword can still pretty much stunlock most enemies to death anyways. This game is also padded out the ass, with pretty much 75% of all the mandatory dungeons being completely frivolous as to why you are even there. I much preferred IMOQs approach of letting the player just choose whatever dungeons they wanted as long as they got the required items. This game just handholds you through the most straightforward boring ass dungeons to get exactly what it puts there and it gets old fast. In terms of plot, this game doesn't really impress me either. I found none of the main characters likable in Volume 1 and this game didn't really change my mind on anyone. Cutscenes are long and don't animate that much. This game also has a tournament arc despite the first game already having one and so help me god if Volume 3 has one too I'm going to lose it. The game was incredibly boring. My save file reports that I had only spent roughly 15 hours playing through this game but it genuinely felt like 50, that's how monotonous and boring I felt this game was. If this series was 4 volumes like IMOQ was I would definitely have tapped out by now, but there's only one volume left, I've made it this far, I might as well see how this whole thing ends. Though considering both what happened in .hack quarantine, and how these past 2 G.U. volumes have been going, I can't say I'm expecting this series to stick the landing.

best cover art, best pacing, best character arcs, best lead-up to a boss area (you all know what i'm talking about), best twist, best everything...

all the problems from volume 1 are fixed here...except the core gameplay. i still think dungeons are a terrible time because you're effectively just button mashing, but at least there's no intense arena grinding!

MMORPG drama suddenly mixing with tech-horror is...probably the best thing ever.

remember whiny haseo who, while somewhat justified in his attitude due to his circumstances, ruined the fun for you, the player? the fight he had with atoli at the end of volume 1 really did change him. er, well...

hiroshi matsuyama, the director for the game, admitted that by the end of vol. 1, he ended up silently agreeing with many of the people playing his game -- even though atoli was being presented as the main love interest, or at the very least the most important character shown thus far, he didn't really like her, especially not in a romantic pairing with haseo. i think the fight at the very end of vol.1 that goes too far on both sides was a way to open up another side to both atoli and haseo for vol.2, and it works flawlessly. atoli only buries herself deeper into her victimhood and dependency on sakaki, making the perfect gateway into her becoming involved with AIDA. meanwhile, haseo genuinely feels bad about the fight and starts seeing things from atoli's perspective, not just as "someone weak" who he will never get along with. it absolutely feels natural and i love that vol.2 doesn't completely alter these characters to a point where they're unrecognizable -- it only fixes what was making their relationship so boring to watch.

this is the success of G.U., the golden piece that never feels too melodramatic, too dull, too ridiculous. it's another go at tackling what the .hack series was always about; exploring the world of "the world". this truly feels like an adventure into something much bigger than you.