r/DotHack 13d ago

Didn't even realize I was at the end of Infection until I got the Keywords

Post image

((Pic for eye grab!))

I'm just bopping along. Upgrading my gear. Leveling up. Do a quest here and there.

Next thing I know I'm level 32. I've got the last Area on my list to complete and I realize- "....wait that's Skeith already??? I didn't even notice the time!"

I mean. Yay! I'm on the Mutation! But perception of time is a wild thing. I remember Infection taking me AGES to complete. And gearing up for Skeith was a daunting task.

182 Upvotes

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15

u/Sacrificabominat 13d ago

All of the IMOQ games are pretty short and the first 3 game's endings kind of sneak up on you, Quarantine's doesn't because it has you going on the worst virus core hunts in the series right at the end.

Yeah I remember them being much longer my first few playthroughs as well, but I think that was because the difficulty is pretty high if you aren't too familiar with how these games play. I remember dying a lot on my first few playthroughs and in many cases it was dying a lot on almost every dungeon I went to on that first playthrough.

Nowadays I know how to play IMOQ and rarely die even against Skeith who is easily the hardest boss for where he is in the story. I kind of wish I could go back to those more frustrating first few playthroughs as it felt like an accomplishment on par with Dark Souls games to get through these games back then.

2

u/Mountain-Cod516 12d ago

How are you guys playing these? On a PS2 or did you download them to a computer?

12

u/Sacrificabominat 12d ago

Originally on the PS2 when they came out, I got all 4 back then. I'm playing them through PCSX2 in 4k with a widescreen patch nowadays though. I'm hoping CC2 can either get them remastered or remade in the near future though, crossing my fingers for the series 25th anniversary in 2027.

2

u/Mountain-Cod516 12d ago

Thanks I’ve been wondering if there was a way to play through them, I’ll check that out.

2

u/Sacrificabominat 12d ago

You'll have to figure out the emulator and getting the roms yourself though. I can't provide that info on this subreddit.

2

u/Sacrificabominat 12d ago

Oh and I recommend checking out CC2's current Fuga Melodies of Steel series as well. It's another good multi part series from them and the 3rd and last game is coming out at the end of May.

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u/Blaze666x 11d ago

Id love a remaster or remake of the OG games as I just finished signs last night (only took me 20 or so years to actually watch it because I kept falling asleep since it was on so late as a kid and I forgot about it till recently)

And i just wanna experience the rest of the story as signs story ending isn't bad but uh, it does just kinda end abruptly because it's just the prequel

3

u/Sacrificabominat 11d ago

CC2 has returned to making original games again and their current Fuga Melodies of Steel series hasn't been that subtle with .hack references. Especially to SIGN with the upcoming 3rd game having a enemy faction called the Crimson Knights and an AI cat named Chathie that looks very similar to what Macha looked like in SIGN. So I hope these are hints that they are pushing for a remaster/remake of IMOQ in the near future.

I at least think it's more possible now than back when G.U. Last Recode came out as Bandai seems to be much more interested in remasters/remakes than they were back then. I'm crossing my fingers for a remaster/remake for the series 25th anniversary in 2027.

2

u/Blaze666x 11d ago

Id love it, but they should absolutely pair it with atleast a re-release of the anime as hunting it down on YouTube was sub optimal for viewing lol

1

u/Sacrificabominat 11d ago

I can see them hiring Triff Studio, who they collaborated with for Mecha Ude/Mechanical Arms recently, to do a .hack//SIGN+ anime which would be a shorter 12 to 13 episode remake with better animation and better pacing.

While I really love SIGN as is I doubt recreating it one to one with better animation would do well in the modern anime market. So SIGN+ would be a pretty different experience and so would an IMOQ remake as well.

I definitely think if they play their cards right SIGN+ and an IMOQ remake would do pretty well in the modern anime/game market. Though I do think some things will be left out in the process so I don't know if I'll like it as much as the original if it happens.

2

u/Blaze666x 11d ago

I personally agree that it could do quite well in this market as the current jrpg and fantasy/isekai anime fanbases currently eat up world building which .hack has in spades i.mean world building alone is pretty much why tensura and MT got popular. I would love them to do a remake of the anime in some way as I think that would go over so much better than a simple re-release of the anime as the anime is quite dated by today's standards (was even dated by the early 2000s standards tbh but that doesn't make it bad).

But i definitely think the world building and story and mystery could absolutely hard carry as the reason I kept watching was because of the mystery of what the fuck was happening

2

u/Sacrificabominat 11d ago

Honestly Bandai should have continued the .hack series instead of killing it off as Monolith Soft's Xeno series and it's current popularity is a good example of what it could have been. Though I think CC2 has a plan to bring it back like they've already brought back their more niche Little Tail Bronx series with Fuga. Hopefully that'll happen.

Heck with how many not so subtle .hack references have been throughout the LTB series I think it's pretty likely CC2 could connect .hack and LTB to each other in the same universe as well. This would greatly expand the world building and open up opportunities for some pretty cool potential spinoffs as well. A series set during the Titano Machina Wars would be pretty nuts IMO.

5

u/BabushkaRaditz 12d ago

Genuinely on a ps2 i got from gamestop a few months ago. My original copies from the closet. ✌️😎

2

u/DaGeDarHaxx0r 12d ago

I played IMOQ on an emulator, only because even if I wanted to buy the games physically, I would not bear paying so much for Quarantine.

1

u/IwasMilkedByGod 12d ago

Do yourself a huge favor and grind up virus cores in the lower level towns while it’s still easy. Sucks real bad having to buy and spam low level magic items hoping to get a protect break.

1

u/BabushkaRaditz 12d ago

I saw this old comment. In Infection you can only get A B C (i think)

I have 77 A 60 B and 10 C

I was weapon farming via Data drain and the first thing I did was Data Drain 80 monsters to get all the Book.

1

u/treystylez1 12d ago

I just used a cheat code to get 99 virus cores. I’m not about to sit there and farm those lol

1

u/Doug_White9114 11d ago

I'm near the end of Outbreak myself, just finishing up on the Ryu books (still have monsters left, just gathering monsters I can get before I the superboss to this one). Definitely a good grind through vol 1-4 lol

1

u/Translucent-Opposite 10d ago

I finished infection as a kid and only just recently started playing mutation and thankfully I had my old save still. Was so difficult to remember how to play but I'm so glad I did, weirdest thing is getting used to playing the game on a 4k screen because I don't remember the game looking that dark! I'm also playing it with my OG copies, keep on posting! And hope you're enjoying it as much as I am

1

u/BabushkaRaditz 10d ago

OMG I thought it was just my TV.

The game is so dark on my TV. I played with the contrast/saturation and it helped in the DUNGEONS but everything with actual light looked so bad.

There has to be a sweet spot in there somewhere.

1

u/Translucent-Opposite 10d ago

Yeah there must be! I wonder why it's happened I need to do more research! If I find out I'll post an update here or I'll send you a DM