.hack
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For the PlayStation 2 video game series by the same name, see .hack (video games).
.hack (pronounced dot-hack) is a multimedia franchise primarily created by Bandai. The series encompasses four games for the PlayStation 2 console, an anime series and novels, to name a few sources of output. The franchise primarily surrounds a future in which one operating system, ALTIMIT OS, is used by all computers in the world due to various computer viruses (in particular, one named Pluto's Kiss) that crashed the Internet and shut down all networked computer and communication network control systems on December 24, 2005. from that point on, ALTIMIT OS became the only major operating system in the world; this is credited to its remarkable stability. Current developments of the franchise are part of .hack//G.U..

The primary focus of the franchise, however, is the popular MMORPG The World which had over four million users upon its launch. The series focuses on a particular set of incidents termed The Twilight Incident, in which multiple users were forced into a coma while playing the game. Most of the stories surround an AI named Aura, Morganna (an AI programmed to watch over Aura, but which went rogue once she realized that Aura's awakening would mean that Morganna would no longer be needed), Aura's "child" Zefie, or various other anomalous AIs.

Contents [hide]
1 Main storylines
2 Other storylines
3 Followups
4 "Phases"
5 External links
 


[edit]
Main storylines
The four initial storylines of the franchise were:

.hack//SIGN, an anime series surrounding the character Tsukasa and his inability to log out of The World.
.hack, a series of four PlayStation 2 games, that follow the story of the .hackers, Kite and BlackRose, and their attempts to find out what caused the sudden coma of Kite's friend, Orca, and BlackRose's brother, Kazu. The four volumes are known as .hack//INFECTION, .hack//MUTATION, .hack//OUTBREAK, and .hack//QUARANTINE, respectively.
.hack//Liminality, a set of four DVD OVAs included with the games that follow the story of Mai Minase, Yuki Aihara, Kyoko Touno, and ex-CyberConnect-employee Junichiro Tokuoka as they attempt to find out what is causing the comas.
.hack//Legend of the Twilight (Also incorrectly called .hack//DUSK because of an early fan-translated version) is a manga and anime series that follows the player characters, Shugo and Rena, as they win a mysterious contest that earns them chibi-fied character models of the legendary .hackers Kite and BlackRose (from the .hack PlayStation 2 games.)
[edit]
Other storylines
Other storylines of the franchise that were created later were:

.hack//AI buster, a novel telling the story of Albireo and a prototype of the ultimate AI, Lycoris and of how Orca and Balmung defeated 'The One Sin' and became the Descendants of Fianna.
.hack//AI buster 2, a collection of stories involving the characters of AI Buster and Legend of the Twilight Bracelet. (".hack//2nd Character," ".hack//Wotan's Spear," ".hack//Kamui," ".hack//Rumor" [previously released with the Rena Special Pack in Japan], ".hack//Firefly") It has now been released in America as well.
.hack//Another Birth, a novelization of the .hack games, from BlackRose's point of view. All four volumes have been released in Japan. The first volume will be released in North America in June 13, 2006
.hack//GIFT, a self-deprecating, tongue-in-cheek, one-episode OVA that was created as a "gift" for those who had bought all 4 games and completed it. (In Japan, you could only watch GIFT if you were able to get the Data Flag on your file in .hack//QUARANTINE, hence the reason why there is a Data Flag in the English version with no use.) It is predominantly a comedy that makes fun of everything that developed throughout the series, even the franchise's own shortcomings.
.hack//ZERO, a novel series that tells the story of a Long Arm named Curl, and of what happened to Sora after he was trapped in The World by Morganna.
.hack//ENEMY, a collectible card game that has recently been discontinued.
.hack//frägment, the first .hack ORPG (Online Role-Playing Game). It has recently been released in Japan. Bandai has announced at E3 '06 that frägment will not be coming to North America.
.hack//4koma, a manga series which throws a little humor into both the .hack and .hack//G.U. franchises alike.
.hack//XXXX (read as "X-Force"), a manga series that adapts the four video games.
[edit]
Followups
.hack//G.U. continues after .hack, when a fire destroys the central database and the world is rebuilt from parts of a different game project. Includes the .hack//Roots anime and a playstation game.

The 8 Phases (or simply Phases) are fictional boss monsters from the .hack franchise that encompasses several video games, anime and manga. They are a threat to players both in the MMORPG The World, and in the real world.

[edit]
"Phases"
The phases were inatially designed by Harold Hoerwick for his creation of the ultimate AI, Aura . They were to be used by Morganna in order to constantly gather data to speed the AI's creation. Each phase was designed to obseve different things. Morganna however contradicts herself, although she is built to create the AI she does not wish for its birth. So after the twilight incident Morganna takes action. She edits the phases to become horrible monsters that are designed to destroy and stop Aura's birth. She also gives them the data drain ability which was actually made for Aura but Morgana copied the data. Skeith seems to be the most feared but Corbenik's final form seems to actually be part of Morgana itself. They are encountered in the games in the following order:

Skeith, the Terror of Death
Skeith is first seen in the final episode of //SIGN, summoned by Morganna to first Data Drain Sora, and then sent to Net Slum to recapture Aura.

Skeith next appears in //INFECTION, chasing Aura around the dungeon of Δ Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field. After Data Draining Orca, Skeith is not seen until the end of the game, where he is encountered as a final boss in θ Chosen Hopeless Nothingness. He is the "final boss" of //INFECTION. He appears in the form of a large humanoid figure, with a red scepter.

 
Innis, the Mirage of the DeceitInnis, the Mirage of the Deceit
Innis is seen halfway through //MUTATION, and appears in the form of a stone tablet.

 
Magus, the PropagationMagus, the Propagation
Magus is seen at the end of //MUTATION, acting as the "final boss" of that volume, and appears in the form of a multi-winged dragonfly. This Phase IS able to kill your entire party, if you let it. If all its leaves drop on the floor and explode at the same time, they will effectively wipe out your party.

 
Fidchell, the ProphetFidchell, the Prophet
Fidchell is seen halfway through //OUTBREAK, and appears in the form of a mask. Upon defeating Fidchell, a "prophecy" is made about the infection spreading to the outside world. After the defeat, Kite checks his news feed and sees that what was prophecied is coming to pass, in the form of power outages and networking errors across the world.

 
Gorre, the MachinatorGorre, the Machinator
Gorre is seen at the end of //OUTBREAK, acting as the "final boss" of that volume, and appears in the form of twin stones with faces. One stone is immune to physical attacks, while the other is immune to magical attacks.

 
Macha, the TemptressMacha, the Temptress
In //SIGN, Macha is the name of the "cat player character" which eventually led the Crimson Knights to investigate Tsukasa. Appeared as a humanoid feline of purple and white coloration, approximately 2.5-3 feet tall, and appears to have teleportation powers and an ability to hover. Despite apparently conversing with Tsukasa, no voice is ever heard.

Macha, the Phase form of Mia, is seen at the beginning of //QUARANTINE, and appears in the form of a very large fox girl with a very big dress.




 
Tarvos, the AvengerTarvos, the Avenger
Tarvos is the seventh phase and is encountered about halfway through //QUARANTINE. It looks like a kind of snake with a very large railroad spike driven through its body. It is the only phase with the ability to instantly kill a member of your party despite HP levels.




 
Corbenik, the RebirthCorbenik, the Rebirth
Corbenik comes in three forms at the end of //QUARANTINE. Its first form looks like an oversized plant seed and has an annoying tendency to drain massive amounts of HP and SP from your party mates. The second form looks like a giant leaf, and cannot be damaged by any means. The player must either continually attack this form or wait it out. Eventually, all of the comatose players will arrive and attack this form, forcing Corbenik to "evolve" to its third form: a set of ovals that look a lot like eyes. There is speculation that this form of Corbenik is actually merged with Morganna