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Bandai's .hack juggernaut rattles on with
this kawaii addition to the story universe.
The original .hack//SIGN (reviewed on page
8 of this
issue of MITeiru! [warning, that's a 3MB PDF
file]), while beautiful to look at (and even more
beautiful to listen to), was curiously slow and
underpopulated for a series allegedly set inside a
Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
.hack//Twilight fixes those bugs, and then
some. Like the earlier series, it is set primarily
inside "The World". Even though we get to see the
game designers moving trees around the landscape, this
time The World's venetian plazas and vistas are
crowded with strangers looking to form a party for a
quest. When a monster appears, the background is full
of low-level characters scurrying for cover. Walking
down a crowded street our heroes accidentally pick up
Mireille (left), a chibi rarities-hunter who latches
onto them because she recognizes a good thing when she
sees it.
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Rena and Shugo (right) are twins who have won a contest
permitting them to use the character designs of the legendary
Kite and Black Rose. But who set up the contest? That seems
to be a mystery. The mystery deepens as the twins keep
encountering oddities --- high-level monsters keep appearing
near them in beginners areas, and even celebrity hero (and
game debugger) Barumonk is hard-pressed to fend them off.
During one of these attacks Shugo has a vision of a girl in
white who gives him a bracelet and a powerful attack known as
the ``Data Drain''.
Even though it contains elements of mystery, this series
does not take itself seriously (another refreshing change from
.hack//SIGN). It indulges in occasional entertaining
goofiness. The background music serves to remind you that
it's only a game, even if the monsters look fierce and
menacing (I do miss Kajiura Yuki's choruses, though). And
Mireille is oh so kawaii.
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