Disclaimer: The following article is a non-profit fan translation, all .hack title series are owned by CyberConnect2 and Bandai Namco Entertainment.
.hack//Quarantine Complete Guide (2003) -Interview- Translation
Interview with the .hack development staff
With the completion of the game series, the .hack project has reached a milestone. We dive into the future developments of the project and uncover the mysteries of .hack, including the “six-month gap” between the TV anime and the game that has never been discussed until now!
— After Completing Game Development —
The game series has finally come to an end. How do you feel about it now?
Matsuyama: It’s been about three and a half years since the research and development of the PS2. It feels long, doesn’t it? Deep down, I was hoping online games wouldn’t become popular! (laughs)
Is there perhaps a little bit of sadness about it?
Matsuyama: I don’t feel sad at all. I wonder why that is (laughs). Well, the game series of .hack has reached its conclusion, marking a milestone, but the project itself continues with novels and manga in the works. Honestly, I don’t feel like it’s completely over. Hooray!
Uchiyama: It’s true; there isn’t much of a sense of liberation.
Matsuyama: It might be because we haven’t delivered .hack//Gift to the fans yet. Once .hack//Gift is complete, the special edition storage box will be filled, so it will feel more like it’s over…
Uchiyama: Then we might be able to experience a sense of completion.
What was the most challenging aspect of the series?
Matsuyama: Everything was tough. It was a difficult and painful daily grind; these three and a half years felt like a desperate march. It truly was a march of death (laughs). I think our staff did a great job sticking with it.
Uchiyama: I’m not good at RPGs, so at the beginning of the planning phase, it was a challenge for me to get to the point where I could find it enjoyable.
But did you come to like RPGs because of .hack?
Uchiyama: Well, should I say that thanks to .hack, my dislike for RPGs gradually faded away?
Matsuyama: And on top of that, you grew taller, and your cavities got better too! (laughs). But your dislike for RPGs hasn’t changed, has it?
Uchiyama: Nope, it hasn’t. However, once the project started, talking with Kazunori Ito and getting into intense discussions with Matsuyama helped me get into it. Despite everything, I’ve struggled the most with this project among all the works I’ve been involved in, so the feeling of successfully delivering our fourth installment is quite profound.
Matsuyama: I believe .hack was a project that was a challenge not only in terms of production but in the very act of creating it. Since everything was a first for us, even though it was tough, every day brought new discoveries that made it enjoyable.
Are there any memorable scenes or lines from the series?
Matsuyama: This could take a while if I start talking! (laughs). Please go ahead, Producer.
Uchiyama: I think it has to be “I’m going to go berserk.”
Matsuyama: Ah, that one! I see that’s where you’re going.
Uchiyama: That was great. The timing was just perfect, and the audience’s reaction during the events was positive, too.
Matsuyama: The parody mode is surreal, isn’t it?
Uchiyama: Also, I love Kite’s skill names. I like Aida-san’s voice. He’s someone you wouldn’t associate with Kite at all.
Matsuyama: It’s not like he sounds similar, that’s for sure.
Uchiyama: Plus, he’s a woman. “Tora Rinjin” (Tiger Ring Blade) is especially crisp and lively, which feels great. I end up using skills just to hear that.
Matsuyama: For me, when I was pushed with unreasonable demands from the producer (glances at Uchiyama), I always told the staff, “Let’s start with what we can feel is good for now. That’s the only way we can move forward.” This line was written by Kazunori Ito, and I was moved by it. I loved that line so much that it became my catchphrase.
— The Mysteries Left in .hack —
Among the Eight Phases, only Mia appears as a PC, right? Does that have a special meaning?
Matsuyama: Before Mia, there was Macha from .hack//SIGN, and they essentially share the same data. Macha is an embodiment of Morgana. Morgana intended to use Macha to bring in Tsukasa, who has a negative mindset, to give birth to Aura. However, Tsukasa’s transformation and the influence he had on Macha turned out to be Morgana’s miscalculation. After Aura’s awakening, Morgana realized that things couldn’t go on like this and formed eight personalities, including Macha, within itself. However, since Macha retained memories of Tsukasa, it ended up being born as an incomplete action-type AI, Mia. That’s why Mia is traveling with Elk, who resembles Tsukasa. I believe the users have noticed this, but Mia’s abnormalities, such as language errors and memory loss, all occurred right after Kite defeated the Eight Phases. The reason Mia returned to Macha is directly and indirectly linked to Kite.
Uchiyama: If we hadn’t defeated Skeith, Mia would have remained as she was.
Matsuyama: Exactly. She would have continued as Mia, where the trade counts for Petit Gu’s are recorded (laughs). But if you watch .hack//SIGN and then play the game, you should understand this. It might be a bit unclear, but there are plenty of hints scattered throughout. Everyone wants to know the perfect score right away, but discovering the answers for yourself is part of the enjoyment of .hack, isn’t it?
In the end, what does Aura’s existence mean for “The World”?
Uchiyama: Whether it’s Aura, Morgana, or Harald, none of them have any particular attachment to “The World” itself. Harald simply wanted to create the ultimate AI by using Morgana as a medium to challenge Aura. For that, he only needed the framework of “The World.” If there were other suitable network games, he could have used those instead. Therefore, Aura doesn’t hold much significance for “The World.” Her significance lies with the network and Morgana. When Aura finally says, “I will fight too,” it’s not because she was trying to save “The World,” nor was it to protect Corbenik. That was just Aura’s way of fighting.
Did Morgana not want to awaken Aura?
Uchiyama: Morgana did want to awaken her, but…
Matsuyama: In Liminality, Kyou says about Harold that he “didn’t know enough about women,” right? Harold wanted to give birth to Aura as a child from the maternal figure of Morgana. However, Harold’s miscalculation lay in Morgana’s emotional aspect as a woman. If she gave birth to a child, her role would be over. That’s why Morgana refuses Aura’s birth. Although she is a mother who should give birth, if she does, her existence would lose its meaning. It’s a self-contradiction of wanting to give birth but not wanting to.
Liminality explains those things in an easy-to-understand way, doesn’t it?
Uchiyama: It has a lot of straightforward dialogue that’s different from what you find in the games.
Matsuyama: Yes, it does. While Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 might be flashier and more entertaining to watch as visuals, Vol. 3 and Vol. 4 contain a wealth of information that gets to the heart of the matter.
Does the keyword “A in C Major” in Liminality have a special meaning?
Matsuyama: Yes, it does. The sound that Mai perceived with perfect pitch ended up being the “malignant wave,” which is the essence of the fluctuations themselves.
Uchiyama: The reason Mai was the only one who could revive was that she could discern the sound of the “wave” approaching.
At the end of Vol. 4, all the unconscious individuals suddenly revive, right? Is that caused by actions on the Liminality side?
Matsuyama: Hmm, that’s a bit different. It’s more related to Aura’s actions.
Uchiyama: In reality, even though it’s called revival, it’s not that the players’ consciousness returned; they simply regained their bodies as PCs within the game. It’s a strange situation where the players are there, but also not there.
The players are hospitalized, after all.
Uchiyama: You could say they’re in a state of “Tsukasa”… It’s as if their consciousness left in “The World” has begun to move.
Matsuyama: Well, it’s a bit different from Tsukasa. Although it seems like they were erased by Skeith, they were latent within the network along with Aura. In the end, Aura made up her mind to gather them and bring them to that place. That’s why she said, “Everyone will fight too.” The actions on the Liminality side come afterward with, “No way! I can’t hold on anymore!” and “Just a little bit more! Helba!”
After clearing the game, characters from .hack//SIGN become allies, but those three aren’t players’ PCs, are they?
Matsuyama: This is made clear at the end of the game, specifically through Helba’s email combo.
Uchiyama: Helba said, “Find out for yourself.”
Matsuyama: She says it coldly, but there’s a hint hidden there.
Speaking of email combos, does that mean the emails that receive replies are the correct ones?
Matsuyama: Of course, but the ones that don’t receive replies also represent one possibility for Kite. There are moments when you think, “Wow, this guy has multiple facets!” That’s when the alternate Kite briefly shows up. He says things that are hard to believe for a second-year middle school student, right? He can charm multiple girls at once (laughs).
Regarding the six-month gap between the TV anime and the game…
Uchiyama: This was supposed to remain a secret forever, but a project to reveal it has started.
Matsuyama: Look forward to it! We’ll be announcing it!
What form will that take?
Matsuyama: The medium will be a novel. It’s titled .hack//ZERO and will be released in three volumes in 2003. It will tell the story following the shocking climax of .hack//SIGN.
Uchiyama: They finally took the plunge into the forbidden six months.
Matsuyama: If we give it specificity, it could detract from the depth of the overall story, so we’ve kept it under wraps for a long time. However, this six-month period doesn’t just hide secrets; it contains a different protagonist’s story. Since it’s three volumes of a novel, it has quite a bit of content. Moreover, it’s incredibly interesting. I confidently recommend it!
What kind of content can we expect?
Uchiyama: The six unconscious characters are key players.
Matsuyama: In Liminality, Tokuoka mentions that “there are at least six people who share the same fate as Kazumi Tomonari across the country.” I think many of you are mistakenly assuming that Tsukasa from .hack//SIGN is the first unconscious person, but he isn’t included. When you think about it, you can identify five people right away, but the sixth one is a mystery. That… Sorry, but that part is a secret.
That sounds interesting.
Matsuyama: Tsukasa is the first unconscious person, but he has returned. So, that makes Sora, Alph, Kazu, Orca, Sieg, and the protagonist of .hack//ZERO the unrecovered ones.
Uchiyama: Some people might not know Alph since his name only appeared on the BBS.
Matsuyama: RED’s name is mentioned on the BBS, so many people probably think he’s an unrecovered character. However, that seemed false, right? It’s essentially a common troll post. We aimed to create a sense of realism on the internet.
— The possibility for the future project —
What are the plans for future projects?
Matsuyama: As for the future plans, aside from the previously mentioned .hack//ZERO series, we will start a serialized novel this summer. This series will depict the .hack incident from Black Rose’s perspective. It will be a long-running serialization.
Uchiyama: The game series, which is the backbone of the project, has been ideally concluded. With that backbone solidified, we will expand the works across various media. I believe that the novel from Black Rose’s perspective will be enjoyable for users who have played the game and know the story from Kite’s viewpoint. A different perspective on the same story feels very much like .hack, doesn’t it?
One final word for the users!
Matsuyama: We released one volume every three months for a year, so it was tough. However, with each release, we received feedback from users about what they wanted to see, and we reflected that in the next volume… It feels like we raised .hack together with our users! So now that it’s complete, I want to ask everyone who helped create .hack with us, “How was it? Did you enjoy it?” We certainly did!
Uchiyama: In a trend where anime typically comes first and leads to game adaptations, the .hack project started with the game, followed by the anime, manga, and novels all interconnected. This was our first attempt at something like this, and there were indeed some mistakes along the way. (Pointing to the back of Vol.1’s package) This was, you see, actually a carefully orchestrated setup! (laughs)
Matsuyama: That’s a lie!!
Oh? Even though it’s Vol.1, there’s a photo of Balmung at the party…
Matsuyama: He doesn’t join until Vol.3!
Uchiyama: This caused quite a stir… To put it simply, I mistakenly included it.
Matsuyama: We got called out by users, and I apologized on the radio show “Sumisumi Night.”
Uchiyama: Let’s shake that off! I hope everyone enjoys not just the games but the entire project going forward. If you keep your antenna up and pay attention, you should be able to gather information about .hack from various media. Collect that information and get closer to the core of the story. hack is a work that can accommodate each fan’s interpretation. For those who came from the TV anime, I believe you’ve enjoyed a pleasant sense of connection and zapping during the past year since the game was released. The project has been a success. But there’s still more fun to come, so everyone, please stay tuned!
Matsuyama: To all the many people involved in the project, the creators, the magazine publishers who made guidebooks and special features, and most importantly, to all the users who played it!
Buy and support the official release:
May the stars continue to shine above you all!
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