Characters of the .hack franchise

The first four video games follow a newcomer called Kite, who goes on a quest to revive his friend, who fell into a coma after his character was killed by an unknown creature.

Bee Train also produced an anime series focused on a player named Tsukasa, who has no memory of his identity outside of the game and cannot leave The World.

The latest game by CyberConnect2 is .hack//Link, where Tokio Kuryuu is transported into The World: RX and time-travels across the previous storylines to restore frozen players.

[2] Matsuyama stated that the team was proud of having Sadamoto design the cast, despite his lack of previous involvement in gaming, and said that working with him was a great opportunity.

Jeremy Dunham of IGN was impressed by the game's commitment to preserving the illusion of online gameplay and praised the character designs and inclusion of the Japanese voice track, but criticized the camera manipulation, shortness, and lack of difficulty.

[22] Reviewers appreciated the English voice acting: Lauren Synger from DVD Vision Japan feels that "everyone was very appropriate to their characters", particularly noting that Brianne Sidal did an excellent job capturing Saiga's Tsukasa.

[24] Mania found Haseo's skills useless in combat but liked his relationship with the Twilight Brigade, as it allows the cast to be explored personally since the premise focuses on player interaction.

ANN enjoyed Kawasumi's vocal range of emotions with Atoli but had mixed thoughts about how Sakurai can make Haseo more likeable, notwithstanding his otherwise striking performance.