Although .hack//Link is a great game of nostalgia, there are many large factors it misses to become a great game.
-Story-
Here's the basic plot... Tokio, a stereotypical shonen manga hero gets a new transfer student into his class, a girl named Saika. She looks just like the princess in his dreams that calls him her hero! She suddenly calls him to the roof, and hands him something, which upon receiving, he is trasported into the online game, The World. He is protected by Kite from Flugel from the evil organization, Schickzal. Because of this, Kite is locked in crystal. Kite must unlock all of the Knights of Twilight in order to save The World from destruction. Yes. ALL of them. Do you know how many there are? A LOT. 50 or more, in fact. That's a big knight brigade. Anyway, you have to climb the "Record of Truth", and jump into the other Fountains of Memories in order to relive all of the .hack series and obtain Chrono Cores. To do this, with Saika and your very own grunty, Toki☆Randy, you ride on your secret base, the Grand Whale. Yes. And it's an ACTUAL WHALE.
*The good
THE WHALE, first of all. Secondly, different characters from different series can interact with each other and have fun. Character relation charts are a challenge and a blast. In some of the subscenarios, you learn things about characters and The World you didn't learn in the games, novels, manga or anime.
*The bad
One of my favorite characters wasn't included. Sadness. Nanase from Alcor was not included. Enju (Sophora) was, but since both Sora and Haseo can exist on the same WHALE, why can't Enju and Nanase? Also, although this kind of story does connect all of the games and novels in a loose way, it's like playing all of the games over again, so you know what's going to happen next. Which means that Shino won't end up with Haseo, which is what I've been drooling over for three years, and the worst character in all game history, Atoli, will. There's no way you can change the flow of the game, which is disapointing, especially in a re-game like this. Also, some of the time, it seems the creators were just lazy. In a mission when you have to lead Mai Minase, Tomonari's future girlfriend, to the game to let him confess to her, she goes on ahead, and you never see or hear her. They didn't want to program even a still-portrait for her. That's how lazy they got. It's not a matter of the voice actor being busy, because Sanae Kobayashi also plays Pi. Also, evil organization? So used.
-Nostalgia-
I will admit; I only got into .hack in 2007, when the final game of G.U. came out. So, maybe my nostalgia isn't as great as others. However, seeing characters after 3 years was a joy.
*The good
Seeing characters that have never left their novels was awesome. Karl, the main character of .hack//Zero (novel) finally gets an animated appearance. The novel was discontinued after one volume, and never got a conclusion. Now, she gets a voice and a conclusion. Natsume jumping around brings happiness to my heart, and Shino (wearing a scarf???) and Haseo love is always appreciated. Hokuto and Albireo get their appearance as well, and it makes them cooler than in the novels. Good work!
*The bad
As I said before, just repeating story lines from the anime, novels, manga and games and throwing Tokio in there, thus warping time in an irreparable way is not a plot, and gives more of a repetition anxiety than nostalgia. The friend skits (F Skits), where characters talk to each other, ARE NOT VOICED. These are the kind of events that SHOULD be voiced, over all other events.
-Battle & Gameplay-
The battle system and the gameplay were definitely a big scar on this game.
*The good.
Cross Rengekis are fun, and bring a lot of variety into battles, with at least 30 characters to partner up with. Enemies from the past come back.
*The bad
Levels are extremely repetitive. You'll know exactly where to go each level. Where to find keys, where to find the lucky animals... The scenery is the only different thing. Battles are too easy. You'll almost never find yourself low on health. The pattern is simple: Hit the enemy enough to get the guard break, team with your partner to play baseball with the enemy, and then use a Cross Rengeki if you have it. It gets pretty tedious. Item collecting is boring. No more weapons to collect, although you can change the look of your weapon, if you have enough certain items to trade. No more exploring towns; Rotating menus for you! Not to mention these rotating menus always have a check mark next to the place you're supposed to go next, so it's like leading you along with a leash. Exploration is eliminated. Also, Tokio repeats your objective WAAAAAY to many times. He'll tell you over and over,
"Let's go to the Chaos Gate!"
"Let's go to the deepest part of the area!"
"Let's head back to town!"
WE GET IT, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS. Tokio is an obvious shonen hero remake, kind of like Tai or Ash Ketchum (he has the spiky hair and goggles. He's all set to go!). That makes him all the more uninteresting. Also, he doesn't ask enough questions. When he's thrown into the world, he's basically like, "OK!" (A normal character would say, "WHERE THE HELL IS THIS AND HOW DO I GET HOME?!") Saika is so bratty and demanding that you start to feel bad for Tokio. Although she is unlikable, at least she's better than... Atoli. (DUM DUM DUM!)
There were some characters THAT NEEDED TO BE INCLUDED IN BATTLE. There's a difference between a character's unison address and a member address. A unison address means they can join you in battle, while a member address means they'll just float around the Grand WHAAAAAALE. Karl is the first one who should have been included in battle. She is a good fighter, and she is the star of the novel. Albireo joins you in battle, Midori joins you in battle, why not Karl? It was a deep disappointment. Also disappointing was the no-unison address of Natsume. Natsume was so popular that she came back in .hack//GU. Why do they ignore her in Link? I would hope someday CC puts the character's unison addresses on DLC. But they probably won't. Instead, you are forced to fight always as Tokio, never given the chance to fight as your partner.
-Graphics-
*The good.
Newly vamped backgrounds in towns are pretty, and give you a bird's eye view of the towns you once walked through. The anime style is appreciated. The nice 3D body-designs of characters bring back memories of .hack, the original game. The opening is interesting, as an anime sequence shows fictional connections between Tokio's real life and the game world.
*The bad
Sometimes, expressions of characters are too few (Ex: Hokuto is always holding up her hat, Mimiru just looks comically depressed when she's supposed to be heartbreakingly sad, etc). The faces on the 3D characters are unrealistic, un-anime-ish, and just look like cardboard masks slapped on a 3-D model. The one thing that peeves me, though, is the opening movie. Is it just me, or is it horribly hideous? You thought .hack//Liminality had a different look from the games? This opening uses the same crew from Liminality, but mutilates it. The heads are too big, the faces are disgusting, while the bodies are just fine. Eyes are different from the manga, novel, and game counterparts, and the lips are far too big. The only girls that really appear in the opening are Mimiru (microscopical), BlackRose, and... Atoli. (DUM DUM DUM!)
Music and Sound
*The good.
Chikayo Fukuda returns with some of her classic works remixed, and of course some new pieces. Tomoyo Mitani comes back with her classic songs, and some new ones (once again). Adding vocal songs from previous .hack works into battles makes them more fun. Karl's theme gets a piano remix.
*The bad
2 tracks are missing from the original soundtrack, Namida no Omoi Piano, and Karl's Theme Piano. These are two of the most beautiful pieces, and there was no reason to leave them out. The sounds from the first .hack game are recycled, and sound like they were recorded in a trash can.
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In the end, .hack//Link was not everything I had hoped, but it is still fun and warms my heart. With only a few major changes, the game could have gotten a higher score, but for now, I will be so kind as to give it an 8/10.