Tail Concerto is a 3D action-adventure platformer game by CyberConnect2. It is their first video game and has several references in the .hack games.
Setting[]
The game is set in the fictional land of Prairie, a land consisting of numerous floating islands and populated by roughly 50,000 Dog-People and 2,000 Cat-People. Navigational instruments do not work outside Prairie, making it an isolated land.
Plot[]
The game revolves around police officer Waffle, who is assigned (during his day off) to arrest a gang of troublemakers known as the Black Cats Gang when they attack Resaca Harbor. Waffle soon learns that the leader of the gang is his childhood friend Alicia, who is after the five crystals of Prairie. Waffle must fix the problems the gang causes and hopes to convince Alicia to stop.
Characters[]
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Waffle Ryebread is the main character, and a police officer stationed in Porto. Kind and easygoing, he prefers to relax and take care of his police robo mech. |
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Alicia Pris is the main antagonist, leader of the Black Cats Gang, and oldest of three Pris sisters. Quick to anger and tomboyish, the fact that she and childhood friend Waffle are on opposite sides of the law (as well as different races) makes their relationship complex. Alicia hates Dog-People and believes that they stole Prairie from the Cat-People. |
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Flare Pris is the youngest of the Pris sisters. As the youngest, she is the most active and energetic. While she does not share Alicia's hatred of the Dog-People, she does enjoy causing mischief to them. |
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Stare Pris is the middle sister of the three Pris sisters. In sharp contrast to Flare, she is introverted and unsociable. She is not as interested in mischief as the others, but stays around her sisters regardless. |
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Fool is a black marketer who provides weapons to the Black Cats Gang in exchange for the five crystals. His true motives are unclear. |
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Princess Terria is the daughter of the King of Prairie. An independent individual, she will blindly rush off to any place of interest with little concern for her own safety. After meeting Waffle, she becomes very interested in him and works to help him in capturing the Black Cats Gang. |
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Cyan Garland is the loyal Captain of the Prairie Palace Guard. He pilots a Knight Robo and considers Waffle as a rival for Princess Terria's adoration. |
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Panta is another Police Officer and helps Waffle to the best of his abilities. Unfortunately, Panta is easily defeated by the Black Cats Gang, who stuff him inside any nearby small compartment. Panta is also in charge of saving the game. |
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Russell Ryebread is Waffle's grandfather and an accomplished archeologist. He is very knowledgeable about the past history of Prairie as well as the Iron Giant. |
References in .hack[]
The .hack//Games make several references to Tail Concerto.
News Ads[]
In Infection, the news section of the ALTIMIT OS has a banner ad for Tail Concerto near the top of the browser. In Mutation the ad is for Tail Concerto 2 (though the project has since been abandoned by CC2... for now)
NPC cameos[]
In .hack, there are NPCs named after characters in Tail Concerto; namely, Alicia, Stare, Flare, Waffle, Teria, Cyan, Fool, and Panta.
BGM 37[]
Background Music 37 for the ALTIMIT Desktop is "Cyan," which is a rearranged medley of Cyan and Princess Terria's themes.
Drillbots
Summoning Cameo[]
When a Twin Blade equips all pieces of Cats Equipment, the Meeeow! summon is enabled. The summon spell summons a giant Kitten and three drillbots that explode upon impact. The drillbots come from the second boss battle of Tail Concerto. The Kitten is, of course, a standard member of the Black Cats Gang.
The Iron Giant and Cubia[]
The final battle with the Iron Giant in Tail Concerto parallels the final battle against Cubia. After Waffle supposedly defeats the Iron Giant, it resurrects itself to full power by using the power of the crystals. After Waffle takes the blue crystal, the Iron Giant collapses. In the battle against Cubia, once Cubia's HP drops to 0, it restores its HP completely, but Cubia dies instantly when Kite's bracelet is destroyed.
Alicia and Princess Terria in an argument
Love Triangle reference[]
Alicia and Princess Terria both fight over Waffle, neither one actually telling him how they feel. In .hack//Quarantine there is a bonus dungeon in which Terajima Ryoko and BlackRose both invite Kite to the same dungeon and are shocked to find each the other in the same party. They argue with each other and eventually leave Kite at the end of the dungeon. In this scenario, Terajima Ryoko is like Princess Terria, since they are both wealthy girls in fancy dress and have similar names, and BlackRose is like Alicia as both are fairly rude, tanned, have known the main character longer, and also have fairly similar names (BlackRose's real name is Akira).
Cast[]
| Role | English VA |
|---|---|
| Waffle | Lani Minella |
| Panta | Lani Minella |
| Alicia | Amanda Winn Lee |
| Flare | Carrie Gordon |
| Stare | Carrie Gordon |
| Fool | Ari Ross |
| Princess Terria | Carrie Gordon |
| Chamberlain | Ari Ross |
| Cyan | Jeff Hobbs |
| Russel | Travis |
| Police Chief | Travis |
| King Hound the Third | Jeff Hobbs |
| Role | Japanese VA |
|---|---|
| Waffle | Akio Suyama |
| Panta | Tarako |
| Alicia | Yūko Miyamura |
| Flare | Kumiko Nishihara |
| Stare | Chieko Higuchi |
| Fool | Ryusei Nakao |
| Princess Terria | Maaya Sakamoto |
| Cyan | Ryōtarō Okiayu |
| Police Chief | Motomu Kiyokawa |