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Not sure if I should put this thread in the video games section but anyway. Hey guys the Halo Legends DVD came out . Just say what you think of the episodes and mabye even say what they should have made an episode about.

The best ones were probably: Orgin1&2, Odd One Out, The Baby Sitter, Prototype & Homecoming.

as for The Duel and The Package I'd rather die.

Now let's hear your ideas.

This thread is doomed - it will attract the anti-Halo crowd and the anti-anime crowd. That said...

Origins (Parts 1 & 2)
Very strong episodes. They give a decent overview of the Halo Universe from it's beginnings to it's current state.
Origins 1 deals with the Forerunners and their battle with the flood, and gives us our first look at an actual forerunner, and an excellent look at forerunner weapons and ships. Turns out they have guns that fire laser swords. The animation style is very "clean", and does a good job of conveying the story without complicating things. It gets it's message across well.
Origins 2 covers the rise of humanity, the conflict with the covenant, and subsequent conflict with the covenant. Gorgeous visuals, and plenty of awesome battle scenes - though this is a piece on history, not action. Makes some commentary on the nature of humanity, and ends with a very confusing sequence which could possibly indicate post-Halo 3 shenanigans.

One thing to bear in mind with the information presented in this episode though, is it's source. It's narrated by Cortana after the events of Halo 3, and as such may not be entirely reliable. After all, she's skirting somewhere pretty close to the edges of rampancy (AI insanity) - she's been tortured by alien intelligences and may be nearing the end of her effective lifespan anyway. And when it comes to her information on the forerunners, she outright states some of it is guesswork on her part. In any case, possible inaccuracy aside, the Origins episodes make for very interesting viewing for fans of the universe.

The Duel
This episode is set sometime after the formation of the Covenant, but at a time where there are still those among the ranks of the Elites who openly question the basis of that union - the promised "Great Journey". Much conflict and controversy over this episode in the fan community. First there's the art style - it looks like a watercolour come to life. The effect is hard to describe, but some love it, claiming it suits the atmosphere and period of the episode - whilst some hate it, saying it obscures things or just plain looks bad. I didn't mind it too much personally - I think it suits the episode more than some more traditional animation styles would have. Second is character design. Specifically, the design of the main character's wife - the first time to date a female Elite has been depicted. The trouble the production team had was this - the elites are monstrous looking race of aliens when all's said and done. Yet they needed a character that could be empathised with. Thus a compromise was reached, and it was not one that pleased everybody. Still, it's been said that were they to depict a female elite again (for example in an encyclopedia format) they'd do so in a more accurate, less humanised fashion.
But, controversy out of the way, story time. The Duel deals with an Elite who openly challenges the Great Journey and the Covenant, and is thus targetted for humiliation and death. The action that follows is pretty sweet - swordplay and asskicking enough for everyone. Also shows a new form of Hunter, lacking guns but is instead very, very huge. Overall, not one of my favourite episode I have to admit, but I don't hate it as much as some seem to.

The Babysitter
One day I will write a fanfiction based on this episode where everyone lives happily ever after - but let's not spoil things, eh?
This episode deals with the rivalry between the ODSTs and the Spartans, and shows how the whole thing is a one-sided affair, and pretty unjustified. A team of ODSTs and one Spartan are dropped onto a planet, with the tasks of assassinating a Prophet and examining the pre-covenant ruins nearby. Oh, and about those ruins - read the very last piece in the book Halo: Evolutions to shed a little more light on them.
This is a conventionally animated episode - not the best the world has ever seen, but certainly nothing I can find fault with. Though there were complaints in the community about relative sizes of characters changing during the episode - personally I put this down to forced change of perspective, and didn't even notice it until it was mentioned. Also, another note on character design - this episode also drew some flak for the looks of it's characters. Mainly in terms of hairstyles, but seriously, lighten up - this series was made by japanese studios, and it doesn't really affect anything. In fact, mainly in terms of the ODST O'Brien, who nobody likes.
What brief scenes of hand-to-hand combat the episode has are pretty sweet. Spartan combat has always looked good when not constrained to gameplay, and this episode is no exception. It's more about the interactions between the humans than about fighting the aliens though, so don't expect any huge fight scenes.
Overall I like this episode. Its story works well, it features Dutch (though lacks Adam Baldwin), and I didn't see that one moment coming.

Prototype
Do you like mecha? If so, you're gonna love this episode. In Prototype, a marine tasked with destroying a prototype suit of powered armour instead uses it to hold of the attacking Covenant forces so his men can escape.
This episode looks absolutely gorgeous. Smooth animation and awesome visuals. The entire Halo Legends project was about letting the directors involved bring what they do best to the Halo universe, and after watching this I'd say it paid off.
If other episodes lacked for combat, this one makes up for it in spades. It doesn't lack for story, either - we learn why the main character takes the actions he does, and it's quite sad when you think about it. This episode is also closely linked with the Halo: Evolutions short story "Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian" and it's animated counterpart on Waypoint - in this diverse collection of stories, the continuity is nice.
I rate this episode highly, for it's beautiful visuals and badass mech combat.

Homecoming
Ah, at last, more on the Spartan origin story. Oh, no, wait, it's actually kind of disturbing.
In Homecoming, we learn the story of a Spartan by the name of Daisy, and how she and others once escaped from training to try to get back to the homes they were kidnapped from.
The episode looks very good, but is animated less well, I think. Plasma/gunfire is an area that stands out to me as something that could have been done better - it's not awful, but it wins no awards. Aside from the animation though, it's all very pretty. There's a lot of bright colours and settings that really contrast with the story that unfolds in them, which I think works quite well.
I can't really say much about the story without spoiling it, but if you've read "The Fall of Reach" you already know what happened regarding the Spartans' induction into the military. All I'll say for those who haven't seen it is that it's dark, and well worth watching.
Homecoming I rate high, mainly for it's story. It also gets points for it's depiction of Dr. Halsey - more on that in a moment.

The Package
Say what you will about this episode's story - yeah, there's not much there - but my god, this thing is pretty. It is entirely CGI, and it does awesome things.
The Package deals with a group of Spartans, including everybody's favourites John, Sam, and Kelly, attempting to retrieve a package the Covenant have somewhere inside a fleet of ships. They do this aboard specially constructed vehicles, which are essentially rockets with guns and missile strapped to them. Hell yes.
What follows is a scene of badass awesome space combat followed by badass awesome infantry combat aboard the target ship. I am talking laser beams and plasma blasts in every direction, slowmo-midair-weapon-catches, knife-in-that-guy's-face awesome.
Let me take a breath a moment.
Okay, so I mentioned Dr. Halsey earlier. In Homecoming, she looks like a mysterious, vaguely sinister scientist - which is pretty much on the money. In The Package, she's depicted as a much younger woman, and displays many traits (and speaks many of the lines) of Cortana. This is also on the money, as Cortana was created from Halsey's cloned brain. However a lot of fans didn't like this portrayal of her too much. Me, I just thought she looked hot. Eh.
To summarise - if you take issue with the phrase "rule of cool" you may not enjoy this episode as much as others. Personally I enjoyed it immensely.

Odd One Out
The only non-canonical episode - let me stress that again, non-canonical - is appropriately named. It follows Spartan-1337 as he gets eaten by a dinosaur and battles a giant brute that shoots lightning. Still with me? Okay, this one was made by the guys who did the Dragonball stuff. Never was a fan, personally, but this episode is really about harmless fun. It's something you can feel safe showing to your kids. It's about injecting a light note into an otherwise serious series. It's animated well, and you might get a few laughs out of it.
I didn't really get much out of it, but I suspect I'm not really in the target audience for this one. Give it a go, and don't be too quick to judge.



In Summary
If you're a fan of the Halo universe, and you're not vehemently opposed to anime for some reason, check it out. Oh, and I recommend you get a version with extras (either DVD two-disk or Blueray). Some pretty nice stuff in there.

I agree with you for the most part Dreadnote, but I have to say I was fairly disgusted by the The Package. I didn't buy this to watch th equivalent to Power Rangers. (At one point I fully expected their ships to combine or something and face off another covenant enemy of appropriately cheesy power ranger size). This depicted action in a more, sparkly-laser-flashy-boom tone rather than the nitty-gritty combat that you'd expect realisticly.

Prototype was also a slight dissapointment to me becuase I could see exactly where the story was going when the guys emotional problems became apparent. Oh, he's hurt deep inside by his failing in the past? = Heroic last stand + Sacrifice in the middle of a giant explosion.
Fair enough, but I would have preffered a bit more in the way of build up...or something.

Other than that, I agree with you in general. I felt that Homecoming accurately portrayed Dr. Halsey but my personal favourite was The Babysitter. I just like how the tension/grudging respect between the ODST's and the Spartan was displayed. (Although I felt it could have worked just as well, if not better, without the fem-Spartan twist)

Emperors Faithful wrote:This depicted action in a more, sparkly-laser-flashy-boom tone rather than the nitty-gritty combat that you'd expect realisticly.

Hey, have you played a Halo game lately?

Yes. Last time I played, it did not involve my flying around on space-bikes, running down a tunnel without puase and seemingly able to dodge every single bullet/plasma round that comes my way. As well as apparently floating and performing acrobats as is screamed my comrades names at seperate intervals. I played on something just a little harder than easy. That means that when you go up against an elite or two with combat swords, and you've only got a knife (diddly squat) you lose. Look me in the eye and tell me the Covenant general and his minions didn't remind you of a Power Ranger Baddy.



Please...make it stop...

Well, not having watched power rangers in about 15 years I can honestly say the idea never occurred to me

*shudder*
Surfing in space. Cool for kiddies? Yes. For adults? No.

When I watch that episode, I think "this looks like star wars". I don't know what nightmarish childhood trauma you had to make you associate everything with power rangers, and I probably don't want to

I'm a reluctant fan of Halo, and an avowed fan of anime, and I still think that Halo:Legends was pretty weak overall. It had enough good stuff to not say it "sucked" outright, but it sure wasn't "good" as a total product. This is just yet another "Hey, let's glom onto anime and make a DVD about [franchise]" offering. The Matrix did it, Batman did it, now Halo has done it.

My issue with these DVDs is that they are dealing with American subject matter and then making it look Japanese. Isn't it possible to utilize anime directors and artists but still say "NO! THIS is what the universe looks like, make it look right!"

E.G. - the "bad guy" in "The Duel" looking like a samurai. No, that's not right anime producers. There's nothing like that in Halo, so thanks for trying to infuse the story with Japanese culture but your idea is out of place here. Part of what makes Halo such an immersive experience for fans is that the design aesthetics are constant from game to game. Go sketch another concept for the bad guy there.

E.G. - the "ruins" in "The Babysitter." No, that's also not right anime producers. The Forerunners were not Japanese. Or maybe I mistook what the "ruins" the squad investigated were. In any case, no Japanese villages on foreign worlds in Halo, please.

The "Origins" stories were a total waste of time. Yes, we KNOW what the Halo story is. We've purchased your DVD because we already LIKE Halo, anime producer-san. Don't waste my time with a retelling, tell a NEW story. And "Origins" wasn't even factually correct. The Covenant and humanity never joined forces to fight the Flood. Seeing the Forerunners was cool, but that was about it.

"The Duel" was interesting stylistically, but again...can't we get some Americans editing these scripts? Isn't there some kind of middle ground? The "tee-hee'ing" of the Arbiter's wife, who doesn't even look alien, the predictable plot point about killing his wife to get him out to fight...it all felt very stereotypically anime. Isn't there a way to utilize anime artists and directors without falling into the cookie-cutter plots?

"The Babysitter" was too predictable. Anyone who didn't know precisely how this story was going to play out within the first two minutes clearly just started watching television yesterday. To have the Spartan turn out to be female, and have long hair (where did that fit into the helmet, precisely?) was just too much.

"Prototype" was one of the emptiest offerings creatively. Yes, yes, another cold-hearted anime hero. Yes, yes, a powered armor suit. Again - must anime conventions infect the world of Halo? This one just got rolled eyes out of me. Yay, the hero is human as he blows up. Why do I care? How could I be sad about this if I didn't really know who this guy was?

"Homecoming" was pretty good, in that it tied into the "ilovebees" storyline of replacing Spartan inductees with clones so that no one noticed the kidnappings. That said...did Master Chief really have to show up at the end? And if the heroine recognizes the name of the guy on the radio, wouldn't that also make him a Spartan II? And wasn't that him in regular Marine armor in the Pelican which showed up to evacuate her?

"The Package" - if I can get past stealth technology which I've never heard of in the Halo universe before, this was one of my favorites because, well, it was clearly Halo. Say what you will about the spaceframes, but the Spartan III's in this short did precisely what Spartans do in the Halo games. They run around killing things and doing the impossible. Perhaps this wasn't enough of a departure from the source material for some people, but at least it felt like Halo.

"Odd One Out" might actually be my favorite one of all, precisely because it is so irreverent. It was clearly a spoof, and it actually made me grin a few times. Because this didn't take itself seriously, I didn't mind the way the artistry and sensibility of the animators/director working their way into the Halo subject matter. It's not *trying* to be Halo. It's just silly - and showing a hapless Spartan III was pretty funny.


In the end, I got this for my birthday from my wife for $9.00, so I can feel okay owning it...but for most people I would say just watch it for free online. It's probably not worth the money for most people, even Halo fans.

Cairnius wrote:E.G. - the "bad guy" in "The Duel" looking like a samurai...There's nothing like that in Halo

Elites have pretty much always been space samurai.

Cairnius wrote:E.G. - the "ruins" in "The Babysitter." The Forerunners were not Japanese.

As I said, read the last story in Evolutions.

Cairnius wrote:The Covenant and humanity never joined forces to fight the Flood.

I think she was on about the Ark battle. The scenes with dozens of ships is clearly an exaggeration.

Cairnius wrote:To have the Spartan turn out to be female, and have long hair (where did that fit into the helmet, precisely?) was just too much.

QQ more.

Cairnius wrote:And if the heroine recognizes the name of the guy on the radio, wouldn't that also make him a Spartan II? And wasn't that him in regular Marine armor in the Pelican which showed up to evacuate her?

Sure was. He didn't manage to complete the augmentation process, got the ones he did have reversed, and got shipped off to the marines.

Cairnius wrote:It's probably not worth the money for most people, even Halo fans.

I disagree, but hey, different strokes for different folks.

It all depends on your perspective. If someone is a Halo mega-fan then no one can ever do any wrong with Halo media, and it's worth a purchase. The mega-fan isn't very discerning, he or she just likes anything with the Halo franchise slapped on it. I don't review things from the perspective of the mega-fan, because it isn't worth it. Mega-fans aren't looking for critical reviews, they just want to hear a bunch of "Yeah! This roxxors!!!!" comments which is neither a review nor even a conversation.

You sound like a Halo mega-fan when you say things like "Elites have always been space samurai." No, they haven't. You know it's stupid that the Spartan in "Babysitter" has long hair. She's a soldier. It's a ridiculous anime convention for conveying that she's delicate and beautiful, and "Aww, isn't it tragic that she's a little princess girl who gets killed and wow, I bet the ODST's never saw that coming, huh?" Unfortunately, most of the viewers like me did.

No, I am not reading any stories in "Evolutions" to understand bad aesthetic choices made in Halo:Legends. That's up there with the Star Wars fan who has to point you through two comic series and three graphic novels to explain what's taking place in yet another story.

I review things from the point of view of being worth a purchase or not, not whether something is "good" or not - and there is not one story in Halo:Legends which really warrants a second viewing. Therefore, borrow this from your friends, folks, or watch it for free online, and you'll get everything you're going to get out of this DVD without paying a dime for it.

ON EDIT:

For the record, Dread, I don't think there's anything wrong with being a Halo mega-fan, just pointing out how someone who is essentially can lose their critical lens. I find it more difficult to harshly judge something from a franchise I love, but I get there eventually...

I can totally see where you're coming from. I'll freely admit to being a big fan of Halo - I like the universe, and I love to hear new stories from that universe. So for someone like me, legends is great - but if you're someone who has no incentive to think of possible explanations for an apparent discrepancy (eg, forerunner ruins), it's going to be less of a sure buy. I've seen plenty of things for free - some I later paid for, some I wouldn't consider - and I can appreciate that those who aren't as big a fan of the universe as me will find the question of whether or not to buy less clear-cut.

That said, I reject the implication that being a mega-fan renders me entirely incapable of casting a critical eye on a product. It's just if I'm only getting it for myself, I usually don't need to

I wonder how spartan 1337 delt with his ego when the spartan project was still classified?

What are Halo legends anyway?

Halo Legends is a compilation of anime shorts set in the Halo universe.

Speaking of which, why isn't red vs blue in this? Even as a joke or an easter egg.

The Dreadnote wrote:I can totally see where you're coming from. I'll freely admit to being a big fan of Halo - I like the universe, and I love to hear new stories from that universe. So for someone like me, legends is great - but if you're someone who has no incentive to think of possible explanations for an apparent discrepancy (eg, forerunner ruins), it's going to be less of a sure buy. I've seen plenty of things for free - some I later paid for, some I wouldn't consider - and I can appreciate that those who aren't as big a fan of the universe as me will find the question of whether or not to buy less clear-cut.

That said, I reject the implication that being a mega-fan renders me entirely incapable of casting a critical eye on a product. It's just if I'm only getting it for myself, I usually don't need to

I don't think it renders you entirely incapable, it's just a lens you have to correct for. Also, having been a film major with lots of theory classes under my belt, I feel the same way about movies/anime that I do about video games - just because we like something doesn't make it good, and we should never, ever make excuses for media.

We're discussing Aliens versus Predator in another thread - both reviewers and fans will essentially apologize for the outdated graphics engine and level designs in AvP "because it's Aliens versus Predator" - but a proper, critical review doesn't care that it's Aliens versus Predator short of relevant analysis of things like whether they got the sounds right, or the character models right, etc. - but when it comes to shooter mechanics, the reviewer turns a blind eye to the game as a franchise game and reviews it as a shooter.

Same thing with Halo: Legends. I think, upon reflection, I would say this - aesthetics are aesthetics, and I gave my personal opinion on some aesthetic choices. I think that the quality of the writing is a little less subjective as good writing tends to have certain qualities like a lack of predictability and good character development, and Halo:Legends fails on both counts.

When it comes to "playing on the franchise," that cuts both ways. The only reason why I liked "Homecoming" is because I have listened to the entire "ilovebees" radio drama...but what if I hadn't heard that? Would I have really gotten everything out of this short which I was supposed to? And if not, then didn't the filmmakers err inasmuch as they didn't craft a self-contained tale as much as possible, which is part of what defines a really good short, anime or live action?

I didn't think of that first time around because I really enjoyed "ilovebees" and so my fandom overrode my critical eye. See, I do the same thing other fans do.

Emperors Faithful wrote:(Although I felt it could have worked just as well, if not better, without the fem-Spartan twist)

i have to disagree with you there...

i feel that was about damn time, they say there were female spartans, they say there were female spartans, but you never saw one...
again...ABOUT.DAMN.TIME!

plus it shows a different side of the halo universe...a more gentle side of the soldiers...
you only ever see the guns blazin', trash talkin' side of halo's marines, but because that it wasn't just a spartan who died - but a female sparten that died...you see them brooding, regreting and wondering about their decisions and their presumptions

Please check the dates of topics when you post in them. Dakka generally doesn't appreciate the revival of very old topics.

But it's alright (iirc) if it ads something valid to the topicukqwkqebhqrkjqewqfhladfshkqfhkqejhf;kleqfh;ewofhl1gflqrwefhewlrggvwenvwlerjbfqkjbfqlfkvbkvqa