Foreword
Before I share my revelation with the community, this is a concept which some people may have already experienced. I can assure everyone that this revelation had been reached on my own and in no way am I trying to deliberately reiterate or overshadow any topics which may have been related this concept. If any topics had stated a similar idea to the one i am about to post, please share the link to the topic or just give credit to the OP of that thread. I would love to read the perspective of other fans! Please understand there is no right or wrong direction a company may take in creating games but rather it is their dedication and effort they put into capturing their vision that determines the games success. Therefore, 343i have done well with the release of their Halos and the feedback they have acted on after their releases. The intention of this thread is to compare the themes from Bungie’s Halo to the theme of 343i’s Halo. For Bungie, I have realized that the lore is reminiscent of ancient mythology and excentuating the great feats of individual Spartans, much like Achilles or Beowulf. For 343i, I noticed they delve deeper into political intrigue and modern military tactics, more realistic if you will. Lastly, thank you in adnvance to anyone who has taken their time to read this theory! Without further ado…
Establishing the Rep of Spartan-II’s
The original Halo that released in 2001 was different in many aspects. One that stands out is the pressure it was given at release. Halo was effectively going to make or break the original Xbox at release and with such a short window to create a game and Bungie’s desire to make their dream come true, things were stressful, naturally. To build hype for this IP that no one knew anything about, a series of books had been published to establish the lore. These books or novels set the tone for the iconic Spartans we would come to know and love. The Fall of Reach detailed their strenuous training and the undertone of desperation the UNSC felt. The Spartans were an ethical blunder but a necessary one. The Fall of Reach developed the Spartans as heroes of the UNSC. Effectively becoming modern legends and myths, the rest of the UNSC saw merely one of them as an Achilles figure from Greek history.
Time and time again, the Spartans were compared to greek soldiers of the same name and they even established a history that is reminiscent of ancient fables and epics. Spartans had become living and breathing renditions of ancient mythology. When Halo CE released, the players were now thrust into the boots of not just any Spartan, but THE best Spartan as far as we know.
By the end of the first game, we were heroes. The stories we read and the reputation the Spartans held had now been proven true through the eyes of the Chief that we all played as. We became one of the legends. Master chief became a figure like Beowulf.
For this next comparison, I will point out the theme in Beowulf is good vs evil as in any typical epic poem. Halo follows this same idea.
Good vs Evil: Halo was an Epic
Epics such as Beowulf have such longevity because the underlying theme is good vs evil and the idea that good and evil will always be at odds. Good may win one day, but the next, evil will prevail. There is always a balance. Halo has that same theme. Evil is victorious before we even begin the journey. Reach has been glassed and a single hero is left to be the herald of good. This is the Chief, but not only the Chief. Spartans had been established as a legendary force of heroes. Collectively, they are the force of good. This brings me to my next point. The Spartans are like the Knights of the round table and Chief is King Arthur. Everyone at the round table is notable with combat prowess, but Arthur is the best. The Spartans are legends and Bungie seemed to understand this was the direction they wanted. Much like myths and heroic figures in them, their characteristics had been excentuated. EVERY Spartan felt capable on their own. Every Spartan felt like a hero/heroine of their own tale. The style of the game reflected this with its simple but futuristic designs. Since Spartans were these walking legends similar to knights, their armor was their identity. That made customized your own Spartan all the more appealing. You were creating your own hero to be implemented into this futuristic epic. You’ve were creating a legend waiting for their story to be told like a bard in a tavern from the Middle Ages. Halo followed the same elements found in epics.
343i Changes Themes
This may not have been intentional, but 343i changed the theme entirely. It went from good vs evil to political intrigue. The overall tone of the setting went from ancient mythology to a Battlestar: Galactiga. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this theme but it differs from the original Halo in that Spartans are now a corps of soldiers as opposed to them being heroes. The lore of the traditional Halos established Spartans as bred from birth super soldiers. Their armor was their identity because they only knew war. The Spartan IV’s are just military personnel with a decorated career of service like others and just better trained. The narrative of 343i’s Halos is also more personal. Instead of Chief fighting Evil head on, he’s battling demons within himself while a new star takes center stage. Locke. Locke is apart of a program who established their history on espionage akin to the CIA. Spartan-II’s were legends when we took command of Chief while Spartan-IV’s are merely operatives. Their armor identity had been stripped in favor of functionality to the user. The 343i games dabble in a more realistic approach than an oversimplified rendition of a futuristic intergalactic war. Both directions are good, but it is the opinion of the player that determines which is better.
Afterword
Thank you for reading this lengthy post and I apologize if it seems i went into deeper detail with the older Halos. It was because there was more to discuss as Halo 4 and 5 already had an established universe, with just a change in theme. As always, feel free to critique anything i wrote and always feel free to post your own thoughts on this topic! I love reading feedback and others perspectives on the direction of the Halo series!
