Halo: Reach or Fall of Reach?

Community Halo Universe
1

Big question I have is:

Which is Official Canon?

Reading on the Wiki, my guess is that Fall of Reach is canon and, in my opinion, story-wise, Halo: Reach…kind’ve sucked. I mean it really didn’t make any sense.

Was that Cortana’s first time meeting Chief? (The game kind’ve made it seem like it)

Doesn’t the ‘final’ mission (not Lone Wolf) take place mere hours before the beginning of Combat Evolved?

Don’t even get me started on Noble Six: “The guy that saved the guy that saved the galaxy!”

I mean, really, Bungie should’ve just gone ahead and made Fall of Reach into videogame form, and THAT should’ve been what Halo: Reach was.

Thoughts, fellow Spartans?

2

Both are.

3

Fanon preaches that Halo: Reach was an abomination to the lore, hence it did not exist.

I like to think it didn’t exist either. It’s a total retcon of the first piece of Halo media ever, and shouldn’t even be considered.

The fact they had to make a hundred retcons to both Fall of Reach and Ghosts of Onyx, points out how contrived and tacked on the plot is in Halo: Reach.

Honestly, don’t even bother counting Halo: Reach as canon. Nothing in that game will ever influence future installments. Noble Team is dead, the cheap strapped on prequel side-plot concluded. There’s honestly no point in debating this, when we will never hear from Halo: Reach again.

4

> Both are.

Ive heard this before, and im not sure how considering the entire beginning of the game doesnt coincide with the beginning of the book by any stretch of the imagination.

Infact, there are several points in the game that directly contradict the events set forth in the book.

5

Funny how so many people are insistent that Reach is the only Halo installment to break tFoR’s canon, even though ODST, Wars, Contact Harvest and the Cole Protocol all break it too.

The original edition of tFoR has no place in Halo Canon. Get over it people.

> I mean, really, Bungie should’ve just gone ahead and made Fall of Reach into videogame form, and THAT should’ve been what Halo: Reach was.

You DO realize that there would only be like two missions then, right? tFoR doesn’t lend itself very well to a video game format.

6

> Funny how so many people are insistent that Reach is the only Halo installment to break tFoR’s canon, even though ODST, Wars, Contact Harvest and the Cole Protocol all break it too.
>
> The original edition of tFoR has no place in Halo Canon. Get over it people.
>
>
>
> > I mean, really, Bungie should’ve just gone ahead and made Fall of Reach into videogame form, and THAT should’ve been what Halo: Reach was.
>
> You DO realize that there would only be like two missions then, right? tFoR doesn’t lend itself very well to a video game format.

Then why not use some parts from First Strike for the other missions?

7

> > Both are.
>
> Ive heard this before, and im not sure how considering the entire beginning of the game doesnt coincide with the beginning of the book by any stretch of the imagination.
>
> Infact, there are several points in the game that directly contradict the events set forth in the book.

The entire beginning of The Fall of Reach has nothing to do with the Fall of Reach. The actual part of the book that covers the battle begins on page 279, (using the original novel). The book itself is 340 pages long which means the battle is only covered in 61 pages out of 340. Treating the book like it’s some holy grail bible of the battle is a mistake. It only covers the Master Chief’s point of view during the battle and he doesn’t even set foot on the Planet during that time because he fought on Gamma Station.

> Then why not use some parts from First Strike for the other missions?

Halo Reach does acknowledge at least a part of First Strike because Fred splits Red Team into 4 groups, (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta) and the Radio Conversations cover Beta Red’s actions on the surface.

8

Both are canon.

While I think Bungie KIND OF messed up a little, 343i cleaned it up with the ONI data drops.

As seen here.

9

Hey, halo 1 broke FoR cannon cause nothin in halo uses rotating sections to generate gravity. This is atleast as bad as the grunts changing from semi-crab things to semi-turtle things in halo 4.

Why were brutes and drones not covered in halo 1’s briefing on the covie races despite being some of the first races encountered in Contact Harvest? Hunters and Elites were “new things” for chief to encounter around Reach’s time, which seems highly unlikely given the other media covering the 30 years before Reach.

Seriously, the book has so many changes because it was the first book. It was likely written largely during halo 1’s developement, plus some cool ideas tossed in to expand upon in sequals.

As another poster said, Halo:Reach was not the first halo media to conflict with FoR, it was just the first halo media to take place as the same time as it.

10

The short answer is: both.

Neither one is at all non-canon, they’re both just as canon as the other, though telling different aspects of the same story. Both Bungie and 343i regard the game as canon, as well as the book. As such, the articles about it on Halopedia treat each as canon, because the developers do. Both co-exist alongside each other just fine and dandy. The big things that people would have been asking questions about were already patched up in Halsey’s Journal (which was released with the Limited and Legendary Editions of the game) or in marketing material that Bungie put out on their website.

Neither of the relevant parts of The Fall of Reach or First Strike that pertain to the Battle of Reach would have made for a good game in the least, there is no story to tell there because the account as given in the books leaves no room for anything else to happen, it’s far too limited in its scope, there would be no story there. And I know I for one, wouldn’t really enjoy playing a video game version of a story I already knew the outcome of and where there’d be no point to anything you do or try to do in it, and not to mention was something I hated and thought incredibly stupid since I first read it. And as Nihilus Shadow pointed out already, TFoR hardly even covers the actually Battle of Reach despite being named for that event. In addition it wasn’t even written by Bungie or come up with by them even, Microsoft were the ones who wanted a tie-in novel released before the game, Bungie gave Nylund some groundwork, but mostly he was on his own. And CE wasn’t written with a massive, long-running story universe in mind either. TFoR should not be treated as if it’s some holy, perfect, incorruptible Bible. A ten+ year-old book written without a massive story universe in mind should not constrain the story, especially if said book’s portrayal of the event in question was ridiculously stupid and written with far too many limitations on the story.

11

> Both are.

12

The official stance on Halo lore is that the books are canon so long as they do not contradict the games. Games are the primary source for lore, with books filling in the gaps. Anything regarding the Battle of Reach from the books that does not contradict what happens in Halo: Reach is therefore canon, while what is contradicted is not canon.

So yes, they are both canon.

13

> The entire beginning of The Fall of Reach has nothing to do with the Fall of Reach. The actual part of the book that covers the battle begins on page 279, (using the original novel). The book itself is 340 pages long which means the battle is only covered in 61 pages out of 340. Treating the book like it’s some holy grail bible of the battle is a mistake. It only covers the Master Chief’s point of view during the battle and he doesn’t even set foot on the Planet during that time because he fought on Gamma Station.

I misspoke, I meant the beginning of the battle not the beginning of the book. In the book, the covenant fleet shows up at the edge of the reach system, the planet is warned and is able to muster a defense fleet before the covenant even arrive at the planet. In the book, the covenant dont even get planet-side until after massive covenant and UNSC losses in the space battle, and the covenant land on the planets poles.

In the game, the covenant are able to sneak massive forces onto the planet using a cloaked supercarrier, and after the carrier is destroyed the covenant fleet jumps in-system right at the planet. It even states that a UNSC fleet wont be able to get to the planet for several days at one point.

So im wondering which of the beginnings is considered canon, as it cant be both, since the two are completely different. Based on what seems to be the general consensus though, I assume the games beginning is what is considered canon, which I dont really find very satisfying.

As for the rest of the battle of reach, I suppose you can consider both to be cannon.

> Neither of the relevant parts of The Fall of Reach or First Strike that pertain to the Battle of Reach would have made for a good game in the least, there is no story to tell there because the account as given in the books leaves no room for anything else to happen, it’s far too limited in its scope, there would be no story there.

Personally, I disagree with this sentiment. I found the stories of the planet and even space-side battles in the book very exciting. The outcome of specific events is kind of irrelevant, since the overall outcome is known no matter what anyways. While the actions of Noble were unknown prior to the game, I dont think anyone thought for a second that the end result, Reach falling to the Covenant, would have been any different. Im a fan of large scale battles, and the stories in the book atleast planet-side are just that, large scale, so I would have enjoyed participating in them. I also would have found it enjoyable taking part in different aspects of the battle, from the viewpoints of different Spartans.

It was pretty annoying for me during the Reach campaign when Two and Six split off from the main battlegroup to take out AA cannons. Seeing the massive battle taking place off in the distance while we run around clearing out small pockets of defenders just made me sad.

14

They are both canon, as Nihilus said. Yes, some parts from Halo Reach contradict the Fall of Reach, but if that happens, than Halo Reach is the correct one, because games have the highest canon priority. Therefore, all parts of Fall of Reach that are not contradicted by Reach are canon, and all of Reach is canon.

15

In Halo: Reach Cortana was split into two parts. One part was with the Chief and one part was with Halsey. The mission Lone Wolf takes place on August 30th and the beginning of Halo:CE takes place on September 19th.

Also as others have stated, because Halo is a video game series the games have higher canon priority.

16

> In the book, the covenant fleet shows up at the edge of the reach system, the planet is warned and is able to muster a defense fleet before the covenant even arrive at the planet. In the book, the covenant dont even get planet-side until after massive covenant and UNSC losses in the space battle, and the covenant land on the planets poles.
>
> In the game, the covenant are able to sneak massive forces onto the planet using a cloaked supercarrier, and after the carrier is destroyed the covenant fleet jumps in-system right at the planet. It even states that a UNSC fleet wont be able to get to the planet for several days at one point.
>
> So im wondering which of the beginnings is considered canon, as it cant be both, since the two are completely different. Based on what seems to be the general consensus though, I assume the games beginning is what is considered canon, which I dont really find very satisfying.
>
> As for the rest of the battle of reach, I suppose you can consider both to be cannon.

Well, according to how 343i sorted it out (I’ve come to view their reasons as rather dumb one, but at least they tried shrug …and it’s better than nothing at all), ONI was keeping the Covenant presence quiet from the 24th of July up until August 12th so that the Long Night of Solace could be captured for useage in Operation RED FLAG…but since they didn’t share their plan or information, Noble Team came up with their plan and it was already under way before ONI could do anything. The fleet that warps in after the destruction of the LNoS is a completely different one from the Fleet of Particular Justice, the latter still arrives on the 30th of August. What the dumb part about 343i’s patch is treating the invasion like it can still be maintained as a secret after the 12th, which the dialogue in the game expressly contradicts.

So, what I would say/think, is pretty much the same thing as 343i, except for the last bit. After the Long Night of Solace revealed itself the whole UNSC was notified of the Covenant being on Reach, so the reactions of surprise in TFoR to the Covenant finding and invading Reach would be what’s changed, the actual battle plays out as it did in the book. The general consensus regards both as existing together, Halo Reach kicks it all off, and then the events that set into motion the planet’s fall still happen on the 30th and kick off the final hours of Reach.

> Personally, I disagree with this sentiment. I found the stories of the planet and even space-side battles in the book very exciting. The outcome of specific events is kind of irrelevant, since the overall outcome is known no matter what anyways. While the actions of Noble were unknown prior to the game, I dont think anyone thought for a second that the end result, Reach falling to the Covenant, would have been any different. Im a fan of large scale battles, and the stories in the book at least planet-side are just that, large scale, so I would have enjoyed participating in them. I also would have found it enjoyable taking part in different aspects of the battle, from the viewpoints of different Spartans.
>
> It was pretty annoying for me during the Reach campaign when Two and Six split off from the main battlegroup to take out AA cannons. Seeing the massive battle taking place off in the distance while we run around clearing out small pockets of defenders just made me sad.

I definitely agree with that last part, I would have preferred being part of the main assault as well :confused: Those are always fun and we don’t really get enough of that in Halo, most of the time it’s sneaky missions or something >_>

I never thought that Noble’s actions would make the fall any different, but the way TFoR and First Strike showed the battle there wasn’t much room for other stories to be told, not ones of any significant scale anyways, as all of the battles in the book took place in less than 60 minutes. They weren’t very large scale in the book either, at least imo, because almost as soon as the dropships go to the poles everything falls pretty much instantly…despite what everything we know about Reach says about the planet. I’m sorry, but the main armory, HIGHCOM, and the Generator Complex would not be nigh-instantaneously overrun by only hundreds of dropships :confused: I prefer the picture presented by both the book and the game together, neither one is ideal on their own, and I think Bungie knew that at least, seeing as both are meant to compliment the other and together present the whole picture. I prefer Reach and TFoR together than either one separate since both are not that great on their own.

17

I thought it was fairly evident that all of Noble Team’s actions prior to the “Battle of Reach” (as portrayed in TFoR)were covert ops dealing with a stealth Covenant force.

To break it down:

All missions leading up to “Long Night of Solace” are top secret, with only the highest in ONI and the UNSC (and their subordinates on the ground (i.e. Noble Team and Army company)) aware of Covenant presence.

Only following the destruction of the Covenant force in Halo: Reach mission “Long Night of Solace” does the arrival of the massive Covenant fleet described in The Fall of Reach occur.

All subsequent missions occur during the events of tFoR’s Battle of Reach. the only “break” in canon is that the timescale is greatly drawn out (for purposes of narration); otherwise, no great stretch in particular occurs.

For reference: “Long Night of Solace” involves Noble-6 and Jorge’s takedown of the Covenant supercarrier, after which the cutscene depicts the arrival of the Covenant fleet.

(End recap)

As others have said, TFoR definitely is not some incorruptible document.
Hope that clears things up.

EDIT: Apparently the Covenant fleet that arrives prior to “Long Night of Solace” remained secret and localized. The full invasion occurs during the events of Halo: Reach mission “Pillar of Autumn” with no time stretch, with ALL Noble Team activity secret throughout the game. So, in effect, no canon is broken.

18

> For reference: “Long Night of Solace” involves Noble-6 and Jorge’s takedown of the Covenant supercarrier, after which the cutscene depicts the arrival of the Covenant fleet.

The arrival of a Covenant fleet but not the Covenant fleet. The Fleet of Particular Justice arrives on the 30th just as the book said it did. Dr. Halsey’s journal as well as the Definitive Edition of Halo First Strike confirm this.

19

Both are canon. Reach does retcon one or two things, but Halo Reach and Fall of Reach are two separate stories that take place on two distant parts of Reach.

This is my personal reconstruction of the Battle of Reach, reconclining both Halo Reach and the Fall of Reach book, using canon information and sources.

There are other reconstructions out there. Basically, it’s very easy to fit the two stories together.

20

> I prefer the picture presented by both the book and the game together, neither one is ideal on their own, and I think Bungie knew that at least, seeing as both are meant to compliment the other and together present the whole picture. I prefer Reach and TFoR together than either one separate since both are not that great on their own.

Exactly. You can’t just pick which one you like better. You kinda have to just use them both as canon. I do them both together.