by the fans for the fans

The bottom line as far as Macross goes is don't expect to see anything new that has any direct relation to it. Rick Hunter, for example, gets a pass in Shadow Chronicles because for one, that is not his original Macross name, and for two, it is not his Macross character design either. He is essentially an original character, for all intents and purposes. Unless the VF-1 get similar treatment, (i.e. redesign so that they look nothing like the Macross versions), then we will not get anything with VF-1s in it. Of course, once you have an original design for that, it ceases to be Macross related at all, and loses the iconic appeal that we all grew up with.

The tricky part of all of this, assuming they could concoct original names and designs for all of the humans, aliens, and their respective mecha, would be how to weave a story that set up the same basic scenario as Macross' part in the saga, without crossing the plagiarism line. I for one would not want to be the lead writer on such an endeavor, and would not envy the person who was.

So while I may share your pipe dream of a replacement for Macross in the saga of Robotech, I think it is too complicated a matter for a company like Harmony Gold to take seriously. Perhaps they had the right idea with the Shadow Chronicles, since they have free legal use of Southern Cross and Mospeada, but the execution was just horrible. It contained literally none of the elements that make a compelling Robotech story. Carl Macek, rest in peace, I do not think there are any good writers at Harmony Gold now. Certainly none with his imagination. I would not be upset if they officially announced that they are retiring from Robotech. Let it stand as it is, a monumental part of our childhoods, and of history.

EDIT: It's like France giving America the parts to construct the Statue of Liberty; Tatsunoko gave Harmony Gold the parts to make the Statue of Robotech, but Harmony Gold is a corporation of pigeons, who built it so they could poop all over it. How's that for a mental analogy. Maybe later I will make a meme out of it and paste Yun and Agrama's heads on pigeon bodies. If so then I will post it here for you.

Maybe so. Even if they had all of the rights they could've pulled a Michael Bay and not use any of the designs.... I wonder tho, I wonder if they'll have the imagination to do anything with it. They have a lot of room even if they can't use the designs. They'd have to update the fighter planes unless they're dead set in it taking place in 1999... a period piece... the 90's will soon be period pieces! agh.

I heard that they don't have the merchandising rights to Southern Cross that they have to pay license fees or something... that tru?

Oh HG, so fertile for jokes. Yune and his cronies can be like the pigeons from Animaniacs! XD

Well getting back on topic. What is it about Robotech that ignites your imaginations? What scenarios get ya goin'? This is kinda why I like Robotech that we have more or less the same material but we have two different cultures tackle the concept of a sequel in different ways. What say you?

I have not heard of any rights issues with Southern Cross, unless Matchbox still has them I suppose. Unlike Macross, Southern Cross and Mospeada belonged to Tatsunoko, so HG has free and unrestricted use to them as far as shows go. I think the reason we don't see any Southern Cross toys is simply because the demand for them would be so low. Everybody knows that Southern Cross is the least popular of the three parts, and Mospeada toys are not necessarily big sellers either. From a business perspective, making Southern Cross toys would be a huge risk.

I guess what I like most about Robotech is how it transcends racial differences, and has aliens coming to appreciate humanity. But we don't see much of it going the other way around. Jonathan Wolfe was an Invid collaborator, but even that was more out of selfishness than anything. This is why I would like to see any continuation be about new rivalries and alliances in the post war galaxy. There is plenty of opportunity for former friends to become enemies, and former enemies to become friends. How epic would it have been for the REF and the Invid Regis to call truce and battle the Haydonites together? In the few completed episodes of the Sentinels, we see Bioroids on Tirol battling forces of the Invid Regent, and we know that the Regent is the bad guy, so does that make the Bioroids the good guys?

War is always a matter of perspective. The proverb of history written by the victors is entirely true, after all. Hitler, for example, didn't sit down and say "I want to be the greatest evil villain who ever lived", no, he and his party believed that what they were doing was RIGHT. They were the heros in their own version of history, and had they won World War 2, that is how they would be remembered. Robotech has a unique opportunity to explore similar concepts, given how broad the galactic stage is after the end of the Third Robotech War. Imagine if there were humans fighting humans on opposite sides of an Invid alliance? Or of a Masters alliance? Or even of a Zentraedi alliance? The Zents had to fade into obscurity because they were not present in the source material of the second and third sagas, but it is not at all a stretch to say that another like Khyron will eventually come to power.

And of course there is Roy Fokker in the Global Civil War, the Invid Invasion itself, and the REF to follow.

There is just so much potential in the universe of Robotech that will never be realized outside of our own imaginations. I think that is why it holds my interest, as I do have a good imagination.

BTW I was clicking through the radio the other day and heard Nirvana on the oldies station

I'm the same way. Macross Saga and original Macross for me. I grew with just the Macross Saga and was confused why everything changed, of course now I know its because of the three separate shows stitched together.


In order of preference:

1. Macross Saga
2. New Gen
3. Masters (eugh! Do I dislike this series)

I can see that but I have a soft spot for that Saga. Why so much dislike?

I dunno I see a lot of potential in that series. Especially the period between Southern Cross and the Invid Invasion

One of the biggest issues I have with the Robotech version Southern Cross is that Dana's voice actor seems horribly miscast. She is supposed to be this wild, rambunctious, anti-authority rebellious daughter of Max and Miriya, but she has a voice like a sweetheart. I also think that she has much more depth of character than the show gets to explore. Then there are the open cockpit tanks, which are just laughable design. Snipers and bombers would realistically make extremely short work of them. There are also incidental things like Bowie being held captive in a massive alien flagship several miles wide, but a random tear in the armor exposes the broom closet he was being held in.

I do like all of the characters, they just never really have anything interesting to say to each other. Dana's romance with Zor Prime is reminiscent of Anakin and Pademe in the Star Wars prequels. Sean Philips and Marie Crystal are supposed to be love interests, but we don't even know this until he catches her veritech, and then we never see them together again afterwards. Same with Bowie and Musika. None of these relationships between the characters are even worth mentioning, because as plot points they fail to deliver anything at all.

The most interesting parts of the story are those involving Emerson, and Zor Prime. Everything in between is, unfortunately, filler. Though honorable mention goes to Dana dragging Angelo to a movie date, and he laughs himself to tears and embarrasses the hell out of her. That is my personal favorite part that makes watching Southern Cross worthwhile.

Late in the saga, the Masters tell Emerson that they never intended to wage war on the Earth. I'm not entirely sure who shot first, but there was the potential in the beginning for the entirety of the Second Robotech War to be a huge misunderstanding, as a side character fired missiles at the approaching alien ship with no provocation or obvious intent. That could have put the entire second chapter in a totally different perspective. And it makes sense, after all. The Masters spent two decades coming to Earth under conventional power, because their Protoculture reserves were extremely low. Probably the last thing they wanted to do upon their arrival was use up what little they had left fighting a senseless war. Had they communicated, both sides could very well have come to some sort of understanding, compromise, perhaps even alliance, which would make the accidental start of the war all the more tragic.

Overall the writing just doesn't seem very high quality, and a reimagining of this part of the saga would no doubt do it some justice. And if we're going to go there, then it should have a handful of full-sized Zentraedi as well.

I am a fan of all 3 original saga's, but generally it goes Macross, Mospeada and Southern Cross, with Sentinels and Shadow Chronicles roughly equal when it comes to the original animation parts of Robotech. I also enjoyed Battlecry, and was never able to try the Invid Invasion game, but I hear it was unfortunately bad.

I am also a fan of the Macross and it's sequels, and am of the opinion that there's room for both Robotech and Macross in this world.

I also think that Harmony Gold has blown almost all of it's chances to build Robotech into a multi-million dollar franchise. I hope that someday someone makes HG an offer they can't refuse and buys the rights to Robotech. In my opinion, Harmony Gold or whoever owns the license should hire the people making the Robotech Visions comic on facebook and have them make an animated movie based on their comic, which bridges the gap between Southern Cross and Mospeada far more effectively than just about anything HG has made in the past 30 years.

X1 Commander wrote: I also enjoyed Battlecry, and was never able to try the Invid Invasion game, but I hear it was unfortunately bad.

Not to be that guy who just loves everything and is all rose-tinted glasses, but I actually quite enjoyed Invasion for its story; it was a neat take with multiple endings. Not super-strong, but fun.

And it made up for the gameplay, which was abysmal at times, but had flashes of brilliance. For a smaller studio to put out a niche game, it had some fun little flourishes: the aiming system was downright amazing, and very "in-genre" since you had to blast out the eye-sockets of the Invid mecha, just like in some of the scenes from New Generation. It took some good bits from Halo and put them in a Robotech universe.

Battlecry was, however, a much stronger game overall. Much better at working alongside the canon material, and overall much less buggy. Some folks had problems with the art style chosen, but I quite liked it.

I didn't like the Invasion game until about halfway through. It got a lot better as it went.

There was one thing above all else that really grinded my gears with it though. In Battlecry, you had a VF-1 that would hit an invisible ceiling if you tried to fly over buildings. Similarly, in Invasion, your Cyclone had an "automatic safety feature" that would instantly transform you into Soldier Mode if you entered a tunnel.

That's right. YOU CANNOT DRIVE THROUGH A TUNNEL IN CYCLE MODE.

W...T...F...

The second half of the game didn't have as many tunnels, which contributed greatly to the overall fun factor.

INVASION WAS PRETTY COOL. THOUGHT I PLAID ONLINE THE MOST. UNTIL THERE WERE TO MANY DROPS FROM THE GAME. THEN JUST GAVE UP.

BATTLECRY WAS A COOL GAME. WISH THERE WAS A PART 2. I THINK THE NEW TRANSFORMERS GAME FOLLOWS IN ITS FOOTSTEPS.


LICENSE TO ROBOTECH ALREADY BEEN SOLD TO SONY. THEY JUST HAD IT THIS YEAR. SO IF ANYTHING GOOD IT WILL COME FROM THEM. WILL SEE HOW NEXT YEAR GOES WITH THE DIRECTOR ON WHAT HE PICS TO FILM.