Why Halo Reach Made Me Cry (and probably you too)

Why Halo Reach Made Me Cry (and probably you too)

This week on HB Theory is an emotional one. In Today’s article, we reminisce on the legendary video game, Halo Reach.

The majority of this discussion will be on characters, their individual/team development, and how they contributed to the overarching story.

I’ll go over the Reach’s subtle, but brilliant storytelling, how it evokes such diverse emotions, and why certain characters gained respect from gamers across the world.

– You’re on your own, reader… HB out¹

*Spoilers ahead*

The NOBLE Team

Mountain peaks loom over a grass-absent valley and the dust that’s spurred from your warthog as you arrive, resembles the melancholy clouds up above.

As you (Spartan B312) walk towards the command tent, the screen pans past a Spartan sitting in the carriage of a falcon. With piercing, accurate eyes, he silently watches your gait as he fills a magazine with high caliber ammunition.

You attempt to walk further into the room, but an arm prosthetic extends and blocks your path. A new Spartan walks in front of you. Her face is tattered with battle scars, and her eyes seem to detest your presence as she asks a question towards the center of the room, “Commander?”

The camera pans one last time to two Spartans.

On the left, stands a Spartan in cobalt blue. He acknowledges your presence, but turns to the digital voice once again. And on the right, sits a Spartan notably bigger than the rest.

This is NOBLE Team.

NOBLE Team is made up of six Spartans. Carter-A259 (Noble One), Catherine-B320 (Noble Two), Jun-A266 (Noble Three), Emile-A239 (Noble Four), Jorge-052 (Noble Five).

Originally, the sixth Spartan was Thom-A293, but after sacrificing himself at the Battle of Fumirole, the spot was left unfilled for some time. A spot that is now filled by B312, making him the new NOBLE Team’s Six.

“Welcome to Reach”

Falcon blades begin to chop through Reach’s eerie air as Carter formally introduces the rest of the team to Six. As Six operated by himself under ONI for some time, Carter also advises him to leave “that lone-wolf stuff” behind.

A line that still sticks with me to this day and truly a beautiful showcase of what foreshadowing can accomplish if done right.

That foreboding feeling doesn’t go away as the first mission pans out, it only intensifies it. Spartan Command sends NOBLE Team out to investigate a relay’s disappearance from the communication grid.

The black out was thought to be the work of insurrectionists, a group of humans who wanted out from Unified Earth Government control, but to the Spartan’s surprise, it was the Covenant. (You can think of the Covenant as a gigantic alliance between multiple alien species).

This was the first major plot twist in the game, and it definitely set the tone for what was to come.

Unfortunately, the UNSC and NOBLE Team weren’t successful in defending Reach against the Covenant invasion. At best, they slowed it down. However, it was the actions of NOBLE team that secured a glimmer of hope for a human victory.

Before the events of the last mission, NOBLE team discovers an ancient artifact containing information that would lead to a decisive battle against the Covenant. Noble Six was instructed to transfer this information, along with a fragment of the AI, Cortana, to a ship tasked with a special mission.

But now that you have a good idea of where the game started and ended off, lets unpack it all.

The Cost of Legacy, A Sad Tale

Too often do games portray the player, and subsequently the side they’re on, “winning”. That’s not to say that said games have their fair share of losses, but Reach is far from that kind of game. And it’s reinforced by the fact that sacrifice was a common cost to a losing war.

Throughout the events of Reach, the idea of an untouchable group of characters slowly erodes away. This is illustrated by every single member of NOBLE Team, aside from Jun (Noble Three), being killed in action.

Each death within NOBLE Team marked a turning point within the game’s plot.

Before throwing you (Noble Six) into space, Noble Five (Jorge) sacrificed himself to save Reach from an orbital invasion of Covenant. But as you free fall back towards Reach, more Covenant fighters arrive out of slipstream and enter Reach’s Orbit. Jorge paid the ultimate price for what he thought saved Reach, but his sacrifice was in vain.

At this point in the story, Six formed real connections with NOBLE Team. A stark contrast from when he was first assigned at the command tent. Before his death, Jorge passed on his dog tags to Six, in what I see as acceptance.

After rendezvousing with the rest of NOBLE Team, the reunion is short lived due to a Covenant Glassing (major orbital plasma bombardment.) Seeking cover, NOBLE Team made their way to radiation bunkers under a UNSC base. Before they can get inside, Kat is shot in the back of the helmet by a Sangheili Elite, from a Covenant phantom.

Six rushes to her side as NOBLE Team returned fire to no avail. The same prosthetic that blocked Six’s entry into the command tent, he now embraced, as he dragged her to cover.

Typically, this is when most titles ease off character deaths. But for Reach, it’s only the beginning.

After having lost Jorge, and now Kat, NOBLE Team splits up. Carter instructs Jun to escort Dr.Halsey, a very important character, to a nearby base while he, Emile, and Six continue with their mission of transporting Cortana.

After all the losses that occurred in a short span of time, it’s natural to look towards leaders. As the three make their way to the objective, their pelican takes heavy damage. Six and Emile jump off and continue on foot before encountering a Covenant Scarab. In a display of absolute leadership, Carter clears a path forward for his subordinates with his life.

Oftentimes, I dislike the use of cliches, but in this case, the “captain going down with his ship” was much more than a sea-time tradition. In his action of self-sacrifice, he presents a hypocrisy. Carter demonstrates the thing he advised Six against in their first conversation.

Shortly after making the trek to the shipyard, Emile is stabbed from behind by a Covenant Zealot. The skull-faced Spartan finally encounters death, but welcomes it with a kukri knife, ready to fight past eternity. Leaving you, alone.

As the ship escapes to orbit, you’re tasked with the last objective: Survive.

A million questions go through the player’s mind. How long? When are reinforcements coming? I can clear out some Covenant to call a falcon here, right?

All that’s left is the ammunition in your two weapons, any gear you can find off the ground, and the endless waves of Covenant. The battles you’ve fought alongside your newfound family give you the strength to continue, but eventually, Reach’s debt is far too great than what NOBLE Team could amount to.

With no ammo left, you take off your helmet and set it on desolate sands. You fight zealots alone, returning to what you were before your NOBLE family, a lone wolf.