History Franchise / Halo

** ''Literature/HaloOutcasts'' (Upcoming): A novel featuring Thel 'Vadam and Olympia Vale in the aftermath of ''Halo 5: Guardians'', also serving as a distant sequel to ''Halo: Oblivion''. Set for release on May 30, 2023.

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[[caption-width-right:350:Cue the [[https://youtu.be/0jXTBAGv9ZQ Gregorian chant.]]]]

** Spartan II's, while near unstoppable, also had very restrictive selection parameters, a decade-long training program and their cybernetic/biological implants had a 50% fatality/maiming rate. The Spartan III's (made without Halsey's oversight or knowledge), expanded the selection process, truncated the length of training and modern medical technology allowed near universal suvival rates on surgical enhancements. As a whole they were not as impressive soldiers as the Spartan II's but they were far more numerous, letting the UNSC use them for a SuicideMission ''without'' [[TooAwesomeToUse costing them their entire Spartan program]].

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''[[https://www.halopedia.org/Cortana_Letters The Cortana Letters]]'' are this for the franchise as a whole, to the point that only the parts directly referenced by material considered canon are themselves canon. (For example, those parts directly referenced by Cortana in the announcement trailer for ''Halo 3''.) There's some interesting things to note about the letters--

** The Letters foreshadow many details about the Covenant, obliquely referred to as "faith-blinded zealots" (owing to the Covenant's religion) who "own nothing which they have not stolen" (in canon, the Covenant are heavily reliant on scavenged Forerunner technology rather than innovating and developing their own). Cortana also notes the Covenant considers orbital bombardment their primary form of worship, an apt description of how they glass worlds. She also tells us the Covenant regard us as their Devil, a detail echoed in the franchise as the Spartans (particularly Master Chief) would be called "Demons" by the Covenant.

* ObviousBeta: ''The Master Chief Collection''. Imagine a game where you can play accurate multiplayer matches of the first four mainline ''Halo'' games on a single disc, all over Xbox LIVE (including the original ''Combat Evolved'' MP mode, something excluded from the original 2011 ''Anniversary'' remake and never before playable online, and an updated "Anniversary" ''Halo 2'' multiplayer mode distinct from the original game's MP). Well, if you bought the game at launch, you wouldn't have been able to do much of that. Luckily, later updates have fixed many problems, though it's still not quite perfect.

* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'': A [[FanWork fan-created]] military WorkCom filmed in the ''Halo'' engine (a "{{machinima}}"). It has become a lucrative franchise in its own right. Creators Creator/RoosterTeeth have been recruited by [[PromotedFanboy Bungie and 343i themselves]] to promote the newer games and reveal new features, as well as having EasterEgg {{cameo}}s in both ''Halo 3'' and ''Halo 4''. Grifball, the gametype they invented, was even made official, with its own icon, announcer line, and playlist.

** The effect of the Grunt Birthday Party Skull, which causes confetti to pop out of a Grunt's head upon scoring a headshot, [[CrossesTheLineTwice accompanied by the sound of small children shouting "Hooray!"]] Bungie confirmed it to be a shout out to ''VideoGame/VivaPinata'', even mentioning that the ''Viva Piñata'' team sent them the actual audio file used in the game.

* ''Halo Online'' (Canceled): A PC-only "free to play" multiplayer FPS exclusive to Russia, taking place on a joint SPARTAN-IV and Sangheili training facility. It was canceled, but the beta was left as an open-tools game for modders. In 2021 content made for ''Halo Online'' began to be added to ''The Master Chief Collection'', where they are integrated into the multiplayer of ''Halo 3''.[[invoked]]

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[[caption-width-right:350:Cue the [[https://youtu.be/JDI1KlXRogo Gregorian chant.]]]]

* RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun: Or in the case of Admiral Cole, [[spoiler: remember when you turned a gas giant into a sun and then it wiped out a hundreds-stong Covenant armada in a giant supernova?]]

* BadassBaritone: The Arbiter takes the cake thanks to Creator/KeithDavid, though the Chief himself and many others qualify as well.

In the 26th century, Earth and its colonies are at war with an alien theocracy known as the Covenant, whose leaders have declared humanity an affront to their gods. While the United Nations Space Command is vastly outmatched by the Covenant's superior numbers and [[{{Precursors}} Forerunner]]-based technology, mankind has one advantage: the [=SPARTAN-II=] SuperSoldier program.

The Spartans, clad in PoweredArmor and led by [[ASpaceMarineIsYou Master Chief Petty Officer John-117]], are unmatched as warriors, but even they are not invincible, and by the start of the first game the Chief is TheLastOfHisKind. Over the course of the series, he and Cortana, his [[ArtificialIntelligence A.I. sidekick]], battle the Covenant and discover the "Halos": massive Forerunner {{Ring World|Planet}}s hiding immense power.

* ChallengeRun: In most games, you have the option to turn on various "skulls" for the campaign mode (in some games you have to find them before you can use them, in some games not) which effect the gameplay in various ways. There's one that causes your shields to recharge only upon meleeing an enemy, one that causes every enemy's health to double, one that removes your entire first-person HUD ''and arms'', leaving you with ''no way to tell what gun you're currently using'' unless you fire it or tediously look at its shape with your own shadow, one that causes you to restart the whole level if you die on solo or revert to the last checkpoint if ANY player dies on co-op, and those are just a few. Some skulls are actually helpful (though those are mostly just in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' and ''[[VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved Combat Evolved]] Anniversary''), but in most cases, they greatly increase the games' difficulty in many unique ways.

* DoomedHometown: The colony of Reach (which was effectively home for the Spartan-[=IIs=]). Also, the homeworld of every single Spartan-III, due to all of them being orphans from glassed planets. Many other human characters also come from worlds/towns that were glassed or otherwise completely destroyed, including 4/5s of Fireteam Majestic and 3/4s of Fireteam Osiris.

** Averted in ''Halo 4'' when Master Chief is wholly ready to detonate the nuke inside the Composer, an act which would definitely kill him, and would have, if the sacrifice wasn't made by Cortana instead.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** ''Winter Contention'' (2023): A prequel to ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', covering a mission conducted by NOBLE Team with two of their former members: Thom A-293 and Rosenda A-344.

** ''Vertical Umbridge'' (2022): A short story released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of ''Halo 4'', covering a boarding action by Fireteam Shadow during the events of ''Spartan Ops''.

** Elite Zealots and Ultras/Generals/Warriors > all lower ranks. The method of climbing the ranks for Elites is [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority by kills;]] literally, the more enemies you kill, the higher up you go in ranks, ''and nothing else matters''.

* FrontlineGeneral: High-ranking Sangheili are often seen battling with their men, due to them earning their ranks through AsskickingEqualsAuthority. Human generals are more practical, however, and remain safely in bases or command warships instead.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/haloconflict.png]]

* ArbitraryMinimumRange: Tanks without a side gunner are unable to shoot an opponent boarding them without hurting themselves.

** The Arbiter from ''VideoGame/HaloWars''

* ChargedAttack: The Plasma Pistol

* OnceForYesTwiceForNo: The Superintendent Municipal AI in ''Halo 3: ODST''.

* SoftWater: Played straight at least twice, where MC jumps into a pool from the T R in the first game, and when he gets knocked into the lake during a cutscene in the second game, but subverted most other times, where of course, falling too far is instant death, water or not.

* ''Vertical Umbridge'' (2022): A short story released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of ''Halo 4'', covering a boarding action by Fireteam Shadow during the events of ''Spartan Ops''.

** She actually has a little bit of {{Gainaxing}}/JigglePhysics in some of the ''Halo 3'' cutscenes.

* ''A Master Chief Story'': A wide-ranging collection of novels that feature the Master Chief as their protagonist.

** ''Literature/HaloShadowsOfReach'' (2020): An interquel set between ''Halo 5: Guardians'' and ''Halo Infinite'' that features Blue Team returning to a glassed Reach to recover potentially vital assets.

** ''Literature/HaloOutcasts'' (Upcoming): A novel featuring Thel 'Vadam and Olympia Vale in the aftermath of ''Halo 5: Guardians'', also serving as a distant sequel to ''Halo: Oblivion''. Set for release on May 30, 2023.