There are a few Halo fans here, so I thought we could make this topic to discuss the story and where it might be headed. I like the way the games tell a continual story, rather than hitting reset in each game, which builds up a larger universe. I wonder where it is all headed?
I’ve only read the books up until and including the third one. Apparently the story behind the forerunners is explained further in the novels?
At the end of Halo 3, 343 Guilty Spark tells Master Chief, “you are forerunner”. At the time I thought this was simply a confirmation that the forerunners were human. Now I’m not so sure. It seems that the Reclaimer story arc (Halo 4+) has expanded the original story, suggesting that Master Chief himself has some kind of special destiny. I’m not sure that this was Bungie’s intention, but it seems to be consistent with their part of the story. Thoughts?
This video contains some interesting ideas about the Master Chief (edit: may contain some book spoilers, I watched it a while ago):
Well, what games and books am I allowed to spoil and by how much??
Let’s assume just the games that have been released as I imagine most fans would have played them by now if they care enough to read this topic - I’ve updated the topic title.
You’re right in that there is a trilogy of books that deal with the story of the Forerunners. They contain some pretty meaty plot points for the series, and they pretty much answer your questions. If I’m not allowed to spoil the books, then you’re really going to have to read them yourself 
I appreciate the Halo story in as much as I can get into it when playing the games, but I pretty much checked out of having any anticipation for it after meeting the talking poo-bud thing in Halo 2. I know I’m not alone in that.
For the most part it is still exceptionally well executed for videogame standards, and maybe if I read the novels it would all tie together a lot better, and Halo 4 actually made more sense of the direction things had been going to me. But the chosen one cliché is also a disappointment, the first game was really great because of how it felt like a story of a lone badass with the fate of humanity effectively riding on his actions, yet it’s also what he was built and trained to be, he is still a soldier doing his job, just in exceptionally desperate circumstances.
Now John 117 is basically Neo/Naruto/Luke Skywalker/Jesus et al all over again it seems, the most hackneyed trope of them all. Oh well it does at least make the post CE narrative more coherent as cheeseball sci-fi in a way, I had been wondering how the Halos could make sense in both preserving specimens of the Flood and as a system created to destroy it ever since the beginning, and while it still hasn’t been directly explained by the games it’s sort of implicit in the convoluted BS about the controversy within the forerunners how it might be resolved. Or like it doesn’t have to count as a plot hole in the grand scheme of arbitrary nonsense anyway. lol
It’s fun, like I said I can get into the fiction as a part of the experience, but it’s not anything close to the engagement of Panzer Dragoon for me, not that anything is really. I expect to grab an Xbox One in time for Halo 5, I mainly hope they can imbue the new foes with some more character, since that was the single biggest letdown of H4, I’d rather fight flood honestly. Actually I hope to see some three way battles again, or even four way now? There’s so much potential for awesome in the scenario and in the legacy here, I thought 343i nailed the atmosphere with 4 but now I really hope they have some ambition about more than just another pretty game.
Maybe I’ll read the forerunner novels at some point, although if the details are important enough, I wonder why a forerunner game wasn’t developed instead? There are a lot of Halo books now. It’s hard to keep up with them.
Like @The_Ancient I have lost interest in the story somewhat. The main motivator behind this topic was curiosity. In actuality, I think Halo 3 was the ideal place to end the Master Chief’s story. Ending a single character superhero story isn’t profitable of course. If only Halo’s story would focus on the larger Halo universe more. We could have had a different set of characters for Halo 4. A fictional universe is more believable when there are no characters completely central to it.
I don’t intend to play Halo 5 (not for a long time anyway), when there are other game series’ to play that have not stagnated so much. But I’m also invested (to some degree) in learning the conclusion to the story, however many distant sequels into the future that might be.
