So, continuing with the Macross 30th Anniversary game, I’m on Chapter 4 (of 9) now and the whole thing is a massive helping of the best kind of fan-service. I now understand how all of the assorted divas of the Macross universe are being sucked through time and space, and even why. 

I won’t go into that here. What I will talk about is what I think is the game actually acknowledging the existence of Macross II, a series which is generally – some would say rightfully – ignored and which is officially a “parallel world” story. 

See, there’s a flashback in which we get some insight into the main character’s motivation and why he has such an intense rivalry with another pilot, and it turns out that they’re from the same planet that was attacked by rogue Zentradi and that someone important to both of them died in the attack. 

That’s not the point, however. The surprising thing is that the main character makes a point of saying that the Minmei Defense failed, which is why the Zentradi were able to do so much damage. I’m not actually a HUGE encyclopedia of Macross lore, but I *think* that the only previous use of the Minmei attack for planetary defense purposes was seen in Macross II. I could, of course, be wrong here, but I choose to believe that it’s a neat nod, kind of like when Dr. Who mentions an 8th doctor or when the American Godzilla gets a reference in a proper Godzilla movie. It acknowledges that even the worst example of a series must have SOME fans and it doesn’t hurt to toss them a bone. 

Actually, the “worst example” of a Macross series is pretty debatable. I’ve never been able to make it past the first dozen episodes of Macross 7, for example, and I actually fell asleep watching Macross Plus, so…

To be clear, I’m not a “1982 Macross or GTFO” fan by any means. I do like the original (and associated movie), Zero, and Frontier. TBH, I think Frontier may be my favorite Macross that isn’t DYRL, but I still need to watch Delta. I’ll let you know if that changes things. 🙂