There have been emblems in Halo since CE. Halo 2 brought us more. Halo 3 with even more still. Reach took a step back on some, while Halo 4 had many new emblems but lost a lot of the ones from previous games. See the chart below for the emblems in each game. This does not include background emblems. (For now) (Click and open in another window to see the whole chart clearer and a lot bigger.)
As you can see, emblems were pretty consistent from CE to 2 to 3. If they were in the previous game, the overwhelming percentage of them made it to the next game. That changed a bit in Reach with many favorites gone and new emblems put in. This omission of older emblems greatly increased in Halo 4. No doubt due to 343’s wanting to distance themselves from Bungie’s work.
Now that we will have the Master Chief Collection, those emblems are all back, just not in every game. They’ll be available just as you see them above.
So, that brings me to a question that is of varying degrees of importance to many Halo fans. Which emblems will we see in Halo 5?
Personally, since there is more memory available, I’d love to see them ALL come back, as well as some new ones for Halo 5 Guardians. I know a lot of people that miss having the numbers 0-9 available as an emblem. They were there from CE through to Reach. It seems a bit silly that 343 would take those out. Numbers are not Bungie’s creation. SO it should stand to reason that those come back in. Considering we saw numbers on the armor of the Spartans in the H5G trailer, it looks like that’s a possibility again.
There are other more glaring omissions though that were not put into Halo 4. Some of these are:
• Bullseye
• Champion (I know several folks that used that exclusively)
• All of the card suits (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs)
• Delta
• Fleur de Lis (Several of my Canadian friends used this one)
• Frowney and Smiley (faces)
• Grunt Head or Symbol
• Mark of Shame (I know a LOT of people that used this and would like to have it back)
• Phoenix
• Supernova
• Trinity
• Waypoint
There are others, those above are just some of the ones not in Halo 4, but were in some if not all of the other Halo games.
I can see no reason why these all couldn’t be included in Halo 5 Guardians. More customization won’t hurt. Bringing back some of the classics if not ALL of the emblems will make plenty of fans happy with nostalgia. That really is part of the point of this. The Master Chief Collection has already given a boost to fan confidence in 343. They (343) now seem to realize that fans really DO want the Halo experience of the past and that the last couple of games had wandered a bit too far from what Halo was. Including all the emblems, be they Bungie or 343 design won’t hurt anything. In fact may give 343 more integrity in the eyes of fans.
Building upon what Bungie did and not tearing things out and away, is a good recipe for success for the Halo franchise. Again, I think 343 learned a valuable lesson there, with Halo 4.
Now of course, if all emblems were to be included so too should all of the backgrounds.
There are a scant few exceptions that 343 might be able to block the combinations of. For instance the horizontal gradient with the grenade…When used in combination, well, it looks like a certain part of the male anatomy that just isn’t proper for Halo. In those kinds of cases, I wouldn’t mind if those certain emblems or backgrounds are cut, so as to avoid that type of childish use of the emblems.
Beyond this, one thing I personally and hoping for is an additional color. Not to the emblem, but to the backgrounds. Some of those backgrounds that have more than one element to them would look great having an additional color to them. Stripes most notably as many people from nations around the world could make a facsimile of their country’s flag. A small token yes, but a token of pride that shouldn’t be overlooked.
It’s all of these kinds of little details that could really help to propel Halo back into the limelight. On their own they may not seem like much, but add them up, collectively they bring together a user experience that would be more enjoyable, have nostalgia, as well as pay a little fan service. Again, none of which I see an issue with.
What do you think? Should all emblems and background come back in Halo 5 Guardians? If not, which ones would YOU like to see return? (Not return?)
Reply below!
-Sal
p.s. original chart from Halo Wiki. I cut and pasted it together so you could see it all at once instead of having to scroll down and down and down…
