Bruce Von Stiers

There was an animated series back in the 1980’s called Robotech. It had a whole bunch of episodes and spawned at least one sequel. Now ADV Films has brought forth several collections featuring this series. One of these is called The Robotech Legacy Collection 3. It contains three DVD discs. This collection set is also known as the Macross Saga.

The first disc in this collection is titled War & Peace. It contains episodes 25 through 30 of the Robotech series. The episodes are Wedding Bells, The Messenger, Force of Arms, Reconstruction Blues, Robotech Masters and Viva Miriya.

The first episode, Wedding Bells, takes up where the last one left off. Max Sterling has made a date with a girl he met named Miriya. The date doesn’t go as planned as she begins attacking him. We find out that she is a Zentraedi warrior and Max had shot her down. Now she was hunting Max to kill him.

Max beats her and then asks Miriya to marry him. The couple has a wedding that is broadcast throughout the universe.

The Earth rulers aren’t going to give up using the giant cannon on the Zentraedi. And they don’t know it, but the Zentraedi leaders are getting ready to launch a major attack. Max and his new bride go out to the battlefield and help out the war effort. Zentraedi forces mutiny on their ship. They won’t fight against the humans.

The next episode is The Messenger. There is an envoy from the Zentraedi that is almost stopped by forces from Kyhron. This is a peace mission. Exedor is sent to talk to the Micoronians. Lisa’s father doesn’t believe the Zentraedi and think they are waiting for a chance to destroy the Earth.

The Zentraedi leader has decided to send the main fleet of almost 5 million ships to fight it out with the Earth. Lisa wants to go back to the SDF1 and fight side by side with her colleagues.

With the third episode, Rick is about to depart on the battle mission. This episode is called Force of Arms. He tells Minmei that he loves her. The Earth leaders get ready to fire the Grand Cannon at the Zentraedi.

The Zentraedi destroy most of the Earth. Minmei is going to sing a song, to distract the Zentraedi forces so they could do a sneak attack. Rick goes into Alaska station to rescue Lisa.

The Earth starts to rebuild itself in the episode called Reconstruction Blues. It’s been two years since the almost total destruction of the Earth. Rick Hunter now patrols the perimeter of Earth. Lisa cleans up Rick’s house and finds his picture album full of Minmei pictures. Kyle and Minmei have a big fight about her career and their lives. Renegade Zentraedi soldiers attack New Portland. Rick has to go take care of them.

With the next episode, Robotech Masters, we find out who the real enemies of Earth are. The Zentraedi people who are coexisting on Earth are restless. They are a warring people and can’t stand not to be fighting someone. Kyron is assembling Zentraedi warriors who are dissatisfied at being at peace on Earth.

The last episode on this disc is Viva Miriya. Breetai and forces from SDF1 fly out to the Zentraedi mothership to establish contact. In another galaxy, a people are preparing to put together a being in the essence of the person behind Protoculture. We find that SDF1 holds a secret about Protoculture.

Max, his Zentraedi wife Miriya and their daughter Dana have all been ordered on the secret mission that nobody knows everything about. Max is supposed to convince the Zentraedi that the Earth has a Protoculture factory. A diversionary tactic is set up in that Rick and Lisa kiss and throw off the senses of the Zentraedi. This allows Miriya and Max to get into the Zentraedi ship. Once there, they show that the two races can cohabitate and even have children together. Allied forces race to the Robotech satellite factory to take it over. They are successful.

Volume 6 of this collection is titled Final Conflict. It is the cultivated end of the Macross Saga. It contains 31 to 36 of the series. The episodes are Khyron’s Revenge, Broken Heart, A Rainy Night, Private Time, Season’s Greeting and To The Stars.

The first episode here is Khyron’s Revenge. The other culture that Earth doesn’t know about will try to take over the universe. Rick Hunter has to attack a group of bandits who stole the Protoculture chamber.
Kyle instigates a civil riot when Rick recaptures the Protoculture chamber. Kyron’s troops attack the city in order to secure the Protoculture chamber.

We get a quick history lesson on the Robotech race as told by Gloval. It is discovered that the people of Earth and the Zentraedi’s aren’t really derived from the same race of people.

The second Episode is Broken Heart. Kyron and his troops break into a concert that Minmei is giving and capture her and Kyle. Kyron wants the Earth to give up SDF1 to him. Rick and his team fight Kyron’s troops and rescue Minmei and Kyle. Kyron is in full retreat and Hunter is ordered to chase him.

The third episode is A Rainy Night. Lisa is moping around as Rick and Minmei are kind of back together again. Claudia recounts how she and Roy Fokker got together.

Private Time is the title of the fourth episode. Rick stands Lisa up on a date so that he could spend some time with Minmei. The time with Minmei backfires and he gets drunk. Rick is asked to take on a group of Zentraedi rebels. The mission ends quickly and Rick gets to go see Lisa. Only she finds out that he has been with Minmei and buzzes him off.

The fifth episode is Season’s Greeting. Kyron and his men are hiding out in the desert waiting to make another strike against the Earth’s forces Minmei shows up at Rick’s door, lonely and destitute. She asks to stay with him. Lisa overhears the conversation and is devastated.

Rick has to go out and try to stop Kyron again from stealing the Protoculture generator. All this is going on near Christmas time, everyone is planning parties. Minmei asks Rick to give up his position in the Defense force.

The last episode is To The Stars. This puts a cap on the whole saga. Minmei wants to get married to Rick Hunter. Kyron’s battle cruiser has been slowly restored. Kyron wants to join the Robotech Masters. He wants to destroy the SDF1 before he goes. Lisa is having a heartbreak breakdown because of Rick.

Lisa is to be given command of a brand new battle cruiser. She is to chase after the Robotech Masters and find their home planet. Then the Earth crew will destroy the Robotech Masters war making apparatus so that the universe will be safe.

Lisa comes by Rick’s place to tell him goodbye. She also tells him that she loves him and always will. Minmei was there when Lisa told Rick this. Immediately afterwards, the sneak attack by Kyron begins.

The SDF1 is launched under the command of Admiral Gloval. It will go after Kyron’s ship and stop it.
They stop Kyron from destroying everything. But Kyron has a last nasty goal. He rams his ship into the SDF1, causing a catastrophic explosion.

Lisa survives and her and Rick ride off into the sunset, so to speak.

Like in the other collection sets in this series, a third DVD disc is included. This disc is called Elements of Technology III.

The disc has the show Robotech II: The Sentinels. This is a sequel to the original story line, now many years in the futures. Robotech Extra: The Sentinels. Lisa Hayes is now an Admiral and Rick Hunter a Major General. They are going to get married. And another round of love and war begins.

There is also an audio commentary on The Sentinels from the creator of the show. There are character bios on the Sentinel cast. Line art for the show can be found in the Animation Model Sheets section. French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and English film segments can be seen in the International Clip section. And there is the Series Sales Reel that has segments that were sent to television station owners and network executives to try to sell the program to them.

This collection brings an end to the Macross Saga as it stood. The animation remained constant throughout the series and the voices were synced pretty well. The sound effects were all right; the explosions were the best of all of them.

The collection contains over 6 hours worth of animation.

The Robotech Legacy Collection 3 was fun to watch. I really wanted to know how the invasion and imminent destruction of Earth by the Zentraedi was going to pan out. And the romantic life of Rick Hunter proved that the guy was a great pilot but a dipstick when it came to matters of the heart.

You will find The Robotech Legacy Collection 3 wherever animated series are sold. You can also order it from ADV Films. Their web site can be found at www.advfilms.com.