Halo's Ratings - Did Halo Really Deserve the "M" Rating?

In this video I will be examining each Halo campaign that was rated M, look into the reasons listed, if the rating was the right decision at the time of release and other aspects that might have impacted the rating. Thanks for watching! If you enjoy the video please subscribe.
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[@cheekybum1513]

The whole “back when halo was for adults” is hilarious because the people who say that were kids when ce came out.

[@alexanderrobins7497]

Well at least Bungie made the game they wanted without specifically pandering to children.

[@RokushoHasashi]

I was 11 when Halo Combat Evolved came out lol

[@asanglajamir7178]

I was 7 when CE came out really like CE and especially THE GOD PISTOL

[@alexanderrobins7497]

@cally mally I won’t disagree there were definitely designed/gameplay issues in Bungie’s games, but I would not say it is pandering to children. I think they over corrected on their mistakes from previous games.

[@SonicBoone56]

Halo was never that much of a M-rated game. It's always bordered on being T-rated. Those people must have forgotten how mild Halo truly is in the grand scheme of things.

[@lilkris3008]

When I was 13 I wanted halo 3 so bad but my parents were really strict on no M games and I actually made a PowerPoint showing how unreliable the ESRB is and why halo was M to help sales. It worked I got to go to GameStop that night and I played that game ever since

[@ebr8308]

I had to do something similar with my parents lol

[@davidpowers1175]

I waited in line at GameStop for the midnight release with my dad when i was 7. Played till 4am

[@iainkilcar7463]

For me I really wanted to play halo CE (this was around the time of halo 3) but my mum wouldn't let me until i was like 12/13. I basically was living a console generation behind for most of my childhood.

[@Mazlow23]

I had to do some serious convincing to get halo 1. Something to the effect of "The blood doesn't even look realistic. It looks more like powder." And also "they're aliens, not even humans so its okay." Somehow it worked lol

[@lilkris3008]

@Carlos Emilio funny enough I have a 6 year old and play with him when he wants (he only likes Minecraft right now) but yeah it’s a great game to teach them how to use the controller. Now as an adult I see it as literally a kids game since it’s what me and my bro grew up with

[@CRAZYGREGFILMS]

After all this time, Halo has never once done an F Bomb line. I'd be surprised if they did in Infinite.

[@zytha2890]

Thought Grunts dropped alot of F bombs

[@thanosmaster-abel559]

lol sgt johnson actually ALMOST pulled one off in the legendary ending cutscene for Halo CE. I’ve watched it on KZbin multiple times (never have played it on legendary) and Johnson almost says mother- ****** when he fighting with the elite but he doesnt

[@stefanm.734]

Fun fact about that. In the Chinese dub for MCC characters actually _do_ use a lot of expletives, including the F bomb equivalent.

[@cerjmedia]

Considerting the game is already confirmed to be rated T, that's pretty much guaranteed

[@Snavels]

@@cerjmedia and that rating has me concerned because I really want to fight the flood in Infinite and I want it to be disturbing

[@Stormchaser42069]

“Uncharted 4 says sh*t and asshole about 400 times and that game’s rated teen” - Subtitles be like [ __ ]

[@qwerty5684]

not to mention in the first game CREEPY NAKED ZOMBIE THINGS

[@x-iei-x4725]

Esrb dont play games

[@griffingower1883]

Blazblue and Guilty Gear does that to and They're T rated Fighting Games

[@triggerhappym]

In a way I would actually argue the audio logs from ODST push it into the M category: A police commissioner tries to rape a woman, it deals with work place shootings at one point and you actually hear in pretty graphic detail a mob of citizens rip a man apart with their bare hands.... That part is still disturbing to think about... Let alone hear.

[@gta_s4531]

Oh my god are you serious? I havent played odst in a long time but thats pretty disturbing

[@ORLY911]

@@gta_s4531 Yeah it's pretty nuts when i replayed it on MCC i took care to listen to all logs, it's MA rated HBO drama stuff.

[@gta_s4531]

Sono i know this has nothing to do with the game but on the short animated films a marine gets his stomach ripped off by an elite and theres like blood everywhere ce style

[@sergeantmarcusstackerM1903]

Not to mention, slut and pussies was thrown in the dialogue

[@BiscuitFever]

Yeah. Check out the audio logs. It’s pretty fucked.

[@TheStrongVirus]

Yes, in short, “M” for “Master Chief” or like my Mum used to call him, “Master Man”.

[@atzangray-dorito9004]

"Master Man"

[@podyjr101]

Do you remember when Master Man fought the food

[@bobross3880]

He’s a hell of a man

[@godzillafan9115]

Master man sounds like the most powerful being in the universe.

[@TheStrongVirus]

Another good quote from my Mum was, along the lines of, "I like Master mans motocross looking helmet. It suits him when you drive those quad bikes."

[@BearOfTheDead]

"So the other day, I was browsing Waypoint's forums..." Jesus, my condolences.

[@thegoodmudkip3652]

What happened there?

[@shadowling77777]

What happened lol

[@arandominternetuser455]

For those who don't know Halo Waypoint is notorious for being toxic at times.

[@thegoodmudkip3652]

@@arandominternetuser455 I see. Thanks

[@arandominternetuser455]

@Genu Crescit I would say from experience the latter.

[@orclord5719]

Guess I'm not the only one that punched dead enemies to spray blood everywhere.

[@johnbigwick3027]

I did just because I heard old graphics showed more blood and I wanted to compare them.

[@taleseylad1249]

I found it satisfying to punch the blood out of the enemies

[@nickryan6787]

Till the point that your pc lags

[@Slender_Man_186]

@@johnbigwick3027 the classic graphics are actually broken in MCC and Anniversary.

[@commiebeater824]

@@Slender_Man_186 how so i havent noticed anything unless a recent update fixed it?

[@andmcd1996]

fun fact. if a company makes a game specifically for kids, kids won't like it. Make a game aimed for adults and kids will want to play it!

[@TheStrayHALOMAN]

I first played Halo CE when I was 4. My parents gave me an xbox for Christmas in 2001 and it came with the game and a demo for Mechassault and the first Forza game. Halo and Battletech are now 2 of my favorite universes because of Halo and MechAssault. TL;DR Yes you are totally right, I am your example.

[@d_flog]

the real reason is that children play those games why it is very boring to play games for children, seriously who plays a video game to cultivate a farm, obviously a child prefers to play a game that allows you to do cool things like steal a car go at full speed and especially explosions, or failing that, kill space aliens which do not throw red blood purple juice!

[@andmcd1996]

@@TheStrayHALOMAN Hell yeah! I got my first Xbox when spiderman 2 the game came out! Played my brothers copy of Halo when i was young and then got Halo 2 for getting good grades!. Also Forza was the good shit! Also Grand Turismo!

[@d_flog]

@Kazuhira Miller Obviously Minecraft is super popular, kids can unleash their creativity and do whatever shit they want

[@MoarPasta]

Then why are they all playing fortnite? :/

[@myhops]

1. I never knew the marines necks broke when striked by brutes. That is pretty intense. 2. A decade later, as an adult, I now realize how disturbing the heads of the flood humans, brutes and elites are in halo 3. My 12 year old self didn't really take it in and I just saw them as zombies, not tortured conscious beings, highjacked by a parasite. Even when I was 6, I wasn't really capable of making the connection that the flood were truely horrifying monsters. I just saw tham as stinky cheesey fart bombs that looked like popcorn (carriers for example).

[@fluffyjester2192]

What if this was Master chiefs perspective? Being in war for so long desensitized him to the point of where Master chief would shoot anything that was red on the hit marker... I believe the gravemind said it best: "This one is metal and nerve... and has his mind concluded" - Halo 2, Gravemind

[@DaDARKPass]

I always would try to kill any brutes holding humans.

[@beefs0ck911]

I always thought Flood were incredibly annoying

[@agentgamma771-08-B]

When I was 5. I first played halo ce but. I was disturbed by the flood and specifically from the proto gravemind on the level "Keyes". I played only from level 1-5. And when I was 7 I didn't feared from the flood I enjoyed to kill them. And when I played halo 2 I thought that brutes are just alien gorillas who went mad after some shots.

[@markferrel5027]

I called the flood “mushroom people” when I was younger

[@bj0urne]

Mom c'mon i'm old enough to play Halo... it's just aliens... . . Later that week after getting Halo: "I don't keep it loaded son you'll have to find ammo as y-" *Bang* -"What da hell are you doing?? Security to the bridge, the master chief has gone rampant. Take him down boys."

[@jggaming7506]

It's not just aliens...

[@kerneltechnology624]

The easter egg that then spawns some invincible marines.

[@blueguy2128]

😂😂

[@Nobody10115]

I remember my mom getting Halo instead of COD because “you’re shooting aliens” somehow made it better… and me and my brothers soon ended up “painting hallways”.

[@The-Master-Chief]

You now have your qualifications for a job as an painter.

[@MondySpartan]

Based mom.

[@liammckenney6792]

Mom was prob right tho. Shooting a fictional amalgamation of aliens and zombies isuch better than shooting other humans.

[@rascal54mjw36]

Same

[@crewehennebury577]

Me Too man

[@HeeeyTooom]

The flood never scared me until I read the books Bones break, vital organs ripped apart and molded, even ejected from the body. Just to make room for the infection form. 2 separate conscious' in one body. Truly terrifying stuff considering the host is fighting a losing battle w a Galaxy Ending, almost omnipotent, entity.

[@kingofmonsters14]

and that's just the regular stuff- the Keyes ones are even worse.

[@HeeeyTooom]

@@kingofmonsters14 omg I totally forgot about the Terminal in CE: Anniversary when u have to rescue him again. Bro fought the proto-gravemind process, all while the main gravemind was, *literally*, in his brain.

[@atrophine_]

its like the bone hive scp

[@HeeeyTooom]

@@atrophine_ I'd much rather deal w bone hive than the flood. Not to say it's not scary, but at least I can off myself lol Yall stop by the channel tho, show some love?

[@lordhamsamawich8138]

God damn the flood us scary

[@SgtCandy]

It's upside down, it's actually W for Wort Wort Wort

[@ankeygravemoon]

lol

[@commanderblargh6300]

*WORT WORT WORT!*

[@thedodofarmer1butnotmaking167]

Yes

[@MrTrombonebandgeek]

i thought it was for wumbo

[@frame_ae]

Auwwwodghhhh

[@Niknokinater]

Bruh, I used to hit the elites to see how long it'd take before my PC started lagging.

[@Yakasuki]

I feel this except i crashed my xbox.

[@MTG9745]

@@Yakasuki I just punched them like 5 times when they were dead and moved on.

[@aidengarford3730]

Why though. Yes I get punching and betraying marines but not elites.

[@Ishwolv]

@@aidengarford3730 to see how far I can take it.

[@nickryan6787]

ESRB: let's give this game an M rating so that young children wouldn't see the atrocities in this game Also us: Inserts nostalgic Halo Bungie era during *childhood*

[@twig4661]

totally. whenever the relatives kids came over thats all they wanted to do. play halo. i let them because it shut them up

[@jonburford633]

Lol honestly it’s really not bad at all when compared to games like Mortal Kombat or GTA which have way more gore and sexually explicit content. Halo was super tame compared to those games.

[@admiralmoor]

9 years old? Smh. I played when I was 3.

[@AquaAF]

@@admiralmoor smh I was a fetus when I was kicking the controller in my mother's womb to fight the flood

[@thearbiter2701]

@@AquaAF Really? Get on my level. I was doing the warthog run before my parents even were born.

[@nomad155]

Sgt Johnson's intro in the beginning of CE is reason for the whole rating. Am I right marines?! Edit: Dang over 500 likes! Y'all done real troopers! Johnson would be proud sharing a rock with y'all!

[@billmcsill4274]

SIR YES SIR!

[@yvngjay3925]

Damn right I am

[@GNVSHER.]

SIR YES SIR!

[@astroduck8215]

SIR YES SIR!

[@user-wl5jt3em3g]

SIR YES SIR

[@realspartan5206]

Here’s a reason why halo is M: excessive blood and the flood in CE shown “Torture” in the beginning of halo 2, also the biomass of flesh The flood... especially in halo 3 where if someone gets infected right in front of you their bones *SNAP* and *TWIST* to form a jagged claw, and the halo 3 Odst Audio logs,

[@Joshua_N-A]

ODST got F words right?

[@realspartan5206]

@@Joshua_N-A I think? but the audio logs were borderline Ao

[@TheFamine123]

Iirc, they took one look at the flood and were like "yeah that's gonna be an M rating"

[@matt.m4310]

@Anonymous Panacea Australia's rating systems goes like this: G, PG, M, MA 15+ and R 18+. Here in Australia, CE, 2 and Reach were the only MA Halo games, everything else was M except Halo Wars which was PG.

[@ArchieGamez]

@Anonymous Panacea In the first mission, you literally saw bodies of soldiers and civilians got tortured to death

[@manboi6852]

my parents never cared for M ratings, only thing they didn't want was nudity.

[@MTG9745]

No Halo 4 for you.

[@manboi6852]

@@MTG9745 lol

[@wales2k4747]

Same with my mom. She didn’t care about any gore or swear words, but as soon as something sexual was even mentioned, she wanted it off.

[@GTAVictor9128]

I'm guessing you're American, huh? American double-standards at their finest. In Europe it's actually the other way around - people tend to have a more relaxed attitude towards nudity, but it's the gore that mostly lands games and movies 18+ ratings.

[@shotgunsideshow8958]

@@GTAVictor9128 ? I don't get what you mean by "American double-standards at their finest"

[@coolbrotherf127]

Even as a kid, I always thought M was kind of a high rating for just some blurry blood textures and some spooky themes. There were Teen rated games with much more than Halo had.

[@spartankongcountry6799]

Really like this style of video. This reminds me of how even the Fable series was rated M despite its cartoony art style.

[@greppim911]

Well, Fable was a parody of most fantasy games, it had stuff like quests where you'd chase down condoms. It's like an adult cartoon, like Bojack Horseman or South Park tbh.

[@BKizHEREtoSTAYgames]

Well, you COULD actually have sexy times with people in that game, as well as the brothels and shit. That's not a teen game lol.

[@devina7819]

@@BKizHEREtoSTAYgames lmao even with people u met on multiplayer weirddddddd

[@spartankongcountry6799]

@@BKizHEREtoSTAYgames Exactly.

[@89thaharmaiiioptreshenanig3]

TF 2 is rated M as well

[@honor2323]

Originally Halo CE on the mission 343 Guilty Spark the marine survivor you encounter was going to commit suicide as soon as you past him. And on Halo 2 on the mission The Great Journey you encounter 2 marines on their knees Captured by the Brutes and they were originally going to take their heads off and die.

[@DaDARKPass]

Also, originally for the mission keyes, you were going to rip out captain keyes' skull and take it back with you to the pillar of autumn.

[@Davidofthelost]

You can go right by him and he’ll just disappear later on.

[@217adaptiveperspective]

There was also a gutted model for that Marine that gets killed by an infection in the Flood Intro in CE, it was never used but it's still in the files

[@kingofmonsters14]

@@DaDARKPass that one was probably time restrains or hardware limitations

[@themoralcompass4185]

@@Davidofthelost Did you not read his comment properly? He said originally not the final product

[@Nacalal]

Fun fact, on the OG xbox, you could actually punch bodies enough to completely cripple the framerate in CE with just the blood effects.

[@lugbzurg8987]

*Shadow the Hedgehog* says "damn", and it gets "Mild Language" printed on the ESRB box. *Halo: Combat Evolved* says "damn", and then some, and... nothing.

[@Reshi9984]

then again, sonic is usually for kids

[@DarkTophatiusSkeletius]

Halo: Reach says "son of a bitch", and then some, and nothing also -_-

[@MHA-TSBro]

@@Reshi9984 a friggin 5 year old would say damn, so the dudes who did the ESRB for shadow the hedgehog had no idea what they were doing

[@emilylefebvre646]

I would argue the only Halo game that should *still* have the M rating is Halo 3, with the reanimated flood animations still kinda disturbing to this day

[@alonsobabonso3423]

Also remember that they can infect live enemies

[@neonsolace2748]

I think that will go to ce Halo 3 is the most lighthearted halo game in my opinion and thats why i loved it

[@emilylefebvre646]

@@neonsolace2748 It's mostly the flood animations that were spooky in Halo 3, but it was pretty light hearted compared to 2, dunno about CE tho.

[@wearebacon6236]

@Logan Colon even that deserves M

[@Comkill117]

I’d say Reach as well just due to the how dark it could be at times.

[@42crazyguy]

I just want the blood to stick on the ground.

[@mayonnaise2396]

Please?

[@AustinH7]

Halo infinite is REALLY lacking by not having blood

[@rexthewolf3149]

@@AustinH7 is it tho

[@MHA-TSBro]

@@AustinH7 Spartans in Infinite do bleed when you shoot them but it doesn't stick to the ground

[@thunderlifestudios]

I came up with a thought. What if the standards for "rated M" have changed enough that a game like Halo would not necessarily be rated M (at least not necessarily be rated M)?

[@jidk6565]

Except ODST

[@kriegscommissarmccraw4205]

Standards and expectations. Standards change with every generation, and with those expectations. Infinite will probably be an M game because of the expectations "all the last games were like that"

[@Ra_heem]

The flood did actually give me nightmares as a kid.

[@lordhamsamawich8138]

True still do

[@Reshi9984]

the gravemind lives under your bed and feeds on bits of flesh every night while you sleep

[@lordhamsamawich8138]

@@Reshi9984 euigh

[@bromax360]

I wouldn’t say Halo 4 Cortana is “sexualized” just that they made her look more conventionally beautiful. There’s no straight up anime moments of over sexualization and fan service, stop staring at an AI’s ass lmao.

[@Catriz55]

Yeah I was about to comment something similar to this. It's like shes been essentially a naked woman AI for the whole series. Just because they gave her the body of a curvier woman in 4 and made her more detailed doesn't mean automatically thats shes overtly sexualized and that it takes away from her character lol. Like I won't deny that shes sexier in 4 and that that was probably their intention for sure, but when you think about it his argument is kinda sexist cause basically hes saying if a woman looks like Cortana does in 4 their automatically a sex object no matter what they do.

[@dregonskreper7609]

@@Catriz55 I miss my hot Halo 4 Cortana, they did her wrong in Halo 5 ;_;

[@bromax360]

@@dregonskreper7609 facts

[@bromax360]

@Uncle Ho I see what you’re saying, personally I love Halo 4 Cortana but that’s also because it was my first Halo game.

[@dregonskreper7609]

@Uncle Ho why not both? Halo 4's gonna be on PC soon if someone wants to color modify her model

[@saberfaber3203]

"Halo is not a mature series" Laughs in expanded lore

[@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei]

@Paul Martin And then there is the Flood... .

[@yourlocalarsonist2258]

The Halo Flood series: Am I joke to you?

[@bedeoof5948]

Halo: the flood infected Jenkins section Interesting

[@zacharykrawczyk3942]

The Flood always freaked me the hell out as a kid. I always had to have my brothers play those levels for me. Then when I got older I thought I could handle them when Halo 3 came out, until I saw the pure forms and the live infections. That and the INCREDIBLY creepy music in all three games which make you feel like they're in your living room with you. Nope nope nope I could probably do it now but only because I've been so desensitized by it lol

[@ProDudeFilmsGaming]

The dialogue lines from marines and ODSTs where DEFINITELY rated M

[@217adaptiveperspective]

I still remember the Australian Marine yelling "Take it Bitch!" In the second of level of CE while using a sniper

[@footballcenter3000]

I remember playing Star Wars: Republic Commando, and when you melee kill and enemy, their blood would splatter on you visor. If you shot enemies on the ground, more blood would come out. The entire first act of the carrier is a horror scenario showing the aftermath of a ship that was ravaged by an unknown enemy. Wookie's would brutally execute enemies. The game was very violent and was still rated T. I was allowed by my parents to play this game when I was 7, but I was not allowed to play halo because it was rated M. :(

[@austinhinton3944]

“Star Wars is for little boys” -George Lucas.

[@DarkSpyro707]

The ESRB has always been a shame organization with a shitty rating system.

[@kingofmonsters14]

@FERMIN DEL ANGEL CARRILLO CHAVEZ one name: Abeloth.

[@kingofmonsters14]

and don't forget, you also kill babies: the Geonosian hatchlings.

[@AzumarillConGafasBv]

Ah yes, I remember those fucking scripted events where Geonosians killed innocent precious Clone Troopers and that there was nothing you can do to save them :c

[@ElronHumpperdink]

Halo Reach is “Soft M for Mature.” This man is saying what we all see. Word.

[@DarkTophatiusSkeletius]

Halo Reach has mildly intense violence because you can see the covenant destroy a planet and making the marines panic (even with the "Language" that ESRB forgot.)

[@thetrickster9885]

And kat's booty

[@ElronHumpperdink]

@@DarkTophatiusSkeletius absolute good point... the language is mature, but it’s not like a rap song for shock value in the 90s,” it’s “god dammit, we lost another outpost.” Something someone can say “meh, too much for me... but it makes it’s purpose.” Same goes with the violence... like Emile... he was slain, but he wasn’t gored.

[@ElronHumpperdink]

@@thetrickster9885 🤫 she T H I C C

[@DarkTophatiusSkeletius]

@@ElronHumpperdink , halo 3 may have some intense violence due to the flood, it was gruesome, even when you slain the flood zombies, that's how gore was in halo 3. so was MCC's steam agecheck.

[@sethzillassj5691]

I instantly smiled when I heard the ODST music and saw Rookie step forward, great video loved it

[@kalliexdlinto4574]

I like how you stayed with the original graphics for halo 1 and 2

[@max1muslegend772]

It makes a lot of sense to do so

[@blueguy2128]

Same here, I can't stand how everyone uses the shitty "remastered" graphics and music. They're terrible

[@platyhelminthes2877]

@@blueguy2128 Indeed. They're godawful. The Halo 2 remaster is at least decent, aside from the not-so-great music and sound design (the in-game graphics are pretty good, and the cutscenes look nice...mostly), but the Halo 1 remaster is just hot garbage, through and through.

[@blueguy2128]

@@platyhelminthes2877 Why do you think people just accept this garbage? Do you really think it's because they're so starved of quality that they'll take anything with just a quarter worth of effort put into it? Or do you also think they're just stupid. Cuz I think they're just stupid people

[@blueguy2128]

@@platyhelminthes2877 like the Halo 2 anniversary "Elites" with their ridiculous bulbous helmets that leaves their ENTIRE flat toad faces exposed, droopy disfunctional jaws, tiny little girl shoulders, a FORCED hunch in their armor that overlaps their stupid helmet, scrawny little arms with massive meaty hands, and the awful little feet they got. Or the down syndrome Brutes. Their faces are horrible, they look like they're inbred and diseased

[@JayWalkZ]

24:22 I highly disagree. Just because Cortana's body catches people's eyes doesn't mean it is over sexualised especially when her body is proportionate to that of an actual female. It is only over sexualized when the camera pans to her ass and breasts without any reason which the game doesn't do if I recall correctly.

[@tuckersbaby]

I keep thinking back to Halo 3 during the end cutscene of Halo and the ass shot there

[@skattattack7616]

facts she’s always been technically “naked” it’s just the graphics improved greatly and her female features are much more noticeable but I wouldn’t call it sexualized it’s just the female body.

[@teenageboyhormonalrage]

@@tuckersbaby and then 343 got the great idea to stick that shit on mcc’s loading screen

[@Wylie288]

This. Normal body features and the game never focuses on them. I fail to see whats sexual about it.

[@thimovijfschaft3271]

It does feel like they really pushed to make Cortana look hot and naked for dudes to fantasize about

[@cheeze5875]

holy shit someone who acknowledges quake 4's existence

[@mranonymous8292]

Lets pretend it doesn't exist 😂

[@Ainsley_the_meat_rubber]

That scene was hard to watch as a child XD

[@sharoyveduchi]

@@mranonymous8292 it's a better game than quake champions. It has better boss fights than quake 1, quake 2, quake 3, and doom 2. It was also in my opinion better than Halo CE because most of the weapons were good and the only weapon I didn't like was the pistol but that's ok because the pistol had infinite ammo. Halo CE not only had under powered weapons (especially on legendary difficulty), it had slow movement to the point that doomguy could run faster than all the vehicles in the game, and not only that there were no painful level sequences like the library. Quake 4 definitely had its strengths and more consistent quality than many other games. I'd probably play one of the later Halo games over Quake 4 but it definitely wasn't a bad game.

[@MILDMONSTER1234]

@@mranonymous8292 Quake 4 is a good game.

[@griffingower1883]

Dude I have quake 4 for the 360

[@NovaFox742]

You have to keep in mind the sounds of the guns when it comes to ratings. This is never shown on the box,but is always a factor in any shooter game. The sniper was one gun that helped push the M rating due to its sound. It sounded real to people at esrb

[@dumpling0079]

4:17 Jesus Christ that gave me anxiety...

[@ohno5507]

I imagine part of ODST's M rating is its overall connection to the Halo franchise. I think there was a push to keep the demographics the same, as it would be very inconsistent if the standalone expansion to an M rated game was T, even if the content itself would justify a lower rating.

[@DaDARKPass]

Also, the audio logs.

[@kabob0077]

@@DaDARKPass Good God, the Audio Logs...

[@pixelsilzavon77]

lol totally not the almost-rape of a girl by a police officer

[@kabob0077]

@@pixelsilzavon77 Nor some guy Brutally pulled apart in auditory detail.

[@megamanx1291]

Dude make this a series with other games! I’m so sure it’d be successful!

[@Dethgears]

Did Gears of War really deserve the "M" rating?

[@ViolaDragon621]

The way that carrier forms shake and wobble as they walk always freaked me out

[@m.outlawed]

EBR: asking the questions everyone else is to afraid to ask

[@anomalyinc3239]

Great Video Dude, I Agree With Everything...............Except Halo 4 Cortana Was Indeed the Best

[@billyboleson2830]

@Zer0dog not with that ugly jaw of hers

[@TG-wg4tw]

Halo 4 Cortana for life, mate

[@weirdofromhalo]

Halo 1 Cortana is best.

[@KylePhantomK94]

Ah. Something that Halo Canon pointed out that got me thinking when I first thought about Halo being quite a kiddy series. It's like Star Wars as you said. (You took the words out of my mouth as I was typing this comment) With the exception of the Flood, Halo has always felt like a kiddy cartoon sci-fi fantasy series. Then in the Expanded Universe with the Halo series and samething goes with Star Wars as well. You get more adult and darker things than the games or the movies showcase, and even more context to things.. (Halo's Flood being the only exception in the games, but from I recall the Flood novel, made the Flood much scarier than they were in Combat Evolved.) I wonder what Halo would be without the Flood, would it have been a forgettable alien shooter or would it have been at the same popularity. Once again fantastic video dude.

[@ganggang2537]

Not really halo was always a gritty military sci if shooter up until 343 took over.

[@crazi_ninja8885]

@@ganggang2537 it wasn't that gritty. you telling me shakespeare zombie and religious monkey dont seem a tad too cartoony?

[@camoking3605]

@@ganggang2537 id personally say the grittiest halo games were Reach and ODST, and even they had their silly moments, Halo has had gritty dark elements but hasn't fully committed to the grit So that some comedic, whimsical and dare i say, goofy things can exist The colorful covenant pallet The first halo ring The entirety of the grunts Funmy dialogue lines And so on so forth If anything 343 made halo MORE gritty with halo 4 by removing alot of the comedy and tried tell a more emotional story (Of course the community wasn't fond of it, and they double backed in halo 5 so......)

[@SUPERFunStick]

I think it would've been just as popular without the flood, as the main selling point wasn't ever really the campaign, but the multiplayer. Halo 1 popularised LAN parties, Halo 2 revolutionised online shooting games, and Halo 3 pretty much singlehandedly made Xbox live worth getting for millions of people. I frequently played Halo 2 through reach online with people who have never even played a single Halo campaign level. The flood had little to nothing to do with the overall popularity of Halo.

[@gabethebabe3337]

It would look like 343’s Halo

[@StormySky48]

Normally for KZbinrs I have some constructive criticism or differences of opinion but you've dissected it very well. Everything you said was true well backed up and very logical. This is my first video that I'm watching of yours. Good job.

[@ebr8308]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@SmokesKwazukii]

the only one that deserved an M rating was Reach- it didnt even have “Gore” as there were no Flood, but it was the most realistic -ish. Gore to the ESRB means dismemberment. Also Cortana’s HOLOBOOBIES have never influenced the ratings. Bungie really should have leaned into the M rating and given full dismemberment to all enemys and marines as well, but less maybe for Spartans/multiplayer .

[@Tha_Thiccness]

I agree. I can live without dismemberment but if I shoot 5 grunts with a rocket launcher I wanna see 25 limbs fly in every direction

[@J0J0Reference]

This has made me realize the flood probably won’t be coming back in Infinite given the T rating 😔 which is a huge shame considering Installation 07 is like the most important place in the expanded media pertaining to the flood.

[@sfritts10]

The Flood made it into Halo Wars 2 as DLC, there’s still hope 🙏

[@ljhoser5842]

it isnt rated t that was a placeholder

[@DaDARKPass]

@Bunneer The least believable? Dude, the flood can be anywhere.

[@DaDARKPass]

@Bunneer Just forget how the flood got to the ark I guess.

[@aidanharrison7956]

you are very wrong.

[@mgpmisterk2322]

The reason for me that I would want the m rating back is I feel that the quality suffered a bit in order to get the t rating, Guns no longer have that utilitarian, beat up military look to them and they all look like plastic nerf guns, and the alien blood and other injured/near death/ death animations just aren't as good anymore. The story seems to have suffered a lot as well I feel like they couldn't do as much as they wanted as a result of Trying to get the t rating

[@aolson1111]

The fuck are you talking about. The rating has literally nothing to do with how "utilitarian" the guns look. Arkham City, Fatal Frame, Bad Company, and Dark Souls 2 all had T ratings, and they were darker than every single Halo game.

[@kyerkneifel1413]

I agree with your point that getting the t-rating limits things. I’d rather have a m-rated game that is basically t-rated than a t-rated game that wants to be m-rated

[@tastycookiechip]

@@aolson1111 Bad Company, Arkham City and Dark Souls 2 are not darker than Halo at all. Wtf

[@antijen6431]

@@tastycookiechip Yes they fucking are. TF!!!

[@Lucas61616]

@@tastycookiechip mate I think you gotta read up on dark souls as a whole. Pretty much every beings existence in dark souls can be summed up as: "misery and then death" halo has some brutal lore but dark souls is just the king of dark settings in this comparison. Seriously, your choices are die, or die constantly and keep coming back more and more hollow until you lose all purpose and essentially become that of a mindless zombie. Its absolutely depressing. And to add insult to injury, to keep yourself sane you gotta have a goal, a purpose to go towards, but if you *complete* that purpose your gonna go hollow and lose your free will anyways! Happens in pretty much every game as well.

[@TheJakeSweede]

I was 9 or 10 when i first played Halo CE, after having seen a bit of Halo 2 at a friends house. The flood completely SHOCKED me, i had no idea about them, and i ended up replaying the first few missions in Halo CE over and over, so i didnt have to play the flood level. I eventually got the courage to play through it though, and i think it made me a lot more tolerable to video game violence. I also remember an animated trailer for the first Bioshock that had an impact on me with its violence, in which the character you "play" as gets his hand impaled, his arm turned into bees, and then his whole body got impaled. Gears of war gameplay footage also made me cringe, or just get an awful feeling, but i got over it. Never had a problem with gore in games since those times.

[@connorkelly182]

Great video. It’s rare I watch these kinds of videos all the way through but this grabbed my attention and didn’t let go. Good work :)

[@ebr8308]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it

[@DelawareBrooks]

The grittiness of blood. The looking back after an engagement and seeing the results of the actions. The changing of the environment with bullet holes, blood splattered, bodies, wreckage. It all creates an immersive atmosphere and provides replayability that is lost with a T rating. Time I spent letting covenant and UNSC forces Duke it out and enjoy the aftermath is incredibly fun, tells a story.

[@SHOPxDAxWHOPPER]

I reallllllllly hope they bring back the Flood in Infinite. I can only imagine how gnarley they would look on Series X...

[@tostie3110]

Not to mention Halo Wars showing them

[@MTG9745]

oh no...

[@MHA-TSBro]

Halo Infinite isn't out yet and it's already rated T I have no hope for the flood being in there

[@MTG9745]

@@MHA-TSBro The original Halo game was rated T and it had the flood.

[@MHA-TSBro]

@@MTG9745 No it was Rated M

[@nannerpants7]

Body horror always tends to get a big strike when it comes to ratings for movies or games. Couple it with the dismemberment from the flood and I can see what it got the rating. On a side note I finally got around to beating CE on the MCC and my god that Keyes animated cutscene is absolutely disturbing.

[@jeffplissken8996]

Remember having that (at least) one friend with the over the top helicopter parent? Yeah, those were the biggest pains of the time, no knowledge of the game but the M rating was an instant red flag just because. The Flood was the one part that made me feel like I was playing something really M-rated, even the language in retrospect isn’t even that bad. It seems even more redundant now after playing something like Manhunt.

[@shanez1215]

Your typical middle school has language FAR worse than any Halo game imo.

[@Dakayto]

One of the Marines in this game said the word "crap", so that's probably the reason why it got hit with M rating.

[@showedkiller4561]

Omg he said crap on my Christian halo server?

[@josharoo22]

No...that makes zero sense at all

[@Bobby_Peters]

OoooooOOOOOOooooOOOOooo spoooky

[@combativeThinker]

Two people in this thread have no sense of humor.

[@josharoo22]

@@combativeThinker I didn’t know it was a joke at first

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

As a kid, I was lucky enough to convince my parents that all of the ratings for games didn't mean anything in the end, because I said when I would grow up, I would have to face reality for myself anyway. And in reality, get shot and people die. The same reason as to why I got to play Gears of War, justifying that chainsawing people in half is no big deal because people have done worse in real life.

[@andros4323]

Yoooo wtf is that shitty justificaton lmao

[@T0YCHEST]

@@andros4323 this guy posts random comments on every conceivable youtubers videos, they come off as cheesy or sometimes obvious, its clearly so he can get likes, also im pretty sure he like farms a small amount to ignite people to think “hey people agree i guess i will aswell *clicks like*.

[@andros4323]

@@T0YCHEST wtf

[@unrealengine594]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpSwoHiol5KErM0

[@blessedxxiii8908]

You're officially the biggest loser on youtube cause you're on every vid lmao😂😂

[@taylorkelly6414]

You are easily one of the best Halo content creators on this Platform. You deserve a lot more subscriptions, and I'm willing to bet you'll get them in the near future.

[@ebr8308]

Wow, thank you!

[@Kale13000]

Halo was an M rated game when it released, but with what’s in so many other m rated games halo seems tame now. I always feel like the ESRB needs something between T and M. It’s always weird to me how halo and dark souls are given the same rating as the last of us, gta, and doom, is… ofd

[@D00dman]

I appreciate you acknowledging the story in Halo 4. Its often forgotten, but thats arguably the best rendition of Chief that we get: badass, stoic, and cool, but at the same time we can relate to him as he is trying to save the people he cares about and not all the time does he succeed in that endeavor. The composing scene and Cortana's sacrifice greatly emphasis this point, and I feel that the exploration of Chief's humanity displayed through Cortana and his interactions with the people around him elevated the story in Halo 4

[@tassel4713]

I never knew their mouths moved in halo 3

[@WilhelmScreamer]

I think this video would have massively benefited from a comparison of how esrb standards might have changed and some more references to contemporary games. And some discussion of how a game is rated as a process

[@Shamnolya]

Rated M for Masterchief

[@kairohrerrr1445]

"Am I right, Marines?" Chief is just mindlessly punching a corpse

[@NullyBird]

ESRB: "Wow looks like Halo 3 really turned a new leaf with their blood, gore, and language, I'm thinking a teen rating is gonn-" Flood: "Allow us to introduce ourselves"

[@TheGarvin]

We need more people like you providing age ratings for games.

[@ethanahern]

Wow, you don’t really see this kind of in depth discussion over why was a certain franchise went from M for Mature to T for Teen, great job, I was very entertained all throughout.

[@NolDragon]

I wish the damage done by a needler supercombine looked like the damage done by a needler supercombine.

[@ItsButterBean1020]

Just see a puddle where they were

[@tostie3110]

A hole akin to the torn open elite jn CE would be cool for stickies

[@Kirtahl]

I would rather have a soft M for this series than a hard T. The M rating lets us delve into generally more adult themes. Would you hear the level of cursing in halo 5 in a legit military? No, very much no. A light M gives enough levity to not be gratuitous and give a chance for parents to buy the game for teens, while making the universe more believable.

[@AustinH7]

No blood in halo 5 is laughable and further makes the game seem like plastic action figures fighting each other in multiplayer

[@benr3272]

There’s already been interviews with 343 saying it’s gonna be more like halo 5

[@Kirtahl]

@@benr3272 I know now, still stoked for infinite. Just hope that the series can retain some gravity.

[@halolasomaster3900]

Halo has always been a Hard T I would say Gears of War is more deserving of the M rating.

[@jpitt300]

"Murdering helpless aliens without breaking a sweat" Under that note, did you know grunts are basically children? Don't think about it for to long.

[@gyrozeppeli4862]

They have short lifespans

[@BIGmlems]

The answer is no, halo 1 taught me how to paint water color, especially when trying to one up the flood in grunt painting all throughout the elevator when your first run into the flood. Also mag dumping the assualt rifle into the backs of giants and hunters made for some good paintings. Needlers and grenades were perfect for expanding the work.

[@astrovix2124]

Great video! But, I can’t help notice that you missed some things that would be important in exploring this topic: ODST had pretty dark audio logs, including a rape scene. ODST was also bundled with Halo 3’s multiplayer maps at launch. Halo 5 is the only game given a Teen rating in the US. You should compare it’s rating/reasoning to the prior games. The ratings outside of America vary by country and the games themselves, but it’s usually about 15+ though ESRB ratings effectively have to round up because of the lack of a similar rating. Analyzing if the non-American ratings are more accurate (or not) would be very important. M rated games sell better in America. See: Grand Theft Auto V. This is worth mentioning.

[@knucklessammich3875]

I see your point so I like you respectfully disagree and here's my opinion the audio logs for how dark and fucked up they got You still had to go through a hell and back to find them If you're someone like me who got lost a lot and if those audio logs were enough to get them a M rating that's kind of sad If audio logs would be reason It has it because if that's true just take out the audio logs and you're done teen rated Halo 5 should be compared when it comes to ratings for the very least to see if there was any drastic changes because If Halo 5 had like one gruesome like the one in Halo 4 then it would have been M But since you know you don't see someone getting disintegrated to ash as you see their skin their muscle and bones turn to death And the ESRB system in America even us Americans admit that it is complete bullshit some days like perfect example a hat in time one of if not the most kid-friendly games I have played in years has a teen raining cuz there's like alcohol like drinks in the game that your character can't drink But are there and a dark sense of humor to it which would go on over a kid's head completely so yeah that's the ESRB system changing entire ratings over a simple thing

[@KionKamon]

Wait in Halo 2 I thought Grunts sometimes said, “Holy fuck!”. It’s been so long since I’ve played it with friends that actually had an Xbox as I didn’t have one, so I very well could be mistaken.

[@PixelaGames2000]

This was an interesting video to watch I’ve learned a lot about the halo games I never played a halo game sense I never owned an Xbox console but now that the master chief collection is on pc I can now play these games

[@novaflatline8727]

Marines in CE did drop the f bomb occasionally, when you shot them. I only shot them on occasion to speed up a couple levels. No marines left = don't have to wait for pelican to pick them up. I was 13 when CE dropped. Best yule gift i've ever received.

[@Suckit626]

No there's been no f bombs in any halo media ever, the middle finger was given once or twice in the books but that's it

[@dungeonsanddobbers2683]

I have a theory; the language ratings are in all the games post Combat Evolved not because of the language you'll encounter in the games story mode, but because of the language you'll encounter in the online mode.

[@dumpsterdaddy7846]

Multiplayer isnt rated by ESRB or any Ratings board, if that was the case, Fortnite would be Rated AO for the things that some people say.

[@berserkerlewis7089]

The only problem with that is it's covered with the whole "Gameplay experience may change online" thing that pops up.

[@dumpsterdaddy7846]

@@spaghettiupseti9990 That would be incredibly impossible for starters, only because multiplayer games can have a lot of variables it, on top of that, they do not re-rate games after release for multiplayer all ratings are done BEFORE release. the article you most likely saw by ESRB is advising parents about how Online Game ecosystems work and to be aware of that.

[@thehoodybadger3402]

"Online interactions not rated by the ESRB."

[@ORLY911]

I was always curious about this for Halo 1, since much of the violence and blood is tamer than some other original Xbox games I played (and even PS2). I know in the old printings of the Fall of Reach, there's an ad for CE at the back with it clearly labeled with a Teen rating, so it was a last minute change (probably because of the Flood).

[@austinhinton3944]

Anecdotal tales say that when Bungie showed the higher ups at Microsoft pics of the flood, they puked. And mind you this was the 2001 ‘rubbery’ flood.

[@SniperRed0092]

The blood in CE is vibrant, but I wouldn't say comical.

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

I think comical is in reference to the volume of blood that can be spilled by a single entity, not the colors of it.

[@bychna2874]

This is a really good video I don't know how you got less than 500k subs

[@Michael.Hunt.14-52]

gotta support the small channels. gave you a sub after seeing you in my feed

[@overtherenowaitthere]

im glad the youtube algorithm is recommending your videos to me, new sub!

[@ebr8308]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@wtmftproductions]

I didn't realize how many of these were rated M. In my memory Halo CE was the only one. One of my biggest complaints about all the subsequent games was the lack of blood. I missed the halls being painted from floor to ceiling after a fight that only CE ever did.

[@akkae666]

Dude the edits had me laughing had to sub

[@HeckaLives]

Pew pew. I never even really notice Halo's blood too much. Especially in CE and 2. Mainly because it just looks like someone dumped glow stick goo everywhere. (Seeing as the Elites were inspired by the Predator, that's probably exactly what they were going for).

[@Reshi9984]

you never noticed the blood going down that elevator in 343 guilty spark?

[@WonderMePartyStrip]

@@spaghettiupseti9990 it's there, but not in the anniversary graphics.

[@Reshi9984]

@@spaghettiupseti9990 i saw it in the Original Graphics. Theres so little in Anniversary

[@jiteshkumarsahoo2830]

To be honest when I first saw cortana in Halo ce when I was 9 , thought she wore a purple costume Good video btw ; subbed!

[@jaykash6460]

Aye man u just got a new subscriber after this vid💯

[@ebr8308]

Thanks for subbing

[@jggaming7506]

@@ebr8308 you are so underrated.

[@Anon53]

0:15 Yo the music with your voice at the same time is perfect, lol! It's very intense sounding, like something out of a movie. 2:00 Same concept, that is too cool. So basically the flood is what caused the ratings in em? 🤔 That's interesting. Btw don't get me wrong, the scene in Halo 4 where you see that scientist get vaporized out of nowhere... is actually pretty disturbing for the first time you see it (I'm not gonna lie). But, you do shit like that in the game Destroy all humans on a daily basis. (And that game is rated Teen).

[@brogan294]

When I was a kid I was genuinely shocked that halo 2 was an m rated game. I thought it was so crazy that my parents let me and my brother own an m rated game and that I had played it probably even in front of them a few times. I did eventually figure out halo is one of the tamer rated m series but as a kid I was take surprised by it's rating.

[@NasonVSRG]

Why does this have less than 1000 views

[@jonny-nava-367]

Now over 76k views

[@Badmunky64]

I remember getting the town recreation center in trouble for letting a bunch of pre-teens play Halo multiplayer off of my Xbox. A mother got angry because it was an M rated game. I was a counselor at the time.

[@demetrickshields7045]

Honestly if I had to rate halo mutiplayer its like rated T

[@tdkreturns-batcavepictures1224]

I remember in my day Halo was always rated R16 in New Zealand. The only time we ever had the game rated lower than that was with the PG and M rating for Halo Wars and Halo 4. But Halo 4 became R13 a week or so later by the NZ Classification department.

[@carsonproctorofficial]

I'd love to see a "why is Destiny 1 rated T?" Video.

[@madgamer4337]

The only halo game that I think deserves the MA15+ rating is probably reach as it does have a bit of blood but it has very mature themes and a lot of random dead marines... Like in the first mission there is a marine hanging from a hook that has fly's surrounding the body. And not to mention the assassinations

[@xxmurdermanxx6995]

Well reach, ce and 2 are the only ma15+ games in Australia, the rest are Australian m (equivalent to t)

[@madgamer4337]

@Jacob Benderson well compare the amount of blood splatter and brutality of reach to halo 5. Its more brutal in reach

[@madgamer4337]

@@xxmurdermanxx6995 I think it'd stupid that halo 5 and reach have the same rating......

[@xxmurdermanxx6995]

@@madgamer4337 but they dont. Or do you mean in America? But even then they dont.

[@madgamer4337]

@@xxmurdermanxx6995 I thought they had the same rating as isn't halo 5 rated T as well? I don't know much about the American rating system... I am an Aussie

[@woody565]

4:16 jeez mate you gave me a heart attack, I had to look behind me in terror, some of us still have severe ptsd!

[@shanez1215]

Reanimated Regret was horrifying, although in classic Halo 2 graphics the Gravemind looks like a cabbage. H2A though? Dear God that is definitely disturbing. As for language, I've heard worse in middle school than in ANY Halo game.

[@user-mh5wu9ui8v]

accurate

[@tuckersbaby]

While soft core compared to other titles of similar age, I disagree. Every M rated Halo deserves it rating and bar the spin off games (Halo Wars, Spartan Assault, etc.), a Teen rating has only resulted in the worst Halo game to date. Infinite being rated Teen for violence alone ales or less mature than Halo 5 with its blood, mild language, and violence. ODST was the goofiest and most tame of the original five titles, yes, but through the audiologs and Halo 3 combat it still warrants the coveted M rating. The ESRB has never stopped children from being exposed to mature themes and content, and when I played Combat Evolved for the first time back in early 2004 on a friend’s PC, I wasn’t “scared” from the experience. I did develop a fear of the Flood some time after beating CE for another year or two, avoiding those levels until around 2006-ish, but I ultimately built a bridge and got over it. Halo has always exemplified the Xbox target demographic of high school and college students with its much edgier branding compared to middling Sony and childish Nintendo, and keeping the stylized realism of combat that the series is so well known for keeps the franchise from devolving into Call of Duty in space.

[@rambo-cambo3581]

I've never seen someone spew so much meaningless shit in a comment before Literally nothing you said there was informative, accurate, or constructive for anyone involved I think you disagree, but you can't even work out why

[@m16-a2]

@@rambo-cambo3581 Maybe take time to read something before judging? What he said made actual sense. Don't know what you put in your breakfast

[@hulkbustermark5830]

Do be honest rating doesn’t matter in my eyes. Halo 5 didn’t fail because of rating it failed because of the terrible story, lying to fans, hunt the bs, overall change to mobility, lack of features at the start of the games, changes to emblem system and lack of freedom when customising your spartan not to mention the overall change to the art and the fact that promethium enemies are still annoying to fight .

[@billyboleson2830]

Xbox was mostly played by 12 year olds and Normies while Nintendo was played mostly by boomers and 20 year olds lmao. Wtf are you even on about

[@tuckersbaby]

@@billyboleson2830 Xbox being the platform of normies? Nice joke. While Halo was king shit on turd island up until 2007, Microsoft was still the underdog of the 6th console generation with a very heavy emphasis on a mature game library. Just because I played Halo when I was six doesn’t mean I was the target demographic of the company. Nintendo may attract long time fans but it’s demographic is still a family-centric audience, likely children. Just like how Sony and PlayStation exemplify the teenage demographic, especially with the angsty lineup during the 6th generation and the PS2 being the most normalized console with the highest sales numbers of all time.

[@thedonutkillermandude3668]

14:25 "this game has the more realistic looking version of the flood" Guess I'm the only one who thought of'em as sea food.

[@torinjones3221]

There is also a heavily injured marine covered in blood etc in halo 2 which was meant to be a feature all marines has the possibility of looking like but was removed because it was considered too graphic except for the one marines on the first mission.

[@thoranzalarvhazen4250]

I always figured it was because of the Flood, because honestly that's what made the first game the only one to truly SCARE me while playing. Never again have I ever been actually scared. The first game did such a wonderful transition from action, to sudden horror. I mean the levels themselves suffered from being too grindy and slow paced with the constant horde mode, but still the tone change was designed to catch the player off guard. Who would have known that suddenly this aliens vs humans sci fi shooter would turn into a COSMIC HORROR survival game where even the aliens from before are afraid.