Why Star Trek is BETTER than Star Wars?!
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- Опубліковано 27 лип 2024
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Since the dawn of time, man has argued over which is better, Star Trek or Star Wars, finally we have a definitive answer.
In Incoming, The Templin Institute discusses the theories and ideas found across alternate worlds.
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Thanks to everyone for making this our most disliked episode ever! We couldn't have done it without you!
Sly move with the segue from "FANDOM WARS!" to "let's look at this one aspect of international politics!"
Lol
You don't have to thank me ;D
You really hit the hornets nest didn’t you!
Could you make a Pike, Kirk, Sisko and Janeway video like you did with Picard?
Here is a old Sci-Fi forum fan joke I heard years ago:
Scientists asks science fiction fans if they would like live in their favourite fictional universe:
The Star Wars fan says "yes I would".
The Star Trek fan says " yes I would".
The Halo fan says "yes I would"
The Warhammer 4000 fan says "no because there are easier ways to commit suicide".
Er, people like the idea of being glassed by the Covenant or becoming Flood chow?
@@dianabarnett6886 As much as people cotton to the idea of being mind-raped by militant space-wizards, killed by plastic wearing space-nazis, being sent hurtling through time, or dying, knowing that it was because their shirt was red.
You could find negatives in any of the four mentioned franchises. Though, admittedly it *is* easier to do so with some franchises (looks, wearily, at the churning mass of "grim-dark" that is WH40K) than others.
@@dianabarnett6886 think of it like this
Star Wars: only in danger if your in some form of military or on an important planet
Star Trek: only in danger if your in some form of military or on an important planet
Halo: only in danger if your in some form of military or Live during Human-Cov war (before and after you should be safe as a Civi)
Warhammer 40k: *THERE IS NO SAFETY. ONLY ENDLESS WAR* (There real is no were safe in 40K)
Nobody in their right mind would want to live in the Halo universe. Sure it might not be as bad as a universe of endless wars for pointless reasons and stupidly over the top weapons and vehicles, but living in the Halo Universe would suck with the large covenant empire that aims to wipe out humanity and non-believers and the almost unstoppable eldritch-like horror that is the Flood.
plot twist, Warhammer is the result of the rapture
Well this isn't going to cause any arguments.
No not at all
arguing over tiny things is the sign of a small mind.
@@cmdraftbrn closemindness does not exist because it is always from a certain point of view. So who is judge or/ and jurry? Who decides wat tiny things are? General relativity does not exist in human culture.
@@marijnr6821 *look at the internet as a whole*
sure... I guess?
Crazeenerd surprisingly, I haven’t seen one.
I feel a great disturbance in the force.
As if many fanboys suddenly cried out in rage.
jorik rouwenhorst I’ve seen more people complaining about fanboys than actual fanboys...
begun, the Star Wars fan civil war, it has.
Lmao😂😂😂
@jorik rouwenhorst
I am sorry about that, I had beans last night and I did not mean to do that.
To be honest I'm kinda salty
Begun, the Fandom War has.
Begun, the Neckbeard Virgin War has.
Star Wars fans too busy at war with each other
The Fandom Wars have changed over the years in the last decade, It is a war between fan factions fighting for what they believe is better and even against each other:
The Alliance to Preserve the Expanded Universe
The Anti-EA liberation Front
the New Canon Loyalists
the Star Trek fans (From original to Ent)
And also the new Star Trek Era
Great to meet a fello rebeI! will love to see the money grubbing EA fall!
Indeed.
Star Wars: We use hyperdrives.
Star Trek: We use warp drives.
40k: We go through hell.
Which is obviously cooler and more badass but the least practical of all of them.
@@zeehero7280 Considering the poor guys who have to fuel them by hand also have to carry their own coffins with them. Yeah I agree with your statement.
40K: Might arrive on time, or before they left, or long after the last star has burnt out. Or not at all. Or inside out.
Fun!
Minecraft: We go through hell, too.
Welcome to the 8 o'clock news. Today's top story is: 'Fanboys cold war over Star Trek and Star Wars has turned hot again and as a result stores are reporting a shortage of popcorn and salt.'
Carde, What about butter?
"Now to Ollie with the weather. Ollie?"
"IT'S GONNA RAIN"
"Thank you Ollie"
Though i am surprised that there still wss some salt left with this seasons wifu wars just heating up again in the anime community.
Back to the studio
There is a Star Wars and Star Trek conflict .
Lol I've lived with wars and am getting into trek . They're both damn good in their own ways .
Ehhhh, from a worldbuilding perspective I agree multi-polarity is interesting. But looking at Star Wars from an out of universe context, it (at least the original movies) has always been about good vs evil, as trite as it sounds. It was a fairy tale in space where the plucky rebellious underdogs fight back with grit and tenacity against the massive evil empire. Making the Rebellion into patsies for another equal state would take away from that a bit.
More importantly, it was escapism from our world, to one of magic and wonder in a galaxy far far away. I do *not* think making a Cold War or Vietnam War analogy (6:05) in it during the 70s-80s would've appealed that much at all to audiences.
Basically, yes multipolarity makes stories interesting, but it shouldn't need to apply for all settings, especially with the context some were made in.
The most intresting multi polarity in star wars came in ledgends.
When there multiple imperial states, fledgling republic and variois medium powers who did their own thing.
I hope they go multipolar after ep9 with the jedi not politically bound.
@@eps200
If we are to belive some rumours that are thrown around the sequel trilogy is about to get Thanos'd by timetravel.
Your Jedi are pedophiles. And your galactic empire sucks balls. Live Long and Prosper. :)
@@jessetellez3924 Aren't the Jedi sexless monks? How can they be pedos? Also didn't the empire do what the Federation could only dream of, unify the whole of the galaxy? Heck the Romulans and Dominion can't even do that and they're explicitly violent imperialist states.
@@eps200 The interim between episode 6-7 has multiple Imperial successor states be they small (Moff Gideon) or large (the Core Region's Imperial Remnant) or quasi-large but distant (First Order).
I was there. I was there when the Great War began on The Templin Institute
When the institute fell into civil war...
I was there, the day Horus killed the Emperor..
I was also there.
The oldest fandom war rages on to this day. Expect response video bombardment.
Oldest fandom war? I think a number of religions would disagree with you on that one.
...I would think the oldest fandom would be "Who is the greatest playwright - Geoffrey Chaucer or William Shakespeare"?
@@TheSpectacledOwl Chaucer didn't write plays, but I could imagine a fandom war between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe fans. There is one now.
The fandom war rages on .
There is no contest Star Trek was first and Star Wars ripped off the first part of Star Trek they could have been called Galaxy Wars or outer space wars but they went for star cuz I knew would work
Stoking fandom wars is tired and lame. I love both for different reasons.
Yeah. It's the beauty with SW and ST: There's something for everyone in there, so it's possible to like both for different reasons
^The objective truth^
Yeah i like star wars for some ship design and the same for star trek
JJ Ambrams be with us all! :D
That's the thing, though. The Templin Institute wasn't stoking any flames. Though, admittedly, the title of the video was more than a bit inflammatory.
All they did was point out a strong, positive aspect about Star Trek. Political intrigue, as well as moral and philosophical quandaries, has always been one of Star Trek's strong suits. The same cannot be said in regards to Star Wars, at least nowhere near to the same extent, especially early on in its continuity.
You can like both franchises, no problem. But, you can't really deny that Star Trek is *objectively* superior to Star Wars, in regards to political intrigue.
Kinda warms my heart that after all these years this particular small and petty rivalry is still going with such force and passion :-)
force..hehe..anyway...yeah...we are indeed rivals..in the meantime stargate and halo chadly dance in the backround as they massacare the enemies of humanities with ruthless efficiency was they discover there past and a ancient empire that once ruled the galaxy
Now both are ded
The story arc of the Cardassian Union from TNG to the end of DS9 is a pretty good example.
Now while I respect your opinion and think the comments talking about fandom vs fandom are ultimately foolish and miss the entire point of the video. I do think it's important to introduce a conflicting perspective to your own, one in this case that I hold. Though before I start I want to reiterate that I am not disregarding your opinion, nor do I wish to have people use my comment to make vitriolic statements towards you or your videos. I would very much encourage any friendly discourse you might wish to have based on what I'm about to say and I'd rather frame this as a discussion than any sort of debate.
The problem I have with what you've presented here is that it ultimately creates a general case of what is "better" or "worse" in a given universe without examining the individual context and conflict of the universe itself to make that determination. To take your Star Wars example, the core tenants of the SW universe, in the context of the original trilogy, would have been violated if they were merely tools for an alternate power that was "just as bad as the empire." The entire point of the OT was to create a desperate situation for a group of characters who were on the back foot, who triumphed through adversity and ultimately restored the original republic through their quite frankly lacking means. This plot structure works quite well and ultimately created a more engaging narrative than if you had to present those themes with the addition of another power, which based upon how you framed them would conflict with the themes and principles of the characters in the story.
On the same token I agree that Star Trek's multi-polar nation system works fantastically in its universe, however, Star Trek isn't good because it's multi-polar, it's good because the writers of ST took that concept and weaved an actually engaging narrative (most of the time). This allowed the multi-polar setup of ST to work to its fullest potential during its major story arcs, the various factions and alliance systems worked in something like the Dominion War because the story was suited to that style of narrative, as were the characters.
I just don't believe the assertion that Star Wars, Halo, or whatever other Universe would become better as a result of moving away from its current power structure is a correct one, at least in the way you presented it. Quite frankly I don't care that you prefer Star Trek's universe to Star War's, I think that's an entirely reasonable position that I might even agree with and you shouldn't be attacked for holding it. I just think the statement you've presented is overtly general without the nuance of further examination, and as a result doesn't hold value in regards to actually examining different universes.
I just want you to know that you type like an absolute tool
You fool! You have reignited the Trekkie- Starwarsians War once more! Doom upon the fandoms! Salt for the salt god!
Malgax The Great LET THE FANDOM BURN!!!!!
Can I jut say the Galacticraft mod for Minecraft is by far better than either of these
TRUTH
Xenolith Aye! I remember that mod! Still got it on my PC.
fuckin true
The nostalgia
Well, here I go to Minecraft
Oh, I can already see the friendly, peaceful comment sections!
In all seriousness, saying one is better than the other is only true to people who share your opinion on it. Objectively, neither are better than the other. Art is something that cannot be objectively measured for quality, as each individual piece has its merits and values to someone, somewhere, at some time. Both Star Wars and Star Trek are art, after all, and I love art.
Dude you should like chat gpt when I ask this shi🤣
The whole ideology of Star Wars is the light vs the dark, if that universe wasn't unipolar or bipolar it wouldn't work... Also based on that I would argue that SW is actually always bipolar even if the Empire is far superior to the Rebel Alliance! The majority of SW's history has been two equally powerful in the force factions in an everlasting war.
Yeah, that's called life. Good must always resist the rise of evil. You'll never eliminate evil from existence.
'No! You don't get it. Star Wars is shit because it has to be shit. It wouldn't make sense if it were interesting'.
That’s true, but it doesn’t change much. Only ever having two powers isn’t very interesting. It would be far more interesting to have another major faction that is just as powerful as the other two. For example, in SWTOR, the Eternal Empire is far more powerful than both the Republic and the Sith Empire. What if it was just as powerful as either one of them, but not as powerful as both combined? Or what if there was a major galactic power in the Unknown Regions? Perhaps one that is using the First Order as a proxy to test the Republic? These kinds of ideas make a universe much more interesting.
But that's boring. Light and dark, 100% good and 100% evil just isn't interesting. There are good things about star wars, but "interesting", "realistic" or "well-thought-out" were never up there.
Malcolm La Prairie You clearly don't know anything about the EU and the philosophies introduced in KOTOR. I would suggest you watch the video "The Philosophy of Kreia: a critical analysis of star wars"
Target the Templin Institute. You may fire when ready.
Love SW above all but.. umm... Tarkin theirs an old man, a farm hand an a dude that looks oddly like Harrison Ford on the Death Star again.. an the gunners are kinda creeped out bout it.
You may begin to argue when ready .
Don't worry, the Harrison Ford look alike is just Indiana Jones and hes not importent to the plot.
we've analysed their attacks, sir and there is a danger. Should I have your ship standing by?
oh no
WHO RETURNED TARKINS SLIPPERS?!
You were the chosen one! It was said you would destroy the Trek, not join them! You were to bring balance to the Fandom, not leave it in darkness!
Star Trek and Star Wars: *Bickering*
Warhammer 40K: *Sighs*
So true!
Daddy emp.... 'Trek and 'Wars are fighting again!
Space Station 76: *Looks down at all three*
@@franceschik1 I know son, they take themselves far too seriously. Now, go kill that daemon spawn with this chainsaw.
More like
Warhammer 40K: "How cute."
One word for that click bait title: Brave.
I mean, I personally agree, but still, brave AF.
The problem with this video is that you're looking at this in terms of relationships between nations instead of examining the sort of story the franchises tell, or the themes therein. Conflict and political maneuvering on a larger scale does not automatically a more compelling story make. Star Wars was always about a clash of ideology, and a commentary on the allure of power and its corrupting influence. About the way in which republics are ultimately corrupted as their institutions get older and more vested interests sink their claws into government, and ultimately tend towards fascism, with a fantastic example being the United States today. The story of Star wars does not span the four-year Galactic civil war depicted in the original trilogy, but through the expanded universe spans tens of thousands of years. And while there is generally some dominant superpower, there are many, many cultures and empires that rise and fall from power within it, and, as the title suggests, peace is generally short-lived.
but the flood IS a third player that want to whipe out both major forces at once
and now the Halo universe is divided between UNSC, several covenants remains, and AI
The flood are a natural disaster, not a faction.
None of the other factions (save for the Created (AI)) can rival the unsc since they acquired forerunner technology.
@@dradmiral5224 The evil Cortana and the AI are from Halo 5.
I'm not sure how much of it is explained in the games (I read the novels, too) but the USNC Infinity which is in Halo 4 is built with many Forerunner improvements. Shortly after the end of the war the UNSC found some Forerunner Hugarok (Engineers) on (or in?) a Dyson-Sphere.
The Covenant engineers seem to have vanished after the Great Schism which crippled the surviving Covenant factions ability to build and repair their ships. The UNSC is basically the only faction that can build big warships and none of the Covenant ships can match the Infinity.
TLDR: The UNSC Navy was the dominant faction after the war until Cortana took over.
@@wendtchr i would agree if the flood didn't had gravemind. But with them they do become a faction with a strategy and a clear goal.
Agreed, what this video misses is that bipolar universes inevitably spawn other factions. They rarely REMAIN bipolar. In Halo, the Food (re)appears and then there is a revolt within the Covenant (which is itself a hierarchy of different alien species) and then the Prometheans and then AI.
Even in Star Wars there are always factions like the Hutts, the Chiss or the Voss which remain outside the control of either the Republic of the Empire.
It's like saying why is GoT better than LOTR. They are both separate entities and serve different purposes within the same umbrella genre, neither one is really better.
Star Trek is superior in every regard
@@biggsydaboss3410 sci-fi =/= space opera, they're completely seperate
@@biggsydaboss3410 how? the writing at times is often so generic and bland with clear right and wrong black and white morality usually ending up with humans being right. Maybe more recent shows/seasons fixed this but for a long time it wasn't very interesting and the alien races look laughable.
@@falco6121 What? Space opera is subgenre of sci fi.
@@falco6121
I'd agree with that
Star trek as an example of Multipolarity is a good one, but it's definitely risen as a plot device in the movies and TNG era series. With the Federation-Klingon-Romulan being the holy trinity of this dynamic.
As shown by your video, Babylon 5 is also an excellent example of multipolarity which pretty motivates the entire storyline by using the agency of its' characters, the best example would be comparing EA, Narn Regime and Centauri Republic between the 1st season to the 4th. Even the Minbari saw change in it's interstellar politics.
Another example I would like to bring forth, is from the Expanse, with with it starting as a Bipolar system with Earth and Mars, with the belt being fought as proxy war. Later evolving to a Multi polarity with the OPA being a power to reckon with. Also add to that multinational bodies like corporations with their own agenda, and you got a powder-keg waiting to explode. There are additional evolution as shown in further books, but we'll keep it at that.
And last but not least, WH40 should be considered a multipolarity, but it got so many levels due to it's wargaming mechanics, that it is, as it's lore, quite insane and convoluted.
You think 40k is multipolarity? Well, I suppose so now with the tyranniids in the fray.
@@mackenziebeeney3764 I believe that WH40 is the equivalent of a tesseract of a multipolarity. Too many sides, and as I've mentioned, the mechanics of the game make it insane. The imperium alone is another layer of multipolarity within itself.
Fellow Citizen. Multipolarity in The Empire you think? No? Its heresy then... HERESY!!!
@@shiran31 I wouldn't consider 40k multipolar on the principle of few of the factions are comparable in strength. It's more a dipolar with many tiny factions. If you ignore the 'mids as more of a natural disaster then a government. You have the Imperium and Necrons as the galaxies super powers in terms of possible resources. Then you have a bunch of regional powers like the tau and craftworld eldar. Every other faction isn't able to bring to bear a fraction of the sort of resources the Imperium or Necrons(theoretically) can.
The Expanse is just cool all around, can't wait for the new seasons coming up!
I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the Death Star (Mk III) your right to say it.
That's why I love Babylon 5 so much. I'm now on the latter half of season 3 and it has only gotten deeper with each episode. Ever evolving show, terrific stuff.
Babylon 5 is indeed the best.
I would question whether the UNSC post-Covenant War counts as a hyperpower. Yes, the war technically was an Earth victory and the Covenant splintered, but nearly every other human world save Earth was "glassed" by the Covenant and rendered uninhabitable. Post-war, the alliance between the USNC and the Swords of Sanghelios seems less like a hyperpower and vassal state in a unipolar system as much as two badly depleted powers in relative parity trying to keep everything in the galaxy from going to hell. (Which is also a great source of conflict.)
Some colonies remain.
Just for a third faction to come in and fuck everything.
History repeats itself
video not even out, already 50% split like dislike. not even wait for context or arguments.
take cover, thats gonna be a shitshow.
serious, why rate the video when you have no idea what is gonna be in it. it could be klickbait aswell or do a 180 or be sarcasm, or wahtever.
DerAnanasKing because comparing which universe is "better" when they're apples and oranges is ridiculous from the very beginning. One is a sci-fi another space-fantasy opera
@@Solaxe Star Trek is also a Space-fantasy. ESPECIALLY the Original Series.
@@Solaxe *pushes up glasses* Well ACTUALLY, according to our Lord and savior George Lucas, shut the fuck up
And then people actually started watching the video... ;)
Why rate the video before watching?
what do you think? ;-)
you should have mentioned the legends stuff but B5 stomps almost everything when it comes to politics
I prefer #5.
Yeah. The EU was full multipolarity
*Laughs in 40k*
"Show me what passes for fury amongst your misbegotten kind!"
*Laughs in Space Station 76*
The Emperor Protects
Meanwhile Q turns all the Chaos Gods into his little loli cock-sleaves.
@laz kar those are some fighting words, babe. better watch yourself
There are a few problems I have with seeing halo as a bipolar state. First, the covenant the clear superpower, and humanity would barely be considered a great power, it only being so as there are no other comparisons in the universe. While the Human-covenant war was a human victory, the UNSC was left weakened by it as a whole. By the end of the war, most of the fleet was wiped out and most planets either glassed (like reach) or heavily damaged (earth). So while they’ve managed to rebuild somewhat, the UNSC is far from what a super power would be in that world. Hell, the UNSC doesn’t even control all of the lost territory, with humanity split between the UNSC and insurrectionists. And despite the covenant schism and various fractions vying to power, they still very much pose a threat to the UNSC and humanity. And while I like the idea of there being other factions either involved, or at least neutral, the main problem is that the covenant is humanities first contact, and any other factions that may have existed, would be discovered by the covenant first and would therefore be incorporated into it or wipeout by the time they discover humanity. So thank you for coming to my ted talk.
Speaking just in regards to Star Trek and Star Wars, both tell plenty of good stories - even good political ones. However, they seem to follow different philosophies in their approaches. Being a huge Star Wars fan myself, I am more intimately familiar with Star Wars lore. However, I am close friends with families of Trekkies (and I have maintained some level of fandom since ST: TNG, going on and off between series) so I have plenty of exposure to Star Trek Lore.
Star Trek lore, overall, does tend to focus more on the macro level. The multiple types of conflicts, rivalries, and alliances between multiple governments and factions - each with their own (usually fairly detailed) lore - do tend to show an even grander picture of the galaxy. This can be a negative, however, as it can leave so many characters as appearing to be nothing more than expendable cogs in a machine (afterall, the red shirt meme came first, well before the stormtrooper). Plenty of good and interesting stories can still be told, though the individual relatability (i.e. how one person is/isn't just a cog) aspect can be reduced or broken if not handled properly. While the Original Series did plenty of personal stories for Kirk, from Next Generation onwards, Star Trek has focused more on the "big picture" (to varying degrees with each series) while trying to show ways of finding your own place/answer within it (at least, that's my main take from Next Gen, which was when I started getting into Star Trek).
Star Wars lore has tended to focus more on the micro level, more on the individual. It was made fairly evident with the original trilogy of movies, how they focused on a select group of individuals and shined more light onto their stories than anyone or anything else's. Granted, Star Wars was always sold as a "space epic," a play on the "hero's epic" that it heavily draws from (which is always about the main character - a.k.a. the hero), and virtually every Star Wars story written has focused on the individual, either the same characters from the movies or someone else entirely. In a way, Star Wars is saying that no matter what is going on around, this is still someone's life/story, where even someone who, at best, would be considered a footnote in the "grand galactic picture" can still have a good and interesting life/story and have it told (say whatever you want about its quality, but without that underlying philosophy, we wouldn't have gotten Rogue One). Star Wars tends to get more personal with its stories, and sometimes those stories end up having some degree of influence on the galaxy.
Now, whether Star Trek or Star Wars is overall better depends on what you're looking for. If you want more grand and larger-scale stories (of which politics usually fits well with), then Star Trek can be better. If you want more individualistic stories that focus more on select people (for whatever reason they were selected), then Star Wars takes it.
As for other sci-fi franchises, that still depends on what you're looking for. This was just between these two franchises.
Star Wars hasn't been telling any good stories recently, sadly. :(
I agree with the red shirt thingy.
@@aiosquadron Red shirts are no death sentence.
@@continuumastra1018 If we actually look at the stats, red shirts have the lowest fatalities rate.
I honestly think the reason that the New Republic and Galactic Republic were so prone to infighting, was that there were no rivals for them,
Think about it in, Legends when the Old Sith Empire (if you played SWTOR) you know what I'm talking about the Senate was more unified and less prone to infighting because of the threat of a rival power. Once it was defeated then it descended more into infighting
Star Trek was the beginning for me, it introduced me to nerdom. Not to mention the Constitution Class refit is the best looking starship in sci-fi.
The Refit Connie is definitely the best.
You're correct sir.
You're definitely right about that!
Both og and refit Connies are timeless classics.
I have honest question. Why most people love refit Constitution class? Because I don't like that ship design too much.
@IAN HEINE That's a big part of the Falcon's appeal. and the appeal of the whole STAR WARS Galaxy. "Used Universe"
I would just like to raise one point and that's just because there is a single super power doesn't mean there are as many good stories their, a good writer shouldn't need multiple powers to create a interesting world, it can be done with one.
At the end of the day it's more to do with the story being told and if it's better for the story to have multiple powers or just one or two. If the story's a more character driven narrative then it may not be necessary and will do more harm than good. But that's just my opinion, overall a good video
True. Mass Effect have single super power in the galaxy(The Citadel)
That's a writing problem. Out of the scope of the topic.
I saw the title to this on Templin and my thought is, “oh man, shots fired.”
my thoughts were
this is where the fun begins
You know, I found a new appreciation for the Halo Trilogy and Reach once I found out what the story was telling. Before I understood what english I thought it was "Fuck yeah Space marines"...you know, like the current games. But no. It was about humanity fighting an unwinable war. It did not matter how many grunts Master Cheif killed. That one spartan team anihalated an entire fleet prepearing to invade Earth. The UNSC was still losing...And that is what I've grown to love about the early Halo games. The fact that humanity is without a doubt, totaly and royaly fucked yet they keep on fighting. That is the theme and thing I find intresting about the Halo seris, not the implications of a bipolarrity (Once again to hell with the newer Halo games)
The first season Babylon 5 was the most interesting to me when it comes to the political front. Not only was it a multipolar world, but there were some actors (Vorlons and other ancients) that could wipe the floor of any of them if they so choose. From Small powers to nearly indomitable powers, all in the same time.
Far more realistic world in B5 as well. It would take far more than a few hundred years to get war, hatred, bigotry, fear, hunger and the rest out of the human equation. And religion is going to be there forever - so showing other races with their own major and minor religions all tends towards making sense in my head. It was so refreshing to see a sci-fi show embrace the real "human cultural element" of our existence and transpose it into the future.
Ehhh, umm, hmmm....no.
The problem I've always had with ANY Star Trek Vs. Star Wars debate is that you're not comparing like with like. Star Wars at its core, movie wise anyway, has always been about light vs dark, good vs evil and the plucky band of rogue going up against the greater evil empire and coming out on top. Star Trek at its' core is about exploration, answers through science and yes, politics. Space politics.
Star Trek needs a multipolar system to increase the pool of stories it can tell. Star Wars doesn't need that. It needs one powerful faction and one less powerful one, with jedi and sith sprinkled in for good measure. Neither system makes a franchise more interesting then the other. They're both interesting, just in different ways.
Interesting vid, though. Definitely gave me something to think about in the never-ending debate.
What is your opinion about
The Imperial Senate ?
For another great multipolar system, look at the game Sins of a Solar Empire. Each of the three major factions is split internally between two opposing ideologies, leading to uneasy alliances and a drive to seek out third parties to side with them, peaceably or otherwise.
Granted, if the developers ever continue the lore it may turn out that the three-pole initial setting is really just smaller local politics bickering while a true hyper power approaches in the background. As the setting stands now, that is just background material to drive the urgency of the local conflicts.
I lived in Ireland from 1967 to 1969. When I came back to the US, Star Trek was the second tv show I saw (Mission Impossible was the first). I'm been a Trekkie ever since.
Here's my take: Star Trek is a future that is feasible, one that humanity can hopefully attain if we are determined enough. Star Wars is but a fantasy. A superficial battle between light and dark, with the gray areas taken away because comprehending the depth of the real world is too difficult for George Lucas.
*grabs popcorn*
It's not that it's too difficult for George Lucas, it's just that Star Wars is for kids, and he's said this himself.
@@charlesford7887 And by assuming its too difficult for kids, we ensure the next generation never grows up and becomes ignorant fools.
Politics is BS when your self-proclaimed "ships of exploration" can match other factions' war ships in combat.
So clean and direct. Bless your heart.
They are multi purpose ship. They normally use ships with weaponry just to defend themselves. But it wartime, they are refitted, and the refitting is quick, and i mean really quick.
Is this where I step in to say Stargate is better than both of the others? xD
And then in comes Battlestar Galactica.
What about mass effect
Which is better?
Star-Trek
Star-Wars
Star-Gate
Battle-Star-Galactica
The Orville
Mass-Effect
Halo
(Class Discussion)
What about the expanse
Indeed.
About what you were saying about the Galactic Civil War and what you wish Halo could be:
That sounds a lot like The Clone Wars. We have a more-or-less bipolar system of galactic powers competing in a 3-year conflict. Both try to get nonaligned systems to join. While the Republic mostly defeats the Separatists, both sides wear each other out and the whole thing turned out to be orchestrated by the Sith.
In conclusion, Star Wars and Star Trek are both awesome franchises that are hard to really compare. They are set up very differently and while Star Wars has a more unique interesting universe, Star Trek is much more complex and has much more to it.
So many veterans here, I still remember when I was still young and the fan war was still going strong, so many pains and anger 😢
.... There are so many issues with this argument that I can't even get into them, but fundamentally I argue think that your argument that there's a causal relationship between complexity and interesting worlds, is flawed.
Setting aside (and hell i'm a star trek fan) your gross oversimplification of the Star Wars universe's politics and power polarity the premise the argument is based on is flawed.
It is true that a more complicated multi-polar world could have more interesting story opportunities, but frankly saying that a world's potential to interest audiences is based on the world details themselves is... not right. Ultimately, and granted this is my opinion, the storyteller's ability to make a unipolar, bipolar, or multipolar world interesting is far more influential than whether it is a unipolar, bipolar, or multipolar world.
Case 1: Lord of the Rings. Bipolar world between forces of good and evil. (okay arguably with multi-polar cultures) Still Infinitely intriguing due to Tolkein's detailed worldbuilding so much so that people have been copying off of it for years? Very much so.
Case 2: Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Animated Universe, Bipolar sometimes unipolar but intriguing because of the characters that inhabit it.
Case 3: Real Life. Just because people in the past lived in say the 90s post-cold war US where there's a hyper polar superpower controlling things doesn't mean their lives weren't less or more interesting.
None of these cases are hard and shut and you can argue that one's still less interesting than the other, but I think the point is... trying to say a world is more interesting because their are more centres of power is... absurd given stories are interesting not because of their worlds but because of how people portray them!
virusguy5611 I had the same thoughts
Case 1: A read of the books (or the Silmarillion for the full picture) shows that Middle Earth is multipolar af.
Case 2: Asguard. Thanos. SHIELD. HYDRA. Wakanda. The NOVA corps. The Ravagers. The Avengers themselves. MCU is multipolar AF. DCAU: Atlantis. Themiscyra. Luthercorp. Guardians of Oa. New Gods. The Justice League themselves. And countless other factions that maybe only showed up for an episode or so, but the ability to keep bringing in groups like that was essential to the story in the JL/JLU shows. Multipolar AF. (seriously the multipolarity of comic book universes puts everything, including Dr. WHO and 40k, to absolute shame.)
Case 3: I guess you have a point, but consider that we are artificially limited to a single viewpoint character regardless.
The comment section
1% people actully arguing
49% "the war has begun"
50% a third party saying " well ____ is actully better then them both
So you're saying the fandom wars are multipolar now, too.
A unipolar world can be very interesting as well, provided you explore internal conflict within the state. A unipolar world can also still have many smaller countries where the hegemon would be stretched thin if it tried to control everything. Foreign policy can become tied with internal policy, if certain interest groups have ties or interests in certain countries. Let's not forget that even in the presence of a single great power, there will also be regional powers competing against each other. Doing so in the shadow of a "world police" country carries it's own risks and opportunities.
Templin here is only focusing on the Star Wars Canon, it's way more interesting in Legends, specially post-Endor.
This is very true. It is really fascinating.
There's so many facets and branches to both franchises that I don't think comparison is really effective. It's like which is better, the largest fungus or the largest coral colony. Both are gigantic sprawling entities with zillions of parts.
I get where you were going with this, but it comes across as a false comparison, because the cores of the franchises - tv for Trek, movies for Wars - inherently lend themselves to different conflicts.
That's what I thought. In order to give Trek movies a broader appeal, and to tailor it to work better in a theater, JJ Abrams gave Trek a more SW feel by increasing the scale of action and space battles.
On the other hand, if SW wanted to do a TV series they would have to make it more like Trek.
"What if one is financed by another power to destabilize another?" Legends of Galactic Heroes: The tiny Dominion of Phezzan covertly influenced the war between the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance to maintain its economic position between the two superpowers. And yes, that story eventually ended in a unipolar.
by your interpretation i can see why the three kingdoms period in chinese history is so popular - especially during the early days it's multipolar like no tomorrow, tons of characters with different motives each trying to be the ultimate unipolar state
Have we forgotten Mass Effect?!?!
Im a fan of all the series and agree that multi-polarity is one of Star Trek's strengths.
But then you said "Wouldn't it be more interesting if the Rebellion were funded by another power, perhaps just as brutal as the Empire?" Well. No. Just because Star Trek benefits from it's political complexity doesn't mean that it works in Star Wars. That would undermine it's strengths and make it a much weaker story.
Maybe, maybe not.
I could actually see it if it was the Adepts of the White Current from the Black Fleet Crisis, whose influence on the Rebel Alliance would have been COMPLETELY INVISIBLE due to their mastery of the Space Elf BS side of the force. It would actually create a meaningful incentive and milestone for Luke to further grow his understanding of the force after defeating the Emperor, as he gradually became able to detect, and then understand, the scope of their interference, culminating in a showdown on their planet of Alderaan (which was never actually destroyed, they just made it LOOK like it was (I'm not calling it the Space Elf BS side of the force for nothing)) where he has to work his way out of every Lotus Eater trap they can throw at him in order to engage them in an actual philosophical discussion and point out some of the flaws in their ideology.
All while the New Republic was still dealing with the Imperial Remnant, of course. In my opinion, this COULD actually make the story stronger, because it would show how the New Republic was coming into its own not only in terms of military victories against a material oppressor, but also philosophical maturation via deconstruction and reconstruction of its early black and white idealism in order to break away from the influence of paternalistic space elves.
I love basically Star Wars vs Star Trek fight is about how better the settings or story is and they argue each other in internet while Warhammer 40k fan vs other scifi fan is basically full-scale great crusade
6:17 you're going to want to watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes, a bi-polar universe with both sides having vast military resources with hundreds of thousands of ships and both sides being manipulated from the shadows.
I enjoy both. But I watch Star Trek more.
Same
There's already a superior empire in Star Trek, the Terran Empire.
Long live the Empire!
I mean its emperor wears a badass long coat instead of a bathrobe for one.
i love both of the universes for different reasons myself and i feel that you may have forgotten that there have been other major powers to rival the republic in the starwars universe throughout its history externally as well as plenty going on within the republic as well, let us not forget that while the many factions are under the smae banner there is plenty of political intrigue and back stabbing going on within the republic as well, and im very supprised that the WH40k or Battletech universes never got a mention when talking about Multipolar systems
I believe that Star Wars is focused more on internal problems than on diplomatic problems like in Star Trek.
In Star Wars we have civil war, separatism, criminal underworld, this is all very interesting.
Heavily debatable.. kinda why all of us do. BUT it also kinda very largely depends. In GROUND/PLANETARY warfare.. basically ALL Trek factions are horribly underarmed, under equipped and practically naked in comparison. While near all the SW ground forces and factions are riddiculous some of them armed and armored to the teeth. While ships and navies... it gets really hard to tell.
It's kinda easy with Borg VS Force users though when you think about it.. Hows a Borg shield gonna adapt to a sith that decides to reach out with they hand and mind.. make a fist and then crush that drone like a tin can? An even Borg ships have to avoid HUGE space anomalies which Jedi and Sith BOTH can conjure outta thin air if they strong enough and really want to.. ALSO we dont know what SW verse in weapons will do to Trek tech. If it's similar or same the more heavily armed SW troops are gonna steam roll them. Like the Dominion did to Starfleet in their 1st war. Great shields, magic laser rifles, and Photon Torpedoes are all Trek's got to fight with most them. But they don't really got an answer for an angry Extremly strong Sith with their lightsaber. An Trek isn't used to war least Starfleet isn't most the time. SW barely knows Peace. Which is hard for them. The Sith/Jedi relationship is EXTREMELY complex... let's see Janeway, Picard, Kirk and Sisko... most of which I love try and get Yoda and Sideous to peace talks... sorry but it'll never happen. The Borg will become allies to the Federation first
@@SkywalkerWroc not me anyways, but maybe bout half us fit this category. Funny that trekkies also love to think trek ships are all powerful just cuz they got a shield. At its strongest, Trek Media usually just shows things that at most can destroy planets with rare exceptions...
Star wars often has as much galaxy destroying as well as planet killers as they go blaster cannon and missile launchers
yOU OPENED THE FLOODGAAAAAATES
I would add another type: Monopolar system that collapses into a multipolar one. Like a late roman empire with multiple small enemies and factions inside of it.
Its apples and oranges, honestly. I love both series. Star Trek has what you basically said, but there is a different drama and ever expanding universe in SW as well. Both go in their own directions and is always fun to watch. :)
Impressive job avoiding both the terms hegemony and concert of powers as descriptors within the first 4 minutes.
I would agree with this argument if that is what you are looking for. I prefer Star Wars because its story is based on a different context, the light overcoming darkness. I belive that the way star wars story is told and its political system work to show that. Sometimes a simple or basic idea can be better for the story than a complicated one.
It's not like Star Trek is very complicated to understand, it's a reflection on the human condition and comments on social factors and on our history.
I think you underestimate the intrigue and machinations that can occur in a "unipolar" world. As seen in Dune or the Iron Throne of Westeros, internal alliances, dynastic politics, and political ambition can make good conflict that can range from subtle manipulation of rivals to all out civil war within the state.
Also, just to deflate the Trek fandom's ego a bit, the more complex great power politics post TOS was despite Roddenberry (who wanted a hyperpower Federation that just stewed in its on sense of smugness). Latter writers and producers added rival nations to generate some form of conflict to create interesting stories, and they could only ever really create generic bad guy (insert species) empire, who never posed a serious threat to the Federation.
I dont know what setting is better, i like more SW because its more sandbox universe...
But many people fight, when is better Warp or Hyperdrive and for this case a made a research...
Light Year (AU) - 150 000 000 km / 150m km
Light Speed - 229 793 km/s 1 079 252 848 km/h
Range per second:
ST Voager - Warp 9 Jump per second (9xLight Speed Jump) = 2 068 137 km / 2 Milion Km
Range: Hour is 3600 seconds
SW Venator Class Cruiser - 60 000 AU / Jump = 9 Trilion Km
(9 000 000 000 000)
ST Voager - Warp 9 Jump per hour (9xLight Speed Jump) = 7.4 Bilion Km
(7 445 293 200)
(Voager must travel about 1 208 hours / 50 days to meet one Jump range of Venator)
In Space Station 76, their ships go faster
No one expects the Templin Inquisition!
Why Warhammer is better than Star Wars
40k is better than all universes. Except maybe, MAAAAAYYYYBE battletech. Maybe.
There are a lot of things we don't actually see on screen in the Star Wars universe. The Extended Universe was actually quite expansive, extending far beyond the Jedi, the Sith, the Galactic Empire and the Republic. A lot of people didn't even know who the Mandalorians were until the show came out, and even then, I still find people who don't know how important they were in shaping the Star Wars universe long before Episode I....
As a former geopolitics student, i like this kind of analysis. Multipolarity is the reason i also like Mass Effect and Babylon 5.
The absence of international relations is also a reason i think Star Gate is not a great universe.
When in doubt, err on the side of Legends. It is just more interesting
agree 100% with you, in legends despite stupid power levels have quite a good view on different factions. Well if sidious didn't come back and screw everything up with his dark empire
What about warhammer it has more than two factions constantly fighting with tides changing on every front
This is why, in the old Star Wars expanded universe, following the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, I was hoping a singular, galactic government wouldn't be able to establish itself again, that we'd see the galaxy divided among disparate groups with their own goals and ideologies, with the Jedi left afloat trying to make sense of it all.
It's also why I think the Old Republic era is the best. The dynamic between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire was great.
Maybe you have some sort of point because my favorite eras of Star Wars have this kind of situation going on. The fledgling New Republic trying to gain a foothold, Imperial warlords fighting it and each other, some other factions formerly ruled by the Empire freeing themselves and forming their own interstellar states. Star Trek factions don't impress me that much, because they are very ad hoc, often forgotten when they are no longer needed.
One good multipolar universe is Battletech. A lot of factions fighting each other, forming alliances and betraying them. I love it almost as much as Star Wars.
Sees title.
This comment section should be interesting.
And Babylon Five is better than both *Does the Leonidas pose*
B5 had something like space wizards AND stodgy political drama! Not to mention the clash between light and dark
Except the space wizards are a result of sufficiently advanced technology and the Vorlons and Shadows have a lot more nuance to them besides ‘light vs dark’
True, one of the reasons I love Babylon 5 and Star Trek. Also yes the Enterprise is far more powerful than a Star Destroyer, there is really no way I can see one defeating it in combat.
Technically the Old Republic era was a bi-polar scenario. With the Sith Empire and the Republic acting as equally powerful states throwing massive armadas at each other and even going as far as having them negotiating with independent world's for alliances and trade deals. Especially during the war that the MMO takes place in.
As somebody who prefers Star Trek to Star Wars, I think you're completely wrong on this point.
Star Wars was conceived as trying to tell a very particular story. As much as I like Star Trek, that setting wouldn't be as conducive to telling a "quest" story like we see in Star Wars, where a Hero arises to topple an unjust Empire. The story of Half Life 2, as another example, is best told in a unipolaric setting, where all the odds are stacked against Gordon Freeman, the Hero, and where the Resistance is the scrappy underdog. Giving the factions parity with one another would just dilute the themes that are prominent in that kind of story.
While we're at it, I also think you're wrong about the Halo franchise, too. Halo, at its peak, was never about politics and trade negotiations, but about a massive war that threatens to see the extinction of humanity. Giving the UNSC and Covenant "rough" levels of parity, so that the UNSC is capable of putting up a fight, heightens the tension of the conflict and allows the story to focus on THAT conflict, rather than either side trying to rally support from neutral nations. The conflict between the Jedi and the Sith is similar, and allows the two forces to act as foils for one another.
Overall, the political structure of a setting has to be selected to best compliment the kind of story being told. You couldn't tell a "quest," hero-centric story in the Star Trek universe, just like having a pseudo political drama in the Star Wars universe wouldn't make much sense. Saying that one style is objectively "better" across the board doesn't do credit to the sorts of stories that these franchises are trying to tell.
Well said. There is more to a setting than just political structure and each IP has a different way of developing their world and/or universe.
Counterpoint: The Life and Times of Surak of Vulcan, and his quest to change his peoples' ways forever. And he did it, too. That's Joseph Campbell 1,000 faces level stuff right there. You absolutely COULD do a hero-centric "Quest" story in the Star Trek universe, complete with the fighting AND the space magic, and have it be cannon, no less.
Khaless the Unforgettable would work just as well, though you couldn't really do the space magic.
And if this has to be taking place in the 23/24th century, then The Life and Times of Q, as told from his own perspective. His journeys among strange lands, enduring trials, slowly finding his purpose, and then fighting to reform his people. Thematically speaking, this would actually be a fascinating foil for the Epic of Gilgamesh, which was all about mortals' struggle to obtain immortality. Here we basically have the struggles of a God to understand the meaning of life.
You could argue that Star Wars has multiple sides. Instead of looking at the military, you should look at the Jedi vs the Sith.
Also, just because it has more complex and interesting political interactions does not mean it’s better. Someone who does not like that kind of plot (political intrigue) would very likely say Star Wars is better.
The militaries of the Republic and the Sith Empire(s)/CIS have always been intertwined in the Star Wars, so that isn't much of a point.
I never thought I would be pressing the dislike button on a Templin Institute video but here we are
babylon 5 was basically the 40k of hardcore sci fi shows.
if they had a bigger budget woulda been/could be awesome.
they had ancients and young races. even when the ancients got bored and left they kinda hinted that the struggle never ends kinda thing and you just find a more advanced enemy basically.
in one of the movies one of the old races opens a portal to another "higher" dimension and get their butts kicked by even more advanced psychic evil species.
stuff about manipulating timelines.
think it woulda been written alot different if it had a bigger budget, not so soap opera-ish
I LOVE your channel. But I most certainly don’t want hard sci fi or real world analogues when I escape into my beloved SPACE OPERA!
"Atleast when it comes to space politics"
Star Wars is a Space Opera .
Star Trek is a Soap Opera .
@@filimongalogavros5301 And why
exactly
@@REVERSE-th2bb The stakes are different .
In Star Wars , an evil Empire fights relentlessly with the Rebel Alliance for Galactic Domination .
In Star Trek , the main theme is about the exploration of different worlds and realities .
To boldly go in a quest for knowledge and not war .
@@filimongalogavros5301 yes but still what do you mean by soap opera.
You forgot about in Halo Not only was the UNSC fighting the Covenant but they were also fighting the insurrectionists at the same time. As was both the UNSC and the Covenant at one point during the war dealing with the flood. And recently we found out that during the human-covenant war a covenant were also dealing with the banished. And if you even want to take the books into account there was a few times where the insurrectionist we're trying to strike a bargain with the Covenant when the Covenant were just using them to a end and then wind up betraying them.
Let me pull an ancient, baroque, master crafted popcorn bucket adorned with a golden double headed Aquila to enjoy a snack while SW and ST fans fight each other
The Emperor Protects!
ST: see a girl's idea of love develop from 14 to 40.
SW: a typical sword n sorcery fantasy story set in WW2 in space.
See people arguing in the comments over which is better
Me: *Laughs in 40K*
Please 40k and SW are pretty equal
I would argue that the desperateness of the Rebellion in Star Wars is what make it interesting. What are the feelings of individuals willing to fight such overwhelming odds? If they had some other counterpower to balance the Empire would make the stakes significantly less high. Not to mention the single political system forces political inclined individuals who are against the Empire to work within the political system of the Empire, internal power politics can be plenty interesting. Overall I would argue that no political power system is more interesting than the other, it depends on the creator to make it interesting.
Apples to Oranges :P
Gimme a crossover where Thrawn is up against the DS-9 crew!
DS9 is my favorite Trek Crew but they dont know how to deal with a strategist like Thrawn backed by the Armies and Naval power he had. And if Fett, Vader or the like is backing him... most of them dont know how in trouble they are. Thatd make for a nice Trek/Wars crossover special though. Like the Post Voyager an DS9 crews meeting Luke, Leia, Rey an the gang and finding out just how extremely bad a Sith, and some their many Verse monsters, can be.
@@robertagu5533 In order to really fulfill the potential of the crossover though, you'd have to let the Trek crew run with their skepticism about the omnipotent nature of this 'Force', uncover the entire midichlorean rabbit hole, and finally make contact with the Wills themselves, and get them therapy for this 'Dark Side' problem they've been having.
@@mischaavros5444 the. They jaws drop when demonstrated by Jedi or seeing up close some just how lethal the likes of Grevious an Maul are with Sabers. Probably after seeing Ensign Redshirt die via saber attack. an how much skill it takes to use one effectively. Enter current Jedi fighter to save Sisko or Miles, Janeway, Seven, etc... Then suddenly the "mitochondrians" start actin up in random crew prompting some side story banter... Sure thered be conflicted opinions as to the slave armies of the Clones an Droids or the Emperors oppression. But sure those like Janeway and Sisko an their crews would be SHOCKED to witness Alderran get dusted. The Klingons would love the Rebels or Resistance's defiant bravery in fighting much stronger imperial troops, even winning at times..
Quark would hatch schemes to make money..
Picard would be outraged by atrocities by all parties. Especially Order 66 an Palps cruelty to his Empire.
Then all the science officers together figure out how to restore the timeline...Somehow...
Something goes wrong on the trek side to give an excuse for another Ewok army rescue, wookies to counter attack, or maybe we'll see another Rise of Skywalker nastalgic moment along with the ghosts of all the Jedi coming back to help defeat Palpatine thats somehow back for the 10th time. An yet oddly now all the trek shows crews can see them in disbelief too for reasons... An now I ve written a whole crossover movie outline...
If the political complexity is of the matter, than Star Trek really pales in comparison to Babylon 5 that was featured. B5 nations don't only fight external wars, but have significant political shifts within themselves, along with revolutions, changes of government etc. While United Federation is realistically way too stable for what it is. Babylon 5 League is especially on-point with the idea of how political alliances work.
ST is also arguably not that much better than SW, because Republic itself is more akin to confederation, its hold over many planets, even in the Core, is more symbolic than anything. Most planets are selfgoverned and there are many inter-republic alliances. You also forgot the Hutt space, that is arguably a constant second polar in the SW universe. Along with occasional Sith empires, the Chiss empire etc. We also don't know much about Outer Rim politics, just because films were always focused around the core worlds. Hence, the comparison is unfair.
"but have significant political shifts within themselves, along with revolutions, changes of government, etc."
Have you watched DS9? The Cardassian Union has had all of these, and there were was an arc about an attempted coup over the Federation, along with Section 31 and their attempts at genocide.
"Most planets are self-governed and there are many inter-republic alliances."
Just because the US states have a level of autonomy and might have a few rivalries with each other doesn't make them independent nations. Even if a few systems might secretly be supportive of the CIS doesn't make it a multipolar universe lol. He doesn't mean by "bipolar" that there are only two powers in the entire galaxy. Star Wars has always been about one light side faction fighting a dark side faction, which is bipolar.
"We also don't know much about Outer Rim politics, just because films were always focused around the core worlds."
The Prequels were the only trilogy focused on the Core Worlds, correct me if I'm missing something obvious but I don't think we even see a core world in the Original Trilogy (not counting the special edition at the end of Return of the Jedi) and we only see one get destroyed in the Force Awakens.
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Strangereal from Ace Combat has an overall extremely compelling multipolar world, primarily because the status quo is constantly changing and evolving. If the power structure is at any time unipolar, bipolar, or multipolar, it never stays like that for long. I especially like how there basically hasn't been a World War 2/Long Peace scenario to deter modern nations from going to war with each other, which puts rest to the possibility of bipolar systems that might have developed from Osea/the IUN and a unified Usean superstate (which probably couldn't happen until AC3:E anyway). At the same time, that also means that there's nothing saving even the most powerful countries such as Osea from devastatingly one-sided wars, or at least ones where they are at a significant military disadvantage. The way the Ulysses Disaster in 1999 pummeling Usea basically meant that any hope for large-scale superpowers anywhere but Osea was effectively nil. At one point, this meant there was a somewhat unipolar system (Osea became similar to the U.S. in terms of power projection, the IUN mirroring the U.N.) until 2019 comes by and Erusea just slaps their whole military power out of play with extremely precise strikes and a very impressive use of the Arsenal Birds. It's like if a country like France declared war on the U.S., blindsided us, and wiped out 9 of the 10 CATOBAR-outfitted carriers we have in service all in a single-month campaign. It would bog down our naval power exponentially, and that's what happened.
I've mostly only been talking about the Lighthouse War, but there are more examples such as everyone's favorite prequel, ACZ. The Belkan War starts as a hypernationalistic, expansionist state pushes into its neighboring territories and becomes a world power overnight, able to threaten the next country it borders, Osea. At this time, however, Osea is not the major superpower it became in 2019, almost 25 years later. A large coalition between Osea, Sapin, and a few other countries including Ustio and the mercenaries fighting for them is quickly formed and as the Belkan border is pushed back there are squabbles and disagreements over how the lines will be redrawn. Countries and world powers begin pushing and pulling out of their own interests.
Another example is the Continental War in AC04, which turned a myriad of competing and rival countries all across the Usean continent into unlikely allies forming a very tentative military alliance called ISAF, which dissolves almost immediately after they defeat Erusea and the stated purpose of their alliance is concluded.
I can't speak for the whole world during the Circum-Pacific War in AC5, but the story presents itself as an effectively bipolar war dynamic, with only influences from the spooky scary Belkan puppet masters pulling the strings behind Osea and Yuktobania. Even still, I would say it's more interesting than typical bipolar conflicts in other stories because of that simple fact. Ace Combat is well-known for its anti-war messages, and I think some of the strongest theming supporting them is in AC04 and AC5.
The superweapons created before and following the Ulysses Disaster also play a large role in changing the dynamic of the world, however this usually is mostly addressed in one or two facets because video game. While weapons like Megalith, Chandelier, and Stonehenge are repurposed only in wartime as desperate measures, the Arsenal Birds are an interesting take. As Osea becomes a major power again leading up to the Lighthouse War, and with the construction of the ISEV, they use a pair of large, flying wing drone carriers that are apparently constantly in flight - and they use a previously widespread mass driver and single-stage-to-orbit system (read as: Arkbird technology) to constantly resupply and maintain them. This allows Osea and the IUN-PKF to project power that would even overshadow the U.S.' naval and air power on a global scale, but its potential as a terrifying area denial platform is only realized during the Lighthouse War when the Eruseans take control of them and rob Osea of their own ace in the hole. This, along with their surgical strikes I mentioned earlier, completely demolishes Osea's ability to be the next "world police" and ends their somewhat unipolar reign over Strangereal from arguably 2011 to 2019.
If that wasn't enough, both sides ended up destroying all of the satellites in the world, so now all bets really are off. By then, Usea at least becomes completely multipolar as the countries conquered by Erusea take their chance to seize independence and begin fighting one another, leaving Erusean and Osean/IUN forces in total disarray. From that point on, it's basically total chaos and nobody has the upper hand. I would say having that happen in AC7 was actually a really clever way to build up to AC3:E, where the satellite-controlled internet is replaced by the Electrosphere, and the power dynamics of Usea are so disrupted that megacorporations like Neucom and General Resource can actually potentially supersede the nation-state and international organizations such as UPEO, which is likely a descendant of the IUN-PKF. I would assume this is only the case (seeing as AC3:E only takes place on the Usean continent) because the ability to project power in Usean countries - even Erusea - has always been somewhat downscaled by comparison to other countries in Strangereal.
I'll mention this now because I can't find anywhere else to put it: I used "unipolar" twice to describe Osea, but I don't think that truly applies because while Osea and the IUN are extremely powerful, their projection basically ends with Erusea and Yuktobania, who were by 2011 most likely rivals (or in the Yukes' case, maybe allies). By 2018-2019, however, the Kingdom of Erusea was definitely a competitor and true rival to Osea, whether they were acknowledged or not. In that case, Strangereal might have been more like a bipolar world leading up to the Lighthouse War. Even still, there's entire other continents that just aren't mentioned in AC7, such as Verusea and Anea. I personally don't know what to make of them or how they fit into the Lighthouse War.
One of the things that disappointed me about the Halo universe, post Halo 3, was that it went from a bi-polar state to a mono-polar state, when I felt like it would was on the verge of a more multi-polar transition. It's true that the Covenant underwent a schism and broken into several factions, but we shouldn't forget that the UNSC was desperately trying to put down a populist separatist insurrection (or rather several concurrent insurrections which began to loosely cooperate) at the time of the Covenant invasion. While it's true some of those insurrections were put down by the Covenant when they steamrolled through those human-held systems, they weren't the only ones. Even up to the Battle of Reach, insurrectionist elements were still a concern for the UNSC, and by the time of the Battle of Earth the UNSC was on the ropes and desperate. It simply didn't have the forces to spare and lost most of the military-industrial infrastructure necessary to rebuild and re-arm in any short period of time.
While some recovery after the war is to be expected, I would aslo have expected several of those surviving outlying human systems to take advantage of the UNSC's limited ability to project force at that time and make good on popular insurrectionist sentiments and go independent. The UNSC may, in that time, try to reestablish control over worlds which had declared their own sovereignty, but it wouldn't necessarily be quick or easy to do, and those worlds in turn may have made overtures to some of the former Covenant splinter factions who might be sympathetic, or at least willing to aid them to bloody the nose of the UNSC again as a kind of petty revenge to reclaim some lost pride.
It's disappointing that the story runners choose to focus it the way they did, since I think that would have been a more dynamic setting that allowed lots of smaller, but more interesting stories even if they didn't have the grand space opera sweep of the original trilogy.
The wide world building shows that the Star Wars universe has almost all of what is prioritized here in the Star Trek universe, provided that one looks at a wide span of time in these universes. Simply put, there is so much more than the bi-polar conflicts in the episodic films. The SW world building has conflicts playing off & influencing others, entangling countless dealings to make a galaxy just as fascinating and dynamic as Star Trek. The difference is the ST dynamic nature is in the fans face. The same dynamic nature is present in SW but the fan hast ti dive much further into the SW universe to find it...