In the year 1999 an alien spacecraft crash lands on Macross Island in the south pacific. The people of earth band together to rebuild the ship. They name it The Super Dimension Fortress: Macross (SDF-1) On the day the ship is to take its maden flight, an alien race known as the Zentradi appear. The SDF-1 unwittingly fires upon them and triggers a Zentradi attack. During the attack the ship tries to fold, but something goes wrong and the ship is transported, along with Macross city, the island, and part of the surrounding ocean, out to the orbit of Pluto. The crew of the SDF-1 must now fight their way back to Earth, with the 70,000 citizens of Macross city who have taken refuge in the giant ship.