In the year 1999, an abandoned alien battle fortress crash-lands on the planet Earth. Our most brilliant scientists and engineers spend the next ten years reconstructing the damaged ship, and studying its highly advanced technology, known as Robotech! A race of warriors from deep space, the Zentraedi, enter the scene, bent on recovering the lost ship and destroying Earth's civilization. A battle for our planet's survival is on, and young Rick Hunter finds himself caught up in the war, piloting an unfamiliar fighter plane, with sophisticated engineering he can't begin to understand!

Zentraedi forces attack the island before SDF-1 can lift off; Rick rescues a girl named Minmei and attempts to escape in a Veritech fighter plane, but struggles to pilot the alien vessel, which can also transform.

After a successful liftoff, SDF-1 enters Earth orbit, but a Zentraedi ambush forces a desperate jump into hyperspace with disastrous consequences for Rick, Minmei and the crew.

The hyperspace jump strands the SDF-1 in deep space and the crew must rescue thousands of survivors from Macross Island; after crash-landing in a deserted section of the SDF-1, Rick and Minmei face starvation as they struggle to survive.

The citizens from Macross Island build a new home for themselves within SDF-1; Roy Fokker convinces Rick to join the Robotech Defense Force; a Zentraedi attack forces Capt. Gloval to risk transforming the ship into a humanoid form to fight back.

As the crew rebuilds Macross City with the ship's transformation procedure in mind, Rick decides to join the Robotech Defense Force; the forces take the fight to Saturn's rings, where they hope to break through a Zentraedi blockade.