Mass Effect - Legendary Edition

Originally posted by Nemesis X
The Reapers do have mind altering technology to make Lovecraft proud so something as messed as giving the hero the illusion they just saved the galaxy sounds about right. This would bring back the original plan Hudson & Co had for the Reapers they scrapped for that rushed rush for the portal to the magic MacGuffin Station.

And even with an ending bad as it is, Mass Effect's still awesome reliving. "It's not the destination, but the journey." That don't mean the ending can't still improve though.

I'm not arguing that the Reapers aren't capable of it. They definitely are. I just don't like it as an ending, and if it was the original ending, then I'm glad they didn't go with it.

I liked ME3 the most in the series.

I know people were very disappointed with the end but I always felt they closed up most of the story loops that occurred throughout the series. It also had the best combat.

But my main reason I enjoyed it the most is because the best part of the series are the Reapers and that game made them the baddest mother****ers on the planet and nailed it.

The ending could of been much better but I can't fault the entire game for 5 minutes...because for me...the journey was incredible....by far the best trilogy that generation (and I could argue..the best trilogy ever..but that's just me).

And for the ending, I think my main disappointment was the ending cutscene...and not the boy conversation...I never really understood why people screamed bloody murder for that..it felt the same as every other situation you get put in.

Originally posted by -Pr-
As much as I dislike that theory, you may be right.

3 didn't kill the franchise. It made Bioware and EA a very nice chunk of change.

Sure, the ending was balls, but sales were just fine.

Thought it was a step back from 2 in general. The character arcs were so good and diverse in 2, 3's extended bang bang shoot shoot really stood out after multiple play throughs.

Originally posted by -Pr-
I'm not arguing that the Reapers aren't capable of it. They definitely are. I just don't like it as an ending, and if it was the original ending, then I'm glad they didn't go with it.

And you prefer the ending we got? Literal space magic that can do whatever the **** it wants?

Originally posted by Smasandian
But my main reason I enjoyed it the most is because the best part of the series are the Reapers and that game made them the baddest mother****ers on the planet and nailed it.

I completely disagree. ME3 took all the mystique from the Reapers. It changed them from unknowable machine "gods" to simply powerful warships that served some space wizard. I don't remember any imposing lines or any of the weird Lovecraftian stuff. Seriously, the conversation with Sovereign was more awesome and made the Reapers far more terrifying than anything in ME3.

Edit: I also was not at all a fan with what they did with Harbinger. The second game built him up as the big bad. You interact with him, talk with him, and fight those he is "directly" controlling. And then the third game just kinda ignores him. Very underwhelming. Though Harbinger also paled in comparison to Sovereign.

Yeah, the Collectors and their master were by far the highlight of the entire trilogy. Just one big ride of terror ending in a climatic final stage in the heart of a Reaper.

Honestly, the Descent Freespace series is how Mass Effect should have went with it. Very little information was given about Shivans, their motivations, their origins. It made them far more compelling as antagonists, letting their actions do the talking for them, and letting fans fill in the gaps on the details.

Originally posted by Smasandian
I liked ME3 the most in the series.

I know people were very disappointed with the end but I always felt they closed up most of the story loops that occurred throughout the series. It also had the best combat.

But my main reason I enjoyed it the most is because the best part of the series are the Reapers and that game made them the baddest mother****ers on the planet and nailed it.

The ending could of been much better but I can't fault the entire game for 5 minutes...because for me...the journey was incredible....by far the best trilogy that generation (and I could argue..the best trilogy ever..but that's just me).

And for the ending, I think my main disappointment was the ending cutscene...and not the boy conversation...I never really understood why people screamed bloody murder for that..it felt the same as every other situation you get put in.

Half agree, half disagree as always lol

Originally posted by cdtm
Thought it was a step back from 2 in general. The character arcs were so good and diverse in 2, 3's extended bang bang shoot shoot really stood out after multiple play throughs.

Well to be fair, 2 is one of the best games of the last ten years. It was always going to be a hard act to follow. 3 does have a lot to like in it, imo.

Originally posted by ares834
And you prefer the ending we got? Literal space magic that can do whatever the **** it wants?

I completely disagree. ME3 took all the mystique from the Reapers. It changed them from unknowable machine "gods" to simply powerful warships that served some space wizard. I don't remember any imposing lines or any of the weird Lovecraftian stuff. Seriously, the conversation with Sovereign was more awesome and made the Reapers far more terrifying than anything in ME3.

Edit: I also was not at all a fan with what they did with Harbinger. The second game built him up as the big bad. You interact with him, talk with him, and fight those he is "directly" controlling. And then the third game just kinda ignores him. Very underwhelming. Though Harbinger also paled in comparison to Sovereign.

God no. The endings we got were crap too because Hudson can't write endings for shit.

Citidal should have been given away free as an apology, considering it's the real swan song of the series.

Meh, you had a few Reapers destroying entire planets while Sovereign can't even defeat a few ships. I'm not how much more badass you can be.

I don't remember much but I always though the Reapers were known to be machines and were created by something.

And they had to explain the Reapers....if they left it open and said "yeah, they are a mystery" then there would be a much bigger outcry. They spend 2 games showing them and teasing them and if the third game didn't say anything about their creation...that would suck more.

Freespace never explained the Shivans, and that's considered the best space shooter ever made.

Originally posted by Smasandian
Meh, you had a few Reapers destroying entire planets while Sovereign can't even defeat a few ships. I'm not how much more badass you can be.

What made Sovereign bad ass wasn't the fact that it had big pew pews but the dialogue and presence it had. Regardless, the only reason it could be destroyed by the fleet was because it's shields became corrupted after Shepard killed Saren while it was possessing him.

Originally posted by Smasandian
And they had to explain the Reapers....if they left it open and said "yeah, they are a mystery" then there would be a much bigger outcry. They spend 2 games showing them and teasing them and if the third game didn't say anything about their creation...that would suck more.

No they didn't have to explain anything. It isn't relevant. And it certainly would have been better left unexplained than the garbage we ended up getting. It also doesn't help that their purpose is supposedly unknowable by human minds and yet the Starchild was able to say what their purpose was in a 5 minute conversation....

I thought Leviathan was decent, but no, I didn't need to know the origin of the reapers. Sometimes less is more.

Originally posted by Smasandian
Meh, you had a few Reapers destroying entire planets while Sovereign can't even defeat a few ships. I'm not how much more badass you can be.

Pretty sure I recall Sovereign making swiss cheese out of some ships. It was only vulnerable as it was by the end 'cause Shepard gave it a migraine killing it's host body it was still linked to.

And they had to explain the Reapers....if they left it open and said "yeah, they are a mystery" then there would be a much bigger outcry. They spend 2 games showing them and teasing them and if the third game didn't say anything about their creation...that would suck more.

Was there an outcry when nobody knew what Judge Doom's deal was in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, were Doctor Who fans livid not having the Midnight episode explain it's monster, did Blair Witch bomb 'cause we didn't see said witch? Gears of War never fully explained the origins of the Locust and Myrrah until 5 and it was doing alright enough prior. If you're gonna rush your game like EA made Bioware do with 3's ending and you ain't got better alternative means explaining your horrors existing beyond the edges of the galaxy, maybe don't try and see what happens.

I didn't say they did it well....

Originally posted by Smasandian
I didn't say they did it well....

😂 I literally coughed up my tea.

In all these years they could come up with a better ending. But they won't. And there's no defending the ending. You can try but it won't work because the ending was awful and lazy as hell. Multiple fan theories were far superior. Like the Indoctrination Theory would have been amazing as the opener to an actual ending worth the hundreds of hours I poured into the trilogy. And a cutscene that maybe showed off all the effort that was put in. Like you tell us how Elcor strap massive cannons to their backs and are basically walking heavy artillery...and then never show it despite me getting them to fight on our side.

ME3 has the best character moments in the series bar none.

Having played the series multiple times I still don’t think the ending is bad. The entire final level could have been a lot better but the ending itself works for me.

Never cared for the indoctrination theory.

My only gripe with ME3 is the ending. Up until the final 20 minutes its a masterpiece. I too have played the entire series at least a dozen times, and after all that time the ending is still hot garbage for a number of reasons.

It reeks of lazy writing, they shoehorned in the star child, they made the entirety of 3 not matter, they blatantly lied to the entire fan base about what was going to happen, they tricked you into thinking all the grinding and gathering allies would actually help you win against the Reapers, etc...

And at least the Indoctrination theory would have made things make sense and would have linked all 3 games together more closely through Shepard.

They dropped the ball and the absence of the team leads and writers who left during/after ME2 was definitely felt.

Despite the not so good ending, I still think 3 is the best game in the series overall.

ME2 for me. Huge gameplay and writing upgrades over the first game, particularly in the character dialogues on the ship. Absolutely fell in love with the crew in ME2. Plus the suicide mission is the best final level of any video game I played.

People harp on the ending in ME3 but the thing that always bummed me out most in that game is how the ME2 crew were relegated to throw away side missions instead of being part of the main crew.

ME3 is great too though. For me it’s ME2>ME3>ME

ME2 is easily the best of the trilogy. The first time playing though the suicide mission, back when you were unaware of how it worked only knowing that any pf the characters including Shepard could die, was perhaps the most thrilling gaming experience I've ever had. Never before had consequences in a game felt so real.