The Problem With Earth

I've said it before and I will say it again, Mass Effect 3 is my favorite of the Mass Effect games. That said, even I can't deny it has it's share of problems, particularly with it's ending. As I was thinking of ways I could have improved the ending choices to be more character centric (which could equal more powerful), I realized an issue I don't think anybody here has talked about, and might be controversial to some. I didn't care at all about Earth.

Let me explain. A big part of Mass Effect 3's advertising was the whole "Take Back Earth" campaign, discussing how the fundamental goal in Mass Effect 3 will be to save planet Earth from the Reapers. The problem is in the actual game, Earth rarely makes an appearance or has any importance to the story outside of it being where the game starts and ends. We barely see much of planet Earth before the attack, and the design isn't really anything special. If you showed someone a clip from the beginning sequence without any proper context included, they probably wouldn't guess that it was Earth they were seeing since it looks very similar to some of the other alien city planets.

Between leaving Earth and returning to Earth, we also never get any indication to care about Earth, as they larger focus is aimed more towards the rest of the galaxy. I know James Vega talks about Earth fondly, but because he's a new character we don't know if we should like, it's not enough. Shouldn't Shepard also have fond memories of Earth? Heck, of his three backstories, only one of them has him come from Earth, and it wasn't a pleasant experience for him.

If Bioware wanted Earth to play a big part in Mass Effect 3, they needed to come up with a better solution than just the planet being taken by the Reapers. I know they tried to make us care by having Anderson (the father figure) stay on Earth and continue to talk about the struggles on Earth, but "show don't tell." It's much more powerful if we could actually see Earth and connect with Earth properly.

Some ways they could have increased Earth importance:

1. Have a tutorial sequence BEFORE Earth gets attacked. Maybe have Shepard hang out with James for a while and do some exercises like the gun range or racing around a park. Between teaching the game mechanics, you can have moments where Shepard and James can talk about how Shepard likes (or doesn't like Earth) and maybe meet some locations or characters that could play a role near the ending of the game. Then the invasion happens and you feel bad because the characters you met and locations you visited are getting hurt or destroyed.

2. Have the dream sequences be flashbacks to Shepard's time spent on Earth. These can be strictly narrative moments where Shepard can interact with certain characters or reminisce about being in the military since he was let go, essentially forming a bond with the place and the planet. The dreams can obviously turn into messed up nightmare sequences, but we still care for them because we know their based on memories of Earth.

3. Instead of having Earth be attacked, make Earth the central hub for the galaxy since the Citadel was destroyed. Granted, it kind of goes against the whole take Earth back marketing and will also require a serious rewrite to make up for the Catalyst.

If nothing else, probably the most drastic thing Bioware could have done is not use Earth at all, instead replacing it with Eden Prime. Fitting seeing as it's where the whole franchise began and where it could end. Almost full circle.