Why I personally loved the ME Trilogy and why I think ME3 is the best.
Feb 11, 2017 6:33:47 GMT
fraggle, Obadiah, and 4 more like this
Post by rainbowhawk1993 on Feb 11, 2017 6:33:47 GMT
So if you remember me from the Original Forum site before it was closed, I defended ME3 with my life going out of my way to even denounce ME2 being the best of the Trilogy. Well now I'm going to explain why from my personal experience when I first started playing 4 years ago.
It started roughly in 2009 when I was still in high school and discovering new things about myself and alternating emotional states as many teens with growing pains do. At the end of the year, I went to go see Avatar, the James Cameron film, and it changed everything for me. Along with the sense of wonder and emotional bundles it provided me, it also created a sense of depression and insecurity about myself when I looked at the world around me reflected in the film. To add insult to injury, I watched The Cove documentary that reveled that my Childhood vacation destination, Sea World, was a front for Dolphin slaughter in Japan, I was crushed by how even more complicated my situation was in Western Civilization.
When I watched Avatar, and not too long after Dances with Wolves, and saw that the extremes of Western culture was the reason for the destruction of our planet and I felt I was a part of that by just existing. And seeing the impact it had on other Avatar Fans in seeing them posting about how they wish they can just leave humanity behind for a life free of greed and destruction just added to it. Even Kevin Costner's speech about how John C. Dunbar ceased to exist long after he became antiquated with the Lakota hit me hard. It was almost saying that people in western civilization have no true identity for just being a part of Western Civilization.
So when I started College and got my own laptop and expanded my games library past StarCraft 2, I started playing Mass Effect and once again, my life changed.
From the get go, it said humanity was a new comer to the galactic community and it was met with suspicion from everyone else about how aggressive we can be. So when Shepard, I, stood up to become the first Human Spectre, I felt a chance to prove what humanity was capable of. This was made especially important when I talked with my love interest Liara in how she was hesitant about interacting with other people especially humans because of our aggressive nature and how I was the one to change everyone's minds as Humanity's Spectre to represent that Humanity, particularly Western Civilization, the part of humanity I identify myself with, can be 110% good when we strive for it. And by the end of the game, Standing up for the Normandy's diverse crew, telling the Terra Ferma party to screw off, and telling the reporter that I'm doing what's best for humanity as well as every specie in the galaxy, by having the choice to save the council, I was able to put humanity into the galactic spotlight while earning the trust of the other species that there is genuine good in us and we are able to help others when they needed help, regardless of who they were, where they came from or what they believed.
Then... ME2 happened. After dying and being brought back, the cracks started from the moment I was assigned to Cerberus, the opposite of what I stood for when I was with the Alliance and the council. And as the story unfolded, I became bored really quick because of 2 things, the non-existent main story which has no real escalation of tension or development for Shepard, and the cardinal sin of taking Liara away from me. Now I can go on about how taking Liara was the worst idea ever but I'll stay focused on ME2's biggest faults. First off is Cerberus and the plot revolving only on human matters. After saving the entire galaxy including non-humans and showing how humanity can be a force for good when working together with others, it was a real downgrade when I was forced to go on an under the radar bug hunt that was never shown to be a threat to other species until Shepard told us that they were a threat to all species instead of showing us. Then there's the loyalty missions and side stories. Granted yes, most of the characters were interesting and i appreciate giving more time and development for my bro and sis Garrus and Tali. But the fact they are all disjointed and not related to the lacking main plot in any meaningful way just really hinders my experience. And the fact that none of the characters interact with each other aside from the scripted conflicts between Miranda and Jack along with Legion and Tali just makes things so robotic much like Shepard's behavior in the first 2 games. To that end, my crew, aside from Garrus and Tali, were not my brothers and sisters. They all felt more like means to an end and i helped them with their family issues just out of courtesy of being a good person who gets involved in how an unborn baby should or should not get a special treatment for a heart condition the father died from. Thus the Suicide Mission, while having an amazing ending score that made me say "GOOD...BYYYYYYE!!!" *KABOOOOOOOOOM!!!*, fell moot when my love interest wasn't there with me and 10 of my squad mates were not my family but just friends to an end point.
So when I finally started ME3, I was first relieved to have Liara permanently back as well as my bro Garrus and later Tali (The 3 undeniable best characters in all 3 games.) But as I became embroiled in affairs to bringing everyone together, I felt the same level of importance I did in the first game. I was back in the saddle with the Alliance to show what good humanity can do by uniting everyone and doing my part to help them in their greatest times of need. From converting Al-Jilani to become a war asset instead of an annoying parasite. Interviews with Diana Allers using my maxed Paragon to keep moral high, seeing my best buddy Wrex lead the Krogan to a better future and making peace with the Geth and their creators.
In ME3, I WAS SUPERMAN!!! Doing everything I could, showing the capacity for good in the galaxy and winning the fight for a better future. And this right here was the highlight of it all:
"Shepard, let me tell you something that I've learned the hard way. You can pay a soldier to fire a gun. You can pay him to charge the enemy and take a hill. But you can't pay him to believe.
"
"I don't follow, Sir.
"
"When you went up against Sovereign, there was no good reason to believe you'd win. But your crew didn't seem to care. They went along anyway. Your trip through the Omega-4 relay? That was a suicide mission if there ever was one. Yet there your crew was, standing beside you, proud to serve. Why? Because they believed in YOU, their leader! That's what I need now. Where we're taking them is likely to get pretty hairy, and I know you're the one who will get us to the other side."
Also the smaller crew actually talk to one another to give insight on how far they've come and contribute to a central narrative.
- Javik being a prick to everyone.
- Vega and Garrus's bragging contest
- Joker pressing Liara about her head tentacles
- Tali getting herself drunk
and my favorite one:
- Garrus and Tali caught in the act before Earth.
And of course the Citadel DLC. That alone makes up for the lack of character interaction in the first game. Thane's memorial that showed the squad cared for him unlike ME2. And everything about it just made it perfect.
Regarding the ending, well I set my low expectations having peaked at it long before I got into the series. I braced myself for disappointment but when I got there, I wasn't disappointment. i was happy about it. It all came down to foreshadowing of a difficult choice I had to make:
"Ten Billion People over here die so twenty billion over there can live. Are we up for that? Are you?"
"I would risk non-functionality for him, and my core programming should reflect that."
"Sounds like you've found a little bit of humanity EDI. Is it worth defending?
... to the death."
All the rest can be summarized by this:
So that was why Mass Effect is so special to me. I get to become a hero and help people even though I'm in a society that is usually depicted to be a destructive and oppressive society with some much blood on it's hands. With Mass Effect, especially 3, I can love being a human, along with my other things I like about Western Culture like Captain America and Power Rangers, while being an ally to other people who are different than me. And considering the current administration my country is under even though I voted against it, I need it to feel good about myself if I'm going to make changes for the better.
And that's why I get pretty emotional when I defend ME3 because it really connected to me like no other game has and when I see ME2 go on the greatest RPG games of all time lists, I honestly feel hurt because my least favorite game, the game that connected to me the least, gets the praise while my favorite game of all time gets thrown under the bus just because of one thing.
But that's just my story. If you have a similar feeling, please share or if you came from a different direction to the franchise, please let me know and let me understand why you may like 2 more than 3.
It started roughly in 2009 when I was still in high school and discovering new things about myself and alternating emotional states as many teens with growing pains do. At the end of the year, I went to go see Avatar, the James Cameron film, and it changed everything for me. Along with the sense of wonder and emotional bundles it provided me, it also created a sense of depression and insecurity about myself when I looked at the world around me reflected in the film. To add insult to injury, I watched The Cove documentary that reveled that my Childhood vacation destination, Sea World, was a front for Dolphin slaughter in Japan, I was crushed by how even more complicated my situation was in Western Civilization.
When I watched Avatar, and not too long after Dances with Wolves, and saw that the extremes of Western culture was the reason for the destruction of our planet and I felt I was a part of that by just existing. And seeing the impact it had on other Avatar Fans in seeing them posting about how they wish they can just leave humanity behind for a life free of greed and destruction just added to it. Even Kevin Costner's speech about how John C. Dunbar ceased to exist long after he became antiquated with the Lakota hit me hard. It was almost saying that people in western civilization have no true identity for just being a part of Western Civilization.
So when I started College and got my own laptop and expanded my games library past StarCraft 2, I started playing Mass Effect and once again, my life changed.
From the get go, it said humanity was a new comer to the galactic community and it was met with suspicion from everyone else about how aggressive we can be. So when Shepard, I, stood up to become the first Human Spectre, I felt a chance to prove what humanity was capable of. This was made especially important when I talked with my love interest Liara in how she was hesitant about interacting with other people especially humans because of our aggressive nature and how I was the one to change everyone's minds as Humanity's Spectre to represent that Humanity, particularly Western Civilization, the part of humanity I identify myself with, can be 110% good when we strive for it. And by the end of the game, Standing up for the Normandy's diverse crew, telling the Terra Ferma party to screw off, and telling the reporter that I'm doing what's best for humanity as well as every specie in the galaxy, by having the choice to save the council, I was able to put humanity into the galactic spotlight while earning the trust of the other species that there is genuine good in us and we are able to help others when they needed help, regardless of who they were, where they came from or what they believed.
Then... ME2 happened. After dying and being brought back, the cracks started from the moment I was assigned to Cerberus, the opposite of what I stood for when I was with the Alliance and the council. And as the story unfolded, I became bored really quick because of 2 things, the non-existent main story which has no real escalation of tension or development for Shepard, and the cardinal sin of taking Liara away from me. Now I can go on about how taking Liara was the worst idea ever but I'll stay focused on ME2's biggest faults. First off is Cerberus and the plot revolving only on human matters. After saving the entire galaxy including non-humans and showing how humanity can be a force for good when working together with others, it was a real downgrade when I was forced to go on an under the radar bug hunt that was never shown to be a threat to other species until Shepard told us that they were a threat to all species instead of showing us. Then there's the loyalty missions and side stories. Granted yes, most of the characters were interesting and i appreciate giving more time and development for my bro and sis Garrus and Tali. But the fact they are all disjointed and not related to the lacking main plot in any meaningful way just really hinders my experience. And the fact that none of the characters interact with each other aside from the scripted conflicts between Miranda and Jack along with Legion and Tali just makes things so robotic much like Shepard's behavior in the first 2 games. To that end, my crew, aside from Garrus and Tali, were not my brothers and sisters. They all felt more like means to an end and i helped them with their family issues just out of courtesy of being a good person who gets involved in how an unborn baby should or should not get a special treatment for a heart condition the father died from. Thus the Suicide Mission, while having an amazing ending score that made me say "GOOD...BYYYYYYE!!!" *KABOOOOOOOOOM!!!*, fell moot when my love interest wasn't there with me and 10 of my squad mates were not my family but just friends to an end point.
So when I finally started ME3, I was first relieved to have Liara permanently back as well as my bro Garrus and later Tali (The 3 undeniable best characters in all 3 games.) But as I became embroiled in affairs to bringing everyone together, I felt the same level of importance I did in the first game. I was back in the saddle with the Alliance to show what good humanity can do by uniting everyone and doing my part to help them in their greatest times of need. From converting Al-Jilani to become a war asset instead of an annoying parasite. Interviews with Diana Allers using my maxed Paragon to keep moral high, seeing my best buddy Wrex lead the Krogan to a better future and making peace with the Geth and their creators.
In ME3, I WAS SUPERMAN!!! Doing everything I could, showing the capacity for good in the galaxy and winning the fight for a better future. And this right here was the highlight of it all:
"Shepard, let me tell you something that I've learned the hard way. You can pay a soldier to fire a gun. You can pay him to charge the enemy and take a hill. But you can't pay him to believe.
"
"I don't follow, Sir.
"
"When you went up against Sovereign, there was no good reason to believe you'd win. But your crew didn't seem to care. They went along anyway. Your trip through the Omega-4 relay? That was a suicide mission if there ever was one. Yet there your crew was, standing beside you, proud to serve. Why? Because they believed in YOU, their leader! That's what I need now. Where we're taking them is likely to get pretty hairy, and I know you're the one who will get us to the other side."
Also the smaller crew actually talk to one another to give insight on how far they've come and contribute to a central narrative.
- Javik being a prick to everyone.
- Vega and Garrus's bragging contest
- Joker pressing Liara about her head tentacles
- Tali getting herself drunk
and my favorite one:
- Garrus and Tali caught in the act before Earth.
And of course the Citadel DLC. That alone makes up for the lack of character interaction in the first game. Thane's memorial that showed the squad cared for him unlike ME2. And everything about it just made it perfect.
Regarding the ending, well I set my low expectations having peaked at it long before I got into the series. I braced myself for disappointment but when I got there, I wasn't disappointment. i was happy about it. It all came down to foreshadowing of a difficult choice I had to make:
"Ten Billion People over here die so twenty billion over there can live. Are we up for that? Are you?"
"I would risk non-functionality for him, and my core programming should reflect that."
"Sounds like you've found a little bit of humanity EDI. Is it worth defending?
... to the death."
All the rest can be summarized by this:
So that was why Mass Effect is so special to me. I get to become a hero and help people even though I'm in a society that is usually depicted to be a destructive and oppressive society with some much blood on it's hands. With Mass Effect, especially 3, I can love being a human, along with my other things I like about Western Culture like Captain America and Power Rangers, while being an ally to other people who are different than me. And considering the current administration my country is under even though I voted against it, I need it to feel good about myself if I'm going to make changes for the better.
And that's why I get pretty emotional when I defend ME3 because it really connected to me like no other game has and when I see ME2 go on the greatest RPG games of all time lists, I honestly feel hurt because my least favorite game, the game that connected to me the least, gets the praise while my favorite game of all time gets thrown under the bus just because of one thing.
But that's just my story. If you have a similar feeling, please share or if you came from a different direction to the franchise, please let me know and let me understand why you may like 2 more than 3.
