MEA Final Battle: The sort of finale ME3 deserved? (Thoughts on the final level)

So. Just beat Andromeda a few hours ago, and stewing over it. Overall I thought it was good- but when I started thinking about why I thought it was good, I realized that there was something specific about it that I liked.

In my mind, the final battle was pretty much the sort of thing that Priority: Earth should have had in ME3, as far as being a capstone encounter goes. Not the ending choice, but the mission itself.

The final mission of ME3 got a lot of flack at the time because not only was it pretty limited in visual appeal- fighting through ruins, barely any new things- but it was also almost entirely separated from the Big Decisions of the story. With the exception of your final fire base to make final calls to companions, there were no real reflections of the choices you made to get there. No new allies, changes to enemies, etc. After the ship cinematic it was just a ground slog, a pause, and then another slog in a dreary atmosphere.


Andromeda changes that in a big way- and all for the better, in my first impression. The finale starts with an appropriate space battle cutscene, but there's actual relevant characterization of a sort in there. In ME3, it was about 'here's our allies, and let's fire at the Reapers'- in Andromeda, it gets a relevant callback to Ryder Sr, who provides the sort of somewhat cheasy but approriate advice that allows Ryder to be Innovative and Clever, as opposed to futily giving orders to attack that everyone else would do anyway, and offering a role-play opportunity along the way that can give some sort of closore with Ryder Sr. (At least in my RP, where the relationship between father and children was strained).


Then there was a vehicle section, which offered a sense of 'movement' and 'rapid advance' that the street sog of london didn't. It was pretty- which was better than Earth already- but also filled with radio chatter. Allies I'd made- the either-or choices of earlier- were talking, and fights were happening, and it emphasized that it wasn't just me.

And then the Nomad runs into a trap to force me to dismount. Necessary transition, of course, and would have been nice to see it elsewhere... but appropriate! Fitting for the setting! And a natural transition given the context. And now I'm fighting on foot... and starting to get reinforcements, from people I'd helped before. Some main quests- some side quests- and differentiated by people who I know would be dead if I'd done things differently. The battles are hardly hard at my difficulty, but the presence of allies makes them that much easier.

And this is where Andromeda really shines: reflecting the quests I've done to get here in the allies who show up to help me. The Charlatan, the other Pathfinders, the Krogan scouts. Yeah, maybe there's no 'real' difference in the content- maybe I'd get equivalent replacements if I'd chosen other people- but this is a GOOD illusion of choice. It made me wonder how much else- or how little- help I could have gotten if I'd rushed through and done things differently.

This is what I think a lot of people, myself including, were hoping from ME3's finale. That the allies we'd recruited would help us in unique ways. Geth trooper support vs. Quarians, Krogan vs. Salarian, etc. etc. etc. Radio chatter filled with familiar faces.


There's also the personal element as well. YMMV for the Ryder sibling, but I thought it worked well enough in the role play... and the fact that both siblings were suffering in the finale from using Remnant tech made the personal stakes a bit higher. I'd already seen my Ryder suffer from interfacing with Remtech. Seeing the sibling- so recently sick (and so weak in the brief period of control- good choice there, becuase it emphasizes they're not as strong yet as our Ryder!)- suffering and trying to help how little they could. That was not only another ally to help me, but a personal stake that ME3 didn't have. A personal objective besides an abstract concern for the homeworld.


And then, the final battle? The last 'boss'?

I'll admit, I actually didn't realize it at first. I was expecting the final boss to come after I defeated the obvious obstacle. But then I noticed my teammates- my squad- and the people I hadn't brought for the mission. Other squadmates, arriving to help me after that Big Movie Night we'd had just before the final mission, coming through when I needed it most. Helping me beat back wave after wave of enemy- and beat the Big Bad Archon.

Who, I was pleasantly surprised to find, did NOT turn into an annoying hopper. Or turn out to be a giant metal fetus. Or somebody I could talk to death. He was almost- but not quite- a worthy rival... and the fact that he didn't fight directly just felt appropriate after what happened earlier.

And the last boss arena? I mean, conceptually it was similar to the last battle of ME3 before Maurader Shields... but with a lot better movement, reasoning, and sense of progress.



And then it wins, and it ends, with a photo op, an after party, and a choice of who I- the character who singlehandidly forged this alliance out of the disaster I arrived at- could support for a temporary representative? That felt well earned- and politically reasonable- and a good way to end a story that could easily have many sequels... or comfortably end where it was.

That gets into ending controversy, so I shall avoid any more of that, but the point is: the final level itself?

Good stuff, and it made me want to play again for the payoff. That's my view.