If only we had moments like these in andromeda....

I didn't really like Garrus and Tali that much in ME 1. They only grew on me in ME 2.

ME2 has the Overlord DLC, the end of which is probably one of the most emotionally manipulative scenes ever. But god, was I thankful for that paragon interrupt on Gavin Archer. I really needed that one.

True, Overlord is pretty emotional.  I have a nephew that is autistic so I was especially enraged by it.  Given the chance I would have hunted down TIM long before ME3 after that.

- Walking through the Normandy to the bridge with the Mass Effect theme playing, and then going through the mass relay for the first time
- Seeing the Citadel for the first time. Your crew running to the windows to see the Citadel because they were sharing the first time moment with you
- Shepard talking to Sovereign, which was hands down one of the best dialogue exchanges in the series
- Taking the Paragon option with the reporter instead of punching her and having Shepard list off all the ships and people that died protecting the Citadel, and actually changing the reporters perspective in things.  Most people missed this because they punched her.
- The fifth fleet coming in to rescue the council in ME1
- The hold the line speech
- Just Virmire in its entirety, it had so much. Wrex decision, Hold the line speech, rescue the commandoes or not, Kaiden/Ashley decision, Conversation with Sovereign when it all got real really quick.  Hands down my favorite mission in all four games.

They missed a lot, and had a lot I didn't think were that great. But I agree, I can't think of any of these moments in ME:A so far.

"That's for Thane you son of a bitch!" One very emotional moment in 3 games packed with them.

As others have said it is not really fair to compare one game to 3. I will just say that there was a blonde security guard right after you arrive on Noverai, I despised the bitch and my joy over killing her was only tempered with the fact that she dies too quickly and I didn't have time to look her in face and tell her to go to hell. In that simple bit part moment I felt more emotional then at ANY time in MEA.

Before I am flamed again for doing nothing but flaming of MEA I will give credit to the Exaltation Facility Quest. It is the one time in MEA I really felt like I was back in the ME Universe.

I thought the end of MEA was pretty good.  It still didn't give me goosebumps the way ME1 did, but it was really cool seeing it.  Kinda what I wish ME3's ending would have been, only on a much larger scale.

Have to say I'm not sure that a repeat of the trilogy is possible nowadays. I think that they are to an extant too much of a risk for a studio to make, despite wishing for it to happen.

I think that you would need a new IP to get the same sense of wonder as the first approach to the citadel for example. Mass Effect is probably too familiar and the 3 games cast too long a shadow.

As much as I enjoy ME:A I think it should have been the start of a new IP, and the MET left as it is. Certainly using a lot of the Milky Way species leaves their stories already told (unless you have smaller personal ones), and if you are introducing entirely new ones then you might as well just create a new universe without the baggage.

Anyway one of my favourite 'feels moment' is oddly enough probably the ship on 2181 Desponia. There's something about the abandoned ships and the story of the crew that just chills me.

Liara was only one I kinda cared about at first. Maybe that's because I romance her and took her on every misson. I didn't like Ashley because she could be a bitch to Liara and even questioned Shepard being interested  in her. 

Gotta love how nostalgic rose tinted glasses make things in the past seem flawless...

Also, comparing one game to three is kinda lopsided and unfair.

Yeah I still had some problems with the games despite the great moments.

Wrong. We thought it was superb writing back then too. This only sharpens with clarity the contrast. Andromeda is mediocre at best - riddled with clichés and a forgettable story, and characters. It's a shell, and hollow from start to finish. My opinion, anyway.


 

I understand you're trying to be sarcastic and facetious, but it's very true that things in the past are often remembered much differently than they actually were.  We remember them like they were perfect and flawless when in fact, they were far from it.  It doesn't just apply to games either.  Memories of movies, relationships, experiences, etc are altered based on our current perception of them, not our initial experience.

I love the ME trilogy, but it's unfair to compare ME:A to those three games because those three games and the characters within hold such a special place in many of our hearts.  Characters like Garrus and Tali weren't initially "love at first sight" for many.  It took time for them to grow.  Garrus became Archangel and singlehandedly fought the gangs of Omega.  Tali made big contributions to her people through her pilgrimage.  We were all a part of their growth through three games and DLC.  To compare ME:A to all that is setting up ME:A to lose.

So yeah, many people do remember the trilogy through rose tinted glasses.  This conclusion was not reached by reading any "handbook", but through objective observation and common sense.