Chill Zone (The Tavetaan)

Uhh have to disagree with that last statement. Drack is a caricature, a complete stereotype of what we think an average Krogan acts like. A much worse version of Wrex. 

Jaal is about as boring as one character could be. Just nothing memorable about him.

The only decently written characters in Andromeda were Peebee and Vetra in my opinion. Vetra had a pretty cool backstory and an interesting dynamic with her sister. Peebee was especially interesting though as I absolutely hated her at the start but she grew on me a lot as the game went on and eventually my Ryder romanced her, something that I would've never thought I'd choose to do at the start. That's pretty good writing.

Everyone else was utterly forgettable or badly written though. As was the main story of the game.

Lexi and Suvi. Among the squadmates Cora. 

I think after the first arrival at Aya and the security I just didn't even think to scan anything on Aya 

Well said Element Zero 

I always find that my favourite is contextual...some playthroughs I like one character slightly more than a prior favourite, or I might read a really good discussion on BSN and rethink my impression of a character. So I might just be bad at picking favourites (I don't even have a favourite colour). I'll also exclude the player character because I happened to like Ryder and given the very high time on screen it would be hard to beat them.

So all that being said, I just adore Tann. I love his voice acting, his humour, his interactions with other characters, how hard he is to pin down. I love how he maintains tension even when dumping information or basically acting as the narrator for various quests. And I love how everyone is gunning for him, yet he manages to emerge all the same. I'm also a political scientist so I find a politician written and acted with care and nuance, for whom pragmatism and idealism exist in constant, swirling tension, refreshing and exciting. It's a massive improvement over the usual flat stereotypes we've gotten so far in the MEU.

The game seemingly lacked the many decision points of the original trilogy’s games. Few decisions to be made; lots of character-defining auto-dialogue; and samey-same replies, varying only slightly with tone led many to feel that all Ryders are essentially the same Ryder. I don’t necessarily disagree. It felt like there was a lot more variety in the OT, and the devs seemed overwhelmed by it in the end. A more defined protagonist and story seems to have been a conscious design choice.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a dozen other things to discuss. There are many cool plot threads buried amidst the hit and miss execution. The new gameplay was amazing. There are new technologies and species introduced. We have a new crew. The most recent novel makes Cora (even) better. More time on screen, and maybe even more fan discussion, often enriches characters for those who participate. I feel like there is a lot in the game worthy of discussion, even if I mostly agree with the above listed issues.

Many come and go with each new game. If the new game fails to impress, they’re gone quickly. The immediate, negative uproar also made the decision to fade away a bit easier. I’m confident that many will be back as soon as DA4 is a real thing.

There are a few choices that feel like they could have big implications in the future. The salarian double agents; the Exaltation facility; Akksul; and the Primus’ offer each come to mind. There are others, but I’m struggling to type. 😡 <disgusted noise> The issue is that we often see no immediate impacts from our choices; and the tone remains very blithe about even serious matters. It can make one question whether there will be any substantial divergences in the next game. That may have been difficult for the devs to properly manage by the end of the OT. Still, it was one of ME’s distinguishing and defining traits. Divergent stories and experiences made each PT feel special.

Yeah, by gameplay I mean mechanics. The combat is superb. The skill system is excellent, with myriad options and interdependent skills. The equipment crafting is excellent, and I generally don’t like crafting. This game’s phenomenal mechanics will largely go unpraised because people fixated on facial animation memes and shoddy dialogue.

In terms of tech, just getting to Andromeda is a phenomenal leap. The advent of the ODSY Drive should completely alter Milky Way society. Suddenly, it’s entirely possible to escape the bounds of the relay network. What does this mean for sciences? For society? For the ability of the Citadel Council to retain strong authority long term? Granted, we don’t explore any of that in MEA. I still think it’s worth discussing. That doesn’t even touch on Heleus tech; Kett tech; and Remnant tech. Then there is SAM.

Who the hell are these jardaan? My current feeling is that they’re a faction within a society that long ago “ascended” to a synthetic/AI type existence. The jardaan are attempting to “restore” Heleus (a word used by the jardaan in-game), and someone of equal or greater sophistication isn’t pleased.

It is subtly implied that the Archon is now the “ghost in the shell” of Meridian; his consciousness wrenched from his body. That’s crazy tech; and it matches up well with what I already believed the jardaan might be. All of their technology is so advanced it’s essentially like magic. Lots of questions are raised. In regard to the Archon, he might be far more dangerous now as a hidden, ascended mind.

That might be an interesting plot twist.

The Archon's consciousness as a reluctant recruit good guy.

Now it's a lot calmer and a little dead-er.

And I still don't know what happens when you take your Tavetaan to the Tavetaan.

How about the Mass effect archives? I cannot get it to recognise my Sheps. I only get a bunch of John and Jane Sheps. I will not touch generics Sheps with a ten foot pole? My Ryders are all there but their decisions are not.