To me, the first flash of greatness in this series is when the turian Spectre Nihlus has this look of stoic surprise when the first image of Sovereign flashes on screen. So much conveyed with a mandible twitch.
That twitch he does is something that has always intrigued me and something I look forward to see each time I play through the trilogy- what a work of art Bioware created!
It's all because they actually thought about how the characters would move, like knowing that Salarians blink upwards. Weird, but again, shows how the characters would move.
I always thought it was a monumental blunder to do the whole dead kid, Starchild, forced emotional connection thing when all they had to do at the end was have either Ashley or Kaiden as the Reaper's chosen face, whichever one died in game 1. Throw in a dream about the dead comrade instead of chasing random kid and there, emotional connection consistent with the character and relevant to the player using assets they already had.
@@itcouldbelupus2842youre forgetting that EAs whole idea behind ME3 (and ME2 to an extent) was to make both games accessible to newcomers. Meaning such an idea was most likely brought up but shot down because it would make majority of target audience confused as they never played ME1. and before you yell goddamn corporate bullshit, the truth is... A LOT of people, perhaps even the majority, never played ME1 and started their journey from ME2 or even ME3. And even if they tried M1, a lot of them were discouraged by its outdated mechanics.
@@aw2584 yeah good point. I've thought about OP's idea as time went on and to be honest, I don't think it's that good on its own merit. It seems like a more clever and relevant emotional anchor but it's a pretty Saturday morning cartoon story beat, and the player will be so far removed from those choices and deaths by the end of the third game that it would be just as jarring as this weird kid. I don't think the random kid is that bad an idea, it's mostly the poor execution.
I don't know that we needed the star child part, but Shep be haunted by the death of a child he couldn't save is excellent. The constant torment that no matter how hard they push themselves, no matter the sacrifices they've made to get to that point, people are scared and helpless and dying all day, every day. Could've even tied that in to their guilt of leaving behind Ash or Kaiden by having one of the dreams be the child running into their arms and then the Reapers choosing that image at the end.
Crazy how good the Legendary Edition was with all the DLC integrated. Would love for that to have been my first experience cause it’s just so complete.
@@Outplayedqt I got most answers, but it doesn't hurt to check one more time. 1. How reliable are they? I've heard Uplay had problem with connectivity, but most people told me Originis is reliable, especially with saved games (at least for Dragon Age). 2. Are both launchers safe? I remember both launchers in the past had issues of conerning privacy, but most people at least for Origins confirmed to me that they are as safe as GoG and Steam. 3. Are they reliable with the library? Many people told me Origins never had issue with removing games from your library, unless you play licanced games as EA was very short-sighted with Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings licence, but everything else is safe (Mass Effect, Command and Conquer, Spore). Ubisoft on the other hand had a habit of removing entire games and dlcs at the whim and as far as I can see they are doing it again. 4. Do they have sales? From what I understand both Origins and Uplay don't have sales of their own, but rather follow Steam, GoG sales and anniversary discounts. As you can see, I mostly got some picture by asking people, but every opinion counts, so if you have something to add, disaprove or simply want to express your opinion I am willing to hear it. Every advice is welcomed.
Replayed the entire trilogy because I've got that Covid time, and I've gotta say- the jump from 2 to 3 is no joke. It's actually brilliant. Landing on Mars for the first time in 3 with my level 30 Vanguard powerhouse Shephard and immediately destroying everything with charges and nova punches was a fucking amazing feeling, and it only got better. Letting you start out at the peak of your power from 2, better even, with the improved mechanics and powers, was a genius move.
For a video from 2014 with all the expected technical issues, this is a remarkable critical piece of content. Unlike others that require five hours of your time and justify 20 minutes of it, you do not waste your words explaining to the audience that which they should already know; the plot, characters, circumstances etc. beyond maybe a sentence or two; if you're watching a two hour video analysis on the series, it's conceivable you're familiar with the source material. You earn every single minute of your runtime with your commentary and it's a breath of fresh air in 2022. This isn't to say I agree with all of your points, but I can at least see them as reasonable given the framework you're obviously working within. Well done.
Your voice reminds me of a 60 or 70's broadcaster, back when there was gravitas in that role. i didn't expect to listen to the entire thing, but your rhythm and insightful commentary is top notch.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais Really, Noah, he's right. You remind me quite a bit of the saying my family has always used to describe me, and that's being "An old soul", and after reading about you working 50hr weeks, having only a GED, dealing with not having the a *relevant* education and *relevant* experience to be hired to do what you want to do, I can't help but to subconsciously sit here and nod my head in mirror-like understanding being in an almost identical situation like I am, including the fact I'm raising a newborn son. Just wanted to say, I understand the struggle my friend. I have subscribed and will spread the word about you, your name, and your astonishingly unique charisma, AAA++ writing and pacing abilities. Keep fighting the good fight, Noah! As Three Dog would say! Haha.
Hahaha thank you! I wanted to make the exact same comment. It has the pacing and pitch of a 1970's reporter. I also 100% agree that the content is excellent.
Great video! A small note; Tali is 24, not 19, in Mass Effect 2. Commander Shepard is established in the lore to be 29 when he died in ME1, making him either the same age or 31 depending on if you count the years he was a carcass as years of his life. So it's not as weird as you'd think.
@@TeddyKrimsony we are talking about the mass effect series the faces well should not be taken at face value (hehehe) like look at Shepard face in any sex scene (it's scary)
Honestly, even worse for me was the talk with Tali, as she was my romance option my first playthrough. The voice acting was just stelar, her simple "I want more time" while tearing up hit me like a truck.
yea it seemed like that phrase lost meaning in ME3 when at the end of the party (citadel DLC) Tali says the exact same thing Jack did in ME2 and shepard replies "the best" again......even though i HATED Jack in ME2 it still hit hard.
SPOILER FOR MASS EFFECT 3: That was me when mordin sacrificed himself while singing Gilbert and Sullivan. That was always a funny little bit to me back in me2, I never thought it would literally make me cry later in the series. Goddamn, when BioWare does well they do DAMN well.
2:25:25 I think it's not just the matter of emotional disconnect between the ending and the rest of the series. Maybe it's just me, but the core problem I have with the ending as presented is that the core narrative theme of the series seems to be about defying destiny. The entirety of ME3 *feels* like it's building up to a point where you can finally stand up and face the Reapers down, and with the addition of all the extra information we get from Leviathan about the true nature of the Reapers, it seems a perfectly logical course to actually philibuster the villain to death, to put it in very crude metaphorical terms. Instead, the game utterly removes your ability to argue the Catalyst's fundamentally flawed, prejudiced, racial-supremacist programming and demonstrably incorrect assumptions. You can't use any of the events of the series to prove that synthetic and organic life _can_ co-exist peacefully. You can't show it that even after wars, even after genocide, even after everything the galaxy has gone through, the disparate races can be brought to cooperate and flourish peacefully together. You can't say "but look at what I accomplished *just to spite YOU*" and make the Catalyst realize the ultimately self-defeating nature of its very programming. Nope. Genocide, despotism, or unwilling mass mutations. Pick one. If you defy, you die. The end. There is no We Win ending. You can't win. You can't beat them, only accept what they give you. That feels absolutely antithetical to the entirety of all three games.
Just to focus on one part of your (the OP's) post, but why is what the Catalyst think wrong or the other ways you describe it? It has been around for billions of years at this point and has seen the same thing go down over and over and over again - probably even see some temporary alliances like the one you assume will last forever with the Geth, only for it to ultimately end the same way. Rather presumptuous of US to think that anything Shepard (we) accomplish is not something done many, many times before, that still leads to synths eventually wiping out their creators (synth life evolved much faster and will at some point will view biologics how humans view rats or cockroaches, or even after enough time - microbes). Maybe the only alternative is being robbed of free will so we can be protected 'for our own good'. Really, the idea (IMO) doesn't suck, the execution is just horrible - which is what I think the real problem with the original ending (it's like they ran out of money and had to do something quick).
@Jallorn - a role playing game is a game that gives you agency in your role in the game, that is, a choice of role in the combat and the story. Each mass effect is as much a role playing game as any other. I think people need to stop judging the worth of RPG's on the trappings the genre traditionally has had (stats, trees, inventory, traditional dialogue choices, etc.).
***** The definition I just gave is something of a distillation, but I don't think it is really wrong, per say. Regardless it IS relevant to your post - the part I was replying to: "it goes back to the shift in the mechanical focus of the third game away from roleplaying elements to more of an action adventure kind of game" (I don't feel most of what you said later in the post or the reply to me really elaborates meaningfully on this point - you claim and say general things that I do not agree with, concerning ME3). Interestingly, I have seen statements like this generally, and incorrectly I feel, applied to the second game vs the first. And just as with those people in the 1vs2 comparison, I feel yours wrt 1&2vs3 is still more about mechanics (the convo wheel) and design decisions that may do "RPG" differently, but the game is just as 'RPG' as the other two. "My point is that as a franchise ME1+2 are centered around shaping the story, shaping your reaction to the events around you, and being an important person who can shape the world." I seem to recall this same sort of stuff happening in 3 - you make some rather large decisions concerning the Geth and the Crogen for example - and it's not like there is nothing to the outcomes or aftermath of them either. The only thing the 3 did wrong, I feel, was not have way more information concerning the aftermath of the final decision at the end. I was fine with the game until the credit started to roll and then I literally said out loud to my tv "wait, that's it?" I was expected a final cut scene or sorts that was like the modular cut scene in 2 when you begin the suicide mission. Anyway, I don't think ME1/2/3 are good examples of RPG's that stop being RPG's to become action adventures - the postchild for such right now is basically anything Bethesda makes.
I've seen this argument a lot. my issue is that it assumes that a couple of things. first, that this video game would have allowed for players to make any possible choice they want. that would be patently impossible in game design, to allow for so many variables and let the player make whatever choice they want. the second point is the reapers are set up so that they are an enemy that is virtually unkillable, at least by conventional means. the only time that the alliance has any success is when written in the codex's and describes how it took incredible sacrifice and ingenuity just to force a minor victory. and in spite of that, the reapers are barely set back. they are a nigh unbeatable force. even after Shepard marshals all of his diplomatic forces, they are still doomed to failure. there is a lesson within that. sometimes, in spite of our triumphs and desire, we just can't win by fighting. another approach is needed at the end. if Shepard could simply give the star child the bird and then go back to fighting and then the forces of this age went on to win, that would have ruined the reapers. they would have meant very little. their threat was one of militaristic and existential issue. i don't know how it could be any other way.
I just found your channel, and I have say, I'm very impressed. Your understanding of Game mechanics, Philosophy and Storytelling makes for very good game reviews.
SavagesInMyTown I know right? I'm only 5 minutes in after discovering this dude and have already subbed! He's definitely thorough and well organised with his analysis of the trilogy. Currently adding some of his other vids to my Watch Later to view when I can't sleep.
Mass Effect 1: 0:49 ME1, Bring Down the Sky: 19:28 ME1 Continued: 20:53 Mass Effect 2: 30:56 ME2, Kasumi's Stolen Memory: 1:01:53 ME2, Lair of the Shadow Broker: 1:03:01 ME2, Overlord: 1:05:52 ME2, The Arrival: 1:08:30 ME2, Continued: 1:12:29 Mass Effect 3: 1:21:10 ME3, From Ashes: 1:55:11 ME3, Leviathan: 1:58:51 ME3, Omega: 2:02:38 ME3, Citadel: 2:04:46 ME3-- Climax/Indoctrination Theory/Mass Effect 4?: 2:11:20 Mobile user, so for my own convenience I'm copy-pasting the timestamps in the comment.
Mordin is the biggest hero in the saga in my opinion. He's a man ( a salarian ) who confronts his responsabilities, who understands the consequences of his acts, and decides to make a good out of a wrong at the sacrifice of his own life, even has the balls to say no to the Sheppard. Always brings a tear to my eye, he really was the very model of a scientist salarian.
@@Zalintis i was playing renegade on my first playthrough and I couldn't bring myself to shoot mordin. When he took the elevator all I could think was "Godspeed you goddamned hero"
Even considering the blatantly generic Manshep options, the Drowshep option was... jarring every time I saw him. It didn't help that I played through as Femshep (because Jennifer Hale's voice acting), so every time Noah said "he" for Shepherd part of me wanted to yell "SHE! She! Shepherd is a she!" because I got so used to using and thinking "her" in regards to my playthroughs.
So I am only 20min into this video... so far I like a lot of what has been said, especially about Wrex. But I have to disagree about the assessment of Kaiden. At first I thought he was/would be boring. But the more I talked to him, the more I romanced him, and the more I thought about it I now believe he is very fascinating. Yes, he represents the struggles of biotics and what happened when humans tried to play "catch-up" to the other alien races. But he is also the extreme opposite of Ashley in that he is completely accepting. He, unlike Ashley, actually HAS a reason to dislike other races, he was abused by a Turian! He also has every reason to hate the Alliance for their treatment of the biotics that they screwed up and abandoned, but he doesn't. He sees the big picture and enacts forgiveness. I think Kaiden is more of the "Strong and Silent" type, which may make him seem boring at first glance next to the outspoken Ashley. But his capacity to accept, forgive, and tolerate proves that he may be far more interesting than Ashley. Ashley is easy to understand and too shallow as a character, Kaiden is a bit deeper and more complex.
@@adamplentl5588 I like how you did that thing where someone puts thought and effort into something and you say next to nothing with zero effort and thought and think it matters in comparison.
Ashley has no reason to mistrust aliens? Other than the fact that the Turians are responsible for destroying her grandfather's life and ruining her family name I guess not. She has more reason to hate aliens than Kaidan who acciendently kicked to death a Turian who was mean to his highschool sweetheart. Yet she still doesn't hate, she just isn't an idealistic fool.
In 2019, but whatever, it's a good video that i want to share something on. Overlord, that DLC hit me. I have what used to be called Asperger's syndrome, now a part of the umbrella term Autism Spectrum diagnosis. For example: social interaction is a struggle, eye-hand coordination difficult and last but most important in this instance: I feel little empathy. At the time overlord came out i was an emotionally stunted person, i cared for little more than my immediate family and the few friends i had, every other person was a number, unimportant, inconsequential.. I was selfish, constantly angry, self-hating and any other negative thing you might think of. You might ask, what the hell does this have to do with overlord? I saw David in myself. For the first time i saw a character that represented a part of myself that has been tempered by learning.. And then i saw how he was abused by the one person he trusted implicitly. All i felt was rage and sorrow. For the first time, i felt true empathy for a person not at all connected to me by bonds of friendship or family. Games has taught me much, English, Math, History and so many other things... But this one character opened that one part of me i thought i was simply incapable of opening. Thanks for reading my little story.
This is a truly AMAZING achievement of content creation, Noah. As a huge Mass Effect fan I tip my hat to you, you've brought elements to my attention that even I had never seen. Thank you very much for this Video, and I'll no doubt be looking into the rest of your channel in the next while. The detail you go into is truly refreshing, your analysis is superior to most content I find on TH-cam. Well Done.
It's amazing how much stuff was locked behind DLC. Listening to you talk about all the scenarios offered, makes it sound like you played a different game from me.
The Liara scene at the end had me in tears when she rests her head on him... just like it always does. The ending was a letdown, but the journey was magnificent.
Bound to happen in long form content. This video was very accurate, so a repetitive mistake is easily overlooked. All in all, this is video essay work at its best.
1:19:18 They actually explain this in the Leviathan DLC in Mass Effect 3. The Reapers' inner shell looks like the species that they have absorbed but the outer shell was made so they resemble the first Reaper & the species that created them: the Leviathans.
Thats an incredibly stupid way to handwave the plot hole they created to be honest. I always thought that, that handwave hardly makes any sense even as an attempt to explain the previous inconsistencies.
@@Aggrofool ME2's entire plot was stupid honestly. Squandered what the sequel should have been. I mean the first ME is such a well paced and written masterpiece. Classic galaxy spanning adventure. ME2 then is totally in left field. Like what, I died? Why? Wait... no one believes me? Why, isn't there tons of evidence of what we did? Wait.. the Reapers are using a subservient species to eradicate entire worlds? Why? Just dumb. I love the game but just cringe at the story. I really wish they would have taken up that black energy plot they were hinting at in ME2 though. Instead of the Star Child. Just really dumb narrative choices taken throughout the entire series by the writers in my opinion.
@@jonny-b4954 Agreed. I loved my playthrough of ME2, but if you stop and think about it, the primary thing it did was introduce a new, bloated cast and then spend most of its runtime recruiting/developing them. Only for most of those characters to have minor roles going forward. There's nothing wrong with that in a vacuum--character-centric stories are great--but it completely wasted the setup from the first game. It wasted time that could've been used to explore the Reapers and how you're supposed to stop them. (Plus, I groan whenever I think of Cerberus. Everything's so edgy about this game.)
I think what also helps the ME trilogy be so good is it's music and the music direction throughout the games. One track that Always stays with me is Vigil. The piece from ME1's main menu and when you actually meet the VI Vigil towards the end of the game. IT's a very emotive and thought provoking piece for me and when you can hear it at later points in the other games it always gives me the shivers, I love it. As a side note, the piano piece that Liara plays during the Citadel DLC is actually the piano version of Vigil.
Nah, he doesn't seem like the type to want to be babied. He seems like the type who respects people for their own merits and wants to be treated the same.
that's why it's more interesting to me to give him an inch. Especially since Shepard being better at everything is such an annoying fact of you being a video game protagonist to begin with.
Bizarrely, I've been feeling disgruntled about letting Garrus win--like, c'mon dude, why do you need to score points off of me? I was romancing him and in retrospect, this really rankled. But now I feel better! He's always proud to be Shepherd's #2. He deserves the win.
Dylan Humphrey i didn't let him win either bc i don't like being dishonest, and i didn't wanna feel like i was pitying garrus who doesn't need or deserve pity. letting someone win is when that someone is a child that you're trying to build confidence in, and even then you can't let them always win or they'll start to expect it (imo). all that being said i wish garrus won organically
I like to take that choice not as an intentional miss, but as a matter of what my Shepard is really good at. If I'm playing an infiltrator, I take the shot- in that case, being handy with a sniper is Shepard's defining trait just as much as it is Garrus'. But if I'm playing, well, any other class except maybe Soldier, I "intentionally" miss the shot, because this Shepard isn't a sniper and probably *would* miss the shot. Either Garrus is reminded that he's still not the very best sniper in the galaxy and should stay on his game, or he gets to remind himself that there *are* things he can do better than Shep. A bit more of that sort of thing throughout the series would have been nice, actually. As much as I appreciated the Engineer special scenes in Omega and Citadel, it also kind of drew attention to the fact that your class and specialties kind of stopped existing as soon as you hit a cutscene.
Great video, Back in the day I used to work in games and Mass Effect 3 had to me the look of if not unfinish, then rushed. I've worked with EA and when shipping time comes up they want a product to ship, saying your not finished doesn't cut it with them. Things like never seeing Tali even if you romance her, I can see the meeting, (Bioware)"It'll take 3 or 4 days to create the textures and models" ( EA) " you've got 2 hours, grab some old photo from the net and bugger about with it, the players won't mind"
Damn this is incredibly well written and the analysis is great. 2.5 hours I actually wanna listen to. Probably will listen again too just to catch everything
I wouldn't blame Bioware about the problems with Mass Effect 3. The people from there love the Mass Effect series. The only problem is with their publishers: EA. EA is actually the company who made Bioware write a new ending after the leak. They also rushed Bioware to finish the game quicker, and they are the ones who set the pricing for DLC. So don't blame Bioware for Mass Effect 3's problems, blame EA. They aren't called one of the worst companies in the world to work in for nothing.
Its wild just how consistent youve been in these older videos, as someone that started watching you about 2 years ago (aside from audio/production quality but thats natural). ME1 is among my favorite games and I love how they approached worldbuilding, despite some rougher aspects (Tali is my favorite companion but in ME1 shes just a lore terminal)
+watchinginaz Same, but getting used to the combat system in ME1 and dealing with the massive inventory makes me wish they could re-release it with a bit more polish.
+MrWillarti A more polished ME1 would be fantastic. I've played ME2 and ME3 probably four times now but I've only ever played the first game once. The story is probably the best of bunch but the combat, inventory and mako are just so clunky to control. I've tried to replay the first game but after a few hours I realize I'm not having fun and end up skipping straight to ME2 with all the DLC.
StandingNomad I think EA actively stated that there will be no HD remake, surprise surprise. www.techtimes.com/articles/61365/20150618/e3-2015-dont-expect-a-mass-effect-hd-remaster-any-time-soon.htm Still, like you said, it'd be great to have a streamlined ME1 with ME2 combat.I tried doing a complete series renegade run through but gave up after the walls of text, clunky controls and Femshep being overly defensive with each speech choice.
Noah, in terms of pure intellect and critical analysis, you’re the best retrospective reviewer out there. I can’t think of anyone better. Thanks for all the content. It’s even fun to revisit the same essays. They’re like my comfort content and I can’t tell you how many times your videos have carried me through darker times. Keep it up! We love ya!
Mass Effect as the collective trilogy is my favorite game. I have major issues with all three games in the series, but the mythos is so captivating to me. The allegories of all the different races and history. Not actually finished the video yet, so I'm not sure if you addressed this (table of contents indicates not), but I'm interested if you touched Mass Effect 3's multiplayer at all. I have put way too much time into it. At face value, it looks like a generic horde mode co op tacked on feature to force EA-prompted microtransactions onto us. I really enjoy it from a gameplay perspective and the lore. Being able to actually play as Batarians, Krogans, Geth, Salarians, Turians, etc etc, even the Volus really adds to the universe for me.
2 is irrelevant other than letting you know about Cerberus and protheans not being gone. This angers nerds as I say it but they can not and will not refute me because it is true
I watched him a while before extra credits vouched for him, but I'm so happy they did. His subs and views have jumped up dramatically, so happy he's getting the recognition he deserves.
it's one of the things i love about the youtube community. i get a special kind of good feeling (not like that!!) whenever i see a channel i love give a shout-out or have a guest come in from another youtube channel that i already watch. i checked out all of the EC recommendations over the holiday. and noah, you're great. keep up the awesome loooooooong work!!
It's like we get to see more and more of Noah for every video he release. Eventually it might actually be in a decent light setting. Also, yay new video.
OK dude seriously you need to go work for a publishing house recording studio and just read books into a microphone for a living. I could listen to you for hours at a crack and your dry humor mixed with your equally unenthusiastic tone make for multiple roll on the floor clutching my sides moments.
The human reaper was a core. It was years from completion and would have looked more like a regular reaper as it approached completion. I might be mistaken, but the reason they decided to make a reaper based on something else than the Leviathan was because during the dark matter idea, humanity had the best chance to try and stop it. Reapers then wanted to try and harness what humanity had to try and solve it themselves.
I believe it was implied by EDI during the ending of 2, that the Reapers tried to make a Prothean Reaper as well and failed. Basically the same thing, the inner core would be in the image of the species, but the shell would look like the Leviathan, what purpose for, who knows? I personally feel it may be more tradition and to make them look uniform, then anything. I know this is old, but felt I should add on!! ^^
@@timyo6288 when Wrex is dead/not recruited in ME1 and Maleon Data is destroyed you can convince Mordin to fake the cure ( you dont have to be renegate)
@@timyo6288 I discovered this when I decided to try a non-imported ME3--there's a LOT that went wrong when you're not playing Shepard in the first two games. It's a completely different story, totally recommend you try it out to see how different things can be!
I'm one of those people that you mentioned at the end that "will never buy another mass effect game again". I've had that attitude since 2012 and still do to this day. My time with this series came to an end with the end of Shepard's story. I have played through the trilogy a couple times since, although not with the same passion as I did before. I know I'll probably take some heat for this, but I don't think I will ever get over the way the ending was handled. Mass Effect 3 honestly had some of the best moments of the entire trilogy and stands shoulder to shoulder with the other two at its highest points, and certainly the best game play. However, I cannot step foot into any of these games without the sour taste of the ending permeating it. Although I was upset for a very long time over it, I have come to realize the trilogy and especially its endings have taught me some very valuable lessons.
To be honest, I found it to be the other way round - Kaidan was interesting while Ashley was unbearable boring. Heck, he even was the reason why I bought and played ME in the first place. I really love watching such game analysis videos. Also have already seen a bunch of documentaries on how the games were created. There never has been a game and probably also never will be that I know so much information about as ME.
I know that this is an 8 year old comment, but I have to say, I think this is genuinely the first time I've seen someone say that they found Kaidan interesting
I was watching this one review of Kotor, and in the final episode the commenter is reviewing this one Jedi character, "______ _portrayed by _*_Jennifer Hale, Voice of the One True Sheppard"_*
@@kangkudos1225 that seems rather mean spirited towards Mark Meer, whose performance as Shepard in ME3 was definitely on par with Hale's and even surpasses it in some parts.
@@eatme982 no shade at Mark og anything, but which scenes would that be? I've always stuck to Jennifer because she does such an excellent job and the times I've heard him in scenes in 3 they've never been on par. Like, he's not a bad voice actor or anything, he does good, it's just that Hale is kind of a superstar voice actor.
@@Trillykins Oh easy. The goodbye scene with Anderson and the entire last confrontation with TIM. Meer rocked both those scenes. Most of Citadel, as well. Best example was his delivery of "the best" which is said with such solemn and sobering adulation and blows Hale's out of the water. Mark also pretty consistently does renegade dialogue better than Hale in the last two games imo. I love Hale, genuinely. I've done several femshep playthroughs and enjoyed them all. But i feel like in 3 she started overacting a little bit, while Meer finally seemed to be hitting his hot streak.
@@eatme982 it's funny you mention both Anderson's death and specifically the "the best" line from The Citadel when they return to the Normandy because those were the exact scenes I thought were clear examples of Hale's just being leagues above. BroShep does a good job with the Anderson thing, but FemShep just goes above and beyond and really sells Shepard being in pain and exhausted while still being relieved that it's finally, supposedly over. The "the best" line is delivered very well by Hale, making it sound introspective and reaffirming in what they just talked about, while Meer's just.. like, sounds like a bad take? Both in that the recoding of it doesn't sound right, but also the inflection or lack of punctuation in the sentence. Anyway. To each their own.
@@Glamuel thats due to ashly having a different writer. kaiden gets character development while ashly just falls back on stuff we learned in 1 and did not really change like the rest of the me 1 cast.
also replaying me 1 recently i see what they were going for with kaiden. people complained about carth whining so they made a character who already dealt with his past and functions like a normal human.
thanks for this, really put me in my feels of how much I love this series. To really look past its downfalls and really cherish the parts that I loved.
It really speaks volumes that its so difficult to pick 'favorite' characters, but I have to say Joker might be, controlling him for 5 minutes in ME2 was amazing for me, hes a real unsung hero, hes piloting the Normandy for frick sake! I also dont care that much for the romance/sex aspect of the game, I love the conversations with Garrus and Liara when flirting, and I think its almost always better to remain friends with such a deep connection
Great video. Just a quick thought on Garrus' loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2, they missed a great opportunity to go with a third option. There's two substantial outcomes, Sidonis lives or Sidonis dies. However, if you pay mind to the flow of conversation, there should be three ways - Sidonis lives and Garrus is conflicted, Sidonis dies and Garrus is satisfied, or alternatively, at the end, after Sidonis has spilled his guts and said everything, you let Garrus decide what to do. Garrus shoots him, but then immediately afterwards has the same response as if you let him kill Sidonis right from the beginning. Its a phenomenally missed opportunity, to have Garrus conflicted about an action he's taken and have it hang over his head. It also has Garrus decide for himself who he wants to be, rather than having Shepherd chastise him. Sadly, nothing came of it. There's a lot that fails with Mass Effect 2, but that right there is in my opinion one of the most disappointing parts of the entire franchise.
Sidonis dying is Garrus' choice, that's why he's satisfied with that outcome and conflicted with Sidonis living. Shepard is interfering by refusing to move and continuously trying to make Garrus change his mind, and after I believe the 5th time you refuse to move Garrus gives in, and is understandable conflicted about the outcome, but that is how Shepard saves Sidonis. Alternatively, Shepard can refuse to move, let Sidonis say his piece, let Garrus make his choice which is still to kill Sidonis, and then Shepard can move aside on that final choice and let Garrus do as he wishes. The game really did give us that option, it's there in the paragon choice, Shepard just ignores Garrus' choice in that case and pushes him to let Sidonis go.
The one thing that bothers me about this video is that the captured audio in-game is just a liiiiiiittle bit too loud for your voice, and it can be difficult to comfortably separate the two at times. The content itself is wonderful as always!
I did my dissertation on science fiction because of you...you may of never passed your finals....but because of you I did....thank you man thank you. love you Noah.
Rarely comment, but great video. You managed to convey a lot of thoughts I've had about the series more cleanly and concisely than I'd be able to, and you brought up a lot of valid and interesting ideas I had never considered. And you made it entertaining. Great job.
For the last 2 years, I've been one of the people who gave up hope on the Mass Effect series. Thanks to this video, I find myself able to care again about this universe and all the wonderful things it's created. Thank you.
You're welcome! I felt pretty cheated after ME3's initial release, but when I came at it again with my Renegade character, I found myself appreciating all its little moments. Then when I played it through with all the DLC for this video, I was floored by how much it changed the games. A lot of business decisions surrounding ME3 did a hell of a job alienating fans, but so much of the DLC, from Citadel to the Extended Cut to Leviathan, felt like an olive branch or an apology from the creative end of the team. And I really do love the sounds of ME4 so far-- I think they're focusing on the right things and thinking critically about what's meaningful about the Mass Effect universe.
@@broadcaststsatic Overall at the time of the DLCs one could have been glad that ME3 didn't outright kill the franchise like EA killed Dead Space. But Andromeda even though I was rather hyped for it really didn't help. For me, it was worse than ME3. Although the first time I played the games 3 was already released, so I was able to play all games back to back. The ending was still infuriating (and I am still not really happy with it, it still feels a bit disconnected - but we all know why thats the case.. because it actually IS disconnected since it was rewritten. Maybe the original ending would have been better, but who knows at this point?), but I had the complete arc of all games fresh in my mind while playing 3. I think that helped a bit. Andromeda while not totally turning me away never took hold of me like the original trilogy (I got and played Andromeda very close to release). The original games I didn't want to put away. I wanted to see the next story thread, what happened next, see how it all continues and turns out. Andromeda was just "Well, this could be interesting", so I played it. I still didn't hate it after finishing the game, I was nearly indifferent to it. There weren't many characters in it, or story arcs that I remember. Some characters are okay-ish... the combat wasn't bad, but thats not enough for a mass effect game in my opinion. Until today, I didn't even replay Andromeda. I just have no urge to do so. Shepards story on the other hand I played several times. And I bought most DLC at some point, because I enjoyed the game enough to put a bit more money into it.
I find it curious that you didn't really discuss how much of the "completeness" of the ME series comes from DLC. I've always thought that was a pretty selfish design decision; after ME1, if you're not buying the DLC, you're getting a far inferior story. Did you not have a problem with this aspect of the series, or was there just not enough time to address it? You mentioned you had to drop 260$ for the whole series, but that was it.
(five years later) In the video he does mention quite often that many of the decisions in Mass Effect 3 were marketing and sales focused. He brings up how much money he spent on the trilogy as the ultimate example of that. At the end of the day I believe Noah's message is simple - the game is _good_, but immoral and abusive to the customer. From here on out make your own decision - take it or leave it.
Ashley's initial views in ME1 weren't racist-they were cynical. She wasn't comparing aliens to dogs; the dogs in her example were humans. Her line, "as much as you love your dog, it isn't human" was an example to explain her cynical world view that the council would put their own interests ahead of humans if given the need, and that it should be understandable that they would, given than man would do so as well even with their closest non-human companion. But most people seem to confuse her cynicism with racism. Ashley actually became a real character to me in this conversation, because she didn't just have some cookie cutter outlook on things. She had very complicated and well thought out views.
Well, after a few years of putting it off, I decided to play the 3rd game, and replaying 1&2 for the complete experience dlc and all.. Total playtime around 130 or so hours. ME3 may not be the strongest on all points, but damn if I wasn't so invested in the characters and the story already I didn't give a shit about that. I liked that you didn't have time to prepare for the war, I felt it added a it a sense of urgency, desperation and dread not really present in the other games. The galaxy falling to pieces faster than you can pick them up. The citadel dlc really made the differance, coupled with the extended cut. Which is probably why I will remember ME3 as a satisfying final chapter to Sherpards story. In a way the dlc it was the "real" ending to the series and just what it needed to be. Lighthearted, but also a deliberate final goodbye. Which is why I really had no problem with the endings apart from the fact that the trilogy was over, and the direction they took the illusive man, cerberus, and his last scene. Which just seemed kind of lame and too much like the final confrontation with Saren. Also, I always saw(and played) Shepard as the only sane person in an insane world. Only he/she could see the world for what it was, slap some sense in to everyone else and do what no one else could or wanted to do. For Shepard there would ultimately be no happy ending, and the final sacrifice would also be on him. Which pretty much sums up the consequences for all of the final choices. All in all, it was a good ride.
I got the trilogy when its legendary edition was released a while back, and couldn't get enough of it. What a journey. Yes some choices by the developers were stupid, but the overall experience blew me away. I think I wouldn't buy another Mass Effect game, simply because I don't think it can stand eye to eye with the predecessor.
You really missed out a lot when it comes to the Tuchanka storyline. First of all, you said Mordin can't be convinced to sabotage the cure and a renegade shepard has to shoot him, that's not the case at all. If Wrex is dead and the data from ME2 destroyed then you can talk Mordin around and he sabotages the cure with you and lives. Plus, Wreav being around instead of Wrex makes thing very different and you can keep both Salarian and Krogan allies for the whole game. These seemed pretty major details to leave out considering how extensively you talked about that mission. Especially Mordin, though maybe you didn't know he could be saved, considering you specifically said he couldn't ("it's the only time a crew member says no") when he can.
@@fuzzydunlop7928 Mostly because there is no reason too. Unless you can't convince him. Wrex is one of the best teammates in ME1. He's an objectively superior leader than Wreave, and he's the best choice to lead the Krogan. He just ends up being a liability if you choose to sabotage the cure.
Funny how everyone thought the biggest choice of who lives or who dies in ME1 was between Kaidan and Ashley... when in reality, it was between Wrex and Mordin. A dear companion who we hadn't even met yet. Man, I love this game.
@@fuzzydunlop7928 I just killed him once I think. Because I wanted to see how it played out of you go the "Wrex dead, data deleted" route, and trick Wreave. And honestly, considering you DID choose these options, the sabotage is propably the right choice. I feel like with Wrex and Eve as leaders, the Krogan would have a chance to change and not fall back into their behaviour that actually caused the Genophage. But with Wreave it is certain that they would, making the choice the best for the galaxy. It's designed to be a renegade option but I actually think in that situation, it would actually not strictly be one. But thats why the whole Genophage arc is so great over all games. It is one - if not the - most interesting arc over the 3 games, considering the options you have as an ending. Its hard for me to say which one I like more, Genophage or the Geth story Arc with Tali... both really good ones.
While ME1 does have the best narrative, ME2 is my favorite game in the trilogy as well as my favorite game of all time. The loyalty mission system is great as well as all the characters in general. The DLC of Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker, and the Arrival are also very well constructed. The suicide mission is one of the best finales to a video game, with everything leading up to it and the possibility of certain characters dying. However this does become an issue in ME3 when certain characters have boring surrogates like Mordin's or Wrex's.
@@SaberRexZealot It's more like The Last Jedi if The Last Jedi didn't ruin people's childhoods. It has some issues with its writing and overall doesn't really matter to the main Reapers plot, but the themes, characters, and many of the individual moments are incredible.
Just watched this whole thing. You really get the series, and affirmed a lot of my opinions and beliefs about it as well. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this - it was amazing!
The "Ashley is racist" is an old, tired and ultimately utterly inncorrect troupe. The bear and the dog analogy seems to be purposefully misunderstood. Humans are obviously the dog. Or even more accurately every other race is the dog to each race. Her whole point is humans shouldn't derp around the galaxy like idealistic toddlers. She even rebuffs the Terrafirma politician on the citadel. Funny thing is by the third game she's proven totally correct.
the poetry part of her arc is shallow as hell, and the fact that shepard can also recite and identify famous poets is just hilarious, but doesn't really make any sense.
@@fouronetwo813 I mean she’s not though. Yeah you need to help other species, but they come through for you. Plus her constant don’t trust people attitude would fuck you in getting both geth and quarians.
I love and appreciate your choice of song at the beginning for this, very fitting to put Yes' Starship Trooper there! Gave my prog rock-loving self a smile.
So far I've watched ''From shock to awe'', ''The complete Skyrim vs. Dragon Age'' and your analysis of the Alien series. I can only say that your videos are fantastic and incredibly in-depth. I can't really imagine how many hours you must've put into these videos, but I certainly hope to keep seeing more of them. Keep up the fantastic work!
Noah, I've really come to appreciate all your prior videos. This one is no exception. Despite the 3rd installment's ending fiasco I have this, until now, secret dislike of the series. I played through Mass Effect 1 and loved it. I followed with Mass Effect 2 and became disenfranchised with the series. For the life of me, I can't recall why but I'm going to give this another shot. Your videos always cause me to reflect and try again.
The tone shift between 1 and 2 is hard to deal with the first time around-- when you're prepared for it, and you're stoked to have your Six Billion Dollar Spaceman, it's a lot more fun. The huge extent of ME2's changes can certainly be abrasive, but I hope you'll find that time smooths these edges.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Where has your commentary been all my life? It's hard to find people who provide this much nuance and depth to their analysis.
People probably already told you, but Shepard isn't "however old your Shepard is." Shepard was born in april 2154, so he or she is age 30 or 31 (biologically 28 or 29 I guess since they spent 2 years dead) by the time of ME2.
I keep coming back to this video. I've watched it at least 10 times since I first discovered it years ago after just having completed the Citadel DLC. I suppose I enjoy experiencing the nostalgia of Mass Effect where I don't have the time to replay it, and I truly appreciate the effort Noah put into it.
If you consider that Shepherd can add at least a half a dozen different parts to the ship, and make other modifications along the way, Garrus has to be going mad with how often he needs to recalibrate those cannons.
this is an incredibly insightful and well-made video. one of my few points of contention is your comments on Jacob's characterization. first of all, his "bland masculinity" as you put it always struck me as a result of his military background, not as some kind of weird stereotype related to his race. similarly the absenteeism of his father is only stereotypical if you actively choose to percieve it as such. I never once made that connection during my time with the game, and it feels like quite a reach. I highly doubt the writers of that plotline were in any way influenced by Jacob's race, either consciously or otherwise.
I really wish I could play the Mass Effect series for the first time again. What a fucking rollercoaster. Great video man, seriously a good listen while I'm drawing.
This is an incredibly well done video. I'll share this as much as I can in hopes that you get some real recognition for your work. I'd love to see you do this professionally. This is top notch video game journalism. Definitely the best review I've ever seen for a game. Handling it as a complex work of art that deserves deep investigation gives your video incredible credibility and makes it so much fun to watch. This was the first of yours that I watched, and I look forward to watching your past work, and all future videos you make.
Im having a drink and a smoke while playing Mass Effect: Andromeda and watching this.. Its a great addition to it, a great recap on the story and just fun, having what feels like a friend reminisce about the series with you..
Turns out it wasn't so much that it was leaked, that was just a rumor. It was more so that they just didn't have a solid idea of what the ending would be until the last minute. The dark energy plotline was a detail that they likely included in case they wanted to link that to the overarching story about the Reapers in the future. Really shows the uncertainty of the writers for not deciding to follow up on that. The Wikipedia page shows about five different ideas they had for how to end ME 3. In the end, we didn't get something tying into a unique scifi concept - we got "AI decided to kill everyone because it thought that was the best solution," yet again.
I am glad the YT Algorithm brought me here. I have found a wonderful retrospective to a franchise I have enjoyed & have fallen down a rabbit hole into your other videos.
You seem to use the exact same segment of audio talking about the ME3 ending and its choices twice. I guess a bit of an editing mistake? I suppose that's understandable for such a long video! Great work though.
A major mistake. I'll fix it when I can use a computer with internet speeds faster than 100kbps-- I have a cheap 4G internet provider, and where I live now, the signal is just impossibly weak. When it rains, I can't watch netflix, because of the damn clouds. That weak. So that mistake's gonna sit there for a while, sad to say.
The human reaper actually makes sense. In the codex entry about reapers in mass effect 3 it's said that the reaper core has te form of the species that was chosen to build it
While I agree with your point, I think the sentiment was along the lines of: "Making it look like a human here but concealing them all in a leviathan looking shell outside makes about as much sense as money and creative process it saves by not making all the subsequent reapers look different based on the thousands upon thousands of species they have harvested."
Loved this video, got a bit teary - eyed remembering some moments - like the Garrus heaven-bar speech, Mordin's death etc. You managed to put a lot of my thoughts into very concise words, and you have my thanks! Well done :)
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To me, the first flash of greatness in this series is when the turian Spectre Nihlus has this look of stoic surprise when the first image of Sovereign flashes on screen. So much conveyed with a mandible twitch.
its awesome that players can share emotions
That twitch he does is something that has always intrigued me and something I look forward to see each time I play through the trilogy- what a work of art Bioware created!
It's all because they actually thought about how the characters would move, like knowing that Salarians blink upwards. Weird, but again, shows how the characters would move.
ScriptZac I haven't played ME1 in 3 years but I know the exact twitch you're talking about. It's god tier character animation.
I think all the turians do that twitch, shows they actually thought about body language for each alien. It even makes it into andromeda!
I always thought it was a monumental blunder to do the whole dead kid, Starchild, forced emotional connection thing when all they had to do at the end was have either Ashley or Kaiden as the Reaper's chosen face, whichever one died in game 1. Throw in a dream about the dead comrade instead of chasing random kid and there, emotional connection consistent with the character and relevant to the player using assets they already had.
Damn, that's so true.
I can't believe they didn't think of that, it seems obvious when you say it like that.
Brilliant idea.
@@itcouldbelupus2842youre forgetting that EAs whole idea behind ME3 (and ME2 to an extent) was to make both games accessible to newcomers. Meaning such an idea was most likely brought up but shot down because it would make majority of target audience confused as they never played ME1. and before you yell goddamn corporate bullshit, the truth is... A LOT of people, perhaps even the majority, never played ME1 and started their journey from ME2 or even ME3. And even if they tried M1, a lot of them were discouraged by its outdated mechanics.
@@aw2584 yeah good point.
I've thought about OP's idea as time went on and to be honest, I don't think it's that good on its own merit.
It seems like a more clever and relevant emotional anchor but it's a pretty Saturday morning cartoon story beat, and the player will be so far removed from those choices and deaths by the end of the third game that it would be just as jarring as this weird kid.
I don't think the random kid is that bad an idea, it's mostly the poor execution.
I don't know that we needed the star child part, but Shep be haunted by the death of a child he couldn't save is excellent. The constant torment that no matter how hard they push themselves, no matter the sacrifices they've made to get to that point, people are scared and helpless and dying all day, every day.
Could've even tied that in to their guilt of leaving behind Ash or Kaiden by having one of the dreams be the child running into their arms and then the Reapers choosing that image at the end.
They both suck though so...nah I third party was needed just not starchild
"Soon after dying Sheppard visits a club called afterlife"
lol. Just got that.
@@khellum1268 Holy fuck. What happened in your life to make you such an upset manchild?
@@khellum1268 troll
never really thought of that either, OP, and it looks quite a bit like hell, lol
@@Powersd451 Now, I'm actually curious what he said. (I'm too late to see it...)
@@Desolas_ honestly, I don't remember and wonder myself.
Crazy how good the Legendary Edition was with all the DLC integrated. Would love for that to have been my first experience cause it’s just so complete.
Hey can I ask you some stuff about Origin and Uplay?
@@aleksapetrovic6519 sure
@@Outplayedqt I got most answers, but it doesn't hurt to check one more time.
1. How reliable are they? I've heard Uplay had problem with connectivity, but most people told me Originis is reliable, especially with saved games (at least for Dragon Age).
2. Are both launchers safe? I remember both launchers in the past had issues of conerning privacy, but most people at least for Origins confirmed to me that they are as safe as GoG and Steam.
3. Are they reliable with the library? Many people told me Origins never had issue with removing games from your library, unless you play licanced games as EA was very short-sighted with Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings licence, but everything else is safe (Mass Effect, Command and Conquer, Spore). Ubisoft on the other hand had a habit of removing entire games and dlcs at the whim and as far as I can see they are doing it again.
4. Do they have sales? From what I understand both Origins and Uplay don't have sales of their own, but rather follow Steam, GoG sales and anniversary discounts.
As you can see, I mostly got some picture by asking people, but every opinion counts, so if you have something to add, disaprove or simply want to express your opinion I am willing to hear it. Every advice is welcomed.
Experiencing mass effect for the first. Completely fresh never played it when it first came out
I'm playing through for this first time having Zaeed or whatever his grizzled veteran ass is named. NGL, he has kind of replaced Garrus...
Replayed the entire trilogy because I've got that Covid time, and I've gotta say- the jump from 2 to 3 is no joke. It's actually brilliant. Landing on Mars for the first time in 3 with my level 30 Vanguard powerhouse Shephard and immediately destroying everything with charges and nova punches was a fucking amazing feeling, and it only got better. Letting you start out at the peak of your power from 2, better even, with the improved mechanics and powers, was a genius move.
Indeed my friend!
For a video from 2014 with all the expected technical issues, this is a remarkable critical piece of content. Unlike others that require five hours of your time and justify 20 minutes of it, you do not waste your words explaining to the audience that which they should already know; the plot, characters, circumstances etc. beyond maybe a sentence or two; if you're watching a two hour video analysis on the series, it's conceivable you're familiar with the source material. You earn every single minute of your runtime with your commentary and it's a breath of fresh air in 2022.
This isn't to say I agree with all of your points, but I can at least see them as reasonable given the framework you're obviously working within. Well done.
One of the reasons why I like Noah a lot. I get so much out of his videos even is longer videos are filled with insight.
Your voice reminds me of a 60 or 70's broadcaster, back when there was gravitas in that role. i didn't expect to listen to the entire thing, but your rhythm and insightful commentary is top notch.
Thanks, man! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
Really, Noah, he's right. You remind me quite a bit of the saying my family has always used to describe me, and that's being "An old soul", and after reading about you working 50hr weeks, having only a GED, dealing with not having the a *relevant* education and *relevant* experience to be hired to do what you want to do, I can't help but to subconsciously sit here and nod my head in mirror-like understanding being in an almost identical situation like I am, including the fact I'm raising a newborn son. Just wanted to say, I understand the struggle my friend. I have subscribed and will spread the word about you, your name, and your astonishingly unique charisma, AAA++ writing and pacing abilities. Keep fighting the good fight, Noah! As Three Dog would say! Haha.
Hahaha thank you! I wanted to make the exact same comment. It has the pacing and pitch of a 1970's reporter. I also 100% agree that the content is excellent.
@@michaelweston3349 Exactly, I kept remembering of some recordings I once heard from a filosopher called Allan Watts lol
His mic does sound from that era.
Rest in Peace, Marauder Shields.
A hero we all needed.
Even though I was okay with the ending, this meme is the greatest. Rest in spaghetti never forghetti!
His name was Marauder Shields
We took thier best fish and chips. you and jeff came so hard on thier faces.
o>
Great video! A small note; Tali is 24, not 19, in Mass Effect 2. Commander Shepard is established in the lore to be 29 when he died in ME1, making him either the same age or 31 depending on if you count the years he was a carcass as years of his life. So it's not as weird as you'd think.
jack saint in the wild
Malcolm Cooke found 6 years after he posted the comment
Conman Reloaded to be fair he posted this long before he was an actual TH-cam person so there was no reason for it to be a thing before
Shepard looks 40 years old
@@TeddyKrimsony we are talking about the mass effect series the faces well should not be taken at face value (hehehe) like look at Shepard face in any sex scene (it's scary)
When Jack says "We've had a damm good run" and Shepard says "The best", I seriously almost tear up.
Didn’t think it was gonna get me but it did.
Honestly, even worse for me was the talk with Tali, as she was my romance option my first playthrough.
The voice acting was just stelar, her simple "I want more time" while tearing up hit me like a truck.
Daketa 34813 When Cap Anderson said “You did good child. You did good I’m proud of you.” That’s what got me
yea it seemed like that phrase lost meaning in ME3 when at the end of the party (citadel DLC) Tali says the exact same thing Jack did in ME2 and shepard replies "the best" again......even though i HATED Jack in ME2 it still hit hard.
SPOILER FOR MASS EFFECT 3:
That was me when mordin sacrificed himself while singing Gilbert and Sullivan. That was always a funny little bit to me back in me2, I never thought it would literally make me cry later in the series. Goddamn, when BioWare does well they do DAMN well.
2:25:25 I think it's not just the matter of emotional disconnect between the ending and the rest of the series. Maybe it's just me, but the core problem I have with the ending as presented is that the core narrative theme of the series seems to be about defying destiny. The entirety of ME3 *feels* like it's building up to a point where you can finally stand up and face the Reapers down, and with the addition of all the extra information we get from Leviathan about the true nature of the Reapers, it seems a perfectly logical course to actually philibuster the villain to death, to put it in very crude metaphorical terms.
Instead, the game utterly removes your ability to argue the Catalyst's fundamentally flawed, prejudiced, racial-supremacist programming and demonstrably incorrect assumptions. You can't use any of the events of the series to prove that synthetic and organic life _can_ co-exist peacefully. You can't show it that even after wars, even after genocide, even after everything the galaxy has gone through, the disparate races can be brought to cooperate and flourish peacefully together. You can't say "but look at what I accomplished *just to spite YOU*" and make the Catalyst realize the ultimately self-defeating nature of its very programming.
Nope. Genocide, despotism, or unwilling mass mutations. Pick one. If you defy, you die. The end. There is no We Win ending. You can't win. You can't beat them, only accept what they give you.
That feels absolutely antithetical to the entirety of all three games.
Just to focus on one part of your (the OP's) post, but why is what the Catalyst think wrong or the other ways you describe it? It has been around for billions of years at this point and has seen the same thing go down over and over and over again - probably even see some temporary alliances like the one you assume will last forever with the Geth, only for it to ultimately end the same way.
Rather presumptuous of US to think that anything Shepard (we) accomplish is not something done many, many times before, that still leads to synths eventually wiping out their creators (synth life evolved much faster and will at some point will view biologics how humans view rats or cockroaches, or even after enough time - microbes). Maybe the only alternative is being robbed of free will so we can be protected 'for our own good'.
Really, the idea (IMO) doesn't suck, the execution is just horrible - which is what I think the real problem with the original ending (it's like they ran out of money and had to do something quick).
@Jallorn - a role playing game is a game that gives you agency in your role in the game, that is, a choice of role in the combat and the story. Each mass effect is as much a role playing game as any other. I think people need to stop judging the worth of RPG's on the trappings the genre traditionally has had (stats, trees, inventory, traditional dialogue choices, etc.).
***** The definition I just gave is something of a distillation, but I don't think it is really wrong, per say. Regardless it IS relevant to your post - the part I was replying to: "it goes back to the shift in the mechanical focus of the third game away from roleplaying elements to more of an action adventure kind of game" (I don't feel most of what you said later in the post or the reply to me really elaborates meaningfully on this point - you claim and say general things that I do not agree with, concerning ME3).
Interestingly, I have seen statements like this generally, and incorrectly I feel, applied to the second game vs the first. And just as with those people in the 1vs2 comparison, I feel yours wrt 1&2vs3 is still more about mechanics (the convo wheel) and design decisions that may do "RPG" differently, but the game is just as 'RPG' as the other two.
"My point is that as a franchise ME1+2 are centered around shaping the story, shaping your reaction to the events around you, and being an important person who can shape the world."
I seem to recall this same sort of stuff happening in 3 - you make some rather large decisions concerning the Geth and the Crogen for example - and it's not like there is nothing to the outcomes or aftermath of them either.
The only thing the 3 did wrong, I feel, was not have way more information concerning the aftermath of the final decision at the end. I was fine with the game until the credit started to roll and then I literally said out loud to my tv "wait, that's it?" I was expected a final cut scene or sorts that was like the modular cut scene in 2 when you begin the suicide mission.
Anyway, I don't think ME1/2/3 are good examples of RPG's that stop being RPG's to become action adventures - the postchild for such right now is basically anything Bethesda makes.
I've seen this argument a lot. my issue is that it assumes that a couple of things. first, that this video game would have allowed for players to make any possible choice they want. that would be patently impossible in game design, to allow for so many variables and let the player make whatever choice they want.
the second point is the reapers are set up so that they are an enemy that is virtually unkillable, at least by conventional means. the only time that the alliance has any success is when written in the codex's and describes how it took incredible sacrifice and ingenuity just to force a minor victory. and in spite of that, the reapers are barely set back. they are a nigh unbeatable force. even after Shepard marshals all of his diplomatic forces, they are still doomed to failure. there is a lesson within that. sometimes, in spite of our triumphs and desire, we just can't win by fighting. another approach is needed at the end. if Shepard could simply give the star child the bird and then go back to fighting and then the forces of this age went on to win, that would have ruined the reapers. they would have meant very little. their threat was one of militaristic and existential issue. i don't know how it could be any other way.
"There is no We Win ending. You can't win. You can't beat them, only accept what they give you."
And therein lies the beauty.
I just found your channel, and I have say, I'm very impressed. Your understanding of Game mechanics, Philosophy and Storytelling makes for very good game reviews.
Happy to see that one of my favorite streamers likes one of my favorite video essayists. Love your content Jive/Noah!
a 2 hour video with a table of contents and time stamps? subbed
SavagesInMyTown I know right? I'm only 5 minutes in after discovering this dude and have already subbed! He's definitely thorough and well organised with his analysis of the trilogy. Currently adding some of his other vids to my Watch Later to view when I can't sleep.
SavagesInMyTown refreshing AF!
Have you faced an Asari commando unit before? Few humans have.
You wont look so smug with a hole in your head
I will destroy you!
I will destroy you!
Lets all admit that line was so cheesy that we all face palmed when she said it
asari commando copypasta when
Mass Effect 1: 0:49
ME1, Bring Down the Sky: 19:28
ME1 Continued: 20:53
Mass Effect 2: 30:56
ME2, Kasumi's Stolen Memory: 1:01:53
ME2, Lair of the Shadow Broker: 1:03:01
ME2, Overlord: 1:05:52
ME2, The Arrival: 1:08:30
ME2, Continued: 1:12:29
Mass Effect 3: 1:21:10
ME3, From Ashes: 1:55:11
ME3, Leviathan: 1:58:51
ME3, Omega: 2:02:38
ME3, Citadel: 2:04:46
ME3-- Climax/Indoctrination Theory/Mass Effect 4?: 2:11:20
Mobile user, so for my own convenience I'm copy-pasting the timestamps in the comment.
thank you!
Mordin is the biggest hero in the saga in my opinion. He's a man ( a salarian ) who confronts his responsabilities, who understands the consequences of his acts, and decides to make a good out of a wrong at the sacrifice of his own life, even has the balls to say no to the Sheppard. Always brings a tear to my eye, he really was the very model of a scientist salarian.
Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong.
@@Zalintis i was playing renegade on my first playthrough and I couldn't bring myself to shoot mordin. When he took the elevator all I could think was "Godspeed you goddamned hero"
The white hair of your dude in ME3 is comical beyond description.
Even considering the blatantly generic Manshep options, the Drowshep option was... jarring every time I saw him.
It didn't help that I played through as Femshep (because Jennifer Hale's voice acting), so every time Noah said "he" for Shepherd part of me wanted to yell "SHE! She! Shepherd is a she!" because I got so used to using and thinking "her" in regards to my playthroughs.
So I am only 20min into this video... so far I like a lot of what has been said, especially about Wrex. But I have to disagree about the assessment of Kaiden. At first I thought he was/would be boring. But the more I talked to him, the more I romanced him, and the more I thought about it I now believe he is very fascinating.
Yes, he represents the struggles of biotics and what happened when humans tried to play "catch-up" to the other alien races. But he is also the extreme opposite of Ashley in that he is completely accepting. He, unlike Ashley, actually HAS a reason to dislike other races, he was abused by a Turian! He also has every reason to hate the Alliance for their treatment of the biotics that they screwed up and abandoned, but he doesn't. He sees the big picture and enacts forgiveness.
I think Kaiden is more of the "Strong and Silent" type, which may make him seem boring at first glance next to the outspoken Ashley. But his capacity to accept, forgive, and tolerate proves that he may be far more interesting than Ashley. Ashley is easy to understand and too shallow as a character, Kaiden is a bit deeper and more complex.
Yaaay, someone else likes Kaiden!
Naw fam Kaidan sucks.
@@adamplentl5588 ok, but no. He's great.
@@adamplentl5588 I like how you did that thing where someone puts thought and effort into something and you say next to nothing with zero effort and thought and think it matters in comparison.
Ashley has no reason to mistrust aliens? Other than the fact that the Turians are responsible for destroying her grandfather's life and ruining her family name I guess not.
She has more reason to hate aliens than Kaidan who acciendently kicked to death a Turian who was mean to his highschool sweetheart. Yet she still doesn't hate, she just isn't an idealistic fool.
In 2019, but whatever, it's a good video that i want to share something on.
Overlord, that DLC hit me. I have what used to be called Asperger's syndrome, now a part of the umbrella term Autism Spectrum diagnosis. For example: social interaction is a struggle, eye-hand coordination difficult and last but most important in this instance: I feel little empathy.
At the time overlord came out i was an emotionally stunted person, i cared for little more than my immediate family and the few friends i had, every other person was a number, unimportant, inconsequential.. I was selfish, constantly angry, self-hating and any other negative thing you might think of.
You might ask, what the hell does this have to do with overlord?
I saw David in myself. For the first time i saw a character that represented a part of myself that has been tempered by learning.. And then i saw how he was abused by the one person he trusted implicitly. All i felt was rage and sorrow. For the first time, i felt true empathy for a person not at all connected to me by bonds of friendship or family.
Games has taught me much, English, Math, History and so many other things... But this one character opened that one part of me i thought i was simply incapable of opening.
Thanks for reading my little story.
Thanks for sharing! Hope you're doing well.
This is the best intellectual analysis of the Mass Effect franchise. A+
I'm rewatching this video 11 days before the release of the Legendary edition. This is a phenomenal retrospective on the series.
This is a truly AMAZING achievement of content creation, Noah. As a huge Mass Effect fan I tip my hat to you, you've brought elements to my attention that even I had never seen.
Thank you very much for this Video, and I'll no doubt be looking into the rest of your channel in the next while.
The detail you go into is truly refreshing, your analysis is superior to most content I find on TH-cam. Well Done.
I would like you're comment but I'm on mobile
It's amazing how much stuff was locked behind DLC. Listening to you talk about all the scenarios offered, makes it sound like you played a different game from me.
mass effect in geenral is a difference experience when you play the whole trilogy with all the dlc. especially in 3.
@@megamike15 I might have to. Wonder if there's a "complete trilogy" package?
@@DarkTelepath there is but it does not come with the dlc. whitch really annoys me
@@megamike15That's lame. Not really a "complete" edition then. I would like to replay it as a Renegade, but not the base game again
@@DarkTelepath yeah it sucks. i bought the dlc for 2 and 3 as they came out. it's like 30 bucks for all of 2's and 50 for all of 3's.
Citadel DLC being tongue-in-cheek is an understatement.It was the most funny part of the trilogy by far, and I had a lot of fun with it.
The Citadel DLC is why I will eventually play ME3.
The Liara scene at the end had me in tears when she rests her head on him... just like it always does. The ending was a letdown, but the journey was magnificent.
There are no words for how much I despise Kai Leng as a character.
Cerberus thanks you for your cooperation.
right?!?! and for all the wrong reasons.
Fuck that ninja bullshit.
He’s not that bad, never loved him as a character but he’s a decent boss type character I’m the game.
@@blitzphantom9488 he‘s terrible in every way.
2:11:21 - 2:13:13
That is the exact same audio found through 2:23:10 - 2:24:59.
Like, exactly the same. Even the same "She-shepard" slip-up.
That caused a lot of confusion for me, I kept skipping around to see whether or not I was losing my mind.
Make a video that long and you gonna make some mistakes
Thank you, I thought I was going crazy for a second!
Bound to happen in long form content. This video was very accurate, so a repetitive mistake is easily overlooked. All in all, this is video essay work at its best.
Was looking for this, I was sure I had some weird kind of deja vu
1:19:18 They actually explain this in the Leviathan DLC in Mass Effect 3. The Reapers' inner shell looks like the species that they have absorbed but the outer shell was made so they resemble the first Reaper & the species that created them: the Leviathans.
Thats an incredibly stupid way to handwave the plot hole they created to be honest. I always thought that, that handwave hardly makes any sense even as an attempt to explain the previous inconsistencies.
If only Leviathan DLC was instead a core ME2 plot. It would have solved a LOT of problems.
+1 TH-cam Skill
I cannot believe the number of commenters that don't think to include time stamps to the comment for which they are responding
@@Aggrofool ME2's entire plot was stupid honestly. Squandered what the sequel should have been. I mean the first ME is such a well paced and written masterpiece. Classic galaxy spanning adventure. ME2 then is totally in left field. Like what, I died? Why? Wait... no one believes me? Why, isn't there tons of evidence of what we did? Wait.. the Reapers are using a subservient species to eradicate entire worlds? Why? Just dumb. I love the game but just cringe at the story. I really wish they would have taken up that black energy plot they were hinting at in ME2 though. Instead of the Star Child. Just really dumb narrative choices taken throughout the entire series by the writers in my opinion.
@@jonny-b4954 Agreed. I loved my playthrough of ME2, but if you stop and think about it, the primary thing it did was introduce a new, bloated cast and then spend most of its runtime recruiting/developing them. Only for most of those characters to have minor roles going forward. There's nothing wrong with that in a vacuum--character-centric stories are great--but it completely wasted the setup from the first game. It wasted time that could've been used to explore the Reapers and how you're supposed to stop them.
(Plus, I groan whenever I think of Cerberus. Everything's so edgy about this game.)
I think what also helps the ME trilogy be so good is it's music and the music direction throughout the games. One track that Always stays with me is Vigil. The piece from ME1's main menu and when you actually meet the VI Vigil towards the end of the game.
IT's a very emotive and thought provoking piece for me and when you can hear it at later points in the other games it always gives me the shivers, I love it.
As a side note, the piano piece that Liara plays during the Citadel DLC is actually the piano version of Vigil.
Same, I could sleep to Vigil for hours
Damn, now I feel bad about not letting Garrus win.
Nah, he doesn't seem like the type to want to be babied. He seems like the type who respects people for their own merits and wants to be treated the same.
that's why it's more interesting to me to give him an inch. Especially since Shepard being better at everything is such an annoying fact of you being a video game protagonist to begin with.
Bizarrely, I've been feeling disgruntled about letting Garrus win--like, c'mon dude, why do you need to score points off of me? I was romancing him and in retrospect, this really rankled.
But now I feel better! He's always proud to be Shepherd's #2. He deserves the win.
Dylan Humphrey i didn't let him win either bc i don't like being dishonest, and i didn't wanna feel like i was pitying garrus who doesn't need or deserve pity. letting someone win is when that someone is a child that you're trying to build confidence in, and even then you can't let them always win or they'll start to expect it (imo).
all that being said i wish garrus won organically
I like to take that choice not as an intentional miss, but as a matter of what my Shepard is really good at. If I'm playing an infiltrator, I take the shot- in that case, being handy with a sniper is Shepard's defining trait just as much as it is Garrus'. But if I'm playing, well, any other class except maybe Soldier, I "intentionally" miss the shot, because this Shepard isn't a sniper and probably *would* miss the shot. Either Garrus is reminded that he's still not the very best sniper in the galaxy and should stay on his game, or he gets to remind himself that there *are* things he can do better than Shep.
A bit more of that sort of thing throughout the series would have been nice, actually. As much as I appreciated the Engineer special scenes in Omega and Citadel, it also kind of drew attention to the fact that your class and specialties kind of stopped existing as soon as you hit a cutscene.
Great video, Back in the day I used to work in games and Mass Effect 3 had to me the look of if not unfinish, then rushed. I've worked with EA and when shipping time comes up they want a product to ship, saying your not finished doesn't cut it with them. Things like never seeing Tali even if you romance her, I can see the meeting, (Bioware)"It'll take 3 or 4 days to create the textures and models" ( EA) " you've got 2 hours, grab some old photo from the net and bugger about with it, the players won't mind"
Damn this is incredibly well written and the analysis is great. 2.5 hours I actually wanna listen to. Probably will listen again too just to catch everything
Time for you to listen again.
I wouldn't blame Bioware about the problems with Mass Effect 3. The people from there love the Mass Effect series. The only problem is with their publishers: EA. EA is actually the company who made Bioware write a new ending after the leak. They also rushed Bioware to finish the game quicker, and they are the ones who set the pricing for DLC. So don't blame Bioware for Mass Effect 3's problems, blame EA. They aren't called one of the worst companies in the world to work in for nothing.
Preach!
+Felix De La Cruz
This. Screwing up the original ending is what led to the bad ending in the first place.
+Felix De La Cruz
Yes, let's forget about the writers from Bioware fucking up the story.
Being rushed isn't an excuse for poor writing. Obsidian was rushed with KotOR II and Fallout New Vegas, but both are amazingly well written.
I don't blame Bioware, but I am worried about the next mass effect. Also, adding multiplayer in ME3 and Dragon age 3? Was that necessary?
Its wild just how consistent youve been in these older videos, as someone that started watching you about 2 years ago (aside from audio/production quality but thats natural). ME1 is among my favorite games and I love how they approached worldbuilding, despite some rougher aspects (Tali is my favorite companion but in ME1 shes just a lore terminal)
Good video, now i have the urge to replay the trilogy again
+Khan I get that urge every few months
+watchinginaz Same, but getting used to the combat system in ME1 and dealing with the massive inventory makes me wish they could re-release it with a bit more polish.
+MrWillarti A more polished ME1 would be fantastic. I've played ME2 and ME3 probably four times now but I've only ever played the first game once. The story is probably the best of bunch but the combat, inventory and mako are just so clunky to control. I've tried to replay the first game but after a few hours I realize I'm not having fun and end up skipping straight to ME2 with all the DLC.
StandingNomad I think EA actively stated that there will be no HD remake, surprise surprise.
www.techtimes.com/articles/61365/20150618/e3-2015-dont-expect-a-mass-effect-hd-remaster-any-time-soon.htm
Still, like you said, it'd be great to have a streamlined ME1 with ME2 combat.I tried doing a complete series renegade run through but gave up after the walls of text, clunky controls and Femshep being overly defensive with each speech choice.
I love watching these videos and hearing the hope in your voice for what became Andromeda...
Andromeda coulda been so fucking good... what a shame it was such a letdown
It is impossible for me to watch this without playing a few hours of Mass Effect while listening to it. Your evocations are wizardly.
Noah, in terms of pure intellect and critical analysis, you’re the best retrospective reviewer out there. I can’t think of anyone better.
Thanks for all the content. It’s even fun to revisit the same essays. They’re like my comfort content and I can’t tell you how many times your videos have carried me through darker times.
Keep it up! We love ya!
Mass Effect as the collective trilogy is my favorite game. I have major issues with all three games in the series, but the mythos is so captivating to me. The allegories of all the different races and history. Not actually finished the video yet, so I'm not sure if you addressed this (table of contents indicates not), but I'm interested if you touched Mass Effect 3's multiplayer at all. I have put way too much time into it. At face value, it looks like a generic horde mode co op tacked on feature to force EA-prompted microtransactions onto us. I really enjoy it from a gameplay perspective and the lore. Being able to actually play as Batarians, Krogans, Geth, Salarians, Turians, etc etc, even the Volus really adds to the universe for me.
Edit: you did address it pretty well, just curious what you thought about how it might add to the lore.
Oh gameplay wise ME3’s multiplayer is the tits.
The first mass effect is the first time I got it. Unfortunately we’ll never have it again.
2 is irrelevant other than letting you know about Cerberus and protheans not being gone. This angers nerds as I say it but they can not and will not refute me because it is true
Extra Credits sent me. Glad I found this channel.
me too
I binge watched this 2 hours and i'm definitely going to check more stuff
I watched him a while before extra credits vouched for him, but I'm so happy they did. His subs and views have jumped up dramatically, so happy he's getting the recognition he deserves.
Bobby Dadude when big channels recommend high quality small channel everybody wins. and i love mass effect so it was a great discovery
it's one of the things i love about the youtube community. i get a special kind of good feeling (not like that!!) whenever i see a channel i love give a shout-out or have a guest come in from another youtube channel that i already watch. i checked out all of the EC recommendations over the holiday. and noah, you're great. keep up the awesome loooooooong work!!
It's like we get to see more and more of Noah for every video he release. Eventually it might actually be in a decent light setting.
Also, yay new video.
OK dude seriously you need to go work for a publishing house recording studio and just read books into a microphone for a living. I could listen to you for hours at a crack and your dry humor mixed with your equally unenthusiastic tone make for multiple roll on the floor clutching my sides moments.
Matthew Skidmore Totally. The "plug and play" comment about EDI was a hilarious surprise.
"feels like years since I just sat down"
Shepard who just got done partying in the citidel 😬
The human reaper was a core. It was years from completion and would have looked more like a regular reaper as it approached completion. I might be mistaken, but the reason they decided to make a reaper based on something else than the Leviathan was because during the dark matter idea, humanity had the best chance to try and stop it. Reapers then wanted to try and harness what humanity had to try and solve it themselves.
I believe it was implied by EDI during the ending of 2, that the Reapers tried to make a Prothean Reaper as well and failed. Basically the same thing, the inner core would be in the image of the species, but the shell would look like the Leviathan, what purpose for, who knows? I personally feel it may be more tradition and to make them look uniform, then anything. I know this is old, but felt I should add on!! ^^
@@TheHulk1850 Late reply or not, I didn't know this, so that just kinda reinforces what I thought before. Thanks for the reply. :)
@@maxwelljosephchase Thanks for reading!! I really appreciate you responding despite how late I was!!
This was such a pleasant interaction 😁
Nah it’s because that is how Reapers procreate, and humans were a viable species to do so.
I had to go and replay the whole trilogy after this. I've replayed the trilogy 6 times now. I still fall in love every time!
10 years huh?….. being 30 is weird. Thanks for 10 great years. Love your content
John Carpenter's Mass Effect is something i would literally give my life to be able to see
_I am not interested in your life_
*Only Your Soul*
Muah-Ha-Ha-Ha
mordin can actually survive if some conditions are met in ME1, 2, and 3 and you have to be renegade.
don’t make things up.
@@timyo6288 when Wrex is dead/not recruited in ME1 and Maleon Data is destroyed you can convince Mordin to fake the cure ( you dont have to be renegate)
@@timyo6288 I discovered this when I decided to try a non-imported ME3--there's a LOT that went wrong when you're not playing Shepard in the first two games. It's a completely different story, totally recommend you try it out to see how different things can be!
Thank you so much for your time and energy put into this Noah, I really enjoy your work.
I'm one of those people that you mentioned at the end that "will never buy another mass effect game again". I've had that attitude since 2012 and still do to this day. My time with this series came to an end with the end of Shepard's story. I have played through the trilogy a couple times since, although not with the same passion as I did before. I know I'll probably take some heat for this, but I don't think I will ever get over the way the ending was handled. Mass Effect 3 honestly had some of the best moments of the entire trilogy and stands shoulder to shoulder with the other two at its highest points, and certainly the best game play. However, I cannot step foot into any of these games without the sour taste of the ending permeating it. Although I was upset for a very long time over it, I have come to realize the trilogy and especially its endings have taught me some very valuable lessons.
To be honest, I found it to be the other way round - Kaidan was interesting while Ashley was unbearable boring. Heck, he even was the reason why I bought and played ME in the first place.
I really love watching such game analysis videos. Also have already seen a bunch of documentaries on how the games were created. There never has been a game and probably also never will be that I know so much information about as ME.
I know that this is an 8 year old comment, but I have to say, I think this is genuinely the first time I've seen someone say that they found Kaidan interesting
@@johnthomason9980 lmao same
Why hasn't Noah done a video on the Star Wars: Old Republic series yet? It seems so obvious.
Or the battlefront and jedi knight games? I grew up with BF 1-2 and Jedi academy so I'd really like to see him do a video on the subjects
@samplexample "And then you shoot a stormtrooper and then you shoot a stormtrooper and then... you shoot a wookie."
Congratulations, he now has!
we cannot stress enough just how amazing Jennifer Hale as FemShep is
I was watching this one review of Kotor,
and in the final episode the commenter is reviewing this one Jedi character, "______ _portrayed by _*_Jennifer Hale, Voice of the One True Sheppard"_*
@@kangkudos1225 that seems rather mean spirited towards Mark Meer, whose performance as Shepard in ME3 was definitely on par with Hale's and even surpasses it in some parts.
@@eatme982 no shade at Mark og anything, but which scenes would that be? I've always stuck to Jennifer because she does such an excellent job and the times I've heard him in scenes in 3 they've never been on par. Like, he's not a bad voice actor or anything, he does good, it's just that Hale is kind of a superstar voice actor.
@@Trillykins
Oh easy. The goodbye scene with Anderson and the entire last confrontation with TIM. Meer rocked both those scenes.
Most of Citadel, as well. Best example was his delivery of "the best" which is said with such solemn and sobering adulation and blows Hale's out of the water.
Mark also pretty consistently does renegade dialogue better than Hale in the last two games imo.
I love Hale, genuinely. I've done several femshep playthroughs and enjoyed them all.
But i feel like in 3 she started overacting a little bit, while Meer finally seemed to be hitting his hot streak.
@@eatme982 it's funny you mention both Anderson's death and specifically the "the best" line from The Citadel when they return to the Normandy because those were the exact scenes I thought were clear examples of Hale's just being leagues above.
BroShep does a good job with the Anderson thing, but FemShep just goes above and beyond and really sells Shepard being in pain and exhausted while still being relieved that it's finally, supposedly over.
The "the best" line is delivered very well by Hale, making it sound introspective and reaffirming in what they just talked about, while Meer's just.. like, sounds like a bad take? Both in that the recoding of it doesn't sound right, but also the inflection or lack of punctuation in the sentence.
Anyway. To each their own.
"Kaiden, on the other hand, is agressively boring."
So true it hurts.
He gets better in 3 and Ashley becomes more boring lol
@@Glamuel thats due to ashly having a different writer. kaiden gets character development while ashly just falls back on stuff we learned in 1 and did not really change like the rest of the me 1 cast.
also replaying me 1 recently i see what they were going for with kaiden. people complained about carth whining so they made a character who already dealt with his past and functions like a normal human.
@@megamike15 Of course she changed. Her biggest change was growing out of her racism.
Wrong but ok
This was a very well thought look at the trilogy. Well done!
thanks for this, really put me in my feels of how much I love this series. To really look past its downfalls and really cherish the parts that I loved.
"Hold on to your butts folks, because it's Commander Shepard's day off." LOL, great work man. I'm loving this.
It really speaks volumes that its so difficult to pick 'favorite' characters, but I have to say Joker might be, controlling him for 5 minutes in ME2 was amazing for me, hes a real unsung hero, hes piloting the Normandy for frick sake! I also dont care that much for the romance/sex aspect of the game, I love the conversations with Garrus and Liara when flirting, and I think its almost always better to remain friends with such a deep connection
Great video. Just a quick thought on Garrus' loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2, they missed a great opportunity to go with a third option. There's two substantial outcomes, Sidonis lives or Sidonis dies. However, if you pay mind to the flow of conversation, there should be three ways - Sidonis lives and Garrus is conflicted, Sidonis dies and Garrus is satisfied, or alternatively, at the end, after Sidonis has spilled his guts and said everything, you let Garrus decide what to do. Garrus shoots him, but then immediately afterwards has the same response as if you let him kill Sidonis right from the beginning. Its a phenomenally missed opportunity, to have Garrus conflicted about an action he's taken and have it hang over his head. It also has Garrus decide for himself who he wants to be, rather than having Shepherd chastise him. Sadly, nothing came of it. There's a lot that fails with Mass Effect 2, but that right there is in my opinion one of the most disappointing parts of the entire franchise.
Sidonis dying is Garrus' choice, that's why he's satisfied with that outcome and conflicted with Sidonis living. Shepard is interfering by refusing to move and continuously trying to make Garrus change his mind, and after I believe the 5th time you refuse to move Garrus gives in, and is understandable conflicted about the outcome, but that is how Shepard saves Sidonis. Alternatively, Shepard can refuse to move, let Sidonis say his piece, let Garrus make his choice which is still to kill Sidonis, and then Shepard can move aside on that final choice and let Garrus do as he wishes. The game really did give us that option, it's there in the paragon choice, Shepard just ignores Garrus' choice in that case and pushes him to let Sidonis go.
Would love a remake for this video
The one thing that bothers me about this video is that the captured audio in-game is just a liiiiiiittle bit too loud for your voice, and it can be difficult to comfortably separate the two at times. The content itself is wonderful as always!
I did my dissertation on science fiction because of you...you may of never passed your finals....but because of you I did....thank you man thank you. love you Noah.
1:19:00 "Cut me a fucking break." XD Priceless.
Rarely comment, but great video. You managed to convey a lot of thoughts I've had about the series more cleanly and concisely than I'd be able to, and you brought up a lot of valid and interesting ideas I had never considered.
And you made it entertaining. Great job.
I love you for making this.
Funny, huge fan of Noah for many years now. But coming back to this, it is probably still his best essay.
For the last 2 years, I've been one of the people who gave up hope on the Mass Effect series. Thanks to this video, I find myself able to care again about this universe and all the wonderful things it's created.
Thank you.
You're welcome! I felt pretty cheated after ME3's initial release, but when I came at it again with my Renegade character, I found myself appreciating all its little moments. Then when I played it through with all the DLC for this video, I was floored by how much it changed the games. A lot of business decisions surrounding ME3 did a hell of a job alienating fans, but so much of the DLC, from Citadel to the Extended Cut to Leviathan, felt like an olive branch or an apology from the creative end of the team. And I really do love the sounds of ME4 so far-- I think they're focusing on the right things and thinking critically about what's meaningful about the Mass Effect universe.
@@broadcaststsatic Overall at the time of the DLCs one could have been glad that ME3 didn't outright kill the franchise like EA killed Dead Space.
But Andromeda even though I was rather hyped for it really didn't help. For me, it was worse than ME3. Although the first time I played the games 3 was already released, so I was able to play all games back to back. The ending was still infuriating (and I am still not really happy with it, it still feels a bit disconnected - but we all know why thats the case.. because it actually IS disconnected since it was rewritten. Maybe the original ending would have been better, but who knows at this point?), but I had the complete arc of all games fresh in my mind while playing 3. I think that helped a bit.
Andromeda while not totally turning me away never took hold of me like the original trilogy (I got and played Andromeda very close to release). The original games I didn't want to put away. I wanted to see the next story thread, what happened next, see how it all continues and turns out. Andromeda was just "Well, this could be interesting", so I played it. I still didn't hate it after finishing the game, I was nearly indifferent to it. There weren't many characters in it, or story arcs that I remember. Some characters are okay-ish... the combat wasn't bad, but thats not enough for a mass effect game in my opinion. Until today, I didn't even replay Andromeda. I just have no urge to do so. Shepards story on the other hand I played several times. And I bought most DLC at some point, because I enjoyed the game enough to put a bit more money into it.
I find it curious that you didn't really discuss how much of the "completeness" of the ME series comes from DLC. I've always thought that was a pretty selfish design decision; after ME1, if you're not buying the DLC, you're getting a far inferior story. Did you not have a problem with this aspect of the series, or was there just not enough time to address it? You mentioned you had to drop 260$ for the whole series, but that was it.
For real
tbh Citadel is one of the best dlc I've ever seen
(five years later)
In the video he does mention quite often that many of the decisions in Mass Effect 3 were marketing and sales focused. He brings up how much money he spent on the trilogy as the ultimate example of that. At the end of the day I believe Noah's message is simple - the game is _good_, but immoral and abusive to the customer. From here on out make your own decision - take it or leave it.
@@Deolrin tbh Mass Effect 3 choices (aside from the final one) were more interesting then most in previous games.
He mentions it in his video about Andromeda; about how he’s tired of having to wait for a complete BioWare experience, paying for all the dlc
Ashley's initial views in ME1 weren't racist-they were cynical. She wasn't comparing aliens to dogs; the dogs in her example were humans. Her line, "as much as you love your dog, it isn't human" was an example to explain her cynical world view that the council would put their own interests ahead of humans if given the need, and that it should be understandable that they would, given than man would do so as well even with their closest non-human companion. But most people seem to confuse her cynicism with racism. Ashley actually became a real character to me in this conversation, because she didn't just have some cookie cutter outlook on things. She had very complicated and well thought out views.
Well, after a few years of putting it off, I decided to play the 3rd game, and replaying 1&2 for the complete experience dlc and all.. Total playtime around 130 or so hours.
ME3 may not be the strongest on all points, but damn if I wasn't so invested in the characters and the story already I didn't give a shit about that. I liked that you didn't have time to prepare for the war, I felt it added a it a sense of urgency, desperation and dread not really present in the other games. The galaxy falling to pieces faster than you can pick them up.
The citadel dlc really made the differance, coupled with the extended cut. Which is probably why I will remember ME3 as a satisfying final chapter to Sherpards story. In a way the dlc it was the "real" ending to the series and just what it needed to be. Lighthearted, but also a deliberate final goodbye. Which is why I really had no problem with the endings apart from the fact that the trilogy was over, and the direction they took the illusive man, cerberus, and his last scene. Which just seemed kind of lame and too much like the final confrontation with Saren.
Also, I always saw(and played) Shepard as the only sane person in an insane world. Only he/she could see the world for what it was, slap some sense in to everyone else and do what no one else could or wanted to do. For Shepard there would ultimately be no happy ending, and the final sacrifice would also be on him. Which pretty much sums up the consequences for all of the final choices.
All in all, it was a good ride.
It baffles me that Your voice is so pleasing to hear that I will non stop watch these 2+ hour videos instead of playing the games your talking about.
I got the trilogy when its legendary edition was released a while back, and couldn't get enough of it. What a journey. Yes some choices by the developers were stupid, but the overall experience blew me away. I think I wouldn't buy another Mass Effect game, simply because I don't think it can stand eye to eye with the predecessor.
Well that's a stupid way to be.
Incredible presentation. I know this is a few years too late but thank you for the hard work you put into this.
best critical analysis on the internet is finally back in action
You really missed out a lot when it comes to the Tuchanka storyline. First of all, you said Mordin can't be convinced to sabotage the cure and a renegade shepard has to shoot him, that's not the case at all. If Wrex is dead and the data from ME2 destroyed then you can talk Mordin around and he sabotages the cure with you and lives. Plus, Wreav being around instead of Wrex makes thing very different and you can keep both Salarian and Krogan allies for the whole game. These seemed pretty major details to leave out considering how extensively you talked about that mission. Especially Mordin, though maybe you didn't know he could be saved, considering you specifically said he couldn't ("it's the only time a crew member says no") when he can.
Kinda ruins the gravitas of it, but yeah I don't blame him - most people don't let Wrex go easy.
@@fuzzydunlop7928 Mostly because there is no reason too. Unless you can't convince him. Wrex is one of the best teammates in ME1. He's an objectively superior leader than Wreave, and he's the best choice to lead the Krogan. He just ends up being a liability if you choose to sabotage the cure.
Funny how everyone thought the biggest choice of who lives or who dies in ME1 was between Kaidan and Ashley... when in reality, it was between Wrex and Mordin. A dear companion who we hadn't even met yet.
Man, I love this game.
@@SomeTH-camTraveler I found this out as wrex is dead in mass effect two if you start a game from it basically.
@@fuzzydunlop7928 I just killed him once I think. Because I wanted to see how it played out of you go the "Wrex dead, data deleted" route, and trick Wreave.
And honestly, considering you DID choose these options, the sabotage is propably the right choice. I feel like with Wrex and Eve as leaders, the Krogan would have a chance to change and not fall back into their behaviour that actually caused the Genophage. But with Wreave it is certain that they would, making the choice the best for the galaxy. It's designed to be a renegade option but I actually think in that situation, it would actually not strictly be one.
But thats why the whole Genophage arc is so great over all games. It is one - if not the - most interesting arc over the 3 games, considering the options you have as an ending. Its hard for me to say which one I like more, Genophage or the Geth story Arc with Tali... both really good ones.
While ME1 does have the best narrative, ME2 is my favorite game in the trilogy as well as my favorite game of all time. The loyalty mission system is great as well as all the characters in general. The DLC of Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker, and the Arrival are also very well constructed. The suicide mission is one of the best finales to a video game, with everything leading up to it and the possibility of certain characters dying. However this does become an issue in ME3 when certain characters have boring surrogates like Mordin's or Wrex's.
Yup, Mass Effect 2 is The Empire Strikes Back of video gaming.
+SaberRexZealot It's Empire strikes back if Michael Bay made it.
@@Anacronian Don't relate Michael Bay and mass effect please
@@SaberRexZealot It's more like The Last Jedi if The Last Jedi didn't ruin people's childhoods.
It has some issues with its writing and overall doesn't really matter to the main Reapers plot, but the themes, characters, and many of the individual moments are incredible.
Just watched this whole thing. You really get the series, and affirmed a lot of my opinions and beliefs about it as well. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this - it was amazing!
Ashley's a real sweetheart once you get to know her. Spreading the Ashley love.
loved her character arc.
The "Ashley is racist" is an old, tired and ultimately utterly inncorrect troupe.
The bear and the dog analogy seems to be purposefully misunderstood. Humans are obviously the dog. Or even more accurately every other race is the dog to each race. Her whole point is humans shouldn't derp around the galaxy like idealistic toddlers. She even rebuffs the Terrafirma politician on the citadel.
Funny thing is by the third game she's proven totally correct.
_Sir_ butt-pirate
the poetry part of her arc is shallow as hell, and the fact that shepard can also recite and identify famous poets is just hilarious, but doesn't really make any sense.
@@fouronetwo813
I mean she’s not though. Yeah you need to help other species, but they come through for you. Plus her constant don’t trust people attitude would fuck you in getting both geth and quarians.
I love and appreciate your choice of song at the beginning for this, very fitting to put Yes' Starship Trooper there! Gave my prog rock-loving self a smile.
The video is 8 years old, yet is better than most essays on mass effect, or essays on video games in general, I saw on youtube.
So far I've watched ''From shock to awe'', ''The complete Skyrim vs. Dragon Age'' and your analysis of the Alien series. I can only say that your videos are fantastic and incredibly in-depth. I can't really imagine how many hours you must've put into these videos, but I certainly hope to keep seeing more of them. Keep up the fantastic work!
Noah, I've really come to appreciate all your prior videos. This one is no exception. Despite the 3rd installment's ending fiasco I have this, until now, secret dislike of the series. I played through Mass Effect 1 and loved it. I followed with Mass Effect 2 and became disenfranchised with the series. For the life of me, I can't recall why but I'm going to give this another shot. Your videos always cause me to reflect and try again.
The tone shift between 1 and 2 is hard to deal with the first time around-- when you're prepared for it, and you're stoked to have your Six Billion Dollar Spaceman, it's a lot more fun. The huge extent of ME2's changes can certainly be abrasive, but I hope you'll find that time smooths these edges.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. I started watching the end as a recap of ME3, but watched the rest for your thoughts and perspective.
20 min in, but holy! 2 hour and 30 min! Great work, this will be time well spent.
*2+ hours later* - That was a really great video, again well done.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Where has your commentary been all my life? It's hard to find people who provide this much nuance and depth to their analysis.
People probably already told you, but Shepard isn't "however old your Shepard is." Shepard was born in april 2154, so he or she is age 30 or 31 (biologically 28 or 29 I guess since they spent 2 years dead) by the time of ME2.
I keep coming back to this video. I've watched it at least 10 times since I first discovered it years ago after just having completed the Citadel DLC. I suppose I enjoy experiencing the nostalgia of Mass Effect where I don't have the time to replay it, and I truly appreciate the effort Noah put into it.
"The cannons Garrus has spent an impossible amount of time calibrating-" so true.
If you consider that Shepherd can add at least a half a dozen different parts to the ship, and make other modifications along the way, Garrus has to be going mad with how often he needs to recalibrate those cannons.
This video is one my favourite youtube videos of all time. You're very consistent in your analysis.
this is an incredibly insightful and well-made video. one of my few points of contention is your comments on Jacob's characterization. first of all, his "bland masculinity" as you put it always struck me as a result of his military background, not as some kind of weird stereotype related to his race. similarly the absenteeism of his father is only stereotypical if you actively choose to percieve it as such. I never once made that connection during my time with the game, and it feels like quite a reach. I highly doubt the writers of that plotline were in any way influenced by Jacob's race, either consciously or otherwise.
I really wish I could play the Mass Effect series for the first time again. What a fucking rollercoaster. Great video man, seriously a good listen while I'm drawing.
This is an incredibly well done video. I'll share this as much as I can in hopes that you get some real recognition for your work. I'd love to see you do this professionally. This is top notch video game journalism. Definitely the best review I've ever seen for a game. Handling it as a complex work of art that deserves deep investigation gives your video incredible credibility and makes it so much fun to watch. This was the first of yours that I watched, and I look forward to watching your past work, and all future videos you make.
Im having a drink and a smoke while playing Mass Effect: Andromeda and watching this.. Its a great addition to it, a great recap on the story and just fun, having what feels like a friend reminisce about the series with you..
NEVER scrap a good ending idea just because it was leaked. A better story > a dumb surprise.
Turns out it wasn't so much that it was leaked, that was just a rumor. It was more so that they just didn't have a solid idea of what the ending would be until the last minute. The dark energy plotline was a detail that they likely included in case they wanted to link that to the overarching story about the Reapers in the future. Really shows the uncertainty of the writers for not deciding to follow up on that. The Wikipedia page shows about five different ideas they had for how to end ME 3. In the end, we didn't get something tying into a unique scifi concept - we got "AI decided to kill everyone because it thought that was the best solution," yet again.
I am glad the YT Algorithm brought me here. I have found a wonderful retrospective to a franchise I have enjoyed & have fallen down a rabbit hole into your other videos.
You seem to use the exact same segment of audio talking about the ME3 ending and its choices twice. I guess a bit of an editing mistake? I suppose that's understandable for such a long video!
Great work though.
A major mistake. I'll fix it when I can use a computer with internet speeds faster than 100kbps-- I have a cheap 4G internet provider, and where I live now, the signal is just impossibly weak. When it rains, I can't watch netflix, because of the damn clouds. That weak. So that mistake's gonna sit there for a while, sad to say.
You’re the only TH-camr I can listen to for 2hrs+ in one video and still feel like I wish it kept going haha
The human reaper actually makes sense. In the codex entry about reapers in mass effect 3 it's said that the reaper core has te form of the species that was chosen to build it
While I agree with your point, I think the sentiment was along the lines of:
"Making it look like a human here but concealing them all in a leviathan looking shell outside makes about as much sense as money and creative process it saves by not making all the subsequent reapers look different based on the thousands upon thousands of species they have harvested."
Its definitely a handwave retconned into 3 in order to compensate for a plothole. And it still makes little sense.
Loved this video, got a bit teary - eyed remembering some moments - like the Garrus heaven-bar speech, Mordin's death etc. You managed to put a lot of my thoughts into very concise words, and you have my thanks! Well done :)
wow, this is sure one hella of a trilogy that was one hell of journey!