I always loved when you are planning the suicide mission, jack and Miranda are at each others necks over who is going to lead the distraction team, and when you pick Garrus he just nods, you trust him, he trusts you, and it completely derails the stupid chick fight. awesome.
Garrus is the bro, the homie, the guy who guy who always got your back, basically the GOAT. He'll never give up, never let you down, never desert so that's why no matter what class I play, I don't care if he isn't usefull for some particular class, he's always with me.
@@div6969 honestly that’s why I love tali and Garrus so much. No matter what they’re always by your side from start to finish, hell even when you’re Cerberus tali and Garrus join you cause they believe in your choices and decision making to do that right thing.
It's brilliant, because it just shows how much attention to detail went into these characters. The Devs and the writers understood the personalities of the people they had made and played with it all to perfection. Contrast the trilogy with Andromeda, and one of the most glaring comparisons is the character integration and immersion
Funnily enough, the first time I played through the trilogy was as BroShep so naturally, Jacob wasn't a romance option. So when I encountered him in ME3 with his girl, I was like "Hey, congrats, dude!". But learning from others that this also happens when you romance him as FemShep, it changed to "Are you f**king serious?".
Honesyly whilst Jacob is just boring as hell I acutally liked that they did that, its kinda refreshing to have a game romance where a one character has moved on and wont instantly change their tune and go running back to their ex because theyre the protagonist of the game... thas not BS thats realistic!. Much like folks complaining that some characters can onyl be be romanced by one gender or another, again, thats real, people dont magically become gay or straight just because you happen to fancy them!
@Urazz Garrus and Tali are that way, IMO. The only way Tali turns against you would be if you were to basically stab her in the back and doom the Quarians to extinction in 3 (and it would make perfect sense for her to do so as well, considering how devoted she is to her people), and even then she commits suicide instead of becoming outright hostile. Liara is always there if you need her, sure, but she isn't right there in the fray with you for all 3 games like Garrus & Tali are, and to me, that just slightly edges her out of the "running". About the only character I'd move on this list would be Javik, and that would just be to bump him up a tier, because even though he's a dick, he still manages to be entertaining while acting the part. And seeing him become a bit more laid-back in the Citadel DLC where he just messes with the rest of the squad all in good fun helps to show that as bitter and angry as he might usually be, there is still a fun-loving and friendly side of him. Vega got booted off of the squad as soon as I had the opportunity to do so.
@@keiganm1287 We all know Shep is better than Garrus, we don't need to win a bottle shooting contest to know that, but Garrus could use that win. He's always in Shep's shadow and stays loyal as hell despite that. He basically drops everything to get back on your crew. Let the guy have a win for once I say.
Wrex is truly an upper echelon of characters. When you meet him again in ME2. "Shepard! My friend!" There's so much behind these words, it always makes me tear up a little. And Garrus is the best bro ever in all of gaming. Definiately S tier!
When Mordrin said "Has to be me, someone else might get it wrong" right before his death scene, I realized me wanting him to stay alive would force me to change who he is as a character. Mordrin's death stings not because it is dramatic or harrowing, but because you know it's what he has to do. Also the first time I cried because of a character death in a video game.
Garrus and tali will always be the best for one reason: they’re the only ones who stuck with shep the whole way through. Edit: if you’re just going to reply to tell me something along the lines of “blah blah Liara is best because she did so and so” don’t waste your efforts. Just know i disagree entirely.
Actually, they didn't. When Shep got spaced, they went their separate ways. The only one who didn't give up was Liara. She got Sheps body back from the Broker and collectors. So in a way she was the only one to stick by Shepard. Even as the Shadow Broker she was supporting Shepard in every way she could like info and resources to fight the Reapers. Just a thought. Don't get me wrong I love Tali and Garrus, but just sayin.
The best Mordin scene imho is when you try to talk to him about genophage right before he enters the elevator and he screams: "I MADE A MISTAKE!" Pure perfection. The voice acting is soooooooo good. For a character whose arc goes from being right about everything, defending his reasons with solid arguments and logic, to recognizing his flaved(not wrong - flaved) decisions and tring to redeeem himself. It's the same reasons why people love Jamie Lannister from GoT - his story is one of redemption and self-betterment. Something we all hope to achieve.
The best thing is that you can actually save him and everything works just fine (you make both parties happy and Mordin goes underground -> he contacts you later and works at the crucible xD)
You're right on about the Asari, they're basically the Elves of the ME universe. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. And unlike their analogues in some other fictional universes, I like that ME gave them the life stages, so they don't all get to be wise, all-knowing ancient space elves by default. They have to earn it. The thing I like about Liara, and what keeps her from being a Mary-Sue in my book, is that even by ME3 where she's this big, galaxy-running badass, you still see that vulnerable, unsure girl peek out occasionally. She's grown and found her power & confidence, but she's not completely divorced from the socially-awkward archaeologist you saved in the first game.
@@ma1ist I think it's a huge stretch to say they're direct copies of Delvians. They're both blue, and I guess Delvians can also live a long time. Other than that, the two species really don't have much in common.
@@SynchronizorVideos The culture is similar. The whole metaphysical and focus on the spiritual connection of mind melding is another huge similarity. Edit: ofc that isn't to say the characters we get in the games who are Asari aren't unique and cool. But just the basic premise of their species is a clear homage.
My favourite 2 headcanons of Femshep are: 1) Grunt calls Femshep his Space Momma, and Femshep calls him her Krogan Son 2) The Breeding request for Femshep after killing the Thresher Maw in Grunt's Right of Passage was actually Wrex.
The way I've always looked at Zaeed is that he is an old dude, he's lived a life before you meet him, so you realistically don't get a lot of change from him, he's been a career mercenary for a good while, formed the Blue Suns, one doesn't fuck with Zaeed Massani, he's like your space-dad who you haven't seen for years and is trying to fit in with a cast of much more eclectic characters. I like Zaeed. He's a good dude.
He's the Original Human Space Merc, in the Mass Effect setting. He's not a Spectre, he's a businessman. And he's all too happy to tell you stories of his career. I especially liked the story of him almost getting strangled to death by a Hanar.
Legion is S tier for me. I know he doesn't get quite as fleshed out as some of the others, but watching him and Tali interact is phenomenal. And "Does this unit have a soul?" makes me cry every time.
The only reason i wouldn't but him in S tier is because he's introduced so late into ME2 and is only in a couple of missions in ME3. If he had been introduced earlier in ME2 he'd definitely been a top tier character.
There are multiple times, across all three games, where Joker saves EVERYBODY'S ass with his maneuvers. Plus when he crawls through the ducts to unshackle EDI is bar-none one of the very coolest sequences in the whole series. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. Also Cortez is kind of a hidden badass. Super sweet dude and obviously a talented pilot, getting Shepard and co. into and out of hotzones.
In the original script Legion was going to be acquired earlier in the game but he got his story scrapped due to crunch. I wish they had gone with that so we could have built more on them.
To quote someone: "The problem with Jacob isn't that he's boring. The problem with Jacob is that he refuses to open up in any way. When you ask about his experience with the corsairs, he makes a blanket statement and says that life is behind him. When you ask about his relationship with Miranda, he refuses to go into details. When you ask about his father after his loyalty mission, he doesn't want to talk about it. How are players supposed to connect with a character who doesn't seem to want to connect with them." Now personally I wouldn't mind that totally, it would make him D tier for me, but then they made him just completely shit in ME3. He cheated on you if you're in a relationship with him, and while every other one of your squadmates was doing something to prepare for the war, he decided to sit down and chill on a fucking beach so he could come to the conclusion and realization that he should fight for what he believes in... seriously, fucking wow, philosophers should listen to this genius. He also seemed to somehow forget he's a biotic, since he never once used his biotics during the fight against cerberus, he was taken down by cerberus grunts in the beginning of his mission, seriously, not even the phantom or nemesis troops, just the weakest that cerberus has, and his big moment at the end of the mission was that he shot one of those shitty generators to slightly knock over an atlas, and then looking fucking smug for having done it.
the moment that summed up Jacob for me was when after doing his mission i went to talk to him, he did the usual ''thanks for helping me'' post loyalty mission speech, and right after that i click ''i wanna know more about you'' and he just ''already? im not big into forcing these kinds of things'' my brother in christ i just helped you reuinte with your father we are going into the colector base in 2 hours
The first time I played Mass Effect I started romancing both Liara and Ash. They both confronted me about it. Virmire made breaking up with Ash way easier.
Tali and Garrus. I love the moment in the final mission when Garrus says: "It feels like this fight was always ours to finish." When Shepard, Tali and Garrus are together this feels so right because they have all been there from the moment Tali brought up the evidence that revealed the Reaper threat, till the moment when that threat may be defeated. I wouldn't know of a better trio.
i think liara pretty much becoming ruthless and losing empathy during 2 was an interesting flaw, they didnt need to make her psycotic or anything, they just showed how someone can slowly become disconected from people, and then recovering that connection decently quickly, not overly dramatic but realistic and likable
I think my favorite part with Grunt had to have been in the Citadel DLC with the cop. That part just solidifies Grunt as being your son, especially if you have him apologize.
In my opinion, the best development to Ashley's character is in ME3, if you dated her in 1 and saved her on Virmire, and then moved on to date Tali after that, Ashley's alright with it, because she considers Tali a sister. That one moment scored a lot of points for her from me.
ashley gets dogged on too much for being ''racist'' when shes just skeptical at best, and changes her mind instantly, its like saying that miranda is suposed to be mean, yeah its tehcnically part of their characters originally but it goes away instantly
@@aguspuig6615 No, she is racist against aliens, turians especially. But she's also loyal to the Alliance, so she can work with them. Getting over it eventually doesn't mean she isn't at all.
I think Javik should go to A just for the dialog he gives if you use both him and Liara in me 3 during the Thessia mission. Just seeing Javik telling Liara the true story of her people's culture is just so satisfying and just how Liara is learning that her people were not perfect and that they in fact only got as far as they did due to the protheans interfering with their evolution always makes me smile and laugh. Don't get me wrong I like Liara but it was nice for Asari to get called out on.
Ever since I started playing Mass Effect I’ve disliked the Asari. The whole too perfect thing that bricky mentions does a good job of explaining why I dislike them. When I realized that Javik has dialogue in the thessia mission I took him immediately. It was too funny watching Javik just tear asari history apart.
@@filwilliamson9149 It's just the fact that they are the oldest and most advanced race in this cycle, best technology every asari has biotics they are billions of them and Thessia just got steamrolled and curbstomped like ants, Turians managed to retake Palaven, Humans still fighting with everything they have nobody got so fucked
@@astorias5386 the asari were hit with what every republic and empire has fallen to over confidence they thought they could handle the issue themselves but get steamrolled due to under estimating the reapers even the turrian consular if saved from the first 2 game who kept on dismissing the reapers until they showed up he understood alone they stood no chance he was the only consular who out of 3 who listened and helped With what he could (to his credit his entire military was disorganized due to the first reaper attacks but thanks to Garus with his dad were able to recover and counter attack) by giving shepard the primarch he could get the support from their military
Kaidan is WAY more useful in ME3 than Ashley, too. If you like explosions, and your Shepard is a biotic, Kaidan can both set up and prime LOTS of them for you! Ashley just kinda shoots stuff.
@@NataliaNeeSama probs better because Kaiden is the second tankiest character and you don't have to really worry about Kaiden going down, even on insanity.
"If I didn't put Tali on S tier, I would need to go into witness protection" Yes Brick, yes you would've. Happy to see you are a man of culture as well. Tali is love. Tali is life.
Pedro Brenes tbh I started me with me3 and hated tali but I went back to 2 and 1 and she’s such a good character even if her abilities fall short of others
I didn’t understand the romance mechanic in the first game on my first play through and missed my chance to romance her but I romanced her every other chance I could lol
@@SimonNissen94 I never thought of it like that, but that's pretty much exactly what it is. Even without romancing Garrus, that bit was one of the closest points I came to tearing up the first time I played ME3 (probably second only to saying good-bye to Liara when she was medevaced during the run to the beam). Garrus is just THERE for Shep, no matter what, and his support at such a low point was just outstanding from a character and writing standpoint.
It's a sin not having him on the team, he's an amazing squad mate that brings a lot to the table. And the comments he makes in game and in cutscenes makes him feel ALIVE, really enjoyable and understandable
I, unfortunately, have to agree on Kasumi. She was one of the most underutilized characters, especially for a squadmate, in the entire series. Her loyalty mission is great, but as a character, she doesn't even get as good of treatment as Zaeed. Plus, "Oh my darling, I'll love you forever. **five minutes later** Oh but dat Jacob doe."
I disagree, but for reasons that aren't always super relevant... I think Kasumi is the hottest in the game for one. Secondly, I think her witty remarks and fun-go-get-em attitude are awesome. And third, I loved her fighting style (Ninja moves), and I took her everywhere with me.
@@randalltempelaar And that's the point, Kasumi's great, we just needed more. If she had the same screen-time as other squadmates she'd probably be A tier.
It's really interesting with Kasumi and Zaeed, because while all the other squadmates you go into a dialogue wheel conversation, they both talk openly when you click on them, so you might get repeat lines here and there, but at least they have something to say unlike the non-DLC squadmates who you can exhaust their conversation wheels. And they took what they learnt from Kasumi and Zaeed, and put into ME3, because with ME3 you can talk to your squad in a dialogue wheel and also talk to them w/o it either which is very fun.
@@agroed The main reason why Zaeed and Kasumi are the way they are is because they're both DLC characters and unlike Javik they have little reason to play a bigger role in the story
What I love about Garrus and Tali is that they never abandon you. Wrex has to whip his planet into shape (Or the afterlife into shape), Liara is hunting for the Shadow Broker, and Ash/Kaiden appear for 3 lines of dialogue. But Tali and Garrus? They stick with Shepard til the end. IMO, the three of them have the closest bond of anyone in the trilogy. My only regret is that when I romance one of them, the other doesn't hook up with anyone else. They set Tali up for Reeger in the 2nd game, and then they just did away with that for some reason, and Garrus is just alone from what I remember. It's been a while since I HAVEN'T romanced Garrus, so maybe he does find someone if Shepard and Tali aren't there for him.
I don't think Garrus ends up committed with anyone, but there is a bit in the Citadel DLC where Shepard helps him get a date with one of only two female turians we ever meet
But like you said, Tali and Garrus are around Shepard the most, so it makes the most sense for them to actually end up together, and assume Shepard is with someone else As a Tali simp that’ll never happen, but I do feel bad for Garrus, he has reach, he deserves someone flexible
Well that depends honestly fellow Tali simp here but its not like Garrus doesn't have any admirers, Dr Michelle definitely has a thing, possibly even Liara. Not to mention while Garrus might not be commander Shepard, he was the first person to suspect Saren and help take him down, became a vigilante on Omega forcing literally 3 mercenary groups to work together to take him down, and while not as impressive was part of a turian team that helped prepare for the reaper invasion. He's the best bro male sheps ever had and the best boyfriend any female shps ever going to have. P.S. If Bioware decides to revive my Shepard in the next game and it turns out Tali moved on to be with Garrus. I would be 100% okay with that.
Jack is an S. God damn does it break my heart to see her cry but to see her open up and the person she becomes makes me feel so god damn good. Also Grunt is my boi. When he comes out of that cave i felt so damn proud.
Jack was my first romance in my first playthrough of the trilogy (Liara in 1 then Jack the rest of the trilogy) and honestly I love her romance because she is the embodiment of the way Paragon Shepard changes people. He opens them up and gets them to be more loving, compassionate and vulnerable. He digs underneath the hard exterior Jack puts up and shows her that she’s capable of loving again despite all the trauma she’s been through. I just wish we got more romance content with her in ME3
Mordin is my favorite character easily. When he asks about who you are banging. His singing, he is a clearly positive soul who has seen terrible things.
After replaying ME1 on the PC i gotta say, if you chat with Ashley a lot between missions she has a bit more personality than you might expect. I have no idea why it never makes its way into the actual cutscenes/ mission dialogue. I think the writers really let her down and basically doomed her to getting nuked forever.
In ME3 if you don’t tell Mordin about the sabotage and he figures it out on his own… when he yells “I made a mistake” that line hits so hard. Such a simple line but it’s the culmination of him dealing with so much guilt and the voice actor did such a good job of showing that in such a quick simple line
Expanding on your Asari thoughts, I think that being "perfect" was very detrimental to their response to the Reapers. When one is use to being the big guy on the block, and some one shows up kicking your ass, they don't know how to deal with it.
The Mass Effect series has some of the best characters in FICTION, without question. To the point where I get mildly annoyed because these people are not real.
Read more fiction then. While I personally think ME1 has like a knockout cast of companions I also just dislike statements like yours. Nobody can really say in all of fiction unless they've read or dabbled in all of fiction, which is impossible.
@@ma1ist Damn, wannabe smartypants on the internet really take issue with hyperbole, huh? Anyway the best character in all of fiction ever is Elim Garak from DS9. And you CAN quote me on that, for I AM an immortal being and #1 consumer of media.
I think Liara does have flaws, namely that she‘s actually pretty dark and fairly cold-blooded. You see this a bit in the third game, but a lot in Lair of the Shadow Broker. And the scary thing about her is that she becomes like that, arguably because of Shepard. Shepard is a corrupting influence on Liara and she becomes, yes a badass, but also a lot colder, because of Shepard. Unlike say, Miranda or Jack who start out as ruthless (and in Miranda‘s case emotionless) killers but then their arc is to get back to being human. Liara stays dark, or at least comparatively dark. You just never notice because she also supports everything Shepard ever does. She’s actually totally Shepard‘s minion, but so good at it that it looks like it‘s all her idea. In a lot of ways, she‘s like the soldier Shepard got as a (proverbial) baby and (more or less accidentally) raised to do one thing: fulfill Shepard‘s purpose. And she‘s totally ruthless, too. I bet if Shepard had given her a dog and later told her to kill it, she would totally do it. Isn‘t that a much better, scarier plot than all the others have? Yeah, she‘s unrealistically great at everything she does, but she‘s also totally Shepard‘s minion and the only reason you can‘t tell is (1) you‘re Shepard and (2) she‘s so damn good at it. I‘d say those are some pretty impressive character flaws.
She was a fantastic foil in the original game. In a galaxy full of badasses and horrifying monsters, she was the shy, inexperienced archaeologist who had so much to learn. But then the second game rolled around, and everything about her changed for the worse. The ME2 writers clearly didn’t understand why her original personality and occupation were so important.
@@nicolasleroux5302 isn‘t that kind of the point? The shy, naive Archaeologist got involved in the big galactic struggle and ended up being more than a little fucked up. We can call her Darth Rosenberg now.
Well and Wrex and Grunt are very violent and careless. Honestly, even the cutest character, Tali, has a scary side to her. Just remember that scene with the Volus who insulted her. Or "I have a shotgun."
Wrex is muted and drull in the first game because he has given up on his people, he is a depressed veteran who has essentially condemned his people to extinction because he sees them as unwilling to overcome their flaws. The reason the shift is so drastic in the following games is because Shepard helps him come to terms with certain parts of his character and allows him to regain his compassion for his people.
After watching the animated film about James and his squad I would put him in C or even B. The survivors' guilt aspect of him really changed how I felt about him.
I was looking for a comment like this! That’s how I see him, I also think he’s like a character that’s mid-ark and needs Shepard to push him into the next one
I never played the original series and went into the Legendary Edition practically blind. Shortly before meeting Legion, I thought about how cool it would be to get a Geth or Batarian Squadmate. And I was right. The Geth are so amazing, I love them, and specifically Legion, so much
You know, you‘re kind of wrong about the Asari. Ok, they‘ seem overpowered at face value, but the Salarians are actually bigger badasses. Why? Because the Asari, like most species, had help from the Protheans, and in their case a lot of help. The Salarians didn‘t, and they still discovered the Citadel almost simultaneously with the Asari. All. On Their own. Unlike pretty much all the other major species, including humans. So the Salarians are actually the secret super-power. Plus, Asari may be good at war if they choose to do it, but relatively few of them do.
Nah, Krogan. The Reapers considered them to be the cycle's crown jewel, before determining there weren't enough left to squeeze enough Fanta out of. And that's AFTER they lost a thousand or so years of progress to nuclear holocaust, and had to contend with evolving on a murder hell world, with predators capable of beating Reapers. Don't forget that they had scientists sufficient to invent nuclear weapons on their own. The Krogan are kinda like the anti-Asari. They had every possible impediment thrown at them, and still made it, and did better than most of the others. Well, I mean, Vorcha are really the anti-Asari. They had every possible obstacle thrown at them, and are barely acknowledged as people, have accomplished literally nothing, and are treated as second banana to Batarians. Imagine being less liked than Batarians, a species that literally exists to be hated by everyone as much as possible. Definitely the anti-Asari, Vorcha.
@@Kai-tn4yx Didn't the Salarians get smacked by Rachni, uplifted Krogans to let them deal with the Rachni and then backstabbed the Krogans with the technology they installed on Tuchanka during the uplift?
The initial Virmire comment at the beginning of the video made me nervous about Kaidan's chances. Kaidan landing in B Tier(B- or C+) was surprisingly nice to see. I personally find him adorable, but I understand the criticism he gets. All the placings and comments felt spot-on for the roster of squad mates!
Other squadmates: Explain why he has put them all in their respective places and is very careful and verbal about it. *Garrus:* Yeah. Garrus is S tier.
@@adenhickman5780 I'd say Mordin's the best character story-wise. But factoring in gameplay...yeah, Garrus is BY FAR the best squad-mate. I took Garrus with me everywhere, even when playing as Infiltrator and thus not technically needing him.
Legion was my favorite character. Not only because he was sleek and a combat bad ass but his sense of humor and his access to knowledge from decades into the past. Going after the Heretics and his guidance through the base and how the Geth think was amazing.
My favourite character was Javik. You were right describing him as a dick. I loved that. He accompanied me on every mision, because his snarky comments made me laugh every time.
@Ralis Sedarys he's a great subversion of expectations. Like even Liara was expecting him to be this utopian sophisticated being but then nope. Absolute dick and I love it.
I agree that Kasumi was extremely underutilized, but i still absolutely love her to death. I love her personality, i love her look, and i love her abilities in combat. My extreme disappointment at the lack of a romance with her is immeasurable.
The disRESPECT to Miranda hurts my SOUL! She’s one of the deepest characters imo, getting over her self doubt and inadequacies because of Shepard and she’s fanatically pro Cerberus until she’s shown the error of her ways over time and through her relationship with her sister and Shepard, and her dedication towards like clawing a family into her life no matter what is so nice to me. Idk I just love her
(Tosses Miranda to a Varren) Fuck her. Even when witnessing Jack's ordeal and everything she still tries to defend Cerberus. If I could have gotten her killed in the suicide mission - I'd always have it happen.
Thane's passing was the only time I've ever truly cried in a game. I've come close many times, teared up a bit, but Thane was the one that truly made me cry.
True, I to believe ashley should've been either B or C tier, because she has a good backstory in me1 and the romance with maleshep as well great. To me she should've be either B or C.
The only thing that pulls her down for me is her strange character shift in ME3 where she is unreasonably antagonistic. But most things disappointed me in 3.
@@SantosAl Yea that's fair, I think she get's better latter on in the game but her being weirly super untrusting up until the citadel attack was really annoying
Ash absolutely loathes Cerberus, and that antagonism is from lingering distrust over Shepard working with Cerberus, plus concern that (s)he's being controlled by them. The citadel attack - and you not killing her or the Council - is absolutely what finally convinces her that Shepard isn't with Cerberus in any way, shape, or form.
I see Bricky and Mass Effect together I hit that damn like button first and then watch. I am 100% sure you gonna make it awesome. PS Garrus and Wrex best squadmates in my book.
Me too! I was so mad that I couldn’t put Wrex on my team on 2 and 3. And no krogans in general for the 3rd game. But they were absolutely hilarious together. 🤣
8:26 one of my favorite moments in ME3 (And spoilers) Is the dialogue you can get with Mordin If you hide the fact that the Salarian Ambassador wanted to sabotage the cure. (You don't have to go through with the sabotage to get this dialogue just not mention it in the car on the way there) Mordin asks about it you try to go the dialogue route of "But isn't this what you wanted?" He YELLS "I MADE A MISTAKE"....and i think that is one of the greatest CAPS you can get to his arc. Finally admitting, not hiding what he did under logic and reasoning but just saying that, in the end what he did was WRONG. You then send him off to save the Krogan in one of the most heart breaking scenes in gaming.
"It makes it seem like it's someone's impression of a mexican culture type thing" As a spaniard I can clarify that you're 100% correct. He's not authentic and he speaks spanish wrong most of the time. I would say the anime movie helps James a lil' bit, but that's IF you've watched the movie, and regardless he's still one of the lesser squadmates in all of Mass Effect.
The voice actor is Freddie Prinze Jr, who's Puerto Rican descent, not Mexican or Spanish. I'm far from an expert on any Hispanic culture, so I'm not going to say his portrayal was spot-on. That said, I can't say what cultural aspects will change in the next 165 years until the game takes place, so I'll cut him a little slack.
@@JaronActual I don't think the future is gonna make hispanic citizens speak spanish wrong... There's no defending ignorance on this, they plainly and simply wrote him wrong. And if they chose him because he's of Puerto Rican descent, that's even worse. They got a guy because of his ancestry rather than his ability to speak spanish or actually be a native speaker.
Writing interesting humans really did seem to be a struggle for Bioware. I liked Miranda because of her vulnerability, beneath the surface - but I agree that she doesn't change much AT ALL.. I liked Jack for her deeper vulnerability, and the fact that you can actually make her torn soul whole again. Almost want to say I don't like her tough facade she puts on, even though I understand her completely, but she really does make it hard to cooperate with her, in the beginning. I wanted to like Kaidan, because he's such a trustworthy, loyal ally. But so boring, like talking to a wall in ME1, whereas Ash atleast gave a reason to hate her. I liked the conflict Ashley gave, for being such a xenophobe - but I didn't enjoy her character. And her interests - military history, family and poetry..? Come on. Fuck Jacob, especially when learning of his "loyalty" in ME3.
Jack has probably the second-best character arc out of all your squadmates. She's a bit annoying in 2, but that quickly fades. I think she is solidly in the A-tier.
My list would be S: Garrus, Tali, Mordin, Legion, Javik A: Edi, Wrex, Thane B: Jack, Miranda, Grunt, Samara, Kasumi, James C: Kaidan, Zaeed D: Ashley E: Jacob
I stopped watching this list after this pick lmao first Wrex only in A tier and then Ashley in kill asap tier were garbage takes on the characters. If you keep Ashley around she is literally as ride or die to Shepard as Garrus is. It just sucks her build is soldier type and the ai isn't sufficient enough for that build to work as combat companion.
I thought that was weird too. The only time I keep Kaiden alive is if I plan to romance him (which isn't very often). Ashley is just superior in every way.
Kaidan is by far one of my favourite squadmates, I don’t know why he gets so much hate. I don’t dislike Ashley, it just makes no sense for a good guy Shepard to save a space racist over a comrade he’s worked with for a lot longer.
I’m actually surprised that you put Ashley below Kaiden. It sounded like you never played her in ME2-3, because she almost immediately changes her tune about xenophobia in ME1 and doesn’t really ever go back. The character arc is definitely there, even if she isn’t the most interesting by a long shot.
Ashley is great - but she's also frustrating as hell. Winning her trust for the entire ME2 and half of ME3 can be a chore - though I totally understand Ashley's reasons there. I'm playing ME1 now - and Ashley is one of the best squadmates for me. She is universal and tanky - that's all I need to keep enemies far enough to snipe them. Of course I'll romance her and try to be faithful to her during ME2.
Ashley: put in dead if possible Now she’s not my favourite but she doesn’t belong there and to clarify she is not a space racist. She actively calls out Cerberus for being extreme and even describes Tali as a sister if you cheat on Ashley with Tali. And her family history makes for a large part of her personality and is more complex that it seems initially. I’m not asking you to love her, just to reconsider moving her up a little.
100% agree. To dismiss Ash as a bland space racist tells me that a player has not explored the character at all. You find out later that she was pretty much spot on about Cerbereus and the council. Not to mention that Liara is a rehash of Liliana from Dragon Age but Ash turns out to be far beyond the stereotypical character evolution arc.
I agree with both of you. To add, she's no more racist than every other race in the game. Mordin is probably more racist considering what he did to the Krogans.
27:00 I find it interesting how no one on the ship seems to 'hook up' until the 3rd game and even then it's just Joker and Edi and Garrus and Tali. I also think that it's one of the other 'benefits' to romancing Liara if your NOT going to romance garrus or Tali, because even then some of your best bros end up happy together, and that's just great.
Funny enough, kept ashley alive through the whole franchise. And by the end of 3, I turned her from being a xenophobe into someone who actually likes aliens......yep, that's a thing you can do with her arc. Yeah the alien/racist remarks are terrible, but definitely shows her evolution of the character from xenophobe to respectable of alien races.
@@georgyporgy777 Exactly? Would people bring russians to an american military installation/ship or vice versa during the cold war? Besides, each alien in the first game comes from a somewhat questionable background... Quarians created the Geth, and have been banished from the Citadel, Turians and Humans had a bitter war between them and well... Krogans...
@@georgyporgy777 yes it is. thats the argument that was used to round up Americans who looked remotely Asian and put them in camps steal thier homes and businesses. she was extramly racist and said many awful prejudice things.
I think Ashley gets wayyyy too much hate if you actually talk to her about her family history then you see why she is cautious about aliens and you learn from other crew members during and after the first game that the alliance, in general, didn't really like the alien characters being on the ship so Ashley's attitude when taken in context, makes sense. Also, Ashley goes from being cautious about aliens to loving and trusting them she honestly has one of the best character arcs in the game people just don't give her a chance to develop and would rather take boring ass Kaiden with them.
It does make sense that Asari are so "OP" being that they live to 1000, the only other species that does so is the Krogan who were kneecapped by the Salarians, twice, and their own evolution. Plus the Asari have the Prothean beacon. So it makes sense why they're the most advanced race, but also having them all be sexy blue girls that can mate with everyone and everyone is attracted to. I mean, come on, how lucky can you get? That being said, you can't take Liara out of S-tier out of spite lol. She definitely deserves to be there. Garrus, Liara, and Tali are really in their own category, but Mordin breaks into it by having the best character arc and being so likeable and hilarious from start to finish.
I’m pretty sure the Asari actually manipulate people into finding them attractive because there’s this group of people I think it was a Turian Salarian and Human all of which say asari look like their race but blue Which could be why every race finds them attractive
@@thisstatementisfalsenothin5312 Yeah, I've found the Asari "succubus theory" recently and it's super interesting. Pretty much just based on that one conversation, but a cool thought experiment nonetheless.
If tali wasnt best girl, liara would be an easy next choice. Once the remastered games come out im still gonna bang tali for the first time but second playthrough its liaras time
I mostly agree with you, but I would have put Legion on S Tier. He's simply amazing, I love him since he showed up in ME 2 for the first time. Tali and Garrus of course had to be on S tier, they are with Legion my 3 favorite characters (I like Legion a bit more though), and an honorific mention to the great salarian scientist Mordin Solus. And I would have put Liara on B or even C. Kill me if you want to, but I've never seen anything interesting about her. Anyway I liked your List.
I'd argue Liara was only a Marry Sue in the first game, and even then she's not due to her neurotic personality and inability to understand jokes half the time, then add on the personality of the 2nd game where she starts to become more violent and threatening, and you have a character whose personality is not that of a Marry Sue, even with her powers as they are.
Her second game's personality is desperate attempt at avoiding Mary Sue - desperate because it is in conflict with whom she was. Its like if she became totally someone else over those 2 years with very little Liara left in her.
You know, I've really come around on James. I think he's what Bioware wanted Jacob to be in ME2. He's a fun character that takes on a sort of apprentice role to Shepard.
I so wish Zaeed and Kasumi were properly integrated into the game. They both have interesting personalities but, because they're DLC, don't feel fully integrated.
If Tali was anything less than Alien Banging, I’d have rage quit the video, she’s so awkwardly adorable and such a sweetheart that it’s impossible not to fall in love with her on any level!
The deal is though...he is terminally ill *with it affecting his abilities now* and STILL stopped Kai Lang. If he was at full strength? Kai Lang never woulda saw him coming. It would've been over in a second.
Wrex will always be ma boi! It's clear that he is getting old, and even if he has been around since long before humans even knew aliens existed, he doesn't distrust anyone who hasn't given him a reason to, and even if he has strong convictions and opinions, he isn't affraid to accept outside help when he can... Wrex went from a no goal bounty hunter who just wanted that glorious selfish end in the first game, to the greatest hope of a united Krogan in the second game, to the single greatest hope for a future for not only his race, but also for a peaceful coexistance with the rest of the galaxy, regardless of past history. As a character, he is probably the one who has changed the most throughout the trilogy, while also having a positive impact on the world around him along the way. He went from a loner who only trusted himself, to someone who trusts you with the life and future of not only him, but his species as a whole...
Actually gonna defend James vega. Didn't play 3 until legendary edition and was surprised how much I liked the dude. Found it really funny how you basically constantly put him in his place when he tries to be cool. Really liked the dynamic him and Cortez have (it's nice to see a gay character be bros with a straight character and have it not be weird. Also he has the most ridiculous dance animation at the party and I appreciate that.
Ashley actually has a rather compelling arc for me, or at least an interesting one. There's a decent chunk of dialogue in ME3 especially which contradicts her views from ME1 when addressing her xenophobia. (calling Tali her little sister is a big example) The only difficulty in her character for any blind player is not knowing that there will ever be an arc. From the get go, it's pretty obvious that Kaiden reflects Paragon and Ashley Renegade, and their personalities stem from those traits, so of course most people are going to prefer the non-space racist. In the hindsight though, her character makes WAY more sense than Kaiden when it comes to the whole questioning of loyalties plot in ME3 and even the shock reveal of Shep surviving(kinda) in ME2. She has always been a sceptic, suspicious and contrarian, which justifies her questioning Shepard WAY more than Kaiden, and feels all the more rewarding when you convince her she's wrong, especially if you get her to warm up to the other species too. Or maybe I am a sucker for the trope where a character with maladaptive beliefs has a revelation and becomes better from it, like a small psuedo-redemption. Not saying Ash is amazing, but it is something I ponder a lot when playing ME. She caps out at B tier, definitely. Jacob is a lost cause though, I have no defence for how dogshit they wrote his character. They fucked up hard. A miniature Heart of Darkness loyalty mission which could have had him completely absent and barely change anything is not enough to save this cluster fuck of a character.
Ash says early on in ME1 that she doesn't think humans are superior to other alien species. She's the most misunderstood character in Mass Effect I think simply because people don't explore her dialogue enough or kill her off in the first game.
@@whasian1487 I distinctly remember the dialogue where she mentions how if it came down to it, she would leave an alien to die to save a human, ala you don't have to worry about the bear if you're not the slowest runner style. Often times, that situation, and by extension her words, are misconstrued as leaving someone to die is equal to killing them. Understandably so, but in a trolley problem dilemma, one often doesn't view the act of choice to be one made of malice. At least, from the perspective of one who rationally values a life. Advocating for the argument, she is not taking any joy from leaving anyone to die. She's a straightforward soldier archetype, it goes against the fibre of her creed. Any death should be for a cause, whether self, country, or in this case species, and has purpose worth the fight. She does not dislike aliens, she just personally values her own kind more as she literally works for them and their progress in the galaxy where humans are viewed with great scrutiny. That being ignored, instead warped into a character who is only racist for having a, rather nuanced tbh, outlook on their role in the setting is somewhat of an insult to the writers. She's not perfect, god no I wish she would shut up sometimes, but definitely not a xenophobe.
I just found her constant questioning of shepards working with cerberus really fuckin annoyin, especially since she was more of a space racist than him anyway. Gonna spare kaiden next time and see if hes any better. Also her abilities are pretty mid which doesnt help her case lol
@@kman1893 Well you got me on the abilities, they truly are not great. (Unless you have the Marksman ability patched, in which case Ashley is extremely OP and crazy useful on Insanity difficulties) Other than that though, in comparison to Kaidan, her character just always felt more concrete and progressive. She evolves from being a solider with a chip on her shoulder, to a veteran who understands the values of alliances and an appreciation for the galaxy's political nuances. By ME3, she has overcome the military prejudice against the Williams name and has gotten promoted after some covert ops work, which adds a good portion of depth Unfortunately you miss out on most of this unless you take her with you on missions like Tuchunka's bomb. She really does have more personality, but you really have to focus on her to get it. She doesn't wear her tropes on her sleeves like Wrex or Liara does, and that has led to her character detriment. Also I hope this isn't going to be so spoilery for you, but there really isn't that much of a difference between Ashley and Kaiden post ME1, at least in the big picture. Sure, their stories and lore are separate, but the whole trust on Shep and progression into an equal is basically same story. Personally, I think Ashley comes out on top by being a character who you have learn how to trust others be tested and overcome it (or get gunned down for their stubborness) as a great climax for their arc. Kaiden is of a soldier who was loyal to you questioning that loyalty (regardless of initial perspective) and then either mending a relationship which was never really broken or having them die for following orders. Kaiden annoyed me way more, but that's just me.
![ลองสุ่มไอโฟน 990 โกงมั้ย? [ โกงมั้ยครับ ep.101 ] | DOM](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfsWe0j492k/mqdefault.jpg)
If there is ever a list you should trust me on this is the one
I will follow your tier list through hell
Another tier list?
If you've ever played the Dragon Age series, I will literally give you my firstborn child in exchange for a Dragon Age companions tier list like this
I'm guessing we don't talk about the fourth installment...
@@vladzhd9502 that is the land where the sunlight does not touch we do not go there
The hardest decision at the start of any Mass Effect mission is which character are you going to take with you and Garrus.
Yup the hardest decision
Well, in Mass Effect 1, it's me. In the citadel DLC, it's me. In mass effect 2 it's grunt, cause you can't choose me.
This is so me
Tali and Garrus for life
@@Bigpep69420 you don't even need Tali's hacking abilities, Wrex just shoots every door control, always works...
"A window into the geth." But Geth don't have windows
Structural weakness, remember?
Lol, blue screen of death
Joker: 🤖
If you want to go heavy with symbolism - Legion is a window. Because he acts as a structural weakness to the Geth and helps you change their "ways"
@@Dorime3619 Or destroy them
I always loved when you are planning the suicide mission, jack and Miranda are at each others necks over who is going to lead the distraction team, and when you pick Garrus he just nods, you trust him, he trusts you, and it completely derails the stupid chick fight. awesome.
garrus is the homie fr
Garrus is the bro, the homie, the guy who guy who always got your back, basically the GOAT.
He'll never give up, never let you down, never desert so that's why no matter what class I play, I don't care if he isn't usefull for some particular class, he's always with me.
@@div6969 honestly that’s why I love tali and Garrus so much. No matter what they’re always by your side from start to finish, hell even when you’re Cerberus tali and Garrus join you cause they believe in your choices and decision making to do that right thing.
It's brilliant, because it just shows how much attention to detail went into these characters. The Devs and the writers understood the personalities of the people they had made and played with it all to perfection. Contrast the trilogy with Andromeda, and one of the most glaring comparisons is the character integration and immersion
That's why I always bang liara so my boy garrus can get it in with tali. Gotta stay lookin out for the homies
Bricky: puts Javik in B tier
Javik: Puts Bricky in airlock and say: "This what we would do in my cycle"
You know what, I actually think Javik would applaud someone putting the Prothean at around mid-tier instead of putting him at the top for some reason.
@@aprinnyonbreak1290 He needs his own tier. "Not primitive"
@@aprinnyonbreak1290 javik would respect the man's opinion. Then he'd space him out of the airlock.
In his cycle, they had food, y'know?
Funnily enough, the first time I played through the trilogy was as BroShep so naturally, Jacob wasn't a romance option. So when I encountered him in ME3 with his girl, I was like "Hey, congrats, dude!". But learning from others that this also happens when you romance him as FemShep, it changed to "Are you f**king serious?".
totally same
That's why you let his ass die in 2
I didn't know about this the first time I played which was very recently and I'm glad I let him merk himself🤣
Honesyly whilst Jacob is just boring as hell I acutally liked that they did that, its kinda refreshing to have a game romance where a one character has moved on and wont instantly change their tune and go running back to their ex because theyre the protagonist of the game... thas not BS thats realistic!. Much like folks complaining that some characters can onyl be be romanced by one gender or another, again, thats real, people dont magically become gay or straight just because you happen to fancy them!
@@locutus9956True.
Still, it must suck for anyone that wasted their time on Jacob.
Garrus in S tier.
"Damn right."
If he wasn't, we'd have to ask Bricky if he's ready to be a woman.
“I’m Garrus Vakarian, and this is my rectum.”
@Urazz Garrus and Tali are that way, IMO. The only way Tali turns against you would be if you were to basically stab her in the back and doom the Quarians to extinction in 3 (and it would make perfect sense for her to do so as well, considering how devoted she is to her people), and even then she commits suicide instead of becoming outright hostile. Liara is always there if you need her, sure, but she isn't right there in the fray with you for all 3 games like Garrus & Tali are, and to me, that just slightly edges her out of the "running".
About the only character I'd move on this list would be Javik, and that would just be to bump him up a tier, because even though he's a dick, he still manages to be entertaining while acting the part. And seeing him become a bit more laid-back in the Citadel DLC where he just messes with the rest of the squad all in good fun helps to show that as bitter and angry as he might usually be, there is still a fun-loving and friendly side of him.
Vega got booted off of the squad as soon as I had the opportunity to do so.
Hardest choice in any mass effect game is letting garrus win the shooting contest or not.
@@keiganm1287 We all know Shep is better than Garrus, we don't need to win a bottle shooting contest to know that, but Garrus could use that win. He's always in Shep's shadow and stays loyal as hell despite that. He basically drops everything to get back on your crew. Let the guy have a win for once I say.
Grunt looking up “tyrannosauros wrex” and “earth lizard wrex” is one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen in a video game.
oh my god
_SHARKS!_
I loved reading his search history! He's so simple minded, yet filled with childlike curiosity!
dinosaurs
I swear, if my nephew was a tank bred alien lizard tank, he'd be Grunt.
Shouldn't Garrus have his own tier ?
Best bro tier?
@@gamingloser5909 G tier, the g stands for "Garrus" and "God".
If it weren’t for all those damn calibrations he would
Swe Gby He’s the broest of bros
Swe Gby the “I’m Garrus Vakarian and this is now my favorite tier on the citadel” tier
Wrex is truly an upper echelon of characters. When you meet him again in ME2. "Shepard! My friend!" There's so much behind these words, it always makes me tear up a little.
And Garrus is the best bro ever in all of gaming. Definiately S tier!
You are in the upper echelon of players. You recognize my greatness.
honestly, I'd have put Wrex in S tier and Garrus gets his own tier, called "a bar in heaven" or sth along those lines
Grunt Wrex party talk is just amazing… GRUNT, SHEEEEPAAARD, Wrex.. shepard
Too bad he caught a bullet in ME1🤷🤣
@@christophbethe7871 jesus christ what kind of mosnter gives him bullet in ME1... then again its only way to save Mordin later down the line
When Mordrin said "Has to be me, someone else might get it wrong" right before his death scene, I realized me wanting him to stay alive would force me to change who he is as a character. Mordrin's death stings not because it is dramatic or harrowing, but because you know it's what he has to do. Also the first time I cried because of a character death in a video game.
Garrus and tali will always be the best for one reason: they’re the only ones who stuck with shep the whole way through.
Edit: if you’re just going to reply to tell me something along the lines of “blah blah Liara is best because she did so and so” don’t waste your efforts. Just know i disagree entirely.
Also if you romance nither they get together in the end
But Tali tells you to do one at the start of 2 because she's busy, she still great tho.
I was so butthurt when I caught them...shet got too real too fast. Then I drowned my sorrows in Liara
@@Nutochi didn't know that, that's epic.
Actually, they didn't. When Shep got spaced, they went their separate ways. The only one who didn't give up was Liara. She got Sheps body back from the Broker and collectors. So in a way she was the only one to stick by Shepard. Even as the Shadow Broker she was supporting Shepard in every way she could like info and resources to fight the Reapers. Just a thought. Don't get me wrong I love Tali and Garrus, but just sayin.
"Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong."
Alright, who's chopping onions in here?!
"Might run tests on seashells"
@@kharnmelchiah4038 Please! No more!
@@mawkishwarden172 had to be me, someone else may have gotten it wrong. Honest to God tho, I fucking cried like a baby in that scene
The best Mordin scene imho is when you try to talk to him about genophage right before he enters the elevator and he screams:
"I MADE A MISTAKE!"
Pure perfection. The voice acting is soooooooo good. For a character whose arc goes from being right about everything, defending his reasons with solid arguments and logic, to recognizing his flaved(not wrong - flaved) decisions and tring to redeeem himself.
It's the same reasons why people love Jamie Lannister from GoT - his story is one of redemption and self-betterment. Something we all hope to achieve.
The best thing is that you can actually save him and everything works just fine (you make both parties happy and Mordin goes underground -> he contacts you later and works at the crucible xD)
You're right on about the Asari, they're basically the Elves of the ME universe. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. And unlike their analogues in some other fictional universes, I like that ME gave them the life stages, so they don't all get to be wise, all-knowing ancient space elves by default. They have to earn it.
The thing I like about Liara, and what keeps her from being a Mary-Sue in my book, is that even by ME3 where she's this big, galaxy-running badass, you still see that vulnerable, unsure girl peek out occasionally. She's grown and found her power & confidence, but she's not completely divorced from the socially-awkward archaeologist you saved in the first game.
Well said dude
I can agree to that but you can still tell that BioWare favored her the most.
Asari are like 1:1 carbon copies of Delvians from Farscape.
But I also agree with you. Essentially space elves.
@@ma1ist I think it's a huge stretch to say they're direct copies of Delvians. They're both blue, and I guess Delvians can also live a long time. Other than that, the two species really don't have much in common.
@@SynchronizorVideos
The culture is similar. The whole metaphysical and focus on the spiritual connection of mind melding is another huge similarity.
Edit: ofc that isn't to say the characters we get in the games who are Asari aren't unique and cool. But just the basic premise of their species is a clear homage.
My favourite 2 headcanons of Femshep are:
1) Grunt calls Femshep his Space Momma, and Femshep calls him her Krogan Son
2) The Breeding request for Femshep after killing the Thresher Maw in Grunt's Right of Passage was actually Wrex.
The 2nd can't be true, Shepard would accept that request
The way I've always looked at Zaeed is that he is an old dude, he's lived a life before you meet him, so you realistically don't get a lot of change from him, he's been a career mercenary for a good while, formed the Blue Suns, one doesn't fuck with Zaeed Massani, he's like your space-dad who you haven't seen for years and is trying to fit in with a cast of much more eclectic characters. I like Zaeed. He's a good dude.
Zaeed is ur distant uncle, Anderson is the dad of Shepard.
I could listen to Zaeed wax poetic about his shitty broken rifle for hours and not be bored for a second.
Love that curmudgeonly old bastard.
He's the Original Human Space Merc, in the Mass Effect setting.
He's not a Spectre, he's a businessman. And he's all too happy to tell you stories of his career. I especially liked the story of him almost getting strangled to death by a Hanar.
@@travismcnasty51 "Haven't looked at a Hanar the same way since."
@@xDinomanxI love the hangar story
Legion is S tier for me. I know he doesn't get quite as fleshed out as some of the others, but watching him and Tali interact is phenomenal. And "Does this unit have a soul?" makes me cry every time.
"I know Tali...but thank you. Keelah Se'lai."
Hehe “fleshed”
I just wish he was available earlier so you wouldn't be forced to do the collector base like 2 missions after you recruit him.
@@quaronncz464 Especially since he has dialogue for a lot of stuff...
The only reason i wouldn't but him in S tier is because he's introduced so late into ME2 and is only in a couple of missions in ME3. If he had been introduced earlier in ME2 he'd definitely been a top tier character.
S tier: We'll bang, okay?
F/E tier: I should go
Joker and chakwas deserves a place on this list, they have been there since the first game
Myreflection Both S tier no question
There are multiple times, across all three games, where Joker saves EVERYBODY'S ass with his maneuvers. Plus when he crawls through the ducts to unshackle EDI is bar-none one of the very coolest sequences in the whole series. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it.
Also Cortez is kind of a hidden badass. Super sweet dude and obviously a talented pilot, getting Shepard and co. into and out of hotzones.
they are shipmates not squad mates
@@madkabal Yeah I know, that's true enough... I was just making conversation
@@mitosis5843 I traded chakwas for dr Michel hoping I could romance her
I wish legion was a romance option...
"There was a hole"
That's a structural weakness, need to repair that
It sounds so very wrong, but it made me chuckle. Thank you.
At least with another great game, we have FISTO. Please assume the position
In the original script Legion was going to be acquired earlier in the game but he got his story scrapped due to crunch. I wish they had gone with that so we could have built more on them.
To quote someone:
"The problem with Jacob isn't that he's boring.
The problem with Jacob is that he refuses to open up in any way.
When you ask about his experience with the corsairs, he makes a blanket statement and says that life is behind him.
When you ask about his relationship with Miranda, he refuses to go into details.
When you ask about his father after his loyalty mission, he doesn't want to talk about it.
How are players supposed to connect with a character who doesn't seem to want to connect with them."
Now personally I wouldn't mind that totally, it would make him D tier for me, but then they made him just completely shit in ME3.
He cheated on you if you're in a relationship with him, and while every other one of your squadmates was doing something to prepare for the war, he decided to sit down and chill on a fucking beach so he could come to the conclusion and realization that he should fight for what he believes in... seriously, fucking wow, philosophers should listen to this genius.
He also seemed to somehow forget he's a biotic, since he never once used his biotics during the fight against cerberus, he was taken down by cerberus grunts in the beginning of his mission, seriously, not even the phantom or nemesis troops, just the weakest that cerberus has, and his big moment at the end of the mission was that he shot one of those shitty generators to slightly knock over an atlas, and then looking fucking smug for having done it.
that same someone suggested combining him with Kai Leng and honestly having Jacob straight up be evil would genuinely make him more interesting.
Already? I'm not big on forcing these talks, Shepard. Come back later.
the moment that summed up Jacob for me was when after doing his mission i went to talk to him, he did the usual ''thanks for helping me'' post loyalty mission speech, and right after that i click ''i wanna know more about you'' and he just ''already? im not big into forcing these kinds of things'' my brother in christ i just helped you reuinte with your father we are going into the colector base in 2 hours
I don't know what Kasumi saw in him.
@@TheDancerMacabre abs i assume
The first time I played Mass Effect I started romancing both Liara and Ash. They both confronted me about it. Virmire made breaking up with Ash way easier.
OMEGALUL
Also Virmire is the best widowmaker Pepega
This is the best comment ever
Let's say her nickname took an all new poetic sense after the nuke
Ha. Haha. Hahaha. HAAAAAA! HAHA HAHAHAHA.
Tali and Garrus. I love the moment in the final mission when Garrus says: "It feels like this fight was always ours to finish." When Shepard, Tali and Garrus are together this feels so right because they have all been there from the moment Tali brought up the evidence that revealed the Reaper threat, till the moment when that threat may be defeated. I wouldn't know of a better trio.
Agreed. Garrus is your brother, and Tali is best girl. Easily my favourite squad makeup, they all feel like good friends.
And on top of that, both of them end up sharing a kiss right before you go to Earth. It's very sweet.
Tali in S tier.
Alright, we're all safe now.
false alarm everybody, move along
If he didn’t there would probably be a crusade
He's right about that witness protection thing.
Tally ho lads
I'm puttin the knife down.
i think liara pretty much becoming ruthless and losing empathy during 2 was an interesting flaw, they didnt need to make her psycotic or anything, they just showed how someone can slowly become disconected from people, and then recovering that connection decently quickly, not overly dramatic but realistic and likable
"Tali goes squarely in the..."
*holding breath*
"Alien Banging tier"
Aah, all is right in the universe.
Damn right us Tali fans are rabid.
Somebody: well I personally prefer liara or Ashley
Us tali romancers: so you have chosen... death!
@@boringsupernova4836 *pulls out a .44 magnum*
Tali and Garrus both deserve a seperate tier
@@Khronik_ that’s one less loose end
@@Khronik_ damn that's not gonna kill their soul, that's gonna erase their existence.
I think my favorite part with Grunt had to have been in the Citadel DLC with the cop. That part just solidifies Grunt as being your son, especially if you have him apologize.
That part Is just great
Grunt: "I AM KROGAN!"
.
Wrex: "I am THE Krogan, junior."
Correct. The Whelp could never compare. Though I do respect him.
@@Bigpep69420 Maybe in a couple centuries.
In my opinion, the best development to Ashley's character is in ME3, if you dated her in 1 and saved her on Virmire, and then moved on to date Tali after that, Ashley's alright with it, because she considers Tali a sister. That one moment scored a lot of points for her from me.
Yeah Tali is the only romance she is "okay" if Shepard trades her for. All the others she gives you a lot of flack.
@@NataliaNeeSama Because she doesn't know them, plus the whole "You only know them because of Cerberus" thing.
ashley gets dogged on too much for being ''racist'' when shes just skeptical at best, and changes her mind instantly, its like saying that miranda is suposed to be mean, yeah its tehcnically part of their characters originally but it goes away instantly
@@aguspuig6615 No, she is racist against aliens, turians especially. But she's also loyal to the Alliance, so she can work with them. Getting over it eventually doesn't mean she isn't at all.
Never understood the hate for Ashley Williams are characters not allowed to learn and grow
I think Javik should go to A just for the dialog he gives if you use both him and Liara in me 3 during the Thessia mission. Just seeing Javik telling Liara the true story of her people's culture is just so satisfying and just how Liara is learning that her people were not perfect and that they in fact only got as far as they did due to the protheans interfering with their evolution always makes me smile and laugh.
Don't get me wrong I like Liara but it was nice for Asari to get called out on.
Ever since I started playing Mass Effect I’ve disliked the Asari. The whole too perfect thing that bricky mentions does a good job of explaining why I dislike them. When I realized that Javik has dialogue in the thessia mission I took him immediately. It was too funny watching Javik just tear asari history apart.
@@filwilliamson9149 It's just the fact that they are the oldest and most advanced race in this cycle, best technology every asari has biotics they are billions of them and Thessia just got steamrolled and curbstomped like ants, Turians managed to retake Palaven, Humans still fighting with everything they have nobody got so fucked
@@astorias5386 the asari were hit with what every republic and empire has fallen to over confidence they thought they could handle the issue themselves but get steamrolled due to under estimating the reapers even the turrian consular if saved from the first 2 game who kept on dismissing the reapers until they showed up he understood alone they stood no chance he was the only consular who out of 3 who listened and helped With what he could (to his credit his entire military was disorganized due to the first reaper attacks but thanks to Garus with his dad were able to recover and counter attack) by giving shepard the primarch he could get the support from their military
Kaidan is WAY more useful in ME3 than Ashley, too. If you like explosions, and your Shepard is a biotic, Kaidan can both set up and prime LOTS of them for you!
Ashley just kinda shoots stuff.
She would be better with a N7 Typhoon if her Marksman skill wasn't bugged. Because it is bugged, Kaidan can hold the Typhoon and be as good as her.
@@NataliaNeeSama probs better because Kaiden is the second tankiest character and you don't have to really worry about Kaiden going down, even on insanity.
"If I didn't put Tali on S tier, I would need to go into witness protection" Yes Brick, yes you would've. Happy to see you are a man of culture as well.
Tali is love. Tali is life.
tali isnt s tier tho
Pedro Brenes tbh I started me with me3 and hated tali but I went back to 2 and 1 and she’s such a good character even if her abilities fall short of others
@@romeokilo4535 youre right, shes TG tier,a special tier only for her and Garrus.
@@romeokilo4535 imagine lying
I didn’t understand the romance mechanic in the first game on my first play through and missed my chance to romance her but I romanced her every other chance I could lol
Garrus is the biggest bro in the game. I love that guy, he was in my squad every single mission and i never switched him out.
His little "back on your feet" speech after failing on Thessia? Absolute gold.
@@SynchronizorVideos I love that, he actually did a paragon interrupt on you haha
@@SimonNissen94 I never thought of it like that, but that's pretty much exactly what it is.
Even without romancing Garrus, that bit was one of the closest points I came to tearing up the first time I played ME3 (probably second only to saying good-bye to Liara when she was medevaced during the run to the beam). Garrus is just THERE for Shep, no matter what, and his support at such a low point was just outstanding from a character and writing standpoint.
Him and tali, always and forever
It's a sin not having him on the team, he's an amazing squad mate that brings a lot to the table. And the comments he makes in game and in cutscenes makes him feel ALIVE, really enjoyable and understandable
I, unfortunately, have to agree on Kasumi. She was one of the most underutilized characters, especially for a squadmate, in the entire series. Her loyalty mission is great, but as a character, she doesn't even get as good of treatment as Zaeed. Plus, "Oh my darling, I'll love you forever. **five minutes later** Oh but dat Jacob doe."
I disagree, but for reasons that aren't always super relevant... I think Kasumi is the hottest in the game for one. Secondly, I think her witty remarks and fun-go-get-em attitude are awesome. And third, I loved her fighting style (Ninja moves), and I took her everywhere with me.
@@randalltempelaar And that's the point, Kasumi's great, we just needed more. If she had the same screen-time as other squadmates she'd probably be A tier.
"Hey, I'm mourning, not dead."
It's really interesting with Kasumi and Zaeed, because while all the other squadmates you go into a dialogue wheel conversation, they both talk openly when you click on them, so you might get repeat lines here and there, but at least they have something to say unlike the non-DLC squadmates who you can exhaust their conversation wheels. And they took what they learnt from Kasumi and Zaeed, and put into ME3, because with ME3 you can talk to your squad in a dialogue wheel and also talk to them w/o it either which is very fun.
@@agroed The main reason why Zaeed and Kasumi are the way they are is because they're both DLC characters and unlike Javik they have little reason to play a bigger role in the story
What I love about Garrus and Tali is that they never abandon you. Wrex has to whip his planet into shape (Or the afterlife into shape), Liara is hunting for the Shadow Broker, and Ash/Kaiden appear for 3 lines of dialogue. But Tali and Garrus? They stick with Shepard til the end. IMO, the three of them have the closest bond of anyone in the trilogy. My only regret is that when I romance one of them, the other doesn't hook up with anyone else. They set Tali up for Reeger in the 2nd game, and then they just did away with that for some reason, and Garrus is just alone from what I remember. It's been a while since I HAVEN'T romanced Garrus, so maybe he does find someone if Shepard and Tali aren't there for him.
I don't think Garrus ends up committed with anyone, but there is a bit in the Citadel DLC where Shepard helps him get a date with one of only two female turians we ever meet
But like you said, Tali and Garrus are around Shepard the most, so it makes the most sense for them to actually end up together, and assume Shepard is with someone else
As a Tali simp that’ll never happen, but I do feel bad for Garrus, he has reach, he deserves someone flexible
They killed off Reegar offscreen in 3, really sucks. Always felt like he and Kirrahe had decent potential to be squadmates in 3
Iirc if you don't romance Tali or Garrus they end up becoming a couple
Well that depends honestly fellow Tali simp here but its not like Garrus doesn't have any admirers, Dr Michelle definitely has a thing, possibly even Liara. Not to mention while Garrus might not be commander Shepard, he was the first person to suspect Saren and help take him down, became a vigilante on Omega forcing literally 3 mercenary groups to work together to take him down, and while not as impressive was part of a turian team that helped prepare for the reaper invasion. He's the best bro male sheps ever had and the best boyfriend any female shps ever going to have.
P.S. If Bioware decides to revive my Shepard in the next game and it turns out Tali moved on to be with Garrus. I would be 100% okay with that.
Jack is an S.
God damn does it break my heart to see her cry but to see her open up and the person she becomes makes me feel so god damn good.
Also Grunt is my boi. When he comes out of that cave i felt so damn proud.
Agreed!
Jack was my first romance in my first playthrough of the trilogy (Liara in 1 then Jack the rest of the trilogy) and honestly I love her romance because she is the embodiment of the way Paragon Shepard changes people. He opens them up and gets them to be more loving, compassionate and vulnerable. He digs underneath the hard exterior Jack puts up and shows her that she’s capable of loving again despite all the trauma she’s been through. I just wish we got more romance content with her in ME3
Facts. legit made me tear up in Mass effect 2 , I love this girl and wish there was more of her
I see that the best squad member, Jenkins, is so good that he is literally above all other ranks.
Ja boi has... Ascended
Above all.. in heaven
Everyone forgets about Wilson, just there mulling about in the background behind the OG Jenkins. :)
We lost the wrong soldier on Eden Prime.
We all know that the actual good ending to the trilogy can only be aquired by saving Jenkins
Mordin is my favorite character easily. When he asks about who you are banging. His singing, he is a clearly positive soul who has seen terrible things.
After replaying ME1 on the PC i gotta say, if you chat with Ashley a lot between missions she has a bit more personality than you might expect. I have no idea why it never makes its way into the actual cutscenes/ mission dialogue. I think the writers really let her down and basically doomed her to getting nuked forever.
Because people write her off instead of actually talking to her.
@@willfanofmanyii3751 Best character development arch , will always put her one tier above Kaidan.
@@matso3856 Facts. As the game progresses, Ashley changes and grows to care about the team.
What development does Kaiden go through? None, lol.
@@willfanofmanyii3751 i talk to her. She still sucks
In ME3 if you don’t tell Mordin about the sabotage and he figures it out on his own… when he yells “I made a mistake” that line hits so hard. Such a simple line but it’s the culmination of him dealing with so much guilt and the voice actor did such a good job of showing that in such a quick simple line
Expanding on your Asari thoughts, I think that being "perfect" was very detrimental to their response to the Reapers. When one is use to being the big guy on the block, and some one shows up kicking your ass, they don't know how to deal with it.
The Mass Effect series has some of the best characters in FICTION, without question.
To the point where I get mildly annoyed because these people are not real.
Yeah it sucks knowing you’ll never be as cool as Garrus or have a friend as cool and loyal as him or be able to find any girls on par with Tali lol
A big fat agree with that. I just finished the original trilogy and I think this is the first time I’ve wholly wanted to be in a fictional franchise
Read more fiction then.
While I personally think ME1 has like a knockout cast of companions I also just dislike statements like yours.
Nobody can really say in all of fiction unless they've read or dabbled in all of fiction, which is impossible.
@@ma1ist Damn, wannabe smartypants on the internet really take issue with hyperbole, huh?
Anyway the best character in all of fiction ever is Elim Garak from DS9. And you CAN quote me on that, for I AM an immortal being and #1 consumer of media.
@@n.l.g.6401
Heh. I enjoyed reading that.
You'll not like me much because I grew up watching Voyager and never got much interested in DS9.
I think Liara does have flaws, namely that she‘s actually pretty dark and fairly cold-blooded. You see this a bit in the third game, but a lot in Lair of the Shadow Broker. And the scary thing about her is that she becomes like that, arguably because of Shepard. Shepard is a corrupting influence on Liara and she becomes, yes a badass, but also a lot colder, because of Shepard.
Unlike say, Miranda or Jack who start out as ruthless (and in Miranda‘s case emotionless) killers but then their arc is to get back to being human. Liara stays dark, or at least comparatively dark.
You just never notice because she also supports everything Shepard ever does. She’s actually totally Shepard‘s minion, but so good at it that it looks like it‘s all her idea. In a lot of ways, she‘s like the soldier Shepard got as a (proverbial) baby and (more or less accidentally) raised to do one thing: fulfill Shepard‘s purpose. And she‘s totally ruthless, too. I bet if Shepard had given her a dog and later told her to kill it, she would totally do it.
Isn‘t that a much better, scarier plot than all the others have?
Yeah, she‘s unrealistically great at everything she does, but she‘s also totally Shepard‘s minion and the only reason you can‘t tell is (1) you‘re Shepard and (2) she‘s so damn good at it.
I‘d say those are some pretty impressive character flaws.
She was a fantastic foil in the original game. In a galaxy full of badasses and horrifying monsters, she was the shy, inexperienced archaeologist who had so much to learn. But then the second game rolled around, and everything about her changed for the worse. The ME2 writers clearly didn’t understand why her original personality and occupation were so important.
@@nicolasleroux5302 isn‘t that kind of the point? The shy, naive Archaeologist got involved in the big galactic struggle and ended up being more than a little fucked up.
We can call her Darth Rosenberg now.
Well and Wrex and Grunt are very violent and careless.
Honestly, even the cutest character, Tali, has a scary side to her. Just remember that scene with the Volus who insulted her.
Or "I have a shotgun."
@@tyrayentali7041 why are you also responding to all comments adding your love interest in everything they aren't included in
@@singularity4518 I'm not sure what you mean.
Wrex is muted and drull in the first game because he has given up on his people, he is a depressed veteran who has essentially condemned his people to extinction because he sees them as unwilling to overcome their flaws. The reason the shift is so drastic in the following games is because Shepard helps him come to terms with certain parts of his character and allows him to regain his compassion for his people.
Completely agree on Mordin's development being one of the best amongst any game.
"There is no Sheppard without Vakarian"
And Garrus, if I'm up there in that bar and you're not. I'll be looking down. I'll always have your back.
Jacob's dad really went to the store to get some milk and never came home smh
If Tali and Garrus aren't in "alien Banging" i'm going full reaper on your house.
Well ok Ararararararagi
We need a butt tier list tho bricks
The new warframe goes straight to S tier
@@krovarus1911 DUMMY T H I C C
Tali, Kaidan, and Miranda would totally be on the top.
@Chaz Hagen Mirandass modified genes could have a talk though...
Miranda god tier
After watching the animated film about James and his squad I would put him in C or even B. The survivors' guilt aspect of him really changed how I felt about him.
I was looking for a comment like this! That’s how I see him, I also think he’s like a character that’s mid-ark and needs Shepard to push him into the next one
I wish I could go back and experience the sheer joyful surprise of getting a Geth squadmate again for the first time.
I never played the original series and went into the Legendary Edition practically blind. Shortly before meeting Legion, I thought about how cool it would be to get a Geth or Batarian Squadmate. And I was right. The Geth are so amazing, I love them, and specifically Legion, so much
Garrus has his own body pillow. I don't think anyone is arguing against Garrus.
Wait You’re joking. I need this in my life
Of course! Refrigerator-Senpai is the best antagonist of Chairem Anime.
Yup tali does aswell, I think liara not sure on that though
You know, you‘re kind of wrong about the Asari. Ok, they‘ seem overpowered at face value, but the Salarians are actually bigger badasses. Why? Because the Asari, like most species, had help from the Protheans, and in their case a lot of help. The Salarians didn‘t, and they still discovered the Citadel almost simultaneously with the Asari. All. On Their own. Unlike pretty much all the other major species, including humans.
So the Salarians are actually the secret super-power. Plus, Asari may be good at war if they choose to do it, but relatively few of them do.
Well, the Turians, Krogan, and Vorcha are all obvious threats. You never see Salarians coming.
Nah, Krogan.
The Reapers considered them to be the cycle's crown jewel, before determining there weren't enough left to squeeze enough Fanta out of.
And that's AFTER they lost a thousand or so years of progress to nuclear holocaust, and had to contend with evolving on a murder hell world, with predators capable of beating Reapers.
Don't forget that they had scientists sufficient to invent nuclear weapons on their own.
The Krogan are kinda like the anti-Asari. They had every possible impediment thrown at them, and still made it, and did better than most of the others.
Well, I mean, Vorcha are really the anti-Asari. They had every possible obstacle thrown at them, and are barely acknowledged as people, have accomplished literally nothing, and are treated as second banana to Batarians. Imagine being less liked than Batarians, a species that literally exists to be hated by everyone as much as possible.
Definitely the anti-Asari, Vorcha.
Also the Salarians beat both the Rachni and the Krogans, while the Asari where helpless against both.
@@Kai-tn4yx Didn't the Salarians get smacked by Rachni, uplifted Krogans to let them deal with the Rachni and then backstabbed the Krogans with the technology they installed on Tuchanka during the uplift?
@@kilik5713 A dick move, sure, but it *worked*. Doesn't make them weaker.
The initial Virmire comment at the beginning of the video made me nervous about Kaidan's chances.
Kaidan landing in B Tier(B- or C+) was surprisingly nice to see. I personally find him adorable, but I understand the criticism he gets. All the placings and comments felt spot-on for the roster of squad mates!
Other squadmates: Explain why he has put them all in their respective places and is very careful and verbal about it.
*Garrus:* Yeah. Garrus is S tier.
Garrus is just the best character
My squad was me, Garrus, and Liara/grunt for all three games.
Garrus is irreplaceable
@@adenhickman5780 I'd say Mordin's the best character story-wise. But factoring in gameplay...yeah, Garrus is BY FAR the best squad-mate. I took Garrus with me everywhere, even when playing as Infiltrator and thus not technically needing him.
Legion was my favorite character. Not only because he was sleek and a combat bad ass but his sense of humor and his access to knowledge from decades into the past. Going after the Heretics and his guidance through the base and how the Geth think was amazing.
My favourite character was Javik. You were right describing him as a dick. I loved that. He accompanied me on every mision, because his snarky comments made me laugh every time.
Easily one of the best and overlooked characters, the dude literally was born and grew during a war and had to kill his own squad one by one.
Wreav: Oh yeah? And how many Protheans are left standing now?
Javik: Enough to kill you.
(One of the exchanges on the Salarian homeworld)
With how little time you spend with Javik, I would still put him in A/S
@Ralis Sedarys he's a great subversion of expectations. Like even Liara was expecting him to be this utopian sophisticated being but then nope. Absolute dick and I love it.
Dang you must also apologize to your girlfriend every time she sleeps with another person.
I agree that Kasumi was extremely underutilized, but i still absolutely love her to death. I love her personality, i love her look, and i love her abilities in combat. My extreme disappointment at the lack of a romance with her is immeasurable.
The disRESPECT to Miranda hurts my SOUL! She’s one of the deepest characters imo, getting over her self doubt and inadequacies because of Shepard and she’s fanatically pro Cerberus until she’s shown the error of her ways over time and through her relationship with her sister and Shepard, and her dedication towards like clawing a family into her life no matter what is so nice to me. Idk I just love her
The half baked 3 romance/usage might be a reason why. She’s far more standout in 2
(Tosses Miranda to a Varren) Fuck her. Even when witnessing Jack's ordeal and everything she still tries to defend Cerberus. If I could have gotten her killed in the suicide mission - I'd always have it happen.
@@SoulKiller7Eternal well she gets around to changing her mind
Agreed. Miranda is excellent.
I love miranda. Best companion imo.
Thane's passing was the only time I've ever truly cried in a game. I've come close many times, teared up a bit, but Thane was the one that truly made me cry.
Shoot Mordin in the back. I dare you.
I'd disagree with Ashley's placement but I more or less agree with the rest
True, I to believe ashley should've been either B or C tier, because she has a good backstory in me1 and the romance with maleshep as well great. To me she should've be either B or C.
The only thing that pulls her down for me is her strange character shift in ME3 where she is unreasonably antagonistic. But most things disappointed me in 3.
@@SantosAl Yea that's fair, I think she get's better latter on in the game but her being weirly super untrusting up until the citadel attack was really annoying
Ash absolutely loathes Cerberus, and that antagonism is from lingering distrust over Shepard working with Cerberus, plus concern that (s)he's being controlled by them. The citadel attack - and you not killing her or the Council - is absolutely what finally convinces her that Shepard isn't with Cerberus in any way, shape, or form.
I see Bricky and Mass Effect together I hit that damn like button first and then watch. I am 100% sure you gonna make it awesome.
PS Garrus and Wrex best squadmates in my book.
Me too! I was so mad that I couldn’t put Wrex on my team on 2 and 3. And no krogans in general for the 3rd game. But they were absolutely hilarious together. 🤣
Dude, what the hell is this coincidence. I started replaying the saga two weeks ago and both Bricky and Quiet Shallow made videos on Mass Effect.
Great, isn't it?!
Same lol
Same dude
I don't even play Mass Effect and I think the blue chick with the tentacle hair is alien banging tier
Which one?
They're semi-flexible, cartilage-based scalp crests that grow into shape. And they don't "flop around"
Yes! Thanks Dhshs Dhshssj. I gotta go tell Vega I was right
Asari are totally mass Effect elves, but I am unable to not love Liara
8:26 one of my favorite moments in ME3 (And spoilers)
Is the dialogue you can get with Mordin If you hide the fact that the Salarian Ambassador wanted to sabotage the cure. (You don't have to go through with the sabotage to get this dialogue just not mention it in the car on the way there) Mordin asks about it you try to go the dialogue route of "But isn't this what you wanted?" He YELLS "I MADE A MISTAKE"....and i think that is one of the greatest CAPS you can get to his arc. Finally admitting, not hiding what he did under logic and reasoning but just saying that, in the end what he did was WRONG. You then send him off to save the Krogan in one of the most heart breaking scenes in gaming.
"It makes it seem like it's someone's impression of a mexican culture type thing"
As a spaniard I can clarify that you're 100% correct. He's not authentic and he speaks spanish wrong most of the time. I would say the anime movie helps James a lil' bit, but that's IF you've watched the movie, and regardless he's still one of the lesser squadmates in all of Mass Effect.
The voice actor is Freddie Prinze Jr, who's Puerto Rican descent, not Mexican or Spanish. I'm far from an expert on any Hispanic culture, so I'm not going to say his portrayal was spot-on. That said, I can't say what cultural aspects will change in the next 165 years until the game takes place, so I'll cut him a little slack.
@@JaronActual I don't think the future is gonna make hispanic citizens speak spanish wrong... There's no defending ignorance on this, they plainly and simply wrote him wrong. And if they chose him because he's of Puerto Rican descent, that's even worse. They got a guy because of his ancestry rather than his ability to speak spanish or actually be a native speaker.
Should have called the bottom tier “Human Tier”
"Human Banging" tier
Writing interesting humans really did seem to be a struggle for Bioware.
I liked Miranda because of her vulnerability, beneath the surface - but I agree that she doesn't change much AT ALL..
I liked Jack for her deeper vulnerability, and the fact that you can actually make her torn soul whole again. Almost want to say I don't like her tough facade she puts on, even though I understand her completely, but she really does make it hard to cooperate with her, in the beginning.
I wanted to like Kaidan, because he's such a trustworthy, loyal ally. But so boring, like talking to a wall in ME1, whereas Ash atleast gave a reason to hate her.
I liked the conflict Ashley gave, for being such a xenophobe - but I didn't enjoy her character. And her interests - military history, family and poetry..? Come on.
Fuck Jacob, especially when learning of his "loyalty" in ME3.
Vega could have been much more interesting
For real though
I'm not sure i follow this train of thought tbh. Every human is bad? Shep, joker, anderson and TIM are all s tier, TIM being the best villian
Jack has probably the second-best character arc out of all your squadmates. She's a bit annoying in 2, but that quickly fades. I think she is solidly in the A-tier.
My list would be
S: Garrus, Tali, Mordin, Legion, Javik
A: Edi, Wrex, Thane
B: Jack, Miranda, Grunt, Samara, Kasumi, James
C: Kaidan, Zaeed
D: Ashley
E: Jacob
Where would Liara be
@@galaxy-wg1lf She goes in her own Blueberry Tier above all others
Why are legion and Jarvik so high?
@@J1210mk2 Because they are cool and their conversations are by far some of the most interesting in the series
10:55 Well clearly you don’t know many mass effect fans, the stats for who chose to save Ashley or Kaiden were overwhelmingly in favor of Ashley
Exactly
I stopped watching this list after this pick lmao first Wrex only in A tier and then Ashley in kill asap tier were garbage takes on the characters. If you keep Ashley around she is literally as ride or die to Shepard as Garrus is. It just sucks her build is soldier type and the ai isn't sufficient enough for that build to work as combat companion.
@@YungFrenchToasty it's like yeah, Ashley's personality is annoying in ME1, but at least she HAS a personality. Kaiden will always get nuked.
I thought that was weird too. The only time I keep Kaiden alive is if I plan to romance him (which isn't very often). Ashley is just superior in every way.
Kaidan is by far one of my favourite squadmates, I don’t know why he gets so much hate.
I don’t dislike Ashley, it just makes no sense for a good guy Shepard to save a space racist over a comrade he’s worked with for a lot longer.
"I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees."
I was just waiting for him to put EDI in "Virmire" tier and then say "that was a joke."
Thane not in S only cause he lacks screen time? I can live with that.
Wrex, Tali and Garrus are literally the best and you can't change my mind
I doubt anyone has to my friend ;)
don't forget mordin
mordin best scientist
best culture man
Grunt is up there imo
Thane krios was pretty cool as well
Grunt over Wrex. Keep Up Shepherd.
I’m actually surprised that you put Ashley below Kaiden. It sounded like you never played her in ME2-3, because she almost immediately changes her tune about xenophobia in ME1 and doesn’t really ever go back. The character arc is definitely there, even if she isn’t the most interesting by a long shot.
Ashley is great - but she's also frustrating as hell. Winning her trust for the entire ME2 and half of ME3 can be a chore - though I totally understand Ashley's reasons there.
I'm playing ME1 now - and Ashley is one of the best squadmates for me. She is universal and tanky - that's all I need to keep enemies far enough to snipe them. Of course I'll romance her and try to be faithful to her during ME2.
Ashley: put in dead if possible
Now she’s not my favourite but she doesn’t belong there and to clarify she is not a space racist. She actively calls out Cerberus for being extreme and even describes Tali as a sister if you cheat on Ashley with Tali. And her family history makes for a large part of her personality and is more complex that it seems initially. I’m not asking you to love her, just to reconsider moving her up a little.
100% agree. To dismiss Ash as a bland space racist tells me that a player has not explored the character at all. You find out later that she was pretty much spot on about Cerbereus and the council. Not to mention that Liara is a rehash of Liliana from Dragon Age but Ash turns out to be far beyond the stereotypical character evolution arc.
I agree with both of you. To add, she's no more racist than every other race in the game. Mordin is probably more racist considering what he did to the Krogans.
Damn it youtube algorithm... Now I have to play Mass Effect Trilogy again...
For the 1000 hour goal we go
Same
Mortal Kombat *THICCNESS* tier list next please bricc
I would put Wrex on S Tier because, man that guy is nuts.
My favourite. Him and Garrus are such bros.
27:00 I find it interesting how no one on the ship seems to 'hook up' until the 3rd game and even then it's just Joker and Edi and Garrus and Tali. I also think that it's one of the other 'benefits' to romancing Liara if your NOT going to romance garrus or Tali, because even then some of your best bros end up happy together, and that's just great.
Funny enough, kept ashley alive through the whole franchise. And by the end of 3, I turned her from being a xenophobe into someone who actually likes aliens......yep, that's a thing you can do with her arc. Yeah the alien/racist remarks are terrible, but definitely shows her evolution of the character from xenophobe to respectable of alien races.
Yeah I did the same!
@@georgyporgy777 Exactly? Would people bring russians to an american military installation/ship or vice versa during the cold war? Besides, each alien in the first game comes from a somewhat questionable background... Quarians created the Geth, and have been banished from the Citadel, Turians and Humans had a bitter war between them and well... Krogans...
@@georgyporgy777 yes it is. thats the argument that was used to round up Americans who looked remotely Asian and put them in camps steal thier homes and businesses.
she was extramly racist and said many awful prejudice things.
@@AndE667 we do have people from all backgrounds in our miltary
I think Ashley gets wayyyy too much hate if you actually talk to her about her family history then you see why she is cautious about aliens and you learn from other crew members during and after the first game that the alliance, in general, didn't really like the alien characters being on the ship so Ashley's attitude when taken in context, makes sense. Also, Ashley goes from being cautious about aliens to loving and trusting them she honestly has one of the best character arcs in the game people just don't give her a chance to develop and would rather take boring ass Kaiden with them.
It does make sense that Asari are so "OP" being that they live to 1000, the only other species that does so is the Krogan who were kneecapped by the Salarians, twice, and their own evolution. Plus the Asari have the Prothean beacon. So it makes sense why they're the most advanced race, but also having them all be sexy blue girls that can mate with everyone and everyone is attracted to. I mean, come on, how lucky can you get? That being said, you can't take Liara out of S-tier out of spite lol. She definitely deserves to be there. Garrus, Liara, and Tali are really in their own category, but Mordin breaks into it by having the best character arc and being so likeable and hilarious from start to finish.
I’m pretty sure the Asari actually manipulate people into finding them attractive because there’s this group of people I think it was a Turian Salarian and Human all of which say asari look like their race but blue
Which could be why every race finds them attractive
@@thisstatementisfalsenothin5312 Yeah, I've found the Asari "succubus theory" recently and it's super interesting. Pretty much just based on that one conversation, but a cool thought experiment nonetheless.
@@agroed which make sense, if you remember about morith that she is a definition of a succubus.
@@vicentserrano9268 Very true. She also calls herself the next evolution of asari.
@@agroed which is really terrified if you think about it.😰
-replaying mass effect: Ok, let's not bang Liara this time
*Bang Liara
Me: WHY I'M SO WEAK??
If tali wasnt best girl, liara would be an easy next choice. Once the remastered games come out im still gonna bang tali for the first time but second playthrough its liaras time
ME OMG
Options dude. Whose romancing ash or kaiden more than once?
@@212mochaman me like every fucking time except I usually kill Kaiden because I find him fucking boring.
@@Arklay_98 I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you hate liara. Or that you hate that bioware practically forces her to be the dated character
I mostly agree with you, but I would have put Legion on S Tier. He's simply amazing, I love him since he showed up in ME 2 for the first time. Tali and Garrus of course had to be on S tier, they are with Legion my 3 favorite characters (I like Legion a bit more though), and an honorific mention to the great salarian scientist Mordin Solus. And I would have put Liara on B or even C. Kill me if you want to, but I've never seen anything interesting about her. Anyway I liked your List.
Morinth is so wasted potential and totally forgettable that you didn't even putted her in the list
Well you only get her as a squad mate if you kill Samara
@@ykalon yes, and she's only a character for one mission
@@3_14pie Don't romance her for more i believe
Wrex not being romancable is what keeps mass effect from being a perfect series for me
I didn't mind Jacob. Its not that he's uninteresting, he's just the only normal person.
My only regret with dating Tali is that bro-man Garrus doesn't get to hook up with her...
And that's why you hook up with Liara
@@singularity4518 wrong
I'd argue Liara was only a Marry Sue in the first game, and even then she's not due to her neurotic personality and inability to understand jokes half the time, then add on the personality of the 2nd game where she starts to become more violent and threatening, and you have a character whose personality is not that of a Marry Sue, even with her powers as they are.
Her second game's personality is desperate attempt at avoiding Mary Sue - desperate because it is in conflict with whom she was. Its like if she became totally someone else over those 2 years with very little Liara left in her.
You know, I've really come around on James. I think he's what Bioware wanted Jacob to be in ME2. He's a fun character that takes on a sort of apprentice role to Shepard.
I so wish Zaeed and Kasumi were properly integrated into the game. They both have interesting personalities but, because they're DLC, don't feel fully integrated.
If Tali was anything less than Alien Banging, I’d have rage quit the video, she’s so awkwardly adorable and such a sweetheart that it’s impossible not to fall in love with her on any level!
"She didn't really change much, she just... horney"
Out of context Bricky
I am so happy to see someone else who chooses Kaiden. We are few and far between.
Me when Mordin Dies in ME3: Tearing up
2 hours later
Me when Thane Dies in ME3: WHY WHY WHY do you do this to me you BASTARDS
The deal is though...he is terminally ill *with it affecting his abilities now* and STILL stopped Kai Lang. If he was at full strength? Kai Lang never woulda saw him coming. It would've been over in a second.
My favorite Mordin quote is the "Lots of ways to help people..." one when his doctor apprentice is all shocked :D
When garrus talks about you and him storming heaven and taking the bar dude I cried so fucking hard
Wrex will always be ma boi!
It's clear that he is getting old, and even if he has been around since long before humans even knew aliens existed, he doesn't distrust anyone who hasn't given him a reason to, and even if he has strong convictions and opinions, he isn't affraid to accept outside help when he can...
Wrex went from a no goal bounty hunter who just wanted that glorious selfish end in the first game, to the greatest hope of a united Krogan in the second game, to the single greatest hope for a future for not only his race, but also for a peaceful coexistance with the rest of the galaxy, regardless of past history.
As a character, he is probably the one who has changed the most throughout the trilogy, while also having a positive impact on the world around him along the way. He went from a loner who only trusted himself, to someone who trusts you with the life and future of not only him, but his species as a whole...
Actually gonna defend James vega. Didn't play 3 until legendary edition and was surprised how much I liked the dude. Found it really funny how you basically constantly put him in his place when he tries to be cool. Really liked the dynamic him and Cortez have (it's nice to see a gay character be bros with a straight character and have it not be weird. Also he has the most ridiculous dance animation at the party and I appreciate that.
I like the mentor dynamic between him and Shepherd. Most players didn't notice this
Ashley actually has a rather compelling arc for me, or at least an interesting one. There's a decent chunk of dialogue in ME3 especially which contradicts her views from ME1 when addressing her xenophobia. (calling Tali her little sister is a big example) The only difficulty in her character for any blind player is not knowing that there will ever be an arc. From the get go, it's pretty obvious that Kaiden reflects Paragon and Ashley Renegade, and their personalities stem from those traits, so of course most people are going to prefer the non-space racist. In the hindsight though, her character makes WAY more sense than Kaiden when it comes to the whole questioning of loyalties plot in ME3 and even the shock reveal of Shep surviving(kinda) in ME2. She has always been a sceptic, suspicious and contrarian, which justifies her questioning Shepard WAY more than Kaiden, and feels all the more rewarding when you convince her she's wrong, especially if you get her to warm up to the other species too. Or maybe I am a sucker for the trope where a character with maladaptive beliefs has a revelation and becomes better from it, like a small psuedo-redemption. Not saying Ash is amazing, but it is something I ponder a lot when playing ME. She caps out at B tier, definitely.
Jacob is a lost cause though, I have no defence for how dogshit they wrote his character. They fucked up hard. A miniature Heart of Darkness loyalty mission which could have had him completely absent and barely change anything is not enough to save this cluster fuck of a character.
Ash says early on in ME1 that she doesn't think humans are superior to other alien species. She's the most misunderstood character in Mass Effect I think simply because people don't explore her dialogue enough or kill her off in the first game.
@@whasian1487 I distinctly remember the dialogue where she mentions how if it came down to it, she would leave an alien to die to save a human, ala you don't have to worry about the bear if you're not the slowest runner style. Often times, that situation, and by extension her words, are misconstrued as leaving someone to die is equal to killing them. Understandably so, but in a trolley problem dilemma, one often doesn't view the act of choice to be one made of malice. At least, from the perspective of one who rationally values a life.
Advocating for the argument, she is not taking any joy from leaving anyone to die. She's a straightforward soldier archetype, it goes against the fibre of her creed. Any death should be for a cause, whether self, country, or in this case species, and has purpose worth the fight. She does not dislike aliens, she just personally values her own kind more as she literally works for them and their progress in the galaxy where humans are viewed with great scrutiny.
That being ignored, instead warped into a character who is only racist for having a, rather nuanced tbh, outlook on their role in the setting is somewhat of an insult to the writers. She's not perfect, god no I wish she would shut up sometimes, but definitely not a xenophobe.
I just found her constant questioning of shepards working with cerberus really fuckin annoyin, especially since she was more of a space racist than him anyway. Gonna spare kaiden next time and see if hes any better. Also her abilities are pretty mid which doesnt help her case lol
@@whasian1487i got that dialogue, her bein a bit space racist isnt the issue its that she really has no other personality traits which is a shame
@@kman1893 Well you got me on the abilities, they truly are not great. (Unless you have the Marksman ability patched, in which case Ashley is extremely OP and crazy useful on Insanity difficulties)
Other than that though, in comparison to Kaidan, her character just always felt more concrete and progressive. She evolves from being a solider with a chip on her shoulder, to a veteran who understands the values of alliances and an appreciation for the galaxy's political nuances. By ME3, she has overcome the military prejudice against the Williams name and has gotten promoted after some covert ops work, which adds a good portion of depth Unfortunately you miss out on most of this unless you take her with you on missions like Tuchunka's bomb.
She really does have more personality, but you really have to focus on her to get it. She doesn't wear her tropes on her sleeves like Wrex or Liara does, and that has led to her character detriment.
Also I hope this isn't going to be so spoilery for you, but there really isn't that much of a difference between Ashley and Kaiden post ME1, at least in the big picture. Sure, their stories and lore are separate, but the whole trust on Shep and progression into an equal is basically same story. Personally, I think Ashley comes out on top by being a character who you have learn how to trust others be tested and overcome it (or get gunned down for their stubborness) as a great climax for their arc. Kaiden is of a soldier who was loyal to you questioning that loyalty (regardless of initial perspective) and then either mending a relationship which was never really broken or having them die for following orders. Kaiden annoyed me way more, but that's just me.