OP
OP
I'm a bit surprised by ME3 low votes count. I mean, I expect it in third, but with a bigger share of votes.
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Let's settle this once and for all: Which one is the best Mass Effect game?
- Thread starter SofNascimento
- Start date
I still personally love 1: the atmosphere, setting up the whole new sci-fi universe, the music, how amazing the facial graphics were for the time (they still hold up decently IMO), the intimidating threat of the Reapers, exploring planets with the Mako.
...But I've definitely come to appreciate ME2 more over time, especially with all the DLC. It's just such a fantastic package of a game, so much to do, so many fantastic fleshed out characters, the gameplay is actually a solid cover shooter not just "OK for an RPG" (I think ME1 is fine, but definitely simple), and I love how almost every mission introduces something new (avoiding burning sunlight, moving platforms, spy/heist, etc.)
Mass Effect 3 I still think botched the ending of the series very badly, but overall it's still a really good game. The gameplay is even tighter than ME2 and the missions that wrap up storyline over all 3 games (geth/quarians, genophage, etc) all have fantastic conclusions.
Plus it was the first online multiplayer mode I had played in years, it was a great little horde mode-style thing.
I also appreciate the OP for not even including Andromeda on the poll. Decent action and attractive environments is the only thing that game has going for it, everything else was trash. Terrible repetitive open world missions repeated on every planet, dull story missions, terrible script, boring enemies, facial animations that haven't improved since ME1 (DA:I was fine, don't know how they screwed that up so badly), the Asari all having the same face model, yet another lazy "ancient alien race leaving behind advanced technology that saves the say", and last but kot least it killed off the series for who knows how long.
...But I've definitely come to appreciate ME2 more over time, especially with all the DLC. It's just such a fantastic package of a game, so much to do, so many fantastic fleshed out characters, the gameplay is actually a solid cover shooter not just "OK for an RPG" (I think ME1 is fine, but definitely simple), and I love how almost every mission introduces something new (avoiding burning sunlight, moving platforms, spy/heist, etc.)
Mass Effect 3 I still think botched the ending of the series very badly, but overall it's still a really good game. The gameplay is even tighter than ME2 and the missions that wrap up storyline over all 3 games (geth/quarians, genophage, etc) all have fantastic conclusions.
Plus it was the first online multiplayer mode I had played in years, it was a great little horde mode-style thing.
I also appreciate the OP for not even including Andromeda on the poll. Decent action and attractive environments is the only thing that game has going for it, everything else was trash. Terrible repetitive open world missions repeated on every planet, dull story missions, terrible script, boring enemies, facial animations that haven't improved since ME1 (DA:I was fine, don't know how they screwed that up so badly), the Asari all having the same face model, yet another lazy "ancient alien race leaving behind advanced technology that saves the say", and last but kot least it killed off the series for who knows how long.
It's 2>1>3 for me. I just love the gameplay of 2 and its colorful cast of characters, and some of its DLC are bangers. 1 I love due to its world building and exploration, and WREX. 3 is the weakest of the trilogy, but I still like it due to its gameplay, its DLC (which is really good) and its multiplayer, which I sank literally hundreds of hours into. Good times.
Hate for the ending overshadowed its other merits in the internet's collective memory, unfortunately.
Mass Effect 2 is the game that made me realise how much I value characters over plot. I can barely remember the main storyline of 2 but I loved the loyalty missions with your crew and the relationships you formed in the course of the game.
They're all excellent. But if I was forced to pick...
Mass Effect is my personal favorite of the trilogy in that it introduced me to the universe for the first time. The various aliens, cultures, tech, world building and memorable characters...
Mass Effect 2 is the "best" game of the series in terms of character moments, narrative, subplots, locations, etc.
Mass Effect 3 is the top in terms of mechanics but also had a lot of great moments. I wasn't a fan of the ending, but it didn't ruin the trilogy or even the game for me. 95% of ME3 was fantastic.
So overall ME1>2>3.
Mass Effect is my personal favorite of the trilogy in that it introduced me to the universe for the first time. The various aliens, cultures, tech, world building and memorable characters...
Mass Effect 2 is the "best" game of the series in terms of character moments, narrative, subplots, locations, etc.
Mass Effect 3 is the top in terms of mechanics but also had a lot of great moments. I wasn't a fan of the ending, but it didn't ruin the trilogy or even the game for me. 95% of ME3 was fantastic.
So overall ME1>2>3.
OP
OP
I wonder if it was just just a poll where you could pick the Mass Effect you like how the results would be. I guess most people that like Mass Effect like all three games, even if not equally.
ME3 is one of the rare games that I can infinitely replay. Even if the story ultimately failed to deliver, the gameplay is just so fantastic and addictive. It's the perfect marriage between RPG and third person shooter, where earlier entries in the franchise leaned too hard into either RPG (ME1) or third person shooter (ME2) direction. ME1 in particular is a great example of how an interesting universe can be wasted by making it an absolute slog to explore. ME2 on the other hand narrowed the scope too much, although I do think the final (Suicide) mission is probably the best moment in the franchise.
Man, I always feel like I'm taking crazy pills when i see all of these people loving ME2. I just don't get it and I never will.
This except the overall narrative of 1 is better than 2 and 3. Nothing ever topped the introduction of Sovereign and how fucking terrifying it portrayed the Reapers.
Yeah I can definitely agree with that. I guess by narrative I mostly meant the character missions and subplots. Lots of great stuff in ME2.
2>1>3
1 and 2 are really close for me, but on reflection some of the first game's RPG mechanics annoyed me enough that the second game takes it.
1 and 2 are really close for me, but on reflection some of the first game's RPG mechanics annoyed me enough that the second game takes it.
I'd go with ME2. I know that some people dislike the shift away from both the ME1 gameplay system and that the plot doesn't tie in as cleanly with the overarching story, but it still gets my pick. The way the game plays is leaps and bounds ahead of ME1, and I thought that the characters were well portrayed and fleshed out. By the end I genuinely got attached to all of them and wanted to make sure no one kicked the bucket.
ME1 has the best quest design, worldbuilding, and visual aesthetic, but suffers from a heap of bad jank. The inventory and loot systems are particularly bad. Not only are they poorly designed, but they didn't even need to be in a game like Mass Effect. It felt like they were only included because RPGs traditionally have them.
ME2 improved the combat, character customisation, and removed a lot of the bloated systems. The quality of the quest design took a big hit, as most quests were reduced to being shooting galleries. I loved aspects of its worldbuilding, such as expanding upon the genophage and showing the darker side of the Citadel. I hated the way it handled the geth though, as it didn't fit with how they were characterised in ME1. In isolation I love the episodic design of the narrative and the breadth of choice provided, but in the context of the trilogy they're bad. Most of the problems with ME3's writing and handling of choice can be traced to ME2. So ME2 is a weird one for me: I love it in isolation despite some misgivings, but it suffers from a lot of issues when looked at in the greater context of the series.
ME3 continued to improve the combat and character customisation. Its Normandy and Citadel were the best versions of those hubs and the focus on companion banter actually made it feel like the characters were part of a team (in previous games it felt like all of the companions existed within a vacuum). However, the quality of the writing and worldbuilding plummeted. A lot has been said about the ending and, yeah, it's horrible, but the writing is sloppy in so many regards. Some examples: Wrex felt like a completely different character, the geth fighter squadrons mission made the geth-quarian conflict completely incoherent, and anything involving Cerberus was rubbish.
Ultimately I'd go with ME1. Despite its numerous flaws it does the stuff that I care about better than the other two.
Edit: Forgot to mention how ME3 handled Ashley. That was straight up dross.
ME2 improved the combat, character customisation, and removed a lot of the bloated systems. The quality of the quest design took a big hit, as most quests were reduced to being shooting galleries. I loved aspects of its worldbuilding, such as expanding upon the genophage and showing the darker side of the Citadel. I hated the way it handled the geth though, as it didn't fit with how they were characterised in ME1. In isolation I love the episodic design of the narrative and the breadth of choice provided, but in the context of the trilogy they're bad. Most of the problems with ME3's writing and handling of choice can be traced to ME2. So ME2 is a weird one for me: I love it in isolation despite some misgivings, but it suffers from a lot of issues when looked at in the greater context of the series.
ME3 continued to improve the combat and character customisation. Its Normandy and Citadel were the best versions of those hubs and the focus on companion banter actually made it feel like the characters were part of a team (in previous games it felt like all of the companions existed within a vacuum). However, the quality of the writing and worldbuilding plummeted. A lot has been said about the ending and, yeah, it's horrible, but the writing is sloppy in so many regards. Some examples: Wrex felt like a completely different character, the geth fighter squadrons mission made the geth-quarian conflict completely incoherent, and anything involving Cerberus was rubbish.
Ultimately I'd go with ME1. Despite its numerous flaws it does the stuff that I care about better than the other two.
Edit: Forgot to mention how ME3 handled Ashley. That was straight up dross.
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ME1 for me. ME2 was so busy making its own amazing story that it forgot to touch the main arc (incoming reaper invasion) and caused ME3 to have to quickly amass what should have happened in 2 and try and bring it to a close causing an ending which was inevitably lackluster. They are all amazing games and you'd be silly to skip any of them.
All these Mass Effect threads are making me want to start playing through them again. Starting with the best one. Mass Effect 1.
I'm still sad we never got X enhancements for the trilogy. Maybe once BC starts up again on Series X.
I'm still sad we never got X enhancements for the trilogy. Maybe once BC starts up again on Series X.
For me, just because of the time and what it did. I have to give it to 1. The narrative, story, universe phenomenal. 2 is it's equal or better in most other ways, especially in terms of expostion and relationships with your crew. I really enjoyed it and in a complete vacuum 2 is superior. But 1 had that
je ne sais quoi at the time that edges it out in my memory.
je ne sais quoi at the time that edges it out in my memory.
Argh, the answer for me is ME1 for the story and atmosphere, and ME2 for the gameplay and loyalty missions. There is nothing ME3 does better or as good for me. The side missions are shit (and not I didn't count DLC for ME2, so the Citadel DLC doesn't count for ME3), the main story is shit, and the ending is whatever.
Mass effect is my favorite trilogy of all time, i put alot of thought into this over the years. For a long time, one was my pick, it was also my favorite game of all time. However, as time went on and after mutliple replays, i can safely say my favorite game in the trilogy is 2. 2 lacks some of the cool atmosphere i like in one, but it makes up for it with amazing characters and writing. Three i think is a solid conclusion despite everything, however it does fee rushed. The dialogue feels like it takes the biggest hit in this rush, with way more limited options when compared to one and two. But three has amazing music, and fantastic character moments.
Title say it all.
Mass Effect 1 is often praised by its narrative, story and sense of exploration in a vast galaxy. It introduced us to the ME universe in a grand way.
Mass Effect 2 changed the tone and some of the focus on the first game, but improved it in every other aspect, especially the narrative that reached its apex and the combat.
Mass Effect 3 tried to keep the momentum of ME2, improved the combat further in some ways but was a step back in others. The narrative also suffered and we always have to talk about the ending. But it had some of the best moments of the trilogy.
There is nothing really to talk about. You've played them, you know them, and you probably have a favorite.
Time to choose!
Andromeda is my favourite and I'm not trolling.
It's a tough call but I have to give the final nod to Mass Effect 2.
I absolutely loved that the first Mass Effect tended more towards the RPG side so far as gear, weapons, upgrades, and the like were concerned. It had a darker tone to all of it.
Mass Effect 2 started the push towards more action. At the time I was probably more upset about it than now given how ME3 went even harder into that realm. Now though, ME2 feels like a compromised balance between the action of 3 and the more RPG stylings of 1. Mass Effect 2 would've been perfect if it kept in a lot of the stats and juggling of weapons/gear that I remember (fondly) from ME1.
I also don't really care much for the resource gathering mechanic in ME2. It's just so tedious. But compared to the first game with its focus solely on the Mako, it does feel like a bit of an improvement. Everything about ME2 was just a bit more refined in the long run.
Mass Effect 3 had a great multiplayer. There were some decent elements in 3 but it was far and away a different game than where the franchise started. Even ignoring the A/B/C (and eventually D) ending, it just lacked so much of the RPG elements I loved in the first game and somewhat in the second.
Andromeda was OK. Multiplayer was pretty good in that as well since it was basically ME3's multiplayer.
I absolutely loved that the first Mass Effect tended more towards the RPG side so far as gear, weapons, upgrades, and the like were concerned. It had a darker tone to all of it.
Mass Effect 2 started the push towards more action. At the time I was probably more upset about it than now given how ME3 went even harder into that realm. Now though, ME2 feels like a compromised balance between the action of 3 and the more RPG stylings of 1. Mass Effect 2 would've been perfect if it kept in a lot of the stats and juggling of weapons/gear that I remember (fondly) from ME1.
I also don't really care much for the resource gathering mechanic in ME2. It's just so tedious. But compared to the first game with its focus solely on the Mako, it does feel like a bit of an improvement. Everything about ME2 was just a bit more refined in the long run.
Mass Effect 3 had a great multiplayer. There were some decent elements in 3 but it was far and away a different game than where the franchise started. Even ignoring the A/B/C (and eventually D) ending, it just lacked so much of the RPG elements I loved in the first game and somewhat in the second.
Andromeda was OK. Multiplayer was pretty good in that as well since it was basically ME3's multiplayer.
First one is a janky mess, especially with the ghouls (can't remember their name, not played it in like a decade). ME2 was fantastic, I like ME3 a lot if soured by the ending.
ME1. The scale and scope of the universe and the cold loneliness of the atmosphere really drove home the feeling of being in space. That right there is what hooked me, and ME2/3 went in a decidedly different direction. Good in their own ways, but just didn't quite hit the mark for me the way 1 did. It certainly has its problems and I wouldn't dare argue that it's the better game, but it's my favorite.
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The game doesn't consist solely of its ending, and the fun parts of ME2 completely overshadow the dumb parts.
"The fun parts" of Mass Effect 2 are by and large completely disconnected from the overarching plot of Mass Effect that the series is supposed to be about.
If it weren't for like four of the sidequests you could cut ME2 out entirely of the series to no discernible effect. Mass Effect 3 starts with Shepard pissing about waiting for the Reapers to show up like they ended the first game.
After Mass Effect 3 I think it's best to ignore the "overarching plot" and enjoy the other two games on their own merits. In this light ME2 is much better than both ME1 and ME3.
Mass Effect was supposed to be a galactic space opera about uniting the galaxy to fight an overwhelming threat. Just because the third game shit the bed doesn't excuse the second game for having literally nothing to do with anything important.
Yes Mass Effect 2 on its own merits has excellent characters with exciting storylines but to get there they threw everything else away.
I thought the consensus has always been that 2 is the best one...?
For me, it's: 2 > 3 > 1
They're all great games, but I feel like 1 would be the roughest to go back to now.
It's really sad 3 is getting so much hate just because of the botched ending. The actual game itself is superb.
For me, it's: 2 > 3 > 1
They're all great games, but I feel like 1 would be the roughest to go back to now.
It's really sad 3 is getting so much hate just because of the botched ending. The actual game itself is superb.
That's not stopping people to shit on ME3 because of ending.
To me it's like choosing which of your children you love the most, they all have things I love about them. It's my favorite trilogy for a reason.
But the best game is Mass Effect 2.
But the best game is Mass Effect 2.
The second one and it's not even close. That game broke so many grounds in story telling. The first one was cool but it was janky as fuck.
If ME3 had been allowed to cook another six months, then we'd be having a different conversation.
While the game was mostly good, it had a lot of technical issues at the start (camera, weird running animations, etc.).
I definitely think 1 is the best because of the world building. 2 is like the 2coo4u kid, which actually has some good aspects. 3 just focused too much on fan service, and less on the actual story. Like remember that stupid planet mining thing? Waste of time.
While the game was mostly good, it had a lot of technical issues at the start (camera, weird running animations, etc.).
I definitely think 1 is the best because of the world building. 2 is like the 2coo4u kid, which actually has some good aspects. 3 just focused too much on fan service, and less on the actual story. Like remember that stupid planet mining thing? Waste of time.
It's 2.
1 may have the better overall story but the gameplay is not really good and the main missions are not very interesting nor exciting until you get to Virmire (and there isn't much more to do after that).
3 is fine but the botched ending doesn't give it any favors.
1 may have the better overall story but the gameplay is not really good and the main missions are not very interesting nor exciting until you get to Virmire (and there isn't much more to do after that).
3 is fine but the botched ending doesn't give it any favors.
I really liked ME3's gameplay and its multiplayer. When I got the game the extended directors cut is already out so the story is not too bad either.
The first is easily my favourite. I'd probably rate 3 slightly above 2, since I generally enjoyed my time with it more. Cover shooting sucks, and I much prefer the exploration and story in the first game. I thought the original Mass Effect, for all its issues, did a better job at being an RPG, and I was annoyed by how Mass Effect 2 overreacted to some complaints with the original game (Mass Effect had inventory bloat, so Mass Effect 2 got rid of inventory completely; the Mako sections in Mass Effect were wonky, so Mass Effect 2 eliminated the Mako entirely, and so on). The loyalty missions in Mass Effect 2 are great, though. As for Mass Effect 3, I think it probably has the best gameplay, and it features many of the series' best moments; it's just a shame that it ends with the series' weakest moment.