Sometimes it's good to take a step back and just be thankful that the Mass Effect trilogy exists...

[SofNascimento]

I was just messing around a bit with the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, trying some mods and what not, and I couldn't help but to feel just how special these games are.

There is a lot of good things that can be said about these games, and I probably already said many of them multiple times each, but it has been some 13 years since I played the original game and they still captivate me as much as they ever did. More even.

And there is one particular reason for that: the Mass Effect universe feels definitive. It feels like an universe that encompasses all sci-fi. I've read/watch/played many other sci-fi stuff since I first played ME1, The Culture and The Expanse to give just two examples, and there is something, big or small, in the Mass Effect universe that dialogues with those works. And because I liked those works I start to like that particular aspect of Mass Effect more!

Mass Effect was always been an agglomeration of many sci-fi ideas, but if it was only that it wouldn't be as good it is. Being that plus creating a identity that feels entirely your own is one of its greatest accomplishments. Now people look at other sci-fi and say: woah, that screams Mass Effect!

If Mass Effect didn't exist the world would be a darker place.

 

[anexanhume]

None of these games are my favorite, but this series as a whole is my favorite, warts and all.

I'm genuinely excited about the sequel. I think they have the right people and a culture trending positive to make it happen.

I also have the poster of the image in OP. It's one of my favorite pieces.

 

[Whisu]

ME2 Goat

 

[Kyoufu]

ME1 Goat

 

[mrmickfran]

ME Andromeda Goat

 

[julia crawford]

ME Andromeda Goat

Click to shrink...

no truther truth can be found on era

 

[Dragon1893]

Indeed. I was constantly thinking the same thing while playing the LE.

 

[oni-link]

Yeah it's hard to imagine that something this ambitious will ever be attempted again in the AAA space

 

[Uzzy]

I'm glad you like the trilogy OP.

Though, I must point out that only ME1 is a good game.

 

[Xwing]

ME3 Multiplayer Goat

 

[Aerial51]

Best Trilogy in Gaming

 

[ciddative]

1 sure is special. 3 is just depressing front to back, which taints the trilogy for me

 

[AtomLung]

ME2 is my all time fave, because you get to assemble a crew of space weirdos.

 

[Nameless Hero]

I only like one of them and it's the one that didn't play well lol

 

[onibirdo]

ME1 was my first foray into space opera and therefore holds a special place.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

ME 2&3 took Wrex from me and can't be forgiven.

 

[LazerRanger]

Yeah replaying the DE earlier this year I was reminded how special the trilogy is.

I doubt anyone will try something similar because of how difficult it is to pull off but am excited to see if ME4 can find a way to make the ME3 endings work.

I don't mind if they sidestep or contradict the endings as long as the game itself has its own compelling story.

 

[SofNascimento]

Let's keep this thread curse free people!

Anyway, I just realized I didn't think of the endings while writing the OP. That's nice.

 

[SliChillax]

The 70s sci fi space opera retro futurism vibes of the first game are unbeatable, not to mention the stellar soundtrack.

 

[NuclearDistortion]

I never went back to it after ME1. I consistently forget I own the LE. (I never played them in the PS360 era).

Completely forgettable in my opinion. I'm happy others hold it in such high regard.

But it did nothing for me.

 

[NeoBob688]

Best trilogy in gaming indeed.

 

[Aaron D.]

Revisiting ME via the Legendary Edition package rekindled my appreciation for the franchise.

Much like playing classic DOOM on modern hardware, having the ability to play Mass Effect maxed out at a blistering 120 fps does wonders for reinvigorating the experience.

One thing that goes a bit unnoticed as well is that the simpler geometry and level design actually reads a lot cleaner than more modern "architecturally dense" productions. It fosters cleaner & faster mental space much like I recently discovered visiting the 12 year old Kingdoms of Amalur (Re-Reckoning edition).

 

[Sordid Plebeian]

ME1 > ME3 > ME2

 

[daninthemix]

Best trilogy in gaming indeed.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I agree with that. I think it's likely to remain so.

 

[Wrexis]

Mass Effect was one of those once in generation scifi stories.
My favorite franchise. I think I have a Blasto plushie somewhere.

 

[EatChildren]

Replaying the trilogy via the LE late last year had me worried my memory would be rose tinted, but I fell in love all over again. Highs and lows, warts and all, the trilogy is a one of a kind gem and there's still nothing quite like what it strived to achieve and mostly accomplished.

It's also easily one of the most well realised fictional universes in the medium, and I really hope the next game can make good on the potential.

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

Played MOST of ME1 DE, and got sidetracked, but it's a wonderful version of a wonderful game, and still has incredible atmosphere, music, heart, and is incredibly ambitious, especially so for an early 360 game. Will go back to it, wish I could cloud save share across platforms to Deck so i could hit it up on both.
Looking forward to ME2.
Never played 3.

BioWare in their day were peerless.

 

[gnarlyxcharlie]

It's a really special universe that I hope they can recapture in ME4. Andromeda's most egregious flaw , for all the criticism it gets, was that it lacked all the character and world building that the trilogy nailed

 

[warcrow]

I was just messing around a bit with the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, trying some mods and what not, and I couldn't help but to feel just how special these games are.

There is a lot of good things that can be said about these games, and I probably already said many of them multiple times each, but it has been some 13 years since I played the original game and they still captivate me as much as they ever did. More even.

And there is one particular reason for that: the Mass Effect universe feels definitive. It feels like an universe that encompasses all sci-fi. I've read/watch/played many other sci-fi stuff since I first played ME1, The Culture and The Expanse to give just two examples, and there is something, big or small, in the Mass Effect universe that dialogues with those works. And because I liked those works I start to like that particular aspect of Mass Effect more!

Mass Effect was always been an agglomeration of many sci-fi ideas, but if it was only that it wouldn't be as good it is. Being that plus creating a identity that feels entirely your own is one of its greatest accomplishments. Now people look at other sci-fi and say: woah, that screams Mass Effect!

If Mass Effect didn't exist the world would be a darker place.

Click to shrink...

I love this post, and I totally agree with you, friend.

Just the other day I was looking at my copy of ME:L and thought...I want to play this again but Ragnarok is coming haha. I LOVE being in the ME world. Walking around like a tourist, talking to everyone, listening to the incredible soundtrack, even admiring the architecture.

That's on of the reasons I absolutely adore the ME1 experience. I could run around The Citadel playing C-Sec detective, talking to various aliens, helping them with their problems, all day. I love that!

You know the mission where the turian C-Sec officer and a religious hanar are arguing about whether the hanar has the right to preach in the Presidium? It was one of the first, small but mighty side missions in a game (back in 2007) I'd played that really worked! Nothing Earth-shattering, but a small and punchy kind of quest. It meant a lot to the hangar - and it felt important to Citadel culture.

I don't know - just wanted to say I just love this trilogy too! :)

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

I'm grateful all the time that these games exist.

I wish there were more games like them. There's Dragon Age, and then... pretty much nothing else. Where are the Mass Effect clones?!

 

[Yerffej]

Nextlander folk were talking about the trilogy re-release and I forgot that came out. Been heavily tempted. ME trilogy was so good.

 

[OldBritBloke]

ME 2&3 took Wrex from me and can't be forgiven.

Click to shrink...

At least he's in 2 (I haven't got to 3 yet). To be fair, he has bigger responsibilities now.

 

[Dave_6]

Yep, my favorite gaming trilogy even though I haven't finished the LE yet.

 

[Deleted member 4353]

I finished the trilogy on sunday with ME3. I never played the citadel DLC when it first came out and playing it before the final missions was so good. Im not even into scifi shit but ME is the first and only fully 3d scifi game of its kind in a way. Hanging around with all the characters in what is probably their last hurrah. It felt good.

THere is nothing like it and I'm sure the new one won't come close IMO.

 

[dancingphlower]

It's kinda wild that three wildly ambitious AAA RPGs were made over the course of five years and came out as well as they did. Nowadays five years is like the normal gap between entries. Yet another reason to lament the unending pursuit of visual fidelity.

 

[BasilZero]

Love the series - I plan to play the legendary edition soon

 

[The Praiseworthy]

It's where I had my experience with the ME trilogy for the first time, and it was glorious especially with ME2 I was totally blown away by it and finally understood all the praise it was getting for years.. totally well deserved.

 

[hobblygobbly]

Not a fan myself, first game was okay but the series never felt special to me, the series in terms of scifi elements always felt generic and full of clichés just like Dragon Age: Origins was to fantasy.

They're good games though but I never found them to be original, it does very little of its own, and if you're an avid reader of scifi you have experience the story premise of Mass Effect so many times, Mass Effect's story is as cliché as you can come in scifi, like an undead menace/great evil is in fantasy. The Protheans, Reapers, everything about it was fairly boring if you're already accustomed to this scifi cliché, so much of it adapts from BSG with the Geth for example, the overall premise from Alistair Reynold's Revelation Space series, Dan Simmon's Hyperion, McDevitt's The Engines of God, movies like Contact, list can go on and on

Scifi is my favourite genre so I try give everything a chance and I like Mass Effect but personally don't think it contributed much to the genre at all

 

[Lego]

The first Mass Effect is everything I ever wanted in a game. Blessed.

 

[SofNascimento]

I love this post, and I totally agree with you, friend.

Just the other day I was looking at my copy of ME:L and thought...I want to play this again but Ragnarok is coming haha. I LOVE being in the ME world. Walking around like a tourist, talking to everyone, listening to the incredible soundtrack, even admiring the architecture.

That's on of the reasons I absolutely adore the ME1 experience. I could run around The Citadel playing C-Sec detective, talking to various aliens, helping them with their problems, all day. I love that!

You know the mission where the turian C-Sec officer and a religious hanar are arguing about whether the hanar has the right to preach in the Presidium? It was one of the first, small but mighty side missions in a game (back in 2007) I'd played that really worked! Nothing Earth-shattering, but a small and punchy kind of quest. It meant a lot to the hangar - and it felt important to Citadel culture.

I don't know - just wanted to say I just love this trilogy too! :)

Click to shrink...

Thanks!

The 70s sci fi space opera retro futurism vibes of the first game are unbeatable, not to mention the stellar soundtrack.

Click to shrink...

Another thing that helps what I mentioned in the OP is that each game has a particular feel to them. Some people might like one particular approach more than other, but honestly you should just try to enjoy them all.

I'm grateful all the time that these games exist.

I wish there were more games like them. There's Dragon Age, and then... pretty much nothing else. Where are the Mass Effect clones?!

Click to shrink...

That's a question I've asked myself many times. And it's bizarre that the answer today is basically the same as it was 10 years ago. Starfield is coming out soon so maybe there will be that.

It's kinda wild that three wildly ambitious AAA RPGs were made over the course of five years and came out as well as they did. Nowadays five years is like the normal gap between entries. Yet another reason to lament the unending pursuit of visual fidelity.

Click to shrink...

I think we should take Mass Effect development time into account as well, so it's more like 8~9 years. And ME3 was criminally rushed. In many ways it's a miracle that it's as good as it is.

Talking about time, it's also interesting to note that you can basically finish the entire trilogy in the same time it takes to play a modern open world RPG.

 

[s y]

Me2 and 3 completely squandered the potential of the entire ip

 

[dancingphlower]

I think we should take Mass Effect development time into account as well, so it's more like 8~9 years. And ME3 was criminally rushed. In many ways it's a miracle that it's as good as it is.

Talking about time, it's also interesting to note that you can basically finish the entire trilogy in the same time it takes to play a modern open world RPG.

Click to shrink...

Oh yeah I'm sure the lead up to ME1 was probably pretty long, especially as they were building out the lore of the world and stuff. And it was definitely nice to have shorter (ha) 30 hour RPGs back then.

 

[deadfolk]

ME1 Goat

Click to shrink...

For real.

 

[Thera]

How is the sexism if you never played them ?

 

[MysteryM]

Having bought 1, 2 and 3 originally and now the remake, I've yet to play any of them still 😢

 

[Rassilon]

To me, the trilogy is one long and fantastic game

Never experienced a game quite like it. Damn good!

 

[kmfdmpig]

How is the sexism if you never played them ?

Click to shrink...

Other than EDI being a ridiculous/cringy male fantasy I don't remember anything that struck me as sexist in the series, although that's certainly not a sign that there's nothing else there.

 

[HououinKyouma]

So damn true. Playing through the trilogy again last year was like a nice nostalgic visit back to my teens. Seminal games.

Hell, ME2 is still a better "cinematic experience" than 99% of games I play today.

 

[Forsaken82]

loved the games when they first released. Replayed ME1 again recently with the Legendary edition and still loved it. Holds up incredibly well... Something about 2 and 3 though I feel like hasn't held up well at all.
I just couldn't get a through a replay of 2 or 3 with legendary, not sure why.

 

[canderous]

I've replayed these games more than any other. Brings me joy every time. And yes the mods have become pretty damn cool for this game as well. I am impressed how the community built their own tools and the effort they put in.

Also I'm gonna say something controversial and say ME3 has been becoming my favorite in many ways. Not in a vacuum (that one would be ME1 by a mile), but when it is propped up by the previous games. I always find myself looking forward to it the most and making decisions because of what I want to see happen in ME3. And also because of mods as it has by far the biggest support in that area. I did play through the LE on console just to 100% the achievements out of principle, but past that I can only really play the games modded now. And they are still churning out new ones. Some pretty awesome upcoming ones were previewed on N7 day.