That was honestly my hope for Andromeda... take all the previous lessons learned from the trilogy, and apply the best aspects of them into Andromeda... Man, I was a naive kid back then...
1 had so much story to tell but a lot of it was through text. I always imagine a ME1 where all the story content was fully fleshed out, and with a less inane inventory system
@@Colonel_Bat_Guano Like the prothean artifact on eletania. The text was pretty cool but it would be better if you could actually see the protheans studying primitive humans.
ME 1 is an almost painful reminder of when Bioware still cared about RPGs, no location in the later games ever matched the atmosphere of Noveria. It’s a shame that the development time wasted on the side content and DLC didn’t just go towards making a more fleshed out campaign. And Donald’s right, ME3 combat is the only one that strikes the tactical 3rd person/RPG balance correctly, and I find myself replaying ME3 the most because combat is the bulk of any actual playthrough.
Mass Effect 2 handled weapons the best while the third game gave them extremely generic upgrades. And the first game handled armor and Shields and fitness the best. Mass Effect 1 alone understood that when you increase your fitness level, you would realistically increase your melee attack and your health level at the same time. It's complete BS that the third game forces you to choose between health and melee. Mass Effect 3 also pretends that your fitness level will affect your Shields when in reality your armor would decide that.
Yeah because BioWare using the same damn Outpost for almost every side mission is a really good sign that they cared. Not to mention the horrible Planet exploration, subpar map design, mediocre DLC. Extremely dated gameplay... don't get me wrong, I still love the first game. But I don't know how anyone could actually prefer it over the others.
@@NostalgicGamerRickOShayand Mass Effect 1 gave you a lot more options for upgrades outside of fitness. So naturally when it came around to Mass Effect 3 where you only had a handful, they would let you choose one or the other in order to incentivize the player to create a more unique build instead of just maxing everything out in ME1.
@@khithompson3385 Story, NOT gameplay, is what sold Mass Effect. I was honestly tired of combat-centered games like Call of Duty, and fake-RPGs like the Fable franchise, when I first found Mass Effect. I immediately forgave the gameplay because the STORY kept me hooked.
Citadel DLC is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. The feels, reverence for characters, and writing that Citadel has are more than enough to give 3 the nod for me.
Honestly yes, but Soldier Shep versus clone Shep in Legendary difficulty was AWFUL. I absolutely despised that fight. The rest of the DLC is great though.
Citadel DLC felt very bait-and-switch. It was sold to me under the claim that I would get to experience a bonus mission with my beloved ME2 characters. The Arena DOESN'T count. And the whole CAT-6 fiasco was a predictable waste of time.
really damn well written, like seriously. its quite amazing that i have a favourite game in the trilogy yet i agreed with every point everyone made for and against it, no empty arguments here.
I'm going to be honest. My favorite game by far is ME1. Sure it's combat is wonky and it's exploration is something that is subpar. But it has heart. The citadel in ME1 is the best layout it had at any point. Sure there are many side-quests with forgettable characters, but there's also quite a handful that have butterfly effects into ME2 and 3. Dialogue is probably the best overall in ME2, but I prefer the tried and true method in ME1 even though it heavily expects you to play multiple playthroughs or abuse a bug on Noveria to get max paragon and/or renegade. I will always remember the first time I played through ME1, that sense of adventure and awe was unfortunately not continued in 2 and 3, even though they are fantastic games in their right, they just don't feel like ME1 feels. I personally love the options for weapon mods and ammo types not being a skill requirement. Explosive rounds on shotguns is always funny, and being able to shoot forever with snowblind rounds with pistols is something that just CAN'T happen in ME2 or ME3. The scale in ME1 is also fantastic, there's TONS of content in the game, but most of it is optional and the quest tracker actually works (unlike in 3). There will never be an ending in Sci-Fi history that hits as hard as ME1 and ME2. They have extremely strong endings, and I honestly can't choose between them on which I like more. Overall, my preference in games is 1>3>2. Note that just because 2 is ranked last, that does NOT mean I dislike the game, or even think it's a bad game, but because of the recruitment system in 2, it limits your freedom to explore the universe too much early and I think ME3 has a more reasonable explanation for limiting where you can go.
The more ME content you upload from the boys, the better. You make these so realistic and entertaining to watch, thanks for these! And from my view, no need to comment which ME is best. It's like trying to figure which LotR movie is best.
I cannot tell you how much I absolutely LOVE these Mass Effect videos. Always look forward to new ones and rewatch often. I may have missed it if it was mentioned in before, but what classes do the boys all main? In the future I would love to see the classes, abilities, and different weapons in each game ranked/tierlisted.
Interesting! My favourite overall has always been 2, but I understand those who find the story too inconsequential by being "side quests and daddy issues". ME1 had the most intriguing story, and ME3 had the greatest standalone moments and best gameplay. Excited to see what you came up with, PrimeRadiancy!
im honestly surprised you didnt talk about the multiplayer in 3 I thought it was a fun feature and it was dissapointing that it was not in the legendary edition. its honestly really fun and amps up ME3 as a game
The multiplayer was just a shoehorned in addon for 3 in an attempt for bioware to cash in on some of that sweet multiplayer revenue and loot box addiction. They were judging the games based on the single player story experience. When people talk about which modern warfare game they like best, they are talking about the campaign in the trilogy, not the multiplayer lobbies.
ME2 is peak. Underrated world building that massively fleshed out the galaxy and added a ton of new species, much better characterisation and squad member writing, it had fun gameplay that provided the basis for the next game to innovate from, and the Suicide Mission is one of the best final levels in gaming history.
the vorcha, those giant dumb bugs and what else? me2 is overrated as fuck and is only favourited by the same people that think brown/tan shooters of the early 2010s were peak gaming
RPG elements in ME2 are so dumbed down that it is outright insulting to the inteligence of the players. For f*** sake most of the character don't even wear armor and would rather go into battle wearing sexy outfits.
@@RamboSnoop You get Vorcha, Collectors and Drell for brand new species, but also a ton of new lore and worldbuilding for Asari, Batarians, Hanar, Quarians and ESPECIALLY Geth. It did a lot to flesh out what was already there.
As a lore geek, Mass Effect 2 frustrates the shit out of me. They retconned so many fantastic bits of lore from the first game, and the trend only continued and got worse in 3. Mass Effect 2 took the series from a grounded, quasi-hard sci-fi universe comparable to The Expanse and turned it into just another generic Star Wars-esque setting with slightly less advanced technology. ME3 can only be held accountable for doubling down. It didn't start the problem.
I must tell you this: I played MASS EFFECT 2 first in the series, back when it came out. And it was beautiful. It was interesting how the player and Shepard "discovers" this world. There were a lot of moments like "I'm gonna do the Archangel mission first, because it sounds cool" and then I found out, that this archangel-boy is someone related from the first game, it felt like there was connection between the old squad from ME1. When I arrived in Citadel, I thought to myself - Who is this Saren everyone talks about? And what in the hell is a Reaper? How did I become a Spectre? It really pulled me in and when I played ME1 I connected all missing dots together. It was much more fun and I was thrilled to finish it. To be honest - ME3 was more likely to be a fan service. I liked all three of them. What a shame there aren't any other ME games. Best trilogy ever.
Before LE came out I would’ve said 3. Great combat, excellent missions and emotional endings to stories that came full circle from even the 1st game in Wrex’s and the Geth’s case. I’m with Donald that the only thing against it is the ending. But now with LE and improved graphics and gameplay I think 1 can make a good argument as the best or damn close to 3. World and lore building, excellent atmosphere on missions and while you’re still Shepard you aren’t god yet, proving the Normandy squad to the galaxy and seeing just how fragile the galaxy is before the Reapers is very fun and interesting. Not to mention that it’s a true RPG. I’m not saying that 2 is bad but it is the one I look forward to the least when replaying the trilogy.
I concur, the LE made the gameplay far more tolerable to the point where I think overall it is the best game. The story is easily the best. It's pure, the atmosphere is a study in non-verbal story telling. It truly felt like an adventure movie that you played
@Abfallkannibale I don't understand the praise 3 gets and I've soured a bit on 2 over the years and these videos actually made a pretty good case for why 2 is overhyped
@@Captain_Insano_nomercy Yeah, they basicly tried to broaden the market for 2, which is why they needed to put a speed-bump into the narrative, so new players would neither be thrown right into the bigger plot nor would have to play me1 first for context. The changes they made were harsh over-corrections of things that were (admittedly) a bit clunky in 1, but still over-corrected. Also, this might just be me though, 2s world feels very small compared to the other two games, almost as if it was just a big spin-off-addon or something. Maybe because the visual scale of the politics and stuff got completely pushed to the side in order to focus on small, highly loaded ares and plots. The more I think about it, the weirder 2 gets. Strange.
@Abfallkannibale all good points. I also dislike how they shoe-horned in an ammo system to try to appeal to shooter fans, and hey at least they tried an in-universe explanation, but it still sucked. I mean, I was in the military and let me tell you that having guns without ammo fixes SO many problems that the whole "oh but now we get more shots per minute" argument falls flat. There are so many economical and logistical advantages to not needing ammo alone that it's not even about reloading time
ME1 is probably one of the most iconic games that ever existed. I mean the locations have such a great atmosphere, noveria, feros, virmire, ilos they are awesome. The villans are emblamatic. Matriarch benezia The Goat Saren even Balak the terrorist. I mean it's great that bioware updated the combat. But even the original still has that vintage vibe that makes old games great. Plus the story is 10/10.
I enjoyed ME3 the most, yet I see it as the worst, having so many memberal moments and characters, with great combat, but when it drops the ball it drops it hard, leaving there to be more wanting, it’s a strange experience but one I enjoy more than the others
Yeah ME3 highs are soooo great, but the lows are really damn low. The other two games always maintained consistently good logical writing, where as 3 retcons shit and pulls plot points out it's ass quite often. Even with it's big writing flaws it's still my favorite though.
08:00 - Obama lost the argument there. The "exploration" of having to trawl half the galaxy for minerals, Turian insignia, Salarian dog tags, Asari writings and Protean data was SO FREAKING ANNOYING.
Mass effect 2 has got to be the best with character development,gameplay and the shadow broker dlc is a lot of fun to play loyalty missions are great also and the suicide mission to this day is the best mission in any of the mass effect game’s
your comment reminded me of the time when I used to reload my save to restart the Suicide Mission every day. The music, the combat, the characters, the scene. All of it came together for maybe one of the most epic missions of all gaming.
Would have still been wild for ME3 to have dual stories depending on your decision on the suicide mission. Destroy the collector base and ME3 stays similar to what we know, but keeping the station giving a choice in ME3 to stay with Cerberus. Basically have a ruthless renegade story version where Cerberus doesn’t turn against the rest of humanity, but you ruthlessly step into the power vacuum left after the invasion of earth and subvert the council races. Could have had so many different stories based on decisions, but man would that have been hard to create
Nah despite how ME2 has you remembering Cerberus they are so unapologetically evil from the first time you see them in 1 that the only human support you would get is like terra firma. Shepherd had a hard enough time convincing the council to work with the alliance, convincing anyone to cooperate with Cerberus is out of the question. Cerberus is a terrorist organization first and foremost, peace between the geth and quarians is easier to achieve than Cerberus and the rest of the galaxy. You would also lose most of your squadmates cuz their love for you does not extend nearly as far as you think it does, the second you start vibing with the illusive man they will say their goodbyes. Side mission central has gaslit people about Cerberus
Facts!! In ME1 side missions, cereberus makes it ABUNDENTLY clear they are enemies to humanity. I will never forget it. I got me2 in 2011 1 year before ME3 came out and I repeated me1 multiple times doing the side quests, so when I played me2 for the first time and cerberus was mentioned that motivated me to go full blown paragon and not trust cereberus. @@RaphDeGrate
I wrote my own version of the story that had 4 games instead of 3 and I had people tell me it was quite good, and my version went something more like that. Shepard would have stuck with cerberus much longer and there would have been a massive choice at the beginning of the third game on whether or not you are rolling with cerberus. The entire third game would be more about alliance versus cerberus as the reaper invasion counted down and their proxies waged war for them
It’s Mass Effect 2 in terms of overall quality. Gameplay was solid, world building was solid, sides missions were solid, DLC was solid. Sure, you can nitpick some parts, but as a whole ME2 doesn’t miss often enough compared to its peers. ME1 captures that space/sci-fi feeling and really showcased that aspect of the universe well. The story was god tier here. No question. But it’s gameplay really holds it back for me. ME3 is such a throttle ride that does nearly everything right just to fumble at the ending. RPG elements should’ve been used more. The dlc for this game are bangers especially The Citadel for obvious reasons. Gameplay is perfected here and multiplayer is GOATED.
ME2 is the only game without a significant weakness. ME1 is significantly weighed down by its gameplay, ME3 by its ending. ME2 doesn't really have anything anywhere near as substiantially bad, it may have some rough patches but no huge glaring weaknesses
Mass effect 2’s story was all a giant side quest. All just building up to the final mission set piece. The final mission set piece was good… impressive.. but it’s not an entire game.
I love how the comments are JUST discussing the games. Like listening to politicians discuss this is super normal. Just shows how good this dude is at writing dialog
So what I’m getting is Mass effect 1: great world building and exploration Mass effect 2: great story and character development Mass effect 3: Best Gameplay Hopefully the next game will have all three
Modded ME3 is the best one. There's only one ending and lots of other plots over the trilogy get tied up fairly well. Best combat by far. Any reduction in customizable skill points vs me1 is made up for in spades by how fun it is to combo different powers together along with ammo types so even soldiers get some fun combos. All the multiplayer guns modded into SP is so fun to mess around with. In terms of enjoyment when I replay the series it's 3, 2, 1...Let's jam!
I'm stoked to see we've returned to Mass Effect. If you need any ideas, how about best weapons by weapon class (assault rifle, shotgun, etc) or generally overall
Before MELE my order was 3, 1, 2 (obviously not in any way saying 2 is bad) purely because 3 has best gameplay and also has Citadel DLC which I think is the most enjoyable part of the trilogy. Since MELE gave ME1 a huge glow up my order is 1, 3, 2. ME3 still beats 2 for the better gameplay and wrapping up squadmate story arcs but 1 now has enjoyable combat and also some of the most memorable moments in the trilogy
Maybe it’s just because 2 was the first one I played, and I played it so many times, it just has a special place in my heart and it gives me a different feeling whenever I replay the trilogy
ME2 is definitely the best out of all ME's in terms of characters and dialogue, which is probably why you love it so much. ME1 and ME3 definitely fall short character wise when compared to ME2 outside of the Citadel DLC
My favourite game to play is ME2. The best moments are in ME3 and the foundational pillar that gave us everything we love was ME1. All 3 of them together gave us the Citadel DLC which will forever be the best Mass Effect game.
I will say that out of all 3 games I've always had a stronger desire to play ME1 the most because of the variety of ways you can roleplay and I do love the clunky, but charming Makko and Uncharted Worlds. ME2 I wana re-play because I love it's characters, but I remember how tight the game is in terms of freedom and pales in comparison to ME1 and even 3 in some regards, and if you know what you're doing, there really isn't that much left to come back to, beyond re-experiencing the same story with slight variations in dialogue with which characters you bring to each location.
Gotta be 2, might not have had the scope or storytelling of 1, nor the combat of 3, but it had the best characters and certainly thr best finale in the series
It's interesting isn't it that each game has it's strengths. No two games were exactly the same, so it's hard to objectively say which is best Even looking at the comments it's about 40% for 3, 40% for 2, and 20% for 1
I feel like ME1 was the best story/plot wise, ME2 was the best character wise, and ME3 i guess was good at both? Its crazy to think ME is such a good game series that theres almost no arguments (from what ive seen at least) of people on what the best game is.
Not sure of the creative thought process that gave birth to this debating heads of state but it's easily the most original, interesting and entertaining channels around. And the fact that they talk about Mass effect. My all time favorite game is just icing on the cake.
First up, these videos are so good man. Like the quality is top notch and you can really see the effort put into them. And secondly, in my opinion I love the first one the most. Imo it’s the least controversial of the three and the role playing elements are PEAK in this game. When debating the 3 games I feel like no one ranks the first one as the worst. There’s always an argument as to whether that’s the second or the third game. And thirdly, I love all these games and just because I like the first one more that the others that doesn’t stop me from playing them over and over again ❤️
A friendly reminder that Andromeda with a few mods becomes a really fun game. The 3 big ones are removing the dash delay and the hip fire penalty for the sniper rifle and adding the multiplayer powers to single player. Oh and Road Rage turns the vehicle into something actually fun to drive.
Objectively gameplay wise is Andromeda, Narratively wise is Mass effect 1, RPG wise is Mass Effect 1, the best overall is Mass Effect 2. Worst ending is Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect 2 was always my favorite for such a long time, but in my older age I’ve grown more patient. Mass effect 1’s gameplay doesn’t bother me as much and it’s far superior roleplaying elements in the series; coupled with the smarter written overall plot help move it to my number 1 spot in the series.
I think these are all good arguments tbh, but no games are without their flaws. Mass Effect 3 is my personal favorite of the trilogy for many, many reasons. It feels the most personal, emotional, and has my favorite moments out of the trilogy. Tali is also my favorite character and her romance in the third game has my favorite moments ever. I first played the trilogy back to back 5 years ago when I was still in middle school and I still get emotional nostalgia thinking about it now. I can always go back and replay the trilogy back to back and re-do every single option I did before and not get sick of it. I can’t say that about many games tbh. Also the Citadel DLC is like the best thing ever.
ME1 had the best atmosphere and worldbuilding. ME2 had the best character development and final mission ME3 had the best combat and did a great job of closing alot of character arcs 2 built on. The DLCs were also really good. Shepherd's character arc in 3 was the best as well. Andromeda was pretty Empty.
@@hetmanotoja Tbh I kinda hated the Andromeda combat. The guns felt really unimpactful, the jumping was cool but they used it way too much, and the terrain was never really all that interesting; it was mostly just a set of arbitrary barriers and crouch points that led up to a big room. Non-aerial movement also felt very clunky. Not my favorite.
@@wcs9582 Agreed on overuse of jumping and environment design, but with some QoL mods Andromeda combat is a really step forward from the Trilogy. If you just forget it was suppose to be ME game it would be decent. Kinda wish for no mans sky-like game with this kind of combat.
Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 to a degree help the player feel like they and Commander Shepard are the same person. Mass Effect 3 Commander Shepard feels like a completely disconnected and hijacked character that is frankly cringe in many instances.
"I'm a real boy, Pinocchio BS" damn joe was a W in that one, in reality they all have problems, ME2 with a lack of weapons, it's a sacrifice and painful to stay alone in cover and depend on your companions, the confusing maps and inventory in ME1 and the rush story of ME3 and the transformation of cerberus into dumb stormtroopers , well everyone has their special flavor
If only ME2 could have established that instead of The Collector Base, the human reaper was being built on Mars by indoctrinated humans with the help of collectors we could have Shep and the gang stumble upon the Catalyst before killing the human reaper and causing major damage to the Mars sites, then we would both have setup for the Catalyst in ME3 and wouldn't need a DLC as to why Shepard is called to Earth.
In all honesty, any argument for any of the games is valid. ME is one of the best game series ever. It’s a distinction of fractions of a point that even then are within the margins of error. 1 had the best rpg 2) was a work of art 3) had the best DLC and action
ME1 is my personal favorite but i love Andromeda gameplay. Hopefully the presidents can do the same format for Andromeda without slamming the game thr whole time. Ranking the best missions, companions, NPCs, etc. And we still need a ranking for the side quests for the trilogy!
Me2 is easily the best it doesnt move the reaper story to much but it introduces some of the seires best characters. While also making tali and garrus significantly better. Its also the game that explores the cultures of each race making the universe more relized. Me1 might have a better plot but me2 has a better story.
This just reminded that I love them all. Ive tried to play just 2 or 3 and just do the genesis dlc. But i couldn't, can't play one of them without playing them all.
ME2 for the story and ME3 for the combat. Cross-class combos in 3 opened the door to a wide variety of powerful options across your squad. ME3 doesn't have as many options for character building, but choosing the right options to min/max your ability to prime and detonate combos is important, especially on insanity. In that aspect, character-building choices matter more, even if fewer options exist.
Mass Effect 1 was a rough-around-the-edges gem that blended some classic KotOR beats with a competent (but unpolished) shooter. But for ME2, rather than double-down on the RPG aspects (despite console players proving they were into cRPGs by buying Dragon Age and ME1), Bioware made ME2 a Gears clone with a dating sim tacked on. It was so streamlined you could barely still call it an RPG, but Bioware’s knack for telling a story and writing characters that people cared about carried it through. Then Mass Effect 3 was an abomination that was (barely) carried by the strength of the characters. Bioware nailed the characters so well that the audience became upset by the ending, overlooking that the series plot had completely collapsed in on itself, and what had previously been an intriguing space opera was reduced to, “Oh, wow - we just found these totally legit blueprints for a giant can of reaper-b-gone that haven’t been foreshadowed or alluded to in any game, book or comic before this moment… despite it literally being right in front of us this whole time. Let’s stop working on everything else and put all our effort and resources into this one deeply implausible bucket.” I kept waiting for those plans to be a reaper trap, or a prothean trap, or something interesting… but no, it really was just a magic anti-reaper device that we’d never had suggested or foreshadowed in any place, ever. It felt like such a cop out - they’d clearly written themselves into a corner. Then ME:A rolled around - despite actually managing to blend deeper character customization and it’s combat mechanics more effectively than any of the previous games, it got panned when people compared that one game to the entire preceding trilogy and found it lacking. Lazy memes around the animations focused on a lack of external polish, something that was never a ME strong suit (no one minded that in ME1 Captain Anderson’s head looked less like a wise military man and more like an aged potato). It had a plot that was more coherent and interesting that 3. It has new characters that were interesting without the benefit of using previous characterization as a crutch. It set up a series arc that wouldn’t require a magical deus ex crucible to resolve. It was rough around the edges, just like ME1 - a sterling effort from a new team… torn apart by sulking fans because it didn’t include their blue waifu and panned by other gamers for bugs that were no worse than what you’d find in Skyrim or Fallout. But rather than grow MEA out, like they did with ME1 - they killed it…. If they'd given it time to grow it could have easily kicked off a trilogy as impressive as the first. After Anthem I don't think Bioware are even capable of making a good series again.
I'm on the same page with you about Andromeda. It has a lot of potential. I think it's overall a good game. All the games have problems, just different ones, as this video showed it perfectly. I hoped to get an MEA2 to see my Ryder's growth but unfortunately it seems less likely to happen. I might be biased though because I played MEA first then MELE. ME2 is my least favourite so far. It felt like an overextended DLC to ME1. There are only two things it does better than the other ME games: the character development of the NPCs and the structure of the suicide mission. My list after my first playthrough: 1. ME3 2. ME1 3. MEA 4. ME2 I'm currently in my second playthrough, post-Noveria in ME1 (completed all the sidequests that popped up before), and oh boy I'm bored. My opinion might change after I wrap up all 4 games again.
I have to say, you have really improved on these AI videos, before i was a bit bored because they all agreed and were just talking thriugh what happens on a mission, now they actually disagree and argue which is much more entertaining. Good job!
My personal favorite is ME3, because I find it the most replayable out of the three. Maybe the reason to that are hundreds of hours I spent playing multiplayer back in the day. Anyway, ME3 feels like a good final chapter that closes some really interesting plot lines (geth vs quarians, genophage...) even as the actual game ending is trashy - I kind of enjoyed it. ME2 is the best at Suicidal Mission, but other than that it's almost painful for me to play it. Biotics is almost useless in higher difficulties, class-based weapon restriction is absolute bullshit and the gameplay is just taking cover infinitely... And the story feels a bit separated from the main plot. Still, I liked the companion-gathering aspect of the game, this is where it shines. Interestingly enough I find remastered ME1 more playable than ME2, but missions are very repetitive, planet exploring is mostly boring. However, the whole storyline of the first game is coherent and whole. I'd order the games like ME3, ME1 and ME2
For me, the order is: 1. Mass Effect 2 Pros: Great Characters including what is in my opinion the best cast of Squadmates out of the trilogy. The GOAT final suicide mission. Great writing overall both for the story and characters. Interesting locations/Planets visited. Loyalty Missions. Some great DLC. Gameplay that in my opinion is in most ways as good as Mass Effect 3. The crazy intro really hooks you into the game. It took what the first game had established and introduced so many more iconic features, elements, characters, and locations. Introduced the Paragon/Renegade interrupts. Cons: Arrival DLC while cool in a lot of ways has some serious issues. Firewalker DLC is bad. It cuts down on the feeling of exploration that Mass Effect 1 had. The change to thermal clips was a mistake in my opinion. Watered down or removed much of the RPG gameplay elements of the first game. (Things like different classes of armor, the weapon upgrades, etc..) 2. Mass Effect 1 Pros: Great feeling of exploration that neither subsequent game was able to replicate. Has a really strong second half of missions with Virmire, Ilos, and the final part on the Citadel. Being the first game it established the Mass Effect Universe and many of the iconic characters, locations, and elements of it. Cons: Very repetitive locations with the same interiors being copied and pasted over and over. The Mako while I don't absolutely hate it like a lot of people do gets very old by the end of a playthrough, The combat is very clunky and it was even for the time the game came out. The character writing wasn't at the level Mass Effect 2 would achieve. Unremarkable DLC. 3. Mass Effect 3 Pros: A really great intro with the attack on Earth. The Citadel DLC is excellent. The multiplayer was fun although the monetization of it was annoying. Having a Prothean as a squadmate is really cool, but it shouldn't have been a separate DLC and Javik was underused IMO. Took the really solid foundation of Mass Effect 2's gameplay and refined it. Some really cool missions and moments. Returning squadmates and characters are generally well-written. Cons: The overall story writing really fell apart. The ending is a mess in so many ways that is full of plot holes and other issues even with the extended cut. The immediate introduction of the crucible as a Deus ex machina. Mostly unremarkable new characters. Kai Leng Much of the excellent cast of squadmates and other characters from Mass Effect 2 were sidelined. The Reapers which were mysterious and supposedly beyond our understanding are explained and the explanation doesn't make sense. Cerberus and the Illusive Man were transformed from being shadowy, interesting, and morally questionable into being generic evil bad guys. Many decisions/choices from previous games weren't given the respect they deserved. The catalyst/Star Child. Harbinger from Mass Effect 2 was sidelined. The layout and design of the Normandy is worse than Mass Effect 2
The three games have their very clear high and low points. - ME1 starts strong. Very interesting world building. I swear I spent almost the same time reading the codex than actually playing the game. It has gameplay issues tho, exploring the worlds is a chore and the inventory is a disaster. Also, besides Wrex, the squadmates are kinda boring. I can forgive Tali because youth and a good character arc through the series, but both Liara and Garrus pick up on ME2. Ashley is fine I guess, just all over the place character-wise. and Kaidan has some interesting backstory that falls flat (also I usually let him die so not much development from my side). Still, good game overall, many memorable moments and an excellent ending with great character choice ramifications (that sadly get misused by the sequels). - ME2 is an action movie. It's fun and with a lot of great character introductions, which was BioWare's strong suit. The story choices suck tho. Killing Shepard at the start plays no function, it's just there for sheer impact. Your main character dying should be a big deal, but here? He's back after a couple cutscenes. His experience with death is barely explored and the only effect it has are some scars that you can easily delete. Collectors are kinda bland as an enemy and with barely a connection to the Reaper threat at all. The Cerberus angle is interesting, but you didn't need to kill Shepard to achieve it. The middle issue of a trilogy should be all about progressing the plot, exploring the lowest point for the protagonists, see Empire Strikes Back as a gold standard. Here, it feels like a filler arc, which makes no favors for ME3. I think the Arrival plot should had been expanded as the main conflict of the game, and the Crucible should had been introduced somewhere along the way. Leaving it as an afterthought damaged the whole series. The ending is crazy fun but dumb if you stop to think about it, especially the human reaper. -ME3... it's hard for me. Gameplay yadda yadda is fun, expands on ME2 turn to action shooting, but give back some RPG elements and character customization. Feels more polished and overall better than ME2. But now the important part: Story. Tuchanka arc? 11/10, no notes, it's what the rest of the game should had been. It develops perfectly from the conflict introduced in ME1 and expanded with Mordin's missions in ME2. You have real agency, and your previous game decisions play key roles in the consequences. Characters reactions to your actions feel organic and well thought. Overall, the best part of the whole series. Rannoch arc? great, but it has some issues in the agency department. Basically, there is only one outcome that makes sense, so it feels rail-roaded. Unless you didn't recruit Legion in ME2 of course. Still, it has standout moments like the first touchdown on Rannoch with Tali and the face-off with the Reaper destroyer. Not as good as Tuchanka but I give it a pass. Now then... the main arc, the Crucible and the hideous, hideous ending. I have no qualms with using a deus-ex-machina, it is a trope for a reason, and it can be executed well. But here, it isn't. We never really know how or why it works, our characters never know either, and the whole thing is forced as hell. Just some techno mumbo-jumbo about how it supercharges the relay network sending an EMP in a frequency that should fry the reapers' processors should be enough explanation. We could even use the human reaper and the collector's base remnants as key for the Crucible, and in doing so finally give ME2 some meaning. I reiterate my point that ME2 should had been the Crucible introduction, I guess the writers didn't had the idea yet and ME3 suffers immensely for it. Making the key plot point a random McGuffin when it needs to wipe out an eldritch sentient machine race in its entirety is waaay too forced. Even more with the disastrous execution: the star child, the race to the Citadel, the meaningless confrontation with TIM, all Kai Leng scenes... Overall, ME3 is the superior game IMO. But it suffers a lot from the rushed development in the late arcs, and the lack of plot progressing in ME2. And the ending is so, so bad, that it makes easy to forget the incredibly high points from the other arcs
ME1 did have way more story, but so much it was often relegated to text. And what a lot of people don't realize is that while ME1 does give you seemingly more conversation options, a lot of them are actually the same voice line delivered the same way. It's just flavor for your own head canon sometimes. Other times yes, you will have three distinct responses
All 3 games do something better than the others. The first game is my favorite because of it being the most rpgish of the series, plus i enjoyed chasing down saren. 2 had the best showcase of characters and some of the most iconic missions in the trilogy. 3 had my favorite combat in the series and some of the best set pieces in the series. That multiplayer though...i still play it from time to time.
I really loved the tight focus on characters in ME2, but I think my vote goes to ME3 because of the pay off as the conclusion to the whole series and the Citadel DLC.
Me1: It's a great start. It has its odd kinks in game design, but it is still solid. Me2: made so many improvements but I think the story is oddly disconnected without the reapers and was resolved in one game Me3: ending aside, took things from both, and improved them further.
ME2 is by far my favorite of the trilogy. Followed by ME1 and then ME3. 3’s not bad, I just found it weaker than the other two from a narrative standpoint. Though 3 does have the best and most enjoyable combat of the trilogy. ME2’s my favorite because of the whole atmosphere of the game. Recruiting a ragtag band of skilled misfits and criminals for a suicide mission was awesome and had a very Suicide Squad feel to it. I enjoyed exploring the Terminus Systems and the gangs and underworld of the galaxy. Also the introductions to both Cerberus and The Illusive Man were great. I really liked ME1 too though and the heavy emphasis on the RPG aspects that weren’t replicated in the following games. ME2 and ME3 leaned more into being a third person shooter than it did an RPG like ME1 did. I liked being able to individually choose from an array of different skills for my class instead of just 3 or 4.
I miss the conditional unlimited "Heat Sink" anmo if the first one. I thought it was a rather unique or st keast seldom done thing making the ME universe stand out.
I used to think ME2 is best, but now after several playthroughs I have to say, for me it's ME1. The atmosphere is unmatched, the sense of wonder and exploration, plus the huge OMFG moments as you discover the truth and the real fate of the Protheans. It's just amazing. ME2 and ME3 both have great things going for them, but they never lived up to the promise of the original.
I adore 1, two is the best, and 3 would have been the best had they not rushed it out the door and didn't flop the ending. The lack of companions in 3 really hurt my soul and the ending crushed it entirely.
Mass Effect 2 was when I started playing the "trilogy". Back then, ME1 was not available on the PS3. But, Mass Effect 3 was when my male Shep was able to romance Kaiden. So, I cannot really decide between these two. Besides, the gameplay in Andromeda eas the best, even if the story was a bust.
There is no other gaming franchise which draws in a story from Three games, and includes choices which can have some impact on your gaming experience from all three games.
I always say there is no best ME game bc they are so vastly different, and where one excelled the other failed with ME2 being the happy middle that’s why a lot of ppl love it the best. That being said ME1 has the best story elements while ME3 gameplay is the best out of the three (I still remember the first time I realised I can punch a bitch so hard after charging as vanguard). ME2 on the other hand while improved a lot of elements gameplay wise disappointed me with a lot of its attention to detail and the fact that beside the recruitment quest there was so little main story missions not to mention the awful side missions after the ME1 side quests being so great story wise.
3 actually was my first, b4 I went back to do the whole trilogy. To me it had the best squad interaction, missions and combat. Going back to 1 is so painful.
having to beat 1 everytime i want to do a playhtough of the trilogy is the one thing i dont look forward to. im with biden on the fact that the characters are what carry mass effect and 2 has the best characters.
2 is the best if I’m being objective. But 3 is my favorite. 2’s gunplay is at its best for the series, however combat overall, melding the abilities with gunplay, is at its best in 3. But the main thing with why 3 is my favorite is that 99% of the game is good to great barring the final segments of Priority Earth. Despite 2 really epitomizing being “choices & consequences the game” with how it builds to the Suicide Mission, 3’s overall abundance of payoffs puts it over the top.
It’s ME2, hands down! Mass Effect 1 is great but is noticeably dated and more linear. It has a great story but what BioWare really shines with is their characters, especially companions. And ME2 has the most in depth, rich insight into them as well as adding an array of new ones. When I first started it I was surprised by the main antagonists being the Collectors after the ending of ME1 but I suppose it makes sense when you learn they’re the husked prothean remnant. And the Suicide mission is the best end mission in the series. I’ve heard people criticise the human reaper end boss fight but I think it was actually shocking and creepy and fills in more of how the reapers think and analyse the worlds/species they annihilate. ME3 actually started out great but how they just tossed out Cerberus as a faction and simplified them into dumb indoctrinated idiots after building them up in 2 just to introduce Cerberus drones as one of the main enemies and Kai Leng, ew, was awful. And the way so many of our favourite characters were sidelined and functionally did nothing all game bar their side missions instead. Plus that ending. The Citadel DLC is what saves it and again it’s only because they brought all the companions back and we had more scenes interacting with them and them interacting with each other. Andromeda is probably a tad underrated. I’ve played twice and the combat is actually super fun and dynamic. SAM and the Pathfinders was pretty interesting and Ryder was likeable but not as iconic as Shepard. But yeah the story was super boring, the Kett were dumb, the Angara were the only new race introduced, we were stuck in one cluster of Andromeda, the companions were okay but nobody really measures up to any of the trilogy and the same goes for the romances. Facial animation was super cringe and when it released it was not finished.
I’m sorry did you just say ME1 is more linear and compared it to 2. . . . One has space exploration that adds depth and side quests and you’re saying the game that removed that (ME2) is more linear. . . . Seriously?
@@adarkwind4712 The side quests in ME1 are just radiant fetch quests and most of them are a chore to get through. The planet exploration is not that good, the only thing that saves it is the Mako. The main story is definitely very linear is what I meant. ME2 is still fairly linear but the side questing is way more story or character relevant and fun to play through.
@@waimarieheap5608 me2 is extraordinarily more linear than ME1 because it lacks exploration. What should’ve happened was expanding that in ME2 not getting rid of it. Radiant fetch quests so we’re gonna ignore the syndicates and Helena Blake who had a cameo in ME2 the nassana dantius sister mission which had a cameo in ME2. We’re gonna ignore the secondary survivor of akuze (if you choose that background) the biotic compound mission admiral kahokus mission series. How about the geth outposts series of missions. Getting wren’s family armor in case you don’t have the charisma to talk him down later Dr saleon for Garrus The Luna VI etc. my guy you obviously haven’t played ME1 in a bit.
@@adarkwind4712 Most of them are just “go to x, do y, return to z” it’s just radiant stuff. I do like that they reference back to some in later games but just because they have a modicum of story attached to the quest doesn’t mean it’s good… I simply enjoyed ME2’s questing far better. Sure it would have been nice to have good exploration but I didn’t really like it in ME1 anyway. I like the exploration in Dragon Age Origins but it’s linear as well, in Dragon Age 2 it’s the same dungeons over and over, and Inquisition is the same as Andromeda - way too big and empty full of mindless chore activities. I don’t like those types of quests personally and that governs my enjoyment of one game over the other.
@@waimarieheap5608 🤦♂️ yeah and so are ME2s side missions. Go to a party find a couple clues collect a grey box. Go to pick up okeer get grunt go through a rite. Go get garrus help garrus track down a traitor get Jack help Jack blow up her old digs. Shall I continue.
My perfect Mass Effect game would have the storytelling of 1, the character writing of 2, and the combat of 3.
my most imperfect mass effect game would have the storytelling of 2, the character writing of 3 and the combat of 1 😭
That was honestly my hope for Andromeda... take all the previous lessons learned from the trilogy, and apply the best aspects of them into Andromeda...
Man, I was a naive kid back then...
1 had so much story to tell but a lot of it was through text. I always imagine a ME1 where all the story content was fully fleshed out, and with a less inane inventory system
@@Colonel_Bat_Guano Like the prothean artifact on eletania. The text was pretty cool but it would be better if you could actually see the protheans studying primitive humans.
@@sharklibur2980 Yeah, that's easily one of the coolest lore moments
ME 1 is an almost painful reminder of when Bioware still cared about RPGs, no location in the later games ever matched the atmosphere of Noveria. It’s a shame that the development time wasted on the side content and DLC didn’t just go towards making a more fleshed out campaign. And Donald’s right, ME3 combat is the only one that strikes the tactical 3rd person/RPG balance correctly, and I find myself replaying ME3 the most because combat is the bulk of any actual playthrough.
Mass Effect 2 handled weapons the best while the third game gave them extremely generic upgrades.
And the first game handled armor and Shields and fitness the best.
Mass Effect 1 alone understood that when you increase your fitness level, you would realistically increase your melee attack and your health level at the same time. It's complete BS that the third game forces you to choose between health and melee.
Mass Effect 3 also pretends that your fitness level will affect your Shields when in reality your armor would decide that.
ME1, Bioshock 1, and Assassins Creed 1 are all studies in atmosphere. Ironically they all dropped in 2007
Yeah because BioWare using the same damn Outpost for almost every side mission is a really good sign that they cared. Not to mention the horrible Planet exploration, subpar map design, mediocre DLC. Extremely dated gameplay... don't get me wrong, I still love the first game. But I don't know how anyone could actually prefer it over the others.
@@NostalgicGamerRickOShayand Mass Effect 1 gave you a lot more options for upgrades outside of fitness. So naturally when it came around to Mass Effect 3 where you only had a handful, they would let you choose one or the other in order to incentivize the player to create a more unique build instead of just maxing everything out in ME1.
@@khithompson3385 Story, NOT gameplay, is what sold Mass Effect. I was honestly tired of combat-centered games like Call of Duty, and fake-RPGs like the Fable franchise, when I first found Mass Effect. I immediately forgave the gameplay because the STORY kept me hooked.
Citadel DLC is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. The feels, reverence for characters, and writing that Citadel has are more than enough to give 3 the nod for me.
Honestly yes, but Soldier Shep versus clone Shep in Legendary difficulty was AWFUL. I absolutely despised that fight. The rest of the DLC is great though.
Do telltale walking dead season 2
Hard agree
Citadel DLC felt very bait-and-switch. It was sold to me under the claim that I would get to experience a bonus mission with my beloved ME2 characters. The Arena DOESN'T count. And the whole CAT-6 fiasco was a predictable waste of time.
Same here. I found myself smiling and reminiscing all the way while Shepard and the guys blast their way through a self-consciously goofy adventure.
really damn well written, like seriously. its quite amazing that i have a favourite game in the trilogy yet i agreed with every point everyone made for and against it, no empty arguments here.
Shit actually had me appreciating me3 more lmao
Agreed. Each of the 3 games has their pros and cons
Hillary being an Andromeda defender had me ROLLING
I'm going to be honest. My favorite game by far is ME1. Sure it's combat is wonky and it's exploration is something that is subpar. But it has heart. The citadel in ME1 is the best layout it had at any point. Sure there are many side-quests with forgettable characters, but there's also quite a handful that have butterfly effects into ME2 and 3.
Dialogue is probably the best overall in ME2, but I prefer the tried and true method in ME1 even though it heavily expects you to play multiple playthroughs or abuse a bug on Noveria to get max paragon and/or renegade.
I will always remember the first time I played through ME1, that sense of adventure and awe was unfortunately not continued in 2 and 3, even though they are fantastic games in their right, they just don't feel like ME1 feels.
I personally love the options for weapon mods and ammo types not being a skill requirement. Explosive rounds on shotguns is always funny, and being able to shoot forever with snowblind rounds with pistols is something that just CAN'T happen in ME2 or ME3.
The scale in ME1 is also fantastic, there's TONS of content in the game, but most of it is optional and the quest tracker actually works (unlike in 3).
There will never be an ending in Sci-Fi history that hits as hard as ME1 and ME2. They have extremely strong endings, and I honestly can't choose between them on which I like more.
Overall, my preference in games is 1>3>2. Note that just because 2 is ranked last, that does NOT mean I dislike the game, or even think it's a bad game, but because of the recruitment system in 2, it limits your freedom to explore the universe too much early and I think ME3 has a more reasonable explanation for limiting where you can go.
I didn't ever think that I would agree so much on someone comment. Love you and me1🙂🙃
It feels weird hearing Obama talk about my modding group porting pinnacle station. Weird in a good way!
ME Modders 👍
The more ME content you upload from the boys, the better.
You make these so realistic and entertaining to watch, thanks for these!
And from my view, no need to comment which ME is best. It's like trying to figure which LotR movie is best.
Yeah and any mass effect fan worthy of actually being called a mass effect fan plays all three everytime they they start up the series again anyway.
I cannot tell you how much I absolutely LOVE these Mass Effect videos. Always look forward to new ones and rewatch often. I may have missed it if it was mentioned in before, but what classes do the boys all main? In the future I would love to see the classes, abilities, and different weapons in each game ranked/tierlisted.
Barry mains sentinel
Donny mains vanguard
Joe tries anything in hopes of beaten grissom academy.
Interesting! My favourite overall has always been 2, but I understand those who find the story too inconsequential by being "side quests and daddy issues".
ME1 had the most intriguing story, and ME3 had the greatest standalone moments and best gameplay. Excited to see what you came up with, PrimeRadiancy!
im honestly surprised you didnt talk about the multiplayer in 3
I thought it was a fun feature and it was dissapointing that it was not in the legendary edition. its honestly really fun and amps up ME3 as a game
Imagine they decided to make a free to play version of it with upgraded graphics and new skins and guns and classes
It was honestly my favorite part of a play through.
Taking a break from the main story to crush some skulls as a krogan was such a blast
Yeah its one of the best parts of ME3.
Yeah a massive missed opportunity not including it in the remaster.
The multiplayer was just a shoehorned in addon for 3 in an attempt for bioware to cash in on some of that sweet multiplayer revenue and loot box addiction.
They were judging the games based on the single player story experience.
When people talk about which modern warfare game they like best, they are talking about the campaign in the trilogy, not the multiplayer lobbies.
ME2 is peak. Underrated world building that massively fleshed out the galaxy and added a ton of new species, much better characterisation and squad member writing, it had fun gameplay that provided the basis for the next game to innovate from, and the Suicide Mission is one of the best final levels in gaming history.
the vorcha, those giant dumb bugs and what else? me2 is overrated as fuck and is only favourited by the same people that think brown/tan shooters of the early 2010s were peak gaming
Story-wise 1 is better, but character-wise 2 is in a league of its own.
RPG elements in ME2 are so dumbed down that it is outright insulting to the inteligence of the players. For f*** sake most of the character don't even wear armor and would rather go into battle wearing sexy outfits.
@@RamboSnoop You get Vorcha, Collectors and Drell for brand new species, but also a ton of new lore and worldbuilding for Asari, Batarians, Hanar, Quarians and ESPECIALLY Geth. It did a lot to flesh out what was already there.
As a lore geek, Mass Effect 2 frustrates the shit out of me. They retconned so many fantastic bits of lore from the first game, and the trend only continued and got worse in 3. Mass Effect 2 took the series from a grounded, quasi-hard sci-fi universe comparable to The Expanse and turned it into just another generic Star Wars-esque setting with slightly less advanced technology. ME3 can only be held accountable for doubling down. It didn't start the problem.
We need the same with Dragon Age. All 3 games in a row. Characters and romances. The different choices. We need all of that.
“The only time this mfer can string together a coherent sentence is when he’s talking about video games”
I must tell you this:
I played MASS EFFECT 2 first in the series, back when it came out. And it was beautiful. It was interesting how the player and Shepard "discovers" this world. There were a lot of moments like "I'm gonna do the Archangel mission first, because it sounds cool" and then I found out, that this archangel-boy is someone related from the first game, it felt like there was connection between the old squad from ME1.
When I arrived in Citadel, I thought to myself - Who is this Saren everyone talks about? And what in the hell is a Reaper? How did I become a Spectre?
It really pulled me in and when I played ME1 I connected all missing dots together. It was much more fun and I was thrilled to finish it.
To be honest - ME3 was more likely to be a fan service.
I liked all three of them. What a shame there aren't any other ME games. Best trilogy ever.
Before LE came out I would’ve said 3. Great combat, excellent missions and emotional endings to stories that came full circle from even the 1st game in Wrex’s and the Geth’s case. I’m with Donald that the only thing against it is the ending. But now with LE and improved graphics and gameplay I think 1 can make a good argument as the best or damn close to 3. World and lore building, excellent atmosphere on missions and while you’re still Shepard you aren’t god yet, proving the Normandy squad to the galaxy and seeing just how fragile the galaxy is before the Reapers is very fun and interesting. Not to mention that it’s a true RPG. I’m not saying that 2 is bad but it is the one I look forward to the least when replaying the trilogy.
I concur, the LE made the gameplay far more tolerable to the point where I think overall it is the best game. The story is easily the best. It's pure, the atmosphere is a study in non-verbal story telling. It truly felt like an adventure movie that you played
@@Captain_Insano_nomercy 100% correct opinion here.
@Abfallkannibale I don't understand the praise 3 gets and I've soured a bit on 2 over the years and these videos actually made a pretty good case for why 2 is overhyped
@@Captain_Insano_nomercy Yeah, they basicly tried to broaden the market for 2, which is why they needed to put a speed-bump into the narrative, so new players would neither be thrown right into the bigger plot nor would have to play me1 first for context. The changes they made were harsh over-corrections of things that were (admittedly) a bit clunky in 1, but still over-corrected.
Also, this might just be me though, 2s world feels very small compared to the other two games, almost as if it was just a big spin-off-addon or something. Maybe because the visual scale of the politics and stuff got completely pushed to the side in order to focus on small, highly loaded ares and plots.
The more I think about it, the weirder 2 gets. Strange.
@Abfallkannibale all good points. I also dislike how they shoe-horned in an ammo system to try to appeal to shooter fans, and hey at least they tried an in-universe explanation, but it still sucked. I mean, I was in the military and let me tell you that having guns without ammo fixes SO many problems that the whole "oh but now we get more shots per minute" argument falls flat. There are so many economical and logistical advantages to not needing ammo alone that it's not even about reloading time
The only way I judge a game is how it makes me feel. Mass effect made me feel a lot. Whole trilogy is goated. Full stop.
ME1 is probably one of the most iconic games that ever existed. I mean the locations have such a great atmosphere, noveria, feros, virmire, ilos they are awesome. The villans are emblamatic. Matriarch benezia The Goat Saren even Balak the terrorist. I mean it's great that bioware updated the combat. But even the original still has that vintage vibe that makes old games great. Plus the story is 10/10.
I enjoyed ME3 the most, yet I see it as the worst, having so many memberal moments and characters, with great combat, but when it drops the ball it drops it hard, leaving there to be more wanting, it’s a strange experience but one I enjoy more than the others
Yeah ME3 highs are soooo great, but the lows are really damn low. The other two games always maintained consistently good logical writing, where as 3 retcons shit and pulls plot points out it's ass quite often. Even with it's big writing flaws it's still my favorite though.
I really love the atmosphere and tension of Leviathan. The music that plays when you’re talking to the indoctrinated mine workers gives me chills.
08:00 - Obama lost the argument there. The "exploration" of having to trawl half the galaxy for minerals, Turian insignia, Salarian dog tags, Asari writings and Protean data was SO FREAKING ANNOYING.
Mass effect 2 has got to be the best with character development,gameplay and the shadow broker dlc is a lot of fun to play loyalty missions are great also and the suicide mission to this day is the best mission in any of the mass effect game’s
your comment reminded me of the time when I used to reload my save to restart the Suicide Mission every day. The music, the combat, the characters, the scene. All of it came together for maybe one of the most epic missions of all gaming.
Slam is such an amazing skill to use on Shadow Broker.... "Allright just lift him up and.. oh... he's gone.."
Would have still been wild for ME3 to have dual stories depending on your decision on the suicide mission. Destroy the collector base and ME3 stays similar to what we know, but keeping the station giving a choice in ME3 to stay with Cerberus. Basically have a ruthless renegade story version where Cerberus doesn’t turn against the rest of humanity, but you ruthlessly step into the power vacuum left after the invasion of earth and subvert the council races. Could have had so many different stories based on decisions, but man would that have been hard to create
Nah despite how ME2 has you remembering Cerberus they are so unapologetically evil from the first time you see them in 1 that the only human support you would get is like terra firma.
Shepherd had a hard enough time convincing the council to work with the alliance, convincing anyone to cooperate with Cerberus is out of the question. Cerberus is a terrorist organization first and foremost, peace between the geth and quarians is easier to achieve than Cerberus and the rest of the galaxy. You would also lose most of your squadmates cuz their love for you does not extend nearly as far as you think it does, the second you start vibing with the illusive man they will say their goodbyes. Side mission central has gaslit people about Cerberus
Facts!! In ME1 side missions, cereberus makes it ABUNDENTLY clear they are enemies to humanity. I will never forget it. I got me2 in 2011 1 year before ME3 came out and I repeated me1 multiple times doing the side quests, so when I played me2 for the first time and cerberus was mentioned that motivated me to go full blown paragon and not trust cereberus. @@RaphDeGrate
I wrote my own version of the story that had 4 games instead of 3 and I had people tell me it was quite good, and my version went something more like that. Shepard would have stuck with cerberus much longer and there would have been a massive choice at the beginning of the third game on whether or not you are rolling with cerberus. The entire third game would be more about alliance versus cerberus as the reaper invasion counted down and their proxies waged war for them
It’s Mass Effect 2 in terms of overall quality. Gameplay was solid, world building was solid, sides missions were solid, DLC was solid. Sure, you can nitpick some parts, but as a whole ME2 doesn’t miss often enough compared to its peers.
ME1 captures that space/sci-fi feeling and really showcased that aspect of the universe well. The story was god tier here. No question. But it’s gameplay really holds it back for me.
ME3 is such a throttle ride that does nearly everything right just to fumble at the ending. RPG elements should’ve been used more. The dlc for this game are bangers especially The Citadel for obvious reasons. Gameplay is perfected here and multiplayer is GOATED.
ME2 is the only game without a significant weakness. ME1 is significantly weighed down by its gameplay, ME3 by its ending. ME2 doesn't really have anything anywhere near as substiantially bad, it may have some rough patches but no huge glaring weaknesses
Mass effect 2’s story was all a giant side quest. All just building up to the final mission set piece. The final mission set piece was good… impressive.. but it’s not an entire game.
I love how the comments are JUST discussing the games. Like listening to politicians discuss this is super normal.
Just shows how good this dude is at writing dialog
So what I’m getting is
Mass effect 1: great world building and exploration
Mass effect 2: great story and character development
Mass effect 3: Best Gameplay
Hopefully the next game will have all three
Modded ME3 is the best one. There's only one ending and lots of other plots over the trilogy get tied up fairly well. Best combat by far. Any reduction in customizable skill points vs me1 is made up for in spades by how fun it is to combo different powers together along with ammo types so even soldiers get some fun combos. All the multiplayer guns modded into SP is so fun to mess around with. In terms of enjoyment when I replay the series it's 3, 2, 1...Let's jam!
What is the modded ending?
@@JJ-52 Essentially destroy but with AI surviving IIRC
@@vasheroo that sounds like the best possible solution
I'm stoked to see we've returned to Mass Effect.
If you need any ideas, how about best weapons by weapon class (assault rifle, shotgun, etc) or generally overall
Before MELE my order was 3, 1, 2 (obviously not in any way saying 2 is bad) purely because 3 has best gameplay and also has Citadel DLC which I think is the most enjoyable part of the trilogy. Since MELE gave ME1 a huge glow up my order is 1, 3, 2. ME3 still beats 2 for the better gameplay and wrapping up squadmate story arcs but 1 now has enjoyable combat and also some of the most memorable moments in the trilogy
My vote is to think of the trilogy as 1 single game. Only way to make it all make sense.
Maybe it’s just because 2 was the first one I played, and I played it so many times, it just has a special place in my heart and it gives me a different feeling whenever I replay the trilogy
ME2 is definitely the best out of all ME's in terms of characters and dialogue, which is probably why you love it so much. ME1 and ME3 definitely fall short character wise when compared to ME2 outside of the Citadel DLC
Mass Effect 1 is my favorite. It’s solely due to sentimentality. Seeing the Presidium for the first time? Magical.
My favourite game to play is ME2. The best moments are in ME3 and the foundational pillar that gave us everything we love was ME1. All 3 of them together gave us the Citadel DLC which will forever be the best Mass Effect game.
I will say that out of all 3 games I've always had a stronger desire to play ME1 the most because of the variety of ways you can roleplay and I do love the clunky, but charming Makko and Uncharted Worlds. ME2 I wana re-play because I love it's characters, but I remember how tight the game is in terms of freedom and pales in comparison to ME1 and even 3 in some regards, and if you know what you're doing, there really isn't that much left to come back to, beyond re-experiencing the same story with slight variations in dialogue with which characters you bring to each location.
Gotta be 2, might not have had the scope or storytelling of 1, nor the combat of 3, but it had the best characters and certainly thr best finale in the series
It's interesting isn't it that each game has it's strengths. No two games were exactly the same, so it's hard to objectively say which is best
Even looking at the comments it's about 40% for 3, 40% for 2, and 20% for 1
I feel like ME1 was the best story/plot wise, ME2 was the best character wise, and ME3 i guess was good at both? Its crazy to think ME is such a good game series that theres almost no arguments (from what ive seen at least) of people on what the best game is.
Not sure of the creative thought process that gave birth to this debating heads of state but it's easily the most original, interesting and entertaining channels around. And the fact that they talk about Mass effect. My all time favorite game is just icing on the cake.
ME1 is my favourite game, because it means, that when I finish it I can jump right into ME2, and then ME3
I did miss the exploration in the world of mass effect one in the other games
Same.😢
First up, these videos are so good man. Like the quality is top notch and you can really see the effort put into them.
And secondly, in my opinion I love the first one the most. Imo it’s the least controversial of the three and the role playing elements are PEAK in this game. When debating the 3 games I feel like no one ranks the first one as the worst. There’s always an argument as to whether that’s the second or the third game.
And thirdly, I love all these games and just because I like the first one more that the others that doesn’t stop me from playing them over and over again ❤️
A friendly reminder that Andromeda with a few mods becomes a really fun game. The 3 big ones are removing the dash delay and the hip fire penalty for the sniper rifle and adding the multiplayer powers to single player. Oh and Road Rage turns the vehicle into something actually fun to drive.
Couldn't agree more. Even without mods it's still a damn good game. Mostly.
Crummy story, crummy characters, lame voice-acting.
@@NostalgicGamerRickOShay And the Asari look like ogre Fiona if she was blue
@@R.Lennartz I swear, a lot of the Humans in that game look more like aliens than the other species do.
Objectively gameplay wise is Andromeda, Narratively wise is Mass effect 1, RPG wise is Mass Effect 1, the best overall is Mass Effect 2. Worst ending is Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect 2 was always my favorite for such a long time, but in my older age I’ve grown more patient. Mass effect 1’s gameplay doesn’t bother me as much and it’s far superior roleplaying elements in the series; coupled with the smarter written overall plot help move it to my number 1 spot in the series.
I think these are all good arguments tbh, but no games are without their flaws. Mass Effect 3 is my personal favorite of the trilogy for many, many reasons. It feels the most personal, emotional, and has my favorite moments out of the trilogy. Tali is also my favorite character and her romance in the third game has my favorite moments ever.
I first played the trilogy back to back 5 years ago when I was still in middle school and I still get emotional nostalgia thinking about it now. I can always go back and replay the trilogy back to back and re-do every single option I did before and not get sick of it. I can’t say that about many games tbh. Also the Citadel DLC is like the best thing ever.
The characters are the most interesting thing in this serie for my part. Thus ME2 is the best imo, no matter if it's a filler.
ME1 had the best atmosphere and worldbuilding.
ME2 had the best character development and final mission
ME3 had the best combat and did a great job of closing alot of character arcs 2 built on. The DLCs were also really good. Shepherd's character arc in 3 was the best as well.
Andromeda was pretty
Empty.
Andromeda had great combat tho, the only reason I played this game lol
@@hetmanotoja Andromeda did have great combat, just not a lot of enemy variety. Higher difficulties were also not particularly fun.
@@hetmanotoja Tbh I kinda hated the Andromeda combat. The guns felt really unimpactful, the jumping was cool but they used it way too much, and the terrain was never really all that interesting; it was mostly just a set of arbitrary barriers and crouch points that led up to a big room. Non-aerial movement also felt very clunky. Not my favorite.
@@wcs9582 Agreed on overuse of jumping and environment design, but with some QoL mods Andromeda combat is a really step forward from the Trilogy. If you just forget it was suppose to be ME game it would be decent. Kinda wish for no mans sky-like game with this kind of combat.
Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 to a degree help the player feel like they and Commander Shepard are the same person.
Mass Effect 3 Commander Shepard feels like a completely disconnected and hijacked character that is frankly cringe in many instances.
Great vid as always.
How about Mass Effect 2/3 weapons tier list next?
It's coming, very long video and I already had this and one other short thing scripted.
I'm with Obama on this topic
4 months late but I love your videos.
Some of my favorite content on UA-cam.
"I'm a real boy, Pinocchio BS" damn joe was a W in that one, in reality they all have problems, ME2 with a lack of weapons, it's a sacrifice and painful to stay alone in cover and depend on your companions, the confusing maps and inventory in ME1 and the rush story of ME3 and the transformation of cerberus into dumb stormtroopers , well everyone has their special flavor
If only ME2 could have established that instead of The Collector Base, the human reaper was being built on Mars by indoctrinated humans with the help of collectors we could have Shep and the gang stumble upon the Catalyst before killing the human reaper and causing major damage to the Mars sites, then we would both have setup for the Catalyst in ME3 and wouldn't need a DLC as to why Shepard is called to Earth.
In all honesty, any argument for any of the games is valid. ME is one of the best game series ever. It’s a distinction of fractions of a point that even then are within the margins of error. 1 had the best rpg 2) was a work of art 3) had the best DLC and action
I really appreciate their profile thumbnails highlighted based on their favorite endings. Barack has blue, Donald has red, and Joe has green.
Maybe rank andromeda missions next ? Or have them debate the story of the next game
I'm all about some Andromeda content.
ME1 is my personal favorite but i love Andromeda gameplay. Hopefully the presidents can do the same format for Andromeda without slamming the game thr whole time. Ranking the best missions, companions, NPCs, etc. And we still need a ranking for the side quests for the trilogy!
Hear, hear! Finally some love for Andromeda!
Yeah it has flaws but every game does.
I think the series works in different ways with each game. ME 1 is best story telling ME 2 is best character moments ME 3 is best gameplay.
Me2 is easily the best it doesnt move the reaper story to much but it introduces some of the seires best characters. While also making tali and garrus significantly better. Its also the game that explores the cultures of each race making the universe more relized. Me1 might have a better plot but me2 has a better story.
First time I've ever agreed with Donald J Trump 🤣
This just reminded that I love them all. Ive tried to play just 2 or 3 and just do the genesis dlc. But i couldn't, can't play one of them without playing them all.
I wonder if the boys might want to debate classes?
ME1 because we get to witness our Lord and Saviour Richard Leroy Jenkins
ME2 for the story and ME3 for the combat. Cross-class combos in 3 opened the door to a wide variety of powerful options across your squad. ME3 doesn't have as many options for character building, but choosing the right options to min/max your ability to prime and detonate combos is important, especially on insanity. In that aspect, character-building choices matter more, even if fewer options exist.
Mass Effect 1 was a rough-around-the-edges gem that blended some classic KotOR beats with a competent (but unpolished) shooter. But for ME2, rather than double-down on the RPG aspects (despite console players proving they were into cRPGs by buying Dragon Age and ME1), Bioware made ME2 a Gears clone with a dating sim tacked on. It was so streamlined you could barely still call it an RPG, but Bioware’s knack for telling a story and writing characters that people cared about carried it through.
Then Mass Effect 3 was an abomination that was (barely) carried by the strength of the characters. Bioware nailed the characters so well that the audience became upset by the ending, overlooking that the series plot had completely collapsed in on itself, and what had previously been an intriguing space opera was reduced to, “Oh, wow - we just found these totally legit blueprints for a giant can of reaper-b-gone that haven’t been foreshadowed or alluded to in any game, book or comic before this moment… despite it literally being right in front of us this whole time. Let’s stop working on everything else and put all our effort and resources into this one deeply implausible bucket.”
I kept waiting for those plans to be a reaper trap, or a prothean trap, or something interesting… but no, it really was just a magic anti-reaper device that we’d never had suggested or foreshadowed in any place, ever. It felt like such a cop out - they’d clearly written themselves into a corner.
Then ME:A rolled around - despite actually managing to blend deeper character customization and it’s combat mechanics more effectively than any of the previous games, it got panned when people compared that one game to the entire preceding trilogy and found it lacking. Lazy memes around the animations focused on a lack of external polish, something that was never a ME strong suit (no one minded that in ME1 Captain Anderson’s head looked less like a wise military man and more like an aged potato). It had a plot that was more coherent and interesting that 3. It has new characters that were interesting without the benefit of using previous characterization as a crutch. It set up a series arc that wouldn’t require a magical deus ex crucible to resolve.
It was rough around the edges, just like ME1 - a sterling effort from a new team… torn apart by sulking fans because it didn’t include their blue waifu and panned by other gamers for bugs that were no worse than what you’d find in Skyrim or Fallout. But rather than grow MEA out, like they did with ME1 - they killed it….
If they'd given it time to grow it could have easily kicked off a trilogy as impressive as the first. After Anthem I don't think Bioware are even capable of making a good series again.
I'm on the same page with you about Andromeda. It has a lot of potential. I think it's overall a good game. All the games have problems, just different ones, as this video showed it perfectly. I hoped to get an MEA2 to see my Ryder's growth but unfortunately it seems less likely to happen. I might be biased though because I played MEA first then MELE.
ME2 is my least favourite so far. It felt like an overextended DLC to ME1. There are only two things it does better than the other ME games: the character development of the NPCs and the structure of the suicide mission.
My list after my first playthrough:
1. ME3
2. ME1
3. MEA
4. ME2
I'm currently in my second playthrough, post-Noveria in ME1 (completed all the sidequests that popped up before), and oh boy I'm bored. My opinion might change after I wrap up all 4 games again.
I love the MS & MS2 for different reasons and as a guy who still plays the trilogy today, this convo is fire.
I have to say, you have really improved on these AI videos, before i was a bit bored because they all agreed and were just talking thriugh what happens on a mission, now they actually disagree and argue which is much more entertaining. Good job!
Mass Effect 2 for me. Not just my favourite ME game, but my second favourite game of all time just behind Red Dead 2
Love your Mass Effect videos, but I'm looking forward to more Telltale's Walking Dead as well!
My personal favorite is ME3, because I find it the most replayable out of the three. Maybe the reason to that are hundreds of hours I spent playing multiplayer back in the day. Anyway, ME3 feels like a good final chapter that closes some really interesting plot lines (geth vs quarians, genophage...) even as the actual game ending is trashy - I kind of enjoyed it.
ME2 is the best at Suicidal Mission, but other than that it's almost painful for me to play it. Biotics is almost useless in higher difficulties, class-based weapon restriction is absolute bullshit and the gameplay is just taking cover infinitely... And the story feels a bit separated from the main plot. Still, I liked the companion-gathering aspect of the game, this is where it shines.
Interestingly enough I find remastered ME1 more playable than ME2, but missions are very repetitive, planet exploring is mostly boring. However, the whole storyline of the first game is coherent and whole.
I'd order the games like ME3, ME1 and ME2
For me, the order is:
1. Mass Effect 2
Pros: Great Characters including what is in my opinion the best cast of Squadmates out of the trilogy.
The GOAT final suicide mission.
Great writing overall both for the story and characters.
Interesting locations/Planets visited.
Loyalty Missions.
Some great DLC.
Gameplay that in my opinion is in most ways as good as Mass Effect 3.
The crazy intro really hooks you into the game.
It took what the first game had established and introduced so many more iconic features, elements, characters, and locations.
Introduced the Paragon/Renegade interrupts.
Cons: Arrival DLC while cool in a lot of ways has some serious issues.
Firewalker DLC is bad.
It cuts down on the feeling of exploration that Mass Effect 1 had.
The change to thermal clips was a mistake in my opinion.
Watered down or removed much of the RPG gameplay elements of the first game. (Things like different classes of armor, the weapon upgrades, etc..)
2. Mass Effect 1
Pros: Great feeling of exploration that neither subsequent game was able to replicate.
Has a really strong second half of missions with Virmire, Ilos, and the final part on the Citadel.
Being the first game it established the Mass Effect Universe and many of the iconic characters, locations, and elements of it.
Cons: Very repetitive locations with the same interiors being copied and pasted over and over.
The Mako while I don't absolutely hate it like a lot of people do gets very old by the end of a playthrough,
The combat is very clunky and it was even for the time the game came out.
The character writing wasn't at the level Mass Effect 2 would achieve.
Unremarkable DLC.
3. Mass Effect 3
Pros: A really great intro with the attack on Earth.
The Citadel DLC is excellent.
The multiplayer was fun although the monetization of it was annoying.
Having a Prothean as a squadmate is really cool, but it shouldn't have been a separate DLC and Javik was underused IMO.
Took the really solid foundation of Mass Effect 2's gameplay and refined it.
Some really cool missions and moments.
Returning squadmates and characters are generally well-written.
Cons: The overall story writing really fell apart.
The ending is a mess in so many ways that is full of plot holes and other issues even with the extended cut.
The immediate introduction of the crucible as a Deus ex machina.
Mostly unremarkable new characters.
Kai Leng
Much of the excellent cast of squadmates and other characters from Mass Effect 2 were sidelined.
The Reapers which were mysterious and supposedly beyond our understanding are explained and the explanation doesn't make sense.
Cerberus and the Illusive Man were transformed from being shadowy, interesting, and morally questionable into being generic evil bad guys.
Many decisions/choices from previous games weren't given the respect they deserved.
The catalyst/Star Child.
Harbinger from Mass Effect 2 was sidelined.
The layout and design of the Normandy is worse than Mass Effect 2
What if the real best Mass Effect game was the friends we made along away??
The three games have their very clear high and low points.
- ME1 starts strong. Very interesting world building. I swear I spent almost the same time reading the codex than actually playing the game. It has gameplay issues tho, exploring the worlds is a chore and the inventory is a disaster. Also, besides Wrex, the squadmates are kinda boring. I can forgive Tali because youth and a good character arc through the series, but both Liara and Garrus pick up on ME2. Ashley is fine I guess, just all over the place character-wise. and Kaidan has some interesting backstory that falls flat (also I usually let him die so not much development from my side). Still, good game overall, many memorable moments and an excellent ending with great character choice ramifications (that sadly get misused by the sequels).
- ME2 is an action movie. It's fun and with a lot of great character introductions, which was BioWare's strong suit. The story choices suck tho. Killing Shepard at the start plays no function, it's just there for sheer impact. Your main character dying should be a big deal, but here? He's back after a couple cutscenes. His experience with death is barely explored and the only effect it has are some scars that you can easily delete. Collectors are kinda bland as an enemy and with barely a connection to the Reaper threat at all. The Cerberus angle is interesting, but you didn't need to kill Shepard to achieve it. The middle issue of a trilogy should be all about progressing the plot, exploring the lowest point for the protagonists, see Empire Strikes Back as a gold standard. Here, it feels like a filler arc, which makes no favors for ME3. I think the Arrival plot should had been expanded as the main conflict of the game, and the Crucible should had been introduced somewhere along the way. Leaving it as an afterthought damaged the whole series. The ending is crazy fun but dumb if you stop to think about it, especially the human reaper.
-ME3... it's hard for me. Gameplay yadda yadda is fun, expands on ME2 turn to action shooting, but give back some RPG elements and character customization. Feels more polished and overall better than ME2. But now the important part: Story. Tuchanka arc? 11/10, no notes, it's what the rest of the game should had been. It develops perfectly from the conflict introduced in ME1 and expanded with Mordin's missions in ME2. You have real agency, and your previous game decisions play key roles in the consequences. Characters reactions to your actions feel organic and well thought. Overall, the best part of the whole series. Rannoch arc? great, but it has some issues in the agency department. Basically, there is only one outcome that makes sense, so it feels rail-roaded. Unless you didn't recruit Legion in ME2 of course. Still, it has standout moments like the first touchdown on Rannoch with Tali and the face-off with the Reaper destroyer. Not as good as Tuchanka but I give it a pass. Now then... the main arc, the Crucible and the hideous, hideous ending.
I have no qualms with using a deus-ex-machina, it is a trope for a reason, and it can be executed well. But here, it isn't. We never really know how or why it works, our characters never know either, and the whole thing is forced as hell. Just some techno mumbo-jumbo about how it supercharges the relay network sending an EMP in a frequency that should fry the reapers' processors should be enough explanation. We could even use the human reaper and the collector's base remnants as key for the Crucible, and in doing so finally give ME2 some meaning. I reiterate my point that ME2 should had been the Crucible introduction, I guess the writers didn't had the idea yet and ME3 suffers immensely for it. Making the key plot point a random McGuffin when it needs to wipe out an eldritch sentient machine race in its entirety is waaay too forced. Even more with the disastrous execution: the star child, the race to the Citadel, the meaningless confrontation with TIM, all Kai Leng scenes...
Overall, ME3 is the superior game IMO. But it suffers a lot from the rushed development in the late arcs, and the lack of plot progressing in ME2. And the ending is so, so bad, that it makes easy to forget the incredibly high points from the other arcs
ME1 did have way more story, but so much it was often relegated to text. And what a lot of people don't realize is that while ME1 does give you seemingly more conversation options, a lot of them are actually the same voice line delivered the same way. It's just flavor for your own head canon sometimes. Other times yes, you will have three distinct responses
Well it’s easy for me when Jack gets in ME2, ME2 is the best. It was light on RPG but the characters hard carry it man.
Hillary claiming Andromeda was the best ME game was just perfect. These vids are awesome and hilarious.
We need a class ranking!!!( Vanguard being the best obviously)
Until you have to fight yourself in Citadel DLC. Jesus that sucked.
It's obviously Adept, anyone who claims otherwise is clearly just a non-biotic peasant
I agree with Donald. Such a based opinion about ME 3.
All 3 games do something better than the others. The first game is my favorite because of it being the most rpgish of the series, plus i enjoyed chasing down saren. 2 had the best showcase of characters and some of the most iconic missions in the trilogy. 3 had my favorite combat in the series and some of the best set pieces in the series. That multiplayer though...i still play it from time to time.
I really loved the tight focus on characters in ME2, but I think my vote goes to ME3 because of the pay off as the conclusion to the whole series and the Citadel DLC.
Me1: It's a great start. It has its odd kinks in game design, but it is still solid.
Me2: made so many improvements but I think the story is oddly disconnected without the reapers and was resolved in one game
Me3: ending aside, took things from both, and improved them further.
Maybe make a powers tier list? Flare from ME3 is overpowered
Are we talking original or Legendary edition, as there was balancing in the Collection that did change some powers I believe.
@austinfowler2707 yeah the power Flare wasn't around until legendary edition even then it was only available in ME3 after helping Aria take back omega
ME 2 for story, 3 for combat and movement and Citadel
For me it’s 50/50 as ME2 final mission is just incredible
ME2 is by far my favorite of the trilogy. Followed by ME1 and then ME3. 3’s not bad, I just found it weaker than the other two from a narrative standpoint. Though 3 does have the best and most enjoyable combat of the trilogy. ME2’s my favorite because of the whole atmosphere of the game. Recruiting a ragtag band of skilled misfits and criminals for a suicide mission was awesome and had a very Suicide Squad feel to it. I enjoyed exploring the Terminus Systems and the gangs and underworld of the galaxy. Also the introductions to both Cerberus and The Illusive Man were great. I really liked ME1 too though and the heavy emphasis on the RPG aspects that weren’t replicated in the following games. ME2 and ME3 leaned more into being a third person shooter than it did an RPG like ME1 did. I liked being able to individually choose from an array of different skills for my class instead of just 3 or 4.
After all this i would love seeing the boys discuss the dragon age games i think inquisition isnt as bad as some people say it is
I really enjoyed the Multiplayer of 3, and it's a damn shame that it never got brought back.
My Turian Jetpack class was insane.
I'm sorry but "From Ashes" is not a DLC, because that shit was ready and locked behind a fucking pay wall.
You romance Tali and Garrus in ME2, i rest my case.
Never romanced anyone in ME2, always stay loyal to my blue goddess Liara
@@gerald1495 I respect tastes, but those two are ride or die partners.
I miss the conditional unlimited "Heat Sink" anmo if the first one. I thought it was a rather unique or st keast seldom done thing making the ME universe stand out.
I used to think ME2 is best, but now after several playthroughs I have to say, for me it's ME1. The atmosphere is unmatched, the sense of wonder and exploration, plus the huge OMFG moments as you discover the truth and the real fate of the Protheans. It's just amazing. ME2 and ME3 both have great things going for them, but they never lived up to the promise of the original.
I adore 1, two is the best, and 3 would have been the best had they not rushed it out the door and didn't flop the ending. The lack of companions in 3 really hurt my soul and the ending crushed it entirely.
It's 2. Everybody knows it. And ironically enough the best combat by far is Andromeda.
1 had great RPG elements, 2 had an amazing story, and 3 had great game play.
Mass Effect 2 was when I started playing the "trilogy". Back then, ME1 was not available on the PS3. But, Mass Effect 3 was when my male Shep was able to romance Kaiden. So, I cannot really decide between these two. Besides, the gameplay in Andromeda eas the best, even if the story was a bust.
Oh damn, this is gonna be historical.
There is no other gaming franchise which draws in a story from Three games, and includes choices which can have some impact on your gaming experience from all three games.
I always say there is no best ME game bc they are so vastly different, and where one excelled the other failed with ME2 being the happy middle that’s why a lot of ppl love it the best. That being said ME1 has the best story elements while ME3 gameplay is the best out of the three (I still remember the first time I realised I can punch a bitch so hard after charging as vanguard). ME2 on the other hand while improved a lot of elements gameplay wise disappointed me with a lot of its attention to detail and the fact that beside the recruitment quest there was so little main story missions not to mention the awful side missions after the ME1 side quests being so great story wise.
Lol Hillary's massive L take is I think my favorite part of this video!
Hillary: "Andromeda-"
User can been banned from server
3 actually was my first, b4 I went back to do the whole trilogy. To me it had the best squad interaction, missions and combat.
Going back to 1 is so painful.
having to beat 1 everytime i want to do a playhtough of the trilogy is the one thing i dont look forward to. im with biden on the fact that the characters are what carry mass effect and 2 has the best characters.
@@Zeitgeist2000 I legit made 4 saves for just to import and never play them again 😭
2 is the best if I’m being objective. But 3 is my favorite. 2’s gunplay is at its best for the series, however combat overall, melding the abilities with gunplay, is at its best in 3.
But the main thing with why 3 is my favorite is that 99% of the game is good to great barring the final segments of Priority Earth. Despite 2 really epitomizing being “choices & consequences the game” with how it builds to the Suicide Mission, 3’s overall abundance of payoffs puts it over the top.
It’s ME2, hands down! Mass Effect 1 is great but is noticeably dated and more linear. It has a great story but what BioWare really shines with is their characters, especially companions. And ME2 has the most in depth, rich insight into them as well as adding an array of new ones. When I first started it I was surprised by the main antagonists being the Collectors after the ending of ME1 but I suppose it makes sense when you learn they’re the husked prothean remnant. And the Suicide mission is the best end mission in the series. I’ve heard people criticise the human reaper end boss fight but I think it was actually shocking and creepy and fills in more of how the reapers think and analyse the worlds/species they annihilate.
ME3 actually started out great but how they just tossed out Cerberus as a faction and simplified them into dumb indoctrinated idiots after building them up in 2 just to introduce Cerberus drones as one of the main enemies and Kai Leng, ew, was awful. And the way so many of our favourite characters were sidelined and functionally did nothing all game bar their side missions instead. Plus that ending. The Citadel DLC is what saves it and again it’s only because they brought all the companions back and we had more scenes interacting with them and them interacting with each other.
Andromeda is probably a tad underrated. I’ve played twice and the combat is actually super fun and dynamic. SAM and the Pathfinders was pretty interesting and Ryder was likeable but not as iconic as Shepard. But yeah the story was super boring, the Kett were dumb, the Angara were the only new race introduced, we were stuck in one cluster of Andromeda, the companions were okay but nobody really measures up to any of the trilogy and the same goes for the romances. Facial animation was super cringe and when it released it was not finished.
I’m sorry did you just say ME1 is more linear and compared it to 2. . . . One has space exploration that adds depth and side quests and you’re saying the game that removed that (ME2) is more linear. . . . Seriously?
@@adarkwind4712 The side quests in ME1 are just radiant fetch quests and most of them are a chore to get through. The planet exploration is not that good, the only thing that saves it is the Mako. The main story is definitely very linear is what I meant. ME2 is still fairly linear but the side questing is way more story or character relevant and fun to play through.
@@waimarieheap5608 me2 is extraordinarily more linear than ME1 because it lacks exploration. What should’ve happened was expanding that in ME2 not getting rid of it. Radiant fetch quests so we’re gonna ignore the syndicates and Helena Blake who had a cameo in ME2 the nassana dantius sister mission which had a cameo in ME2. We’re gonna ignore the secondary survivor of akuze (if you choose that background) the biotic compound mission admiral kahokus mission series. How about the geth outposts series of missions. Getting wren’s family armor in case you don’t have the charisma to talk him down later Dr saleon for Garrus The Luna VI etc. my guy you obviously haven’t played ME1 in a bit.
@@adarkwind4712 Most of them are just “go to x, do y, return to z” it’s just radiant stuff. I do like that they reference back to some in later games but just because they have a modicum of story attached to the quest doesn’t mean it’s good… I simply enjoyed ME2’s questing far better. Sure it would have been nice to have good exploration but I didn’t really like it in ME1 anyway. I like the exploration in Dragon Age Origins but it’s linear as well, in Dragon Age 2 it’s the same dungeons over and over, and Inquisition is the same as Andromeda - way too big and empty full of mindless chore activities. I don’t like those types of quests personally and that governs my enjoyment of one game over the other.
@@waimarieheap5608 🤦♂️ yeah and so are ME2s side missions. Go to a party find a couple clues collect a grey box. Go to pick up okeer get grunt go through a rite. Go get garrus help garrus track down a traitor get Jack help Jack blow up her old digs. Shall I continue.