I love you all. I love ME2. Remember I love all Mass Effect games. Let me know your thoughts but let's not fight! OK, corrections time: - At one point when talking about going from ME1 into ME2 I said "getting through" when I meant to say "getting to" ME2's combat. - I can't pronounce the word criticism apparently. - I'm pretty iffy on whether I pronounced the word asterisk at all or just gave up on the last syllable. I'm pretty sure I will take heat for daring to blaspheme ME2 but that's what comments are for! Let me know what you think.
@@BONKSHLOB that's acttually a fair point. What bugs me it feels to me that it does that at the expense of a bigger plot. It breaks my heart but I could scrap a few companions if Collectors/cerberus/etc would be flesh out better
@@galilea723 exactly this, ths amount of squadmates and the fact that each have their own recruitment missions definitely make the larger story less focused. The actual main questline is very short. I would definitely trim the number of squamates, maybe to ME3 numbers. Imo i would just scrap Kasumi (she doesn't contribute at all to the mission and her role as a shy techie is overlapped with Tali), and as much as it hurt to say this, Grunt, merged Zaeed and Jacob (a veteran Cerberus operative with a revenge story sounds interesting, way more than what Jacob currently is) along with Thane and Samara (a warrior nearing the end of their life seeking one last redemption, but the justicar aspect definitely have to be changed though unfortunately). It also doesn't help that there are major plotholes in it (etc : why Shepard and co just leave the Normandy undefended for a mission that's never mentioned before and ever again)
Just want to add, arguably Mass Effect 1 has shown at least 12 alien Species: Asari, Turian, Salarian, Krogan, Quarian, Elcor, Volus, Hanar, Geth, Rachni, Thorian, and of course Reapers. Not to mention non-sentient alien like Thresher Maw, Keeper, Pyjaks, Shifty-Looking-Cow. And at least 2 species mentioned but not shown until later in the series: Prothean and Batarian.
This is something i notice, playing the legendary edition on insanity actually. Because of ME1s amount of RPG, even while combat is still abit more iffy, it was so much more fun because you had so many more options options from ammo types, powers, and allies. ME2 dumbed it down enough that it felt more grindy at times... plus planet probing was a thing
Planet probing was less tedious than mako missions. I never felt like I was massively grinding except in the mako, which I enjoyed. Probing is easy. Only focus on rich or good planets and quickly grab 5 probe spots. That should give you enough to buy every upgrade.
I am a bit conflicted on this one, because while ME1 gave a much greater ILLUSION of choices, they had much less actual effect. The skill tree did only make difference until we leveled it up to midway to get the special powers, but by halfway through the game, we have everything and we are a bit overpowered from there anyway. From there, it didn’t really matter who I select as a squad mate either, because even a biotic could easily fly a Geth. And the weapon/armor selection is a joke, they have no difference, only how quickly it takes down the enemy. Always choose the one with the higher number… I don’t even remember their names… ME2/3 had MUCH less power selection, but those are more significantly different. And also because the enemies are tougher, we need to be much more mindful about how we use them, which order, and against which enemies, because some of them are completely ineffective in certain situations. For the same reason, carefully selecting the squad-mates for each mission is more important, because it can make or break a mission in harder difficulties. Also, the weapons have fundamental differences here, and different weapons in the same category have to be used in entirely different ways. Mattock vs Revenant, Viper vs Widow, Claymore vs Geth Plasma shotgun, we can’t declare any of them as better than the other, yet it can change our play-style entirely.
@@tkaki6029 I love ME2 but I disagree with you on the Mako. I’m in the minority I guess as I loved the Mako parts. Planet scanning is boring and adds nothing. ME2 is still probably my favorite though
I like ME2, I love the suicide mission, but I certainly dislike the factor that, having so many characters, they have soooo little interaction in missions, on ME1 or ME3 all characters have something to say on all missions, but on ME2, the characters just keep quiet during 90% of missions not directly involving them.
I wish ME3 had more large scale battles. Earth was underwhelming because I could not see the Army/Fleet I spent so long building and gathering. I understand that would require alot of coding and probably would of push development time longer. But aside from that, ME3 was pretty good imo. I play it via Legendary Edition so it was all in one go pretty much for me.
After replaying all 3 I can say this Me1 : best RPG experience. really solid gameplay, lots of missions, no pressure explore at your own pace. Me2 : best relationship building game. Solid but flawed gameplay mainly from those awful class restrictions. lots of missions but they feel more grindy. Lots of pressure and soft/hard locks that make you sometimes feel like you have to tiptoe around. Overlord DLC is some of the best content mass effect has ever seen Me3 : best overall game. Gameplay is so fun and varied that even 20 runs in you'll STILL find new ways to play. Missions are more streamlined shorter and less numerous but make a lasting impression. The pressure is immeasurable but never crushing as you gather allies it starts feeling like you truly can win. Best DLC content hands down Omega, Leviathan and of course the GOAT citadel are all in leagues of their own and truly showed what bioware is capable of.
Thank you. Thank you so much. I scrolled down just to comment the very same about the DLCs. Somehow I never played all of them for the third game (only Omega) before Legendary Edition and I was shocked at how good Leviathan was, and even Omega seemed way better than I remembered. Now that From Ashes kinda exists as a core part of the game, separate from all the sh*t it represented at the time (a Day One paid DLC which locked you out of a very important piece of lore *and* a friggin Prothean companion!), it's very clear Mass Effect 3 had the best DLCs by far.
I was going to say that he was missing that mass effect 2 is great because of the characters and relationships you build. You said it better and it is exactly how I feel about all 3 games.
ME3 is my favorite as well. One thing I loved was that every side mission -- no matter how small -- added war assets, so you never felt like you were wasting time for unimportant things. Everything you did was contributing to the strength of the final push, so I didn't feel the pressure to hurry up to the end.
Playing 3 again, I think it is hands down the best. The way they tell the story, they way it feels so cinematic. The way squadmates move around the ship and interact. And always have a short blurb to say so it feels like they are actually people with thoughts vs 1 and 2 where they have like... 3 or 4 conversations and then you're done. The way the characters on the citadel bring you into the war with their conversations. How the role playing elements aren't overdone and meaningless like 1 but are more robust than 2. 3 makes you feel like you're in the world better than any other game. 2 gets points for the suicide mission mechanic and how it makes it feels so high stakes. 1... I'm still Meh on 1. There are like 4 missions and every side mission in the galaxy is in one of the same 3 buildings. The story telling feels less personal and more hands off. It's easier to breeze through. 2 and 3 have all unique side missions and most of them actually make you think about something. Especially 3. In 3 so many are truly urgent. They're not just something to check off the list they way they are in 1. 3 is the best across the board in my opinion. Endings are hard... But the game overall is a masterpiece in storytelling in a way the other two are not. It builds on their shoulders, no doubt. But it feels like a revolution playing through it after the first 2 after all these years.
I think 1 was crushed under its own ambition and thus the worst one. 2 and 3 have different strength. I think 2 has the best structure thanks to the way the suicide mission is handled. And the best gameplay thanks to the varied level and enemy design. 3 is the culmination of a lot of plot thread in the series, best cinematic presentation and general atmosphere.
I like 3 best as well. I think the devs shouldve just agreed and said that shepard was actually indoctrinated and that the end was his mind fighting it before death. Instead, they really doubled down on that lame ending
ME3 is the worst in the trilogy. You can feel how game development was incredibly rushed due to EA corporate interference at every unpolished corner of the game. It needed an additional year in development.
I realize I'm in the minority, but I think ME3 is hands down the best in the series (provided you play it with DLC). The gameplay, level design, writing, voice acting, and sheer emotional weight are just superior in my opinion.
While ME2 is the more consistent and well made game than ME3, I've always found myself having more fun in the third game for some reason. The improved squadmate interactions where not only your squadmate would comment more frequently during missions, the interactions between them in the Normandy is a big factor as well. Whereas in ME2 you never sense the camaraderie between them because they rarely interacted at all.
RIGHT!!! like i loved the fleshed out squadmates in 2, but they stayed in their spots and rarely interacted. I wish they made the interactions bwtn squadmates in3 but in 2 (aside from the fights) bcause then the ship would truly feel alive!
ME3 was the ONLY one that got squad interaction right. ME2 claims to be about building a team but its not. Its about enlisting individuals. Even during the suicide mission the only "team" related moment is picking someone mildly capable of organizing a fire team. Thats it. Imagine if Miranda and Jack had to work in tandem and your actions during their missions as well as their interactions with you and eachother played a part. Imagine the same for Tali and Legion. Imagine if it came down to more than just: 1. Did you solve their daddy issues? 2. Did you select one of the 2 possible competant people for this job that even a moron can see? I hate seeing unbridled praise for ME2 because its just not deserving of it.
I agree with most points, and I'm happy to see I was not the only one to take the Legendary Edition as an opportunity to reassess a lot of stuff from the original games. But you know what's REALLY the best about it? It's that now, more than ever, Mass Effect for me is a single incredible game. One that starts by descending on Eden Prime and only ends when "my" Shepard decides to destroy the Reapers and may even survive after all. One single game where he ended Project Overlord, saw firstand who Liara would become and even found a Prothean survivor, all seamlessly within the core story, all without me paying extra for such important bits of lore. One single game that, now more than ever, is one of my all-time favorites. In that light, while all this discussion about the best aspects of each of the three "acts" may be fun, it has become purely academic now. Mass Effect, the One Legendary Game, is the best. (and funnily enough, the fact that the name of this edition does not mention "trilogy" anywhere makes a LOT more sense now)
I totally agree with all your points here. Even before MELE was released, after 10+ playthroughs I still hold on to my belief that ME2 is the weakest in the trilogy. ME2 just felt like a whole big side quest and it got tedious after some time. ME3 is still my favorite and yes that includes the endings.
Yeah, I always had this weird feeling of ME2 being largely irrelevant. The collectors are only briefly mentioned as threatening Earth (which never really feels like a true “we need to hurry” event, given that it is never really brought up again after the ship raid). They do threaten to build a new reaper… “oh no, 1 more reaper on top of the thousands we are fighting 6 months later”. I really wish there was more impact on why the collectors needed to be stopped other than 1 single reaper potentially showing up 6 months earlier than the rest. like, were there really so many of them on that base that they’d turn the tide of the war later? was their 1 frigate really gonna win them the war? Id have liked it if it were something like them building a new “alpha” relay to let the reapers freely jump between any relay, so now Shepard’s actions have had a direct and crippling blow that prevents the reapers from easily destroying every system’s defenses in a matter of days
Yeah what a horrible opinion. Mass effect 2 is best in the trilogy gameplay wise and the dialogue is levels ahead of 1 and especially 3. The world building isn’t just pure exposition like in the other games and the decisions you’re presented aren’t the absolute extremes. Sabotaging the genophage is never an option because wrex and mordin are my favorites, and why pick anything besides peace between the quarians and the geth? The decisions in mass effect 3 are incredibly shallow. If you saved the rachni queen before why would kill her for getting kidnapped? Kaiden or Ashley only believe you’re not evil if visit them at the citadel when their in the hospital every hour on the hour or bang you gotta start blasting. Mass effect 3 is still good don’t get me wrong but I don’t like the world being so malleable that my character just says something stupid and then a literal nation dies. Mass effect 2 is like a house party where everyone is doing their own thing off in different rooms some smoking weed some playing strip poker some trying to get piece of ass yet it’s all still connected through the party and the music bouncing off the walls of the home while mass effect 3 is more like a wave pool. It’s badass for a minute but there’s tons of downtime and all these random people you could give a shit less about (James, Steve, the IGN lady, Ashley, any mission that introduces a character for them just to die)
@@CaleebTalib m8, the combat of 2 is super stiff and slow compared to me 1 and 3, especially in LE. really trying to undersell ME1 with how much lore it was able to set up without exposition dumps honestly dude, most of these complaints seem super shallow
@@Luxia-f1e no I shouldn’t lump ME1 in with 3 in that aspect you are correct. The beginning citadel portion of mass effect one is little expository overload but little stuff like being ambushed at choras den is such a small yet huge atmosphere builder that even this mega space station has a criminal underworld that can’t be snuffed out. While Mass effect 3 has funny toothbrush lady over sexualize a female ai voice because those lesbians sure are crazy huh. Also they were like everyone loved afterlife so let’s just make a soulless and way less interesting version that has literally zero secrets besides getting soon to be dead soldiers drunk with your meathead squad member, who’s only interesting dialogue is after you do 183 pull ups manually lmao. I don’t hate Mass effect 3 but people were more excited for the story and it seemed they focused more heavily on the mainstream appeal for the gameplay instead.
@@CaleebTalib Ill admit me3 is definitely rushed, Id argue its much improved and faster paced combat helps cover for that. Its more accurate to say the effort went into the gameplay and character *moments* over world building. Which makes sense, given that the themes are a war of survival. Theres already been 2 games to establish setting, its time to fully establish the true threat the reapers pose and what it will take to win. Mordin Legion Wrex Javik (tali if you choose the geth) joker all have some truly emotionally charged and powerful moments. you can seriously feel the stress and anxiety that ME3’s war sells. The reapers are tearing through everyone and everything most of ME3’s biggest issues are likely from EA’s time constraints and demand for a weird multiplayer system (which tbh was pretty fun, but kinda shallow) they’re all great games, but ME2 has some serious issues in the gameplay department compared to the others. A great story is great, but I can get the story through a youtube video.
After playing through Legendary Edition on insanity through all three games, I have to admit that I changed my mind regarding ME2 as well. I never really spent much time arguing about which was best on forums or anything, it was just a personal opinion I kept to myself. As I played through ME1 though, I couldn't help but love everything, despite the memories I had regarding ME1 after playing ME2. Between when it first came out on Xbox 360 and then finally PC, I had well over 200 hours of ME1 game time, and while most of the memories are good, I was dreading combat (especially on insanity with level 1 characters) and the Mako sections. But playing through them on LE were actually quite enjoyable. When I finally finished ME1 and moved on to ME2, I was feeling really good about starting ME2, until I remember how every damned enemy was protected on insanity. Thankfully I stuck with soldier the entire trilogy, but it was still really annoying when I wanted to utilize my squad powers. And while the story and ending was every bit as good as I remembered, when I moved on to ME3 (which I was somewhat dreading due to my memories regarding the ending), I was actually relieved that I wouldn't have to carry that damned stupid heavy weapon on my back, worry about stupid Scions and Praetorians anymore (or ASSUMING CONTROL!), and be stuck with a slow ass jog. Plus, being forced to carry every weapon, yet somehow being excluded from SMGs (the Locust was so sweet in ME2) as a soldier was really annoying. I think combat really bugged me in ME2 more than I cared to admit. When I started ME3, I immediately loved how movement and combat felt, and how insanity was still difficult but finally fair with regards to using powers (no more armor for stupid husks and the other lowliest foot soldiers). Side note I have hundreds of hours on both ME3 and Andromeda multiplayer (several maxed UR weapons), and yes, they easily put ME2 combat to shame. Anyway, after going through all of the incredible highs, seriously one after another such as completing the trilogy spanning threads of the genophage and the geth war, and killing THREE Reaper destroyers, when I finally got to that ending, I was actually okay with it. Somehow after all of this time, I guess I just figured what the hell, what did I really expect to happen? I was a fan of the indoctrination theory, but I was open to anything other than the green space magic. But ultimately, I felt like it was fitting due to the way they hammer into us the whole synthetics always destroying organics and needing a solution to that. I might not agree with the idea or the solution, but based on what I experienced in playing through the whole trilogy in a few weeks, I could just accept it and enjoy the finale. So I guess I will say that ME3 is my all time favorite followed very closely by ME1, and then ME2. Not something I would have expected to admit, but there it is, and thanks for also sharing your video.
Looking at the like/dislike ratio, it's sad that someone can't have an unpopular opinion without just getting railroaded by the internet. You raise valid points, especially now that the LE exists. ME1 was always my favorite - I do not know how mining planets from orbit (boring and tedious) is preferable to getting boots on the ground and actually exploring uncharted planets for resources - and ME3 has some of the best character writing in any game, not just the franchise it belongs to.
The like to dislike ratio shouldn't discourage anyone. I think most dislikes are from people who show disapproval to the idea that ME2 is the least important game in the ME trilogy. I mean it kinda is as most of the game is full of distractions that have nothing to do with the active Reaper threat but I think it still plays a key role at expanding the ME universe. One thing I couldn't get over was how disconnected ME2 Citadel was from plot events. Flawed game but insanely drama with companions.
@@fops1999 agreed. ME2 is more about building up your squad's loyalty than about the galactic reaper threat. In ME3 however, the reaper threat is ever present
Saying Taylor Swift is an atrocity to music (which she is) is an unpopular opinion. Saying Mass Effect 2 is overrated is a profoundly stupid ass thing to say. Plain and simple.
I honestly have never minded Mass Effect 3’s ending. The Legendary Edition made playthrough number 6 for me and I get legitimately emotional each and every time because of how well ME3 developed and topped off relationships you build in the series.
I usually go destroy. I haven’t had a Shepherd yet that believes anything Starchild tells him/her haha. I picked control once just to see how I felt about it, and I tend to feel synthesize is wrong just because it kind of feels like you are just forcing that on the rest of the galaxy.
I get superemotional when reaching the end of ME3 too but I do feel that the ending of it was lazy, especially at the beginning when the difference was just the colour and I get that it is their choice what to offer but it certainly does not do justice to ME3 itself or even the whole trilogy
When I first played me1 I thought it was a bad game and thought it was a pain to get through but now that I'm playing it in the legendary edition I am really enjoying it. I actual liked playing it more than 2 and I thought maybe it was just because I've played 2 a lot more times. I thought the character development in 3 was so much better than 2 but every time I would tell that to someone they would just talk about how much they hated it. I'm so glad there are people that actually agree with me
The Suicide mission alone makes me disagree. The build up, the threat of death for your team, the music and an actual boss. Don't even get me started on the fact that it has by far the best character roster of any Mass Effect game. One has Wrex and Liara and Three has Liara. Number 2 has Mordin, Grunt, Miranda, Thane, Samara and Legion. (They all have Garrus and Tali). It might not be the best one but its not even remotely over rated.
There's more to the games than just roleplaying and combat, I think most people love ME2 is because of how it took a complete U-turn from ME1 and told a much darker story were you're choices directly effect whether you and your crew survive the suicide mission, and there's a sense of progression in gaining the crews loyalty that isn't present in the first game. I agree with most of this video but the way you boiled down the experience into only combat and role-playing kind of cheapened your critique because there's a lot more to it than that. I agree that ME1 and ME3 don't get enough credit though
Exactly this. Touching on gameplay, while ignoring the story, characterization, presentation and sound makes this video seem more like clickbait than anything else.
Exactly, there's more to Mass effect than it being an RPG, and let's not forget that ME3's combat stemmed from the improvements that were made in ME2 (they basically just added combat rolling and polished it up a bit.)
@@Oxideist yeah - in the grand scheme of things, ME2 brought a lot of new stuff to the table, mechanics and story-wise. ME3 just took everything that was already established and ran with it.
Yeah I guess it had a darker facade but in actuality the only thing darker about it is that you're kind of a rogue Spectre working for Cerberus and spending most of your time in the Terminus, which is a really fucking cool concept that I thought could have been executed better. ME1's story is still very dark and has probably the creepiest moment in the entire series when you first meet Sovereign. Plus you've got the Rachni, the Thorian, and the whole theme of indoctrination and genocide.
ME1 by leaps and bounds is my favorite in the trilogy. ME2 is my least favorite because it ruined the potential for ME3, which could've been sooo much better if ME2 just continued to build on ME1; Preparing for the Reapers.
Yeah, the RPG elements were extremely dumbed down. Squadmates being restricted to only three skills and a passive meant that you ended up using the same companions on certain missions and against certain enemies. Armor pieces barely had an impact and half of them were locked behind DLC. Weapon variety was technically better than ME1 but still pretty poor when compared to similar games. Gameplay-wise, it's really difficult to even call it an RPG, more of a shooter game with occasional RPG elements.
I was making the exact same argument in a discord server I'm on and everyone agreed. We all had the same thought after playing back through the Legendary Edition. The improvements to ME1 make this far more apparent than it was before.
I agree. The visual improvements and improvements to the combat have elevated ME1 straight back to first place. The story has always been Number 1, but it was tough to so readily give it the crown when thinking about the graphics and clunky combat... but now. Wow. Legendary Edition has made it SO easy to say with confidence that ME1 is the best of the trilogy.
*Spoiler Warning* Thank you for saying that ME3’s ending wasn’t THAT bad. Like I might get shit for this, but on replaying, I think that both the Perfect Destroy and Synthesis endings are very fitting conclusions, and while yeah, the ending isn’t perfect, what better ending could there have been? As for whether ME2’s overrated? I enjoy the story most of all the games, but I do like much of what you’ve talked about here. Great video, thanks for this!
@@Overlord734 Exactly. People have just had time to get used to it, and now that the trilogy has been out for so long people are looking back on it with nostalgia goggles. The ending was completely out of left field, tone deaf/thematically unfitting, directly contradicted claims by company officials that the ending would not be "a binary choice you make at the end of the game" and it was just BORING.
@@juliagoetia I can only speak from personal experience but honestly the very first time I played ME 3 I thought the ending was brilliant, it actually took me a long time and hearing alot of different opinions to realize its faults and then through many replays I ultimately felt like the ending while not great was ultimately a minor blip in one of the greatest games ever made and that the dlc made it a million times better. So I really have to disagree with your assertion that everyone grew used to it and look back on it with nostaligia.
Honestly, I really liked Mass Effect 3's ending. This is probably because I waited like 6 years to actually play it after the hype died down and because I fell down the Sheppard indoctrination rabbit hole. The main complaint is how your previous decisions don't matter and that is a valid complaint but I guess I was just expecting that after Mass Effect 2 and how shallow the changes were based on what you did in Mass Effect 1.
I actually enjoy the mass effect 3 ending with my thoughts being Shepard sacrifices his happy ending to give everyone else a happy ending a fitting end for him and you even get the choice to sorta give him a happy ending by making him survive with perfect destroy but I don’t really like how you have to sacrifice edi and ruin jokers chance at love
Recruiting all the interesting characters and gaining their loyalty was so good in ME2 that it will always be my favorite. That said, I see how all the ME games have valid reasons for being a favorite.
True but I feel like there are way too many characters. With the limit of only just 2 squad mates it feels too overwhelming. However, those characters what made the story feel whole and expanded the universe even more like the drell and justicars/ardat yakshi
Well, a problem with that is the characters/squadmates are kinda boring in ME2. Like they introduced them but they just stayed in their rooms and never interacted with each other that much like Mass Effect 3. I feel like in terms of squadmates ME3 did better. You had squadmates actually talking to each other and moving around. You had Ashley and Tali get drunk, Garrus, James, and Javik talking in the kitchen, conversations between squadmates through intercoms, getting to talk to them in the Citadel. You don't get that in Mass Effect 2. Hell, you don't even need to talk to the characters to get their loyalty missions. All you have to do is wait until Kelly tells you they need to speak with you. You could get them without even talking to them for even a minute unlike in ME1 where to get Garrus, Wrex, and Tali's missions.
The only problem with ME3 is the journal with secondary missions is really frustrating and you can't understand which one you have completed and which not. The first Mass Effect is the most complete with exploration, dialogues and lots of interaction with npcs but the second makes the interaction more solid and the story more complex, the third is more guided than the others (specially of first) but the story ending is epic and I enjoyed lots playing it. So I agree with you but I even think that specially by who have played the legendary edition the three games have to be considered as one huge sci/fi masterpiece and that's the way it has to be played (imho).
I expected people to change their minds after the Legendary edition. ME1 was ALWAYS the best one. And ME2 was ALWAYS the WORST one. It's too bad that ME3 has only be defined by its ending. The best moments of the trilogy happen in ME3.
A very brave title haha. I definitely rank ME3 > ME1 > ME2 > MEA. On replays, I find ME2 to be difficult to get through with some missions, especially Omega stuff.
I generally find the opposite. ME1 & 2 feel so easy to get through but ME3 just doesn't feel quite the same and I find it harder to get through at some points.
I find it difficult to rank MEA along with others in the series. Because other games in the series did better in most places than MEA, but there are places where MEA are way better than the rest of them. It's best in combat and customization, no doubt about it. Like you get to shift classes mid fight, fluently. NO GAME DOES THAT. It's arguably best in exploration with ME1 in second place. Mission structure ranked last. All the collectible mission really hurt the exploration aspect of the game. Lore and background story are surprisingly on par with ME2 and 3, because there was not much that they expand upon which hurt them since they started in a new galaxy. They need ME1 class of lore for a new start. Overall storyline. Just so-so. They tried to put in some plot twist, but it's just not a Bioware storytelling quality. Characters are arguably better than ME1 though certainly pale in comparison to ME2 or 3. Protagonist, of course Ryder will always get compared to Shepard, but it's not a fair comparison. Because unlike Shepard, he's an inexperienced kid. But interestingly, you get to see him slowly grow into his character instead.
@@araisikewai I agree that I can't really rate ME:A in with the trilogy. It was kinda "meh" overall, but it really did have some bright spots, especially the combat, and I appreciated the lighter overall tone. You were purposefully out there to explore and make things better and didn't feel rushed to take on the overarching threat.
ME2 was the first game of the trilogy I played, therefore it will always be my sentimental favorite. With that said there are a handful of things that Bioware changed from ME1 that I'll always question, things like: -The introduction of thermal clips. -The removal of individual power cooldowns. -Certain powers no longer penetrating shields. -The diminished skill tree and RPG elements. I love the game to death, but there are certainly a few things that has lowered my opinion of it. I can totally see where you're coming from with all this.
I’m so glad someone actually dared to put this into words and I’m even happier that ‘someone’ was you. Your comments are solid, well based and challenge the audience to rethink about what has been solidified as a ‘general truth’. I had a very similar experience/revelation when going through LE, especially when it comes to side quests as well. I didn’t remember ME2’s being so dull.
My biggest beef with ME2 is how reduced the RPG element is. (I'm more about story than combat.) Shepard is never truly allowed to say, "I don't care that Cerberus brought me back to life, I hate Cerberus and am forced to work with them because no one else wants me." Elements of the writing were either rushed, or cut out, or flat out never happened, and the game forces the player to accept Shepard is gonna go along with Cerberus, no matter their actual opinion (which they're only allowed to voice if they're okay with working with Cerberus). There are several points in the game when a anti-Cerberus Shepard could say, "now wait a damn minute" when called out on working with Cerberus/being with Cerberus, but those don't happen. Combat-wise, you're right on the money. I now enjoy ME1 because of the Legendary edition, and going from tons of power options to half a dozen is painful. And frankly, it stinks not being able to put Shepard in whatever armor I want in ME2 and ME3 - I loved that about 1.
ME2 is actually my least favorite It doesn’t have the heart of ME3 nor the world building of ME1, it is not the night of combat, or the best main story. I love all of the Mass Effect games immensely, ME2 was my introduction to the trilogy, and it is one of the greatest games ever made, but so are ME1, and ME3.
I honestly thinks it has the most heart, I felt more of a connection with the crew in this game than all the others and it had all the best story moments for me too.
I went through the same process as you - came into the series at 2, and upon reflection - feel it is actually my least preferred - though it is of course still incredible
I'm gonna say it outright: combat in ME2 sucks! It's terrible, it's non sensical, it's straight up logically offensive. You're really telling me that 2 years after ME1 weapons technology has suddenly degraded to janky heat clips that are way less effective than the unlimited occasionally overheating guns in ME1? And if I have to deal with a back to the stone age weapons system, why can't I at least stockpile ammo? You companions are effectively useless, you get hit three times while once again glued to a freaking box you didn't skirt around far enough and that's it, end of journey, you're dead on casual. The freaking map is usually greyed out so like a lost lamb heading to slaughter I wander around aimlessly while being shot at looking for a freaking button in a dark basement. The dialogue system is the same crap as it was in DA2 where you either need to be eternally nice or an eternal ass to your followers because hell forbid you might actually agree with someone on a certain topic once and they'll stab you in the back later on because you're not 100% rivalry anymore
ME3 is my favourite, closely followed by ME1. I found ME2 a little grindy and repetitive, too many squadmates, you spent the whole game collecting them while the over arching story was sidelined.
Mass effect 2 feels like a giant sidequest but 3 is one step forward two steps back. For every one thing done well they fuck up other things. And to me 1 is super grindy so despite its many flaws it is still my favorite.
Well here are my reasons on why mass effect 2 still holds up even after the legendary edition improved ME1 1. The suicide mission I rest my case 2.It’s also very character driven and let’s you have the most fun as a renegade without feeling too bad for your actions and cool glowing scars 3. Best space bar/club in the whole trilogy
@@ExaltedMarch even as a full Paragon the Renegade interrupts were awesome and added to the feeling Shepard was angry AF after spending two years on a laboratory and the only organization that openly supports him was a group of terrorists who killed an Alliance Admiral for asking too many questions among other things. The suicide mission was an actual well though put mission that integrated a bunch of situations and ship upgrades into the result of the mission success. While ME3 had it on the topics about the Genophage and the Geth/Quarian conflict the rush Bioware had made them drop that same mechanic by the time the last missions came about. What I do say against the secind game is that it set a bad example to follow: lots of DLC packs that lead to Bioware cutting content like Javik and Leviathan from ME3 initial release and that it felt like a big side quest as it didn't explored the main theme of the series: the Reaper actions per se.
I loved the combat more in ME1 where you don't have to camp in cover 100% of the time and you can use all of your abilities instead of use 1 wait use another wait. The janky aim was to limit classes weapon skills and balance out the combat for being able to use all skills. ie. you can go soldier and get all the weapon skills and never have a problem aiming but you also don't get all of the strong biotics and tech skills where as a sentinel you get no skills besides your class skill which helps pistol aim but you have lots of biotic and tech usage. It made picking a class at the beginning way more of a choice imo where as in ME2 it pretty much just limited your weapon choice and in ME3 it limited your abilities. ultimately I agree with you. I love the triology but it felt like on my most recent playthrough I just rushed through ME2 to get to ME3 where I take my time more, use different combination of weapons, etc.
There are still two things where I'd give ME2 the top spot. First, adding and developing new characters. It better be the best at this - it's really the whole point of the game. ME1 did a solid job of this given how much it had to carry in the storyline and worldbuilding departments, but it doesn't have the variety or depth that ME2 has. ME3 does a really good job building on top of what ME2 provided, but ME2 still gets more credit to me for laying all that groundwork. The other thing where ME2 wins is the ending sequence. I think a big part of why ME3's ending got hit so hard by public opinion is actually because ME2's ending was so legendary. The suicide mission is the most epic stretch of gameplay in the entire series, and the major decisions every step of the way also mean that the stakes really hit home. Even though Mass Effect 3's whole story was about setting up for the best possible situation heading into the final sequence, the suicide mission actually does this better by making the entire game that preceded it have real consequences - skip loyalty missions, miss an upgrade, or do missions after the crew is taken and there will be consequences. It's really something special, and I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a better ending sequence in ANY game - not just in Mass Effect. While I agree that ME3's ending isn't as bad as its reputation suggests, I'd still rank it as the worst ending of the series (Marauder Shields = final boss... need I say more?). The ending of ME1 had a pretty good buildup, final boss, and resolution, but it still can't compete with the suicide mission.
Agree with both broad points. A lot of people pointed out that the suicide mission mechanics are simplistic and binary, but, at the end of the day, it's a unique and effective concept that should've been iterated on, in ME3, instead of scrapped.
The reason why a similar ending sequence wasnt implemented in ME3 was because of a rushed development cycle and the addition of a multiplayer component that seemed to take precedence over single player progress (Gunsmith trophy/achievment as a great example).
@@CynicalWarlock well, Bioware was rushed I mean, had an artistic integrity inspired by EA during development and they had to integrate multiplayer into the single player experience somehow.
@@luisemoralesfalcon4716 Yeah, the stringent development time was, for sure, the biggest factor. It seems ludicrous to me that the 3rd game in the series had the least development time.
As someone who just played through the series for the first time with the Legendary Edition, I find your opinion very interesting. ME1 may have the better "mechanics," and ME3 may have some amazing story elements, but I still play games for enjoyment. Just because you have the best mechanics or dialogue doesn't automatically mean that you have the most enjoyable game. They are certainly part of what make a game fun, but they don't dictate it. I actually found ME1 relatively boring and overstaying its welcome until the Reapers were introduced. I could tell that it was a "good game," but I had such a hard time enjoying the ride along the way. It made me feel bad because I thought I should have been enjoying it and yet it felt stale for some reason. ME3 was enjoyable and the callbacks to the relationships you built along the way was fantastic, but it was far from a perfect game. I will always love the Citadel DLC and the combat was the most satisfying out of all the three. I also got pushed into decisions that I didn't want to make because of decisions made in the previous two games. These dilemmas added an extra layer that were only impactful because of the previous two games. Very good game all things considered. Then there's ME2. The opening sequence where the ship is hit and you're walking through the destroyed hull grabbed me for some reason. I still don't know why it mattered so much to me, but it did. Cinematic scenes like this and the tension-filled (since I played as a paragon character) story between Shepard and the Illusive Man really drew me into the world. This is to say nothing about the whole new cast of companions coupled with some amazing DLC. Then there's the final mission where I felt like I actually had a team and I wasn't entirely sure if they would all make it through (sadly, some died). The game kept me riveted from start to finish. While I might change my mind when I play through the games again, on a first playthrough, ME2 was the most enjoyable with ME3 and then ME1 coming afterwards. Obviously everyone will have different opinions about this, but I found it interesting that I'm basically taking the same stance as people did when the games were first released.
Your experience highlights the fact that ME2 has 2 things that the other 2 lack (that's a lotta '2's): presentation & characterization. The cinematography, camera angles, lighting, sound, heightened sense of drama/stakes and overall feel (presentation), as well as the dialog, backstories and motivations of your crew, along with those of characters like the Illusive Man, all converge to make ME2 the most memorable experience, for most people. The presentation draws them in, and the characterization wins them over. Simple, yet massively effective. Mass Effective, even.
@@CynicalWarlock Story felt like garbage. You go almost no where plot wise and the whole "suicide mission" felt pointless. Scanning planets was annoying. Crew members were definitely the best part.
@@cyrusbuck4425 Precisely why I didn't mention story at all, cause it's very barebones and doesn't advance the overall plot of the series. I guess this goes to show that characters and presentation trump story, for better or worse. I wouldn't say the suicide mission was pointless; ME3 made it pointless, by turning whatever you did in it into a number. The possibility of losing teammates, during the mission, made it worthwhile, for me, despite the simplicity of the mechanics. P.S. Yeah... Planet scanning is stupid... Not that ME3 has something better.
@@CynicalWarlock I did appreciate tht ME3 made crew interaction more frequent. Dialogues to eachother in combat, on the Normandy, etc. Made it feel much more like a team and even friends. The Citadel story dlc smacked tht even more so. Seeing how they play off eachother alot more often with some ball busting humor between each other. Really fleshed them out as ppl since we already got a extensive background on them tht was developed in the 1st 2 games.
@@Daigon95 That's definitely one of ME3's strengths. I also like how the crewmembers changed locations, every now and then. Made them seem more like real people, and less like NPCs with exclamation marks on top of their heads.
Always thought ME2 was a bit overrated and ME3 underrated. ME3 remains my favorite in the series, and honestly I really enjoyed Andromeda after my second play through. Still can’t get past the ME1 combat though.. even with the “upgrades” of Legendary. For me, ME3, Andromeda, ME2 and the ME1. Regardless though, Mass Effect is the best sci-fi series of any medium in my opinion.
Also for me ME3 automatically loses for me because of the lack of quest tracking. Its quite insane that it doesnt have it. A new player has to literally fly thousands of light years to figure out where tf they were to hand in a quest, and it doesnt even tell you when you have the item or whatever. Good game but puzzling choices made
First time legendary edition player, I like LE mass effect 1 combat better. It has WAY more abilities to use, so far Mass effect 2 feels like Gears. Maybe I’m playing wrong though
I mean I always took the opinion that ME2 was the best one as a consistent experiencie. So I already agree with everything you said the game was lacking, like the combat and role playing choices. The dialogue wheel was the same to me, not because it didn't have a true neutral, but because the writing stepped up. To me, ME2 is King of the trilogy because it is the most complete experience as a game, if you put the RPG elements, Mass Effect 1 is first, the combat, to me is Mass Effect 3 (regarding the trilogy only). But saying the dialogue and the combat scaling back on its original iterations when the change in combat in ME2 is not underwhelming, is not enough for me to not consider it the best. The argument here is that ME1 and ME3 are better because they do best what they are strong at right?, but what about the narrative strides of ME2? maybe the ending was not as engaging but I felt like it was the most original story (ME1 may have an argument to be more original but I still think the concept of the suicide mission is better). What about companions on ME2? that's undeniably the best on this game, you get to discover so much about them, practically the game is dedicated to them. Maybe its not the most complete RPG but I don't necessarily thinks its the worst game of the trilogy because of it. In the end to me the games were pretty much on the same tier of perfection, with ME2 having a slight edge. So to me its not that important that the verdict is that ME2 is the best, but that the trilogy is ONE OF THE BEST GAMING EXPRIENCES IN VIDEO GAMES, PERIOD. so to me it still stands that ME2 is the best, but I really am considwring whether ME1 or ME3 are second and third, but then again I love this games with their differences and enjoy them every single time the best I can.
@@ExaltedMarch Truth be told, I'm also replaying the MELE and I'm on 2, and I'm hecka biased for that sweet sweet charge. But it's always been my favorite, despite a lot of it's flaws. 1 and 3 are also up there, I too am a shameless ME fan that if a stranger so much as HINTS they've played these games my filter shuts off and I'm just gonna keep going x.x Good vid, even though I literally felt like you were leading this horse to the wrong watering hole. You make solid points and I can respect the conclusion, even though I don't agree. XD
Mass Effect 3 is a superior game in style and substance. People complained about the ending of the finale to the trilogy, but it is a fine conclusion. The audience got more closure with DLCs and the game play is far better than 2 or 1. Edit: I never understood why people complained about the ending. Yes they reduced all the infinite decisions of the three games into a regression formula essentially, but we all know the true transgression was Andromeda. They concluded Shepard and the Milky Way only to fail on expanding the Mass Effect world in Andromeda.
This is how I always looked at it. The reason why I think ME2 was lauded as the best in the trilogy was because it was the middle ground of ME1 and 3. ME1 had a superb story while ME3 had superb gameplay mechanics. ME2 combines both aspects albeit not as strongly in each category of its peers. And if we include ME:A I was by far in terms of combat and weapon/armor customization the best of the ME games. There was a ton of weapons/armor to obtain and could be modded in a way possible. Could you imagine a black widow sniper rifle with a enemy seeking bullet or a fully auto and infinite ammo N7 Valkyrie ar? In ME:A it’s possible to make it. And combat was so free that you could approach most fights in multiple different ways. I’m also probably a part of the small minority of people that actually enjoyed ME:A.
How can i like this video more? Agreed... My personal ranking is ME3 - ME1 - ME2 - Andromeda... Andromeda last because of the story, and some of the choices in world building.. The combat is really great though and still an okay game.
I love ME2 and its own story. But as a Mass Effect game it's the worst. The combat especially after the first one had its combat redone is subpar, though it did make way for the great combat of ME3. It has almost no effect on the story so for the trilogy overall it had the worst story (again great self contained story). The choices are limited and almost worthless especially compared to the other two. I still love the game, but ME3 is my favorite because everything was polished so much in all the aspects I listed.
100% agreed. ME1 is clearly the best of the trilogy in terms of world building, introduction to the characters, story execution, etc. etc. ME2's biggest flaw is really its story, and how disjointed and irrelevant most of the content is to the overarching narrative. Besides Tali's, Mordin's and Legion's loyalty missions, what else actually built on the existing conflicts set up in the first game and actually had it pay off in ME3? Don't get me wrong, I love the ME2 squad. Jack's development in from ME2 to ME3 was wonderful, and I always cry for Thane in ME3. But when you can summarize a whole game's story in two to three sentences, is it really a role playing game with much depth? I understand that people feel the planet exploration in the mako is tedious, but why should that element of roleplaying be sacrificed and streamlined into simple probing? The missing neutral dialogue is also such a great point -- it also ties into the difference between ME1 Renegade and ME2 renegade. ME1 Renegade wasn't really a sadistic jackass, s/he was more like a no-nonsense person who got shit done. It felt natural to switch between paragon, neutral, and renegade options depending on the situation and still have your Shepard feel "consistent". And the battle system on Insanity: is it really that great of a combat system when it's basically a basic cover shooter where enemies have 100% accuracy any time you pop your head out of cover? ME3's Insanity felt like it had more variables and you actually had the freedom to risk going out of cover to use skills and flank enemies. And yeah, the combo detonations. ME3's combat is clearly superior, I don't understand how anyone could argue ME2's combat is better. Especially with the lack of thermal clip spawning made it less fun. The weapons themselves also lacked choices and variety compared to ME3. So, what DID ME2 do better than the other 2 games? The opening of ME2 is still one of my favourite game openers of all time. Seeing your ship destroyed and Shep gasping for air still gives me goosebumps. The suicide mission was thrilling, and the stakes felt real. Having control of your tactical choices where it could result in permanent deaths was god tier. It's a great game, but it's not as good as ME1 and ME3.
your a noob complaining on the difficulty of 2 you just dont know how to urilize your squadmates, plus you probably werent getting weapon, armor and biotic upgrades.
@@edwardsantiago1000 Nope I got all upgrades and I used all powers frequently. I beat the game just fine for a noob, lol. Criticism =/= complaining btw. If you mained sniper rifle you would know the thermal clip issue. Especially when the criticism about thermal clip drops lead to BioWare increasing the drop rate in Legendary Edition.
The amount of times you went out of your way to justify yourself that "me2 is not a bad game" is energy draining and overdone. You made your point the first two times you've said it
@@CynicalWarlock he said it too many times for it to be nitpicky. His points are good, but it's like he's feeling guilty that he's making this video lol
Mass Effect 3 is what happens when the middle episode of the trilogy does nothing to advance the plot the first game set up. If 2 was all about preparing the galaxy for the reaper threat, a vast majority of the problems 3 had would not be there. Mass Effect 2 ruined the trilogy not 3.
I think that the plot of the Citadel DLC makes no sense IS THE POINT. It is such BS that it can only work if you love the characters. It is that one "comedy episode" that every great TV show needs.
I've always felt the same. ME1 was my favourite and 3 despite my issues with it does a lot of things I like. ME2 really focuses on self contained stories and characters. I think it excells at adding more nuance to a lot of the world. You learn more about all the different races and cultures in ME2. Also the suicide mission and loyalty missions were both just really neat. On the other hand it doesn't have much in the way of a plot like ME1 or even 3 and I didn't like how limited customisation was. Even the classes feel massively streamlined in a way they don't in 1 or even 3.
I like Mass Effect 2 but I think the gameplay is the worst in the series. I didn't like the switch to thermal clips. I hated how the planetary vehicle exploration was limited to a few DLC worlds especially because I prefer the Hammerhead to the Mako. While I can understand reducing the number of weapons some I think they went way too far doing so, and I especially hate how Heavy Pistols and Submachine Guns, aka the two gun types usable by the most classes, are the types with the least selection (Two of each in the base game and a third of each added via DLCs).A problem mad even worse by the fact that I dislike burst-fire Submachine Guns and in the base game you can't get a Full-auto Submachine Gun until the second set of recruitment missions, I also disklike how the skill selection was reduced. And Legendary 2 actually makes it a little worse IMO. In Legendary 1 Shep is decent even with untrained gun types which IMO is how it should have always been because it makes sense for a best of the best Special Forces officer. Shep was always decent with all Gun types in 3 but in Legendary 2 Shep forgets how to use any untrained gun types.
ME2 has always been my favorite too, but I do agree you make a lot of good arguments about ME1 and 3's strengths over ME2. That said, one thing that really stood out to me in ME2 vs ME1 this time around in the Legendary Edition is the squadmates and your crew, specifically your conversations with them. In ME1, you have six squadmates, and very few actual opportunities to further your dialogue with them, especially Tali and Garrus (which makes me extra glad they brought them back in ME2 for more development). It was about halfway through the game, right after I finished Garrus's request about Dr Saleon that I could just no longer say anything new to him. Every time I would come up to him I'd get the line, "Shepard, I wanted to thank you." Following that, I never had a reason to see him for the entire latter half of the game, and similar case with Tali. Wrex actually had a bit more, like after the standoff on Virmire, IIRC. Kaidan and Ashley both had a couple stages more of dialogue than Wrex, Garrus and Tali. Liara actually had about as much to say as Kaidan and Ashley did too, come to think of it, probably because they are the three romance options. And with the crewmates, after the prologue, you get like one conversation each with Joker, Adams, Pressly, and Dr Chakwas for the entire rest of the game, with literally no reason to ever see them again either. ME2 improved on all of that. It actually *doubled* the number of squadmates you get compared to ME1, and each of them (minus Kasumi and Zaeed) actually have about double the number of new conversation topics as you got in the first game, and even more for the romance options. Speaking of which, instead of having one unique romance based on your gender and one romance shared across both genders, each male and female Shepard get three unique romance options (Garrus/Thane/Jacob and Tali/Jack/Miranda), and that's not including Liara in Lair of the Shadow Broker, or the partial romances like Kelly and Samara, if you count that one. And instead of fulfilling a simple request for Garrus, Wrex, and Tali, which are each completed over the course of an only partially-related sidequest, each of your squadmates in ME2 get their own dedicated loyalty mission, including the two DLC characters. And the crewmates have more to say too. Chakwas, Gardner, and Ken & Gabby all have one normal conversation, and then once you fulfill their requests, you get one more stage, with special mention to catching up with Dr Chakwas over a glass of brandy. Joker and Kelly have comments on each of your squadmates and often make remarks on specific missions you just returned from. Even Ken and Gabby frequently have new ambient dialogue exchanges with each other that you can overhear. What I'm saying is, to me, part of what makes ME2 really stand out is the much-expanded manner in which you can get to know a cast double the size of one in the first game. In addendum, I also love the Suicide Mission at the end of the game, which can vary widely depending on some non-essential side stuff you may or may not have done over the course of the rest of the game. It actually takes some of your choices into account, which aren't just limited to dialogue either, and with those choices you may or may not have made, all twelve of your squadmates have the possibility of dying in one way or another, even Shepard if you push it far enough. Things like that are what help make Mass Effect 2 a better experience over Mass Effect 1 for me.
Great video, totally agree. I felt so disheartened by the ending of ME3 when it first came out that I never finished a second playthrough of 3, even though I had four character lined up at the time. I never bought the DLCs and just played the MP. Now, with Legendary Edition, the benefit of time, maturity, and all the DLC, ME3 blew me away. On top of that, the updated combat made ME1 feel great, and on my second playthrough of LE, I found it really hard to spend hours on ME2. I'd do one Mission and one Assignment and set it aside for a different game. I still love ME2, like you, but its definitely, with the changes to ME1 in LE, the weakest. Don't get me wrong, I love the suicide mission, but fighting on the outside of the Citadel with Sovereign looming over you was always my favorite finale. I hate all the dislikes you're getting. Even though I agree with you, its a well thought out video and if I had disagreed, I doubt I would feel compelled to dislike it. You're going after a sacred cow, so I guess its expected.
Thanks so much for watching and the support. I don’t mind the dislikes! Everyone is entitled to express their opinion; I wouldn’t hit the down vote button to disagree either but to each their own. Besides, this is a price to pay for being first. Give it two years and this will be the prevalent opinion.
ME2 was the beginning of the end that basically wasted a timeslot on the trilogy's overall plot because let's be honest, the Collectors are a goddamn DLC plotline. It's a fine game since it plays well, but as a Mass Effect title, it left ME3 dealing with both finding a way to stop the reapers and then actually stopping them. I implore any fan to give this a read: www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=28475 The sequel to ME1 could have been so much but instead of finding ways to stop the Reapers, we focus way too much on the Collectors
ME1 will always be special for starting the franchise in such a stellar way. It made me WANT to discover and learn every little detail about it's lore (unlike DA, which never grabbed me, lorewise). I prefered the more RPG focused gameplay of ME1, but ME2 will always be my favorite. It has many flaws, but in my mind still one of the best sequels to a triple A game. most notably because of the character development. going from ME2 to ME1, talking to each character is such a chore. Everyone is such a wiki entry to their race with daddy issues ( the writers at bioware clearly had some repressed issues there, cause that trend continued through all the games, but in ME1, it's litterally everyone).
@@FuriousPope Agree, the character writing has always, ALWAYS, been where ME 2 has a leg up on ME 1. There's only one dud character in the main roster, and if I'm honest I still like the narrative of their loyalty mission. People can pick and choose their favourites depending whether they want to elevate different elements like worldbuilding or gameplay, but make no mistake characters are the reason ME 2 was the most celebrated title within the fandom.
It's not overrated, it just doesn’t hit the same on that FOURTEENTH playthrough. I just played the trilogy for the 1st time after listening to years of hype and it still held up. ME1 was great but ME2 is what sold me.
My problem with mass effect 2 especially playing on insanity is the less powers and the combat. I enjoyed mass effect 1 on insanity it was hard. But but not grinding hard. Like I'm only just onto Morton recruitment mission. And I'm struggling so bad on the fan bit cause I can't use snipers to held against the rocket guys. I'm sentinal as well as I like versatile powers but I can only use a pistol and SMG. If I could use all guns would still be a grind but not as difficult
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. ME2 is "overrated" for a good reason it's a step up in terms of writing and gameplay. Gameplay wise builds are reduced yes but I've learned to appreciate it even more than i did back then with some weapons being assigned to specific classes ( I know the original mass effect was the same way but that changed with ME1 LE) your squadmates were more fleshed out in ME2 than the prequel and sequel, even had their own loyalty missions diving further into their character. Decisions seem to held more weight dragging your feet to save your crew could result in their death or not preparing yourself to assault the collectors would end with your teamates early demise. Some of the idea's they went with in combat situation kept it interesting too like trying to avoid the sun from killing you while being swarmed by geth or firing at toxic biotic containers in return would either give you a boost in biotic power or your enemies. There was clever level design scattered about Mass Effect 2 just wasn't present in sequel.
I would say 3 is my favorite. Solely because the combat was damn near perfected and you can carry anything you want into battle. You're not limited by your class. 2 is my second favorite. I really like that the main quest is just recruit the best the galaxy has to offer and become friends. 1 is alright. It has the Noveria mission and that's my favorite mission in the series.
I just had this convo with my cousin. Basically to me ME2 feels like a giant sidequest at the end of the day lol its still good but ME1 & 3 feels like im on a real mission.
Having only played LE and Andromeda, Andromeda is definitely dead last in my ranking. ME2 is 3rd. ME2 combat is just bad, probably because it was made for consoles, but I'm more annoyed by how poorly the main plot was built. Most of the plot is utterly stupid, from Shepard working for Cerberus to the baby reaper (???). You could simply delete ME2, and do ME1 -> ME3 without changing anything, as most of ME2 story is completely insignificant to the main plot. ME2 is only saved by its characters, which was big disappointment after the initial masterpiece ME1 was.
Thank you for this video. I'm a huge fan of the ME franchise, I've played almost as many times as you have, but I always cringe a little bit when people throw words like "flawless" around regarding any of these games. In fact, if you haven't, I would recommend you check out Raycevick's series on the Mass Effect games X years later. He has a very well articulated way to point out the flaws of all three separate games, while still not bashing it and pointing also at the good things we all love Also, this comment was almost entirely for the algorithm
Raycevik always said ME never truly had a great story (ME1 but janky as fuck) with great gameplay (ME2 had a meh plot but great characters) and a great ending (ME3's Catalyst was genuinely terrible).
It’s about the dialogue/ the characters for me. Everything else I can push through begrudgingly. About ME1 LE: I’m surprised they didn’t add music to the creepily quiet planet exploring quests. Missed opportunity :/
For me the Legendary Edition did the exact opposite. The gap between Mass Effect 2 and the other 2 games become even larger. For me it is the Empire Strikes Back of Mass Effect.
I see all these comments and wonder: Have we been playing different games??? Granted, Legendary improved a lot of things, but before the remaster, ME 2 was the most refined in the series, certainly not "too linear", like some of you say and definitely had some of the best character interactions and so much more!!! Not to fucking mention Miranda Lawson and the general atmosphere and mood of the gameplay and plot. HELLOOOO, COLLECTORS ANYONE???? One of the best villains in video games!!!!! And so much more!!!
ME3 would have my favorite combat if it actually had any semblance of difficulty on insanity mode. Even without using Garrus or James to mow down the enemies the game is really kind of a joke due to how literally everything is just exploding non stop lol. The story itself is a lot stronger in ME3, but you said it yourself, we love Mass Effect because of the characters. And well, ME2 has by far the biggest and best set of characters in the series.
I played ME 2 for the first time this month, and I hate it lmao. Actually, I like it, but if I compare it to ME 1, the storytelling is so linear and lacks plot-twists. In ME 1, we face Saren and then we know about sovereign and now Sovereign is the antagonist, and then the Citadel is a fucking mass relay. But ME2 is just hire people to fight the Collectors. WHERE IS THE PLOT-TWIST????
For me ME2 is still number one. I cared way more about all the characters and the relationships. The first time I played it I really believed any or all of them could die. I worked my ass off to get my crew through that suicide mission and surprisingly I succeeded on first play through. I just replayed ME1 and ME2 Legendary and I can say while improved ME1 felt like a slog. I appreciate the deep customization and RPG elements but for me those are not the most important part of the experience. The relationships felt hollow/shallow in ME1 and I found myself wondering how I had any strong feelings about those characters. I think it just boils down to what you value most out of a game experience. All 3 games in the trilogy are fantastic and any pick as a persons number one is valid.
I totally hear you on all points, and I hate to be THAT guy. I've played through all the games 9 times but the last 20 minutes does destroy a lot of the immersion because at the end of the day none of your choices actually mattered in the end. You can start with ME3 and still get the same endings. It just sucks when you're playing a great story but in the back of your mind every time you're going through it that nothing I do actually matters.... Even if you think the ending isn't that bad, it still feels like a totally different game once you get to that last 20 minutes. I just try to pretend it doesnt exist at this point lol, but it is always a bummer in the back of my mind when I'm playing.
I came to pretty much the same conclusion after I played the LE. ME2 is the game in the series that I've played by far the most and I love it to pieces, but at this point it's clearly my least favorite in the series. Although it does feel like you're asking me which of my three children is my favorite. In addition to what you said about the improvement to ME1's combat in the LE, I think we should also add that it runs much, much more smoothly than before, which to me really highlights the fact that it also has the best art direction, or at least my favorite because I just love that Syd Mead style so much. The sequels departed from that style - they still look good, but they just don't have that unique flavor anymore. Also, I think maybe another reason why ME2 is so many people's favorite is that it's the one that really made the series famous and probably the first one a lot of people played. I was very lucky to have friends who basically held a gun to my head and said I had to play ME1 first, no matter how janky it was, and that I'd regret starting with ME2, and I'm really glad I listened to them.
Recently finished an insanity run on LE after my last (of many) playthroughs 5-ish years ago. Back then I probably would have dismissed a video like this, but after coming back to the trilogy I found that you made a lot of good points that I agree with. The squad interactions of ME3 made the characters feel alive and like they were actually friends, while in ME2 it was kind of like therapy sessions with Shepard. Still love love love this trilogy to death but no longer have rose tinted glasses about it. But that’s okay because well, nobody’s perfect.
I have ALWAYS felt this way, but would always get jumped on for not enjoying 2 as much as everyone else. I have major complaints about the plot: It's a more character focused game, which is fine and cool, but the actual plot? There..isn't much. The Reapers will come regardless of the Collectors, you could honestly skip the plot of 2 and go into 3. And speaking of characters, there are redundancies, and for a game that focus's so much on characters they NEVER TALK TO EACHOTHER. Grunt and Miranda are basically the same: Genetically modified and created by someone obsessed with legacy, and who doubt their greatness. Thane and Samara, both people adhering to a set of rules, both proficient killers who have no sympathy for those they kill, and who have a run away child bent on killing others. The combat is also just so boring. 3 feels SO GOOD, but I just find ME2 to be a snooze fest, and the game I dread playing.
Yes, i agree that ME2’s combat and customization systems aren’t the best but I personally love ME2 the most because of the story, the relationship building and how much you get to learn abt your squad mates and characters especially in their loyalty missions and just missions in general, it also had one of the best and most shocking opening in any video games I remember playing ME2 for the first time and seeing the Normandy being destroyed my crew members dying, and then moment where Shepard steps into the space where the ship was broken and it was just shocking and heartbreaking I kept hoping that everyone was okay and gonna make it out alive
I think ME2 is the best overall but 1 and 3 have highest highs. Or to put it another way. It's flaws are less glaring so it feel better in memory. Personal favorite is ME3. Favorite mission is still the collector base touhgh
I'm surprised and was thrown off by the fact that Bioware didn't carry over the decision to make all ME1 weapon types usable regardless of class into Mass Effect 2 when Legendary Edition released and thus you still need to wait for Collector Ship if (for example) you want to use snipers as a biotic class or assault rifles as any class other than Soldier. Also I wish they had incorporated Mass Effect 3's 'off in conversation' helmet option because I feel discouraged from picking full cover helmets like N7 Breather when I manage to make decent or even high quality custom Shepards as I'll only see them on the Normandy... which is also why I most often Cerberus Assault Armour is the only non customisable set I use (mainly for more Cain ammo because one shotting tough/annoying enemies like the Praetorian and using nukes to troll bosses is just too much fun).
Absolutely 100% agree. I think because most players did NOT experience the Mass Effect games in sequence really colored the 'ratings' When Mass Effect 2 was released . . . the majority of people who played it had NOT played ME 1. ME 1 made the franchise famous and the move toward a full shooter brought in tons of players. The same happened with Mass Effect 3 . . . the majority of ME 3 players had not played either of the previous two games. Mass Effect 1 really suffered when people played it after having played either of the other games. It loses much of the wonderful worldbuilding experience and all the janky combat issues really showed up. Mass Effect 3 suffered when you didn't have the background history of the first two games, not only do you lack the character history and lore background, but the default world state in ME3 if you don't import a save is pretty bleak. And of course the ending. They are all great games, each with different strengths and weaknesses. But most importantly. The whole experience is greater that the sum of the parts!
It does puzzle me why the Collectors are in ME2 so little. You remember how in ME1, you'd go on to a drifting ship or into a mine, and it'd be full of husks? Or the Geth would be setting up bases, or would ambush you? Or maybe when you left Feros to find more stuff about ExoGeni working on Thorian Creepers, or Cerberus trying to use cloned Rachni after Noveria. A lot of side stuff in ME1 related to the main story. In ME3, almost everything has something to do with the war, and it's a rare mission where you're not either fighting the Reapers or Cerberus. There's lots of random side stuff in ME2, but you'll usually find critters, monsters, or one of the merc groups - Blue Suns, Eclipse or Blood Pack. Never Collectors. We hear that they're attacking outposts and colonies a lot, but we don't see it except for the Horizon mission. For that matter, they could even have shown up in some more of the main missions - Mordin's recruitment story is about a plague on Omega designed by the Collectors and distributed by Vorcha. There could have been some Collectors at the end fight of that mission, for example, working with the Vorcha. Replace some of those random merc band outposts with Collector attacks, and that might have been cool. Show them as an active, present force moving and working throughout the Terminus Systems, like the Geth throughout the Attican Traverse in ME1.
I respectfully disagree but mostly she it comes to ME3. I just started 3 about a week ago again and I'm not sure how to pinpoint what it is but I always find 3 to be the most difficult to get through 1 (especially the Legendary Edition) and 2 it feels like a breeze but there's times in 3 where I just notice a dip in how much I enjoy it. I love ME1's roleplaying and how it's like rediscovering the universe everytime I jump in. ME2 I love how it expands on the universe and the great cast of added characters. ME3 I enjoy the conclusion to the trilogy and the grand choices but not always the in-between I guess. I still really like all 3 games of course but everytime I get to 3 I just never get as much enjoyment out of it as 1 or 2.
I like the way you think, I enjoyed ME3 a lot more than ME2 but then I saw the reviews after I had beaten the game and then I sort of leaned towards their opinions of how the game was worse than every game in the trilogy, until this video. Keep it up!
ME3 is my favourite Mass Effect. It has the best combat, the best character moments, the best dlcs, the second best implementation of rpg elements and the best morality/persuade system. Fight me :p
Holy crap you hit the nail on the head. Im going through the trillogy for the 4th and probably last time after not playing it for 9 years. That combat rework in ME1 really makes all the difference and it brought back so many fond memories back from 09 playing it the first time. Im in ME2 right now holding off on doing the IFF mission and i just find ME2 so basic and dull. The only thing keeping me going is how compelling the characters are and the suicide mission will still be my favorite Final mission of the 3 games. I just want to move on to ME3 already so i can get my better skill trees and weapon customisation
Pretty much my exact thoughts. I really love ME2, but it’s my least favorite in the trilogy because it can be way too linear for its own good. As always, the video is great, good shit.
After playing the legendary edition trilogy, I prefer mass effect 1 the most. It gave you that space exploration feel when you land a planet and see the moons circling the planet and the huge sun. The combat in me1 is also the best. You can give any team member any gun and you can change their suit armor for better ones. In me2 and 3 you can't. Garrus can have a shotgun in me1 if I choose to give him one. Mass effect 1 had the strongest rpg elements.
I actually love all three games so much it is hard for me to choose a favorite. ME1 is an awesome beginning to a epic story and it has some of the best rpg moments in the trilogy. ME2 has awesome characters that truly start to feel like friends to you and the final mission is just absolute gold (I love the consept of giving your squadmates actual tasks during the mission, it really makes it clear that Shepard couldn't succeed in the mission without them). ME3 has the best combat of the three and I love how visible Shepard's doubt/fear of the upcoming war and the stress of gathering reinforcements is in this game. I love my Shepard, so this really makes me empathize with her. I am fairly new to the fandom as the legendary edition was my introduction to the series, but honestly I don't really mind the ending. Sure, I would have liked to know if Shepard was ever reunited with his/her friends & LI if they all (Shepard included) survived, but that's hopefully what the next game is for ;) Until then, I shall headcannon that yes, my Shepard did survive (as I picked the destroy option) and her friends are indeed trying to find her or at least find her body. Another thing about the trilogy I loved was the relationships, especially the romantic one. My Shepard romanced Garrus and boy do I love it xD (honestly, I don't think I can romance anyone else now, Garrus' romance is too good) and I love how he is this awkward, nervous idiot in ME2 (which was honestly so adorable) and then in ME3 he is the most caring BF Shepard could ask for and also on occasion smooth as hell (I mean that whole tango scene from the Citadel Dlc is just so perfect xD) and saying the final goodbyes to him in the end really made me tear up. All in all, what I am trying to say here is that all three games have their merits and I for one can't say which is the best. They are all important parts of an epic trilogy.
dude you are wrong about one thing the combat in me2 remaster is better compared to 1 remaster. The enemies in Mass effect 2 on insanity are more challenging than in ME 1 and that to me is better gameplay because it keeps me on my toes. The Ai in mass effect 1 just is subpar compared to Me2, enemies seem to stand still at times and not shot back. haven’t yet gotten to ME3 but i in the past i had ME2 as the best of the 3. As of now playing the remaster it is a tie with 1 and 2 both great games in their own right.
I love you all. I love ME2. Remember I love all Mass Effect games. Let me know your thoughts but let's not fight!
OK, corrections time:
- At one point when talking about going from ME1 into ME2 I said "getting through" when I meant to say "getting to" ME2's combat.
- I can't pronounce the word criticism apparently.
- I'm pretty iffy on whether I pronounced the word asterisk at all or just gave up on the last syllable.
I'm pretty sure I will take heat for daring to blaspheme ME2 but that's what comments are for! Let me know what you think.
Mass effect 2 did give us the biggest amout of new characters
Amazing vid. Great points.
@@BONKSHLOB that's acttually a fair point. What bugs me it feels to me that it does that at the expense of a bigger plot.
It breaks my heart but I could scrap a few companions if Collectors/cerberus/etc would be flesh out better
@@galilea723 exactly this, ths amount of squadmates and the fact that each have their own recruitment missions definitely make the larger story less focused. The actual main questline is very short. I would definitely trim the number of squamates, maybe to ME3 numbers. Imo i would just scrap Kasumi (she doesn't contribute at all to the mission and her role as a shy techie is overlapped with Tali), and as much as it hurt to say this, Grunt, merged Zaeed and Jacob (a veteran Cerberus operative with a revenge story sounds interesting, way more than what Jacob currently is) along with Thane and Samara (a warrior nearing the end of their life seeking one last redemption, but the justicar aspect definitely have to be changed though unfortunately).
It also doesn't help that there are major plotholes in it (etc : why Shepard and co just leave the Normandy undefended for a mission that's never mentioned before and ever again)
Just want to add, arguably Mass Effect 1 has shown at least 12 alien Species:
Asari, Turian, Salarian, Krogan, Quarian, Elcor, Volus, Hanar, Geth, Rachni, Thorian, and of course Reapers.
Not to mention non-sentient alien like Thresher Maw, Keeper, Pyjaks, Shifty-Looking-Cow.
And at least 2 species mentioned but not shown until later in the series: Prothean and Batarian.
This is something i notice, playing the legendary edition on insanity actually. Because of ME1s amount of RPG, even while combat is still abit more iffy, it was so much more fun because you had so many more options options from ammo types, powers, and allies. ME2 dumbed it down enough that it felt more grindy at times... plus planet probing was a thing
Planet probing was less tedious than mako missions.
I never felt like I was massively grinding except in the mako, which I enjoyed. Probing is easy. Only focus on rich or good planets and quickly grab 5 probe spots. That should give you enough to buy every upgrade.
I am a bit conflicted on this one, because while ME1 gave a much greater ILLUSION of choices, they had much less actual effect.
The skill tree did only make difference until we leveled it up to midway to get the special powers, but by halfway through the game, we have everything and we are a bit overpowered from there anyway.
From there, it didn’t really matter who I select as a squad mate either, because even a biotic could easily fly a Geth.
And the weapon/armor selection is a joke, they have no difference, only how quickly it takes down the enemy. Always choose the one with the higher number… I don’t even remember their names…
ME2/3 had MUCH less power selection, but those are more significantly different. And also because the enemies are tougher, we need to be much more mindful about how we use them, which order, and against which enemies, because some of them are completely ineffective in certain situations. For the same reason, carefully selecting the squad-mates for each mission is more important, because it can make or break a mission in harder difficulties.
Also, the weapons have fundamental differences here, and different weapons in the same category have to be used in entirely different ways. Mattock vs Revenant, Viper vs Widow, Claymore vs Geth Plasma shotgun, we can’t declare any of them as better than the other, yet it can change our play-style entirely.
@@juzoli Exactly
@@tkaki6029 I love ME2 but I disagree with you on the Mako. I’m in the minority I guess as I loved the Mako parts. Planet scanning is boring and adds nothing. ME2 is still probably my favorite though
@@caleg2256 I'm in the same boat. Driving in the Mako is strangely therapeutic for me
I like ME2, I love the suicide mission, but I certainly dislike the factor that, having so many characters, they have soooo little interaction in missions, on ME1 or ME3 all characters have something to say on all missions, but on ME2, the characters just keep quiet during 90% of missions not directly involving them.
After replaying the trilogy I found 2 very underwhelming and 3 actually being more enjoyable imo, 1st game was always a favorite of mine.
I wish ME3 had more large scale battles. Earth was underwhelming because I could not see the Army/Fleet I spent so long building and gathering. I understand that would require alot of coding and probably would of push development time longer. But aside from that, ME3 was pretty good imo. I play it via Legendary Edition so it was all in one go pretty much for me.
After replaying all 3 I can say this
Me1 : best RPG experience. really solid gameplay, lots of missions, no pressure explore at your own pace.
Me2 : best relationship building game. Solid but flawed gameplay mainly from those awful class restrictions. lots of missions but they feel more grindy. Lots of pressure and soft/hard locks that make you sometimes feel like you have to tiptoe around. Overlord DLC is some of the best content mass effect has ever seen
Me3 : best overall game. Gameplay is so fun and varied that even 20 runs in you'll STILL find new ways to play. Missions are more streamlined shorter and less numerous but make a lasting impression. The pressure is immeasurable but never crushing as you gather allies it starts feeling like you truly can win. Best DLC content hands down Omega, Leviathan and of course the GOAT citadel are all in leagues of their own and truly showed what bioware is capable of.
100% accurate
This describes how I've always felt about the Trilogy (aside from the vastly improved combat for ME1).
Thank you. Thank you so much. I scrolled down just to comment the very same about the DLCs. Somehow I never played all of them for the third game (only Omega) before Legendary Edition and I was shocked at how good Leviathan was, and even Omega seemed way better than I remembered. Now that From Ashes kinda exists as a core part of the game, separate from all the sh*t it represented at the time (a Day One paid DLC which locked you out of a very important piece of lore *and* a friggin Prothean companion!), it's very clear Mass Effect 3 had the best DLCs by far.
I was going to say that he was missing that mass effect 2 is great because of the characters and relationships you build. You said it better and it is exactly how I feel about all 3 games.
ME3 is my favorite as well. One thing I loved was that every side mission -- no matter how small -- added war assets, so you never felt like you were wasting time for unimportant things. Everything you did was contributing to the strength of the final push, so I didn't feel the pressure to hurry up to the end.
Playing 3 again, I think it is hands down the best. The way they tell the story, they way it feels so cinematic. The way squadmates move around the ship and interact. And always have a short blurb to say so it feels like they are actually people with thoughts vs 1 and 2 where they have like... 3 or 4 conversations and then you're done. The way the characters on the citadel bring you into the war with their conversations. How the role playing elements aren't overdone and meaningless like 1 but are more robust than 2. 3 makes you feel like you're in the world better than any other game.
2 gets points for the suicide mission mechanic and how it makes it feels so high stakes. 1... I'm still Meh on 1. There are like 4 missions and every side mission in the galaxy is in one of the same 3 buildings. The story telling feels less personal and more hands off. It's easier to breeze through. 2 and 3 have all unique side missions and most of them actually make you think about something. Especially 3. In 3 so many are truly urgent. They're not just something to check off the list they way they are in 1. 3 is the best across the board in my opinion. Endings are hard... But the game overall is a masterpiece in storytelling in a way the other two are not. It builds on their shoulders, no doubt. But it feels like a revolution playing through it after the first 2 after all these years.
I think 1 was crushed under its own ambition and thus the worst one.
2 and 3 have different strength. I think 2 has the best structure thanks to the way the suicide mission is handled. And the best gameplay thanks to the varied level and enemy design.
3 is the culmination of a lot of plot thread in the series, best cinematic presentation and general atmosphere.
I like 3 best as well. I think the devs shouldve just agreed and said that shepard was actually indoctrinated and that the end was his mind fighting it before death. Instead, they really doubled down on that lame ending
ME3 is the worst in the trilogy. You can feel how game development was incredibly rushed due to EA corporate interference at every unpolished corner of the game. It needed an additional year in development.
It's always been my favorite and the only one I've replayed over and over again.
@@Shvabicu I must agree, the 3 flavors animation ending was very lame. But the biotic combo make the fighting so much pleasurable.
I would say The worst part of mass effect2 is the story they force you to work for Cerberus and the plot barely has anything to do with reapers
I realize I'm in the minority, but I think ME3 is hands down the best in the series (provided you play it with DLC). The gameplay, level design, writing, voice acting, and sheer emotional weight are just superior in my opinion.
I agree
I think the whole saga is overrated, but I love ME3
The fact that I don't have to scan for resource in ME3 means that it is better than ME2.
Too bad the completely gutting of the conversation system fucked up the emotional weight of the writing.
My favorite in the series is ME1. It's a sort of lowkey adventure with really excellent gameplay once you get used to how dated it is.
While ME2 is the more consistent and well made game than ME3, I've always found myself having more fun in the third game for some reason. The improved squadmate interactions where not only your squadmate would comment more frequently during missions, the interactions between them in the Normandy is a big factor as well. Whereas in ME2 you never sense the camaraderie between them because they rarely interacted at all.
That was what made me love ME3 the most from day 1.
RIGHT!!! like i loved the fleshed out squadmates in 2, but they stayed in their spots and rarely interacted. I wish they made the interactions bwtn squadmates in3 but in 2 (aside from the fights) bcause then the ship would truly feel alive!
I prefer me3 all day long
ME3 was the ONLY one that got squad interaction right.
ME2 claims to be about building a team but its not. Its about enlisting individuals. Even during the suicide mission the only "team" related moment is picking someone mildly capable of organizing a fire team. Thats it.
Imagine if Miranda and Jack had to work in tandem and your actions during their missions as well as their interactions with you and eachother played a part.
Imagine the same for Tali and Legion. Imagine if it came down to more than just:
1. Did you solve their daddy issues?
2. Did you select one of the 2 possible competant people for this job that even a moron can see?
I hate seeing unbridled praise for ME2 because its just not deserving of it.
@@jmlaw8888 100% agree bro
I agree with most points, and I'm happy to see I was not the only one to take the Legendary Edition as an opportunity to reassess a lot of stuff from the original games.
But you know what's REALLY the best about it? It's that now, more than ever, Mass Effect for me is a single incredible game. One that starts by descending on Eden Prime and only ends when "my" Shepard decides to destroy the Reapers and may even survive after all. One single game where he ended Project Overlord, saw firstand who Liara would become and even found a Prothean survivor, all seamlessly within the core story, all without me paying extra for such important bits of lore. One single game that, now more than ever, is one of my all-time favorites.
In that light, while all this discussion about the best aspects of each of the three "acts" may be fun, it has become purely academic now.
Mass Effect, the One Legendary Game, is the best.
(and funnily enough, the fact that the name of this edition does not mention "trilogy" anywhere makes a LOT more sense now)
I never even thought about it like that. Wow
I totally agree with all your points here. Even before MELE was released, after 10+ playthroughs I still hold on to my belief that ME2 is the weakest in the trilogy. ME2 just felt like a whole big side quest and it got tedious after some time. ME3 is still my favorite and yes that includes the endings.
Yeah, I always had this weird feeling of ME2 being largely irrelevant. The collectors are only briefly mentioned as threatening Earth (which never really feels like a true “we need to hurry” event, given that it is never really brought up again after the ship raid). They do threaten to build a new reaper… “oh no, 1 more reaper on top of the thousands we are fighting 6 months later”.
I really wish there was more impact on why the collectors needed to be stopped other than 1 single reaper potentially showing up 6 months earlier than the rest.
like, were there really so many of them on that base that they’d turn the tide of the war later? was their 1 frigate really gonna win them the war?
Id have liked it if it were something like them building a new “alpha” relay to let the reapers freely jump between any relay, so now Shepard’s actions have had a direct and crippling blow that prevents the reapers from easily destroying every system’s defenses in a matter of days
Yeah what a horrible opinion. Mass effect 2 is best in the trilogy gameplay wise and the dialogue is levels ahead of 1 and especially 3. The world building isn’t just pure exposition like in the other games and the decisions you’re presented aren’t the absolute extremes. Sabotaging the genophage is never an option because wrex and mordin are my favorites, and why pick anything besides peace between the quarians and the geth? The decisions in mass effect 3 are incredibly shallow. If you saved the rachni queen before why would kill her for getting kidnapped? Kaiden or Ashley only believe you’re not evil if visit them at the citadel when their in the hospital every hour on the hour or bang you gotta start blasting. Mass effect 3 is still good don’t get me wrong but I don’t like the world being so malleable that my character just says something stupid and then a literal nation dies. Mass effect 2 is like a house party where everyone is doing their own thing off in different rooms some smoking weed some playing strip poker some trying to get piece of ass yet it’s all still connected through the party and the music bouncing off the walls of the home while mass effect 3 is more like a wave pool. It’s badass for a minute but there’s tons of downtime and all these random people you could give a shit less about (James, Steve, the IGN lady, Ashley, any mission that introduces a character for them just to die)
@@CaleebTalib m8, the combat of 2 is super stiff and slow compared to me 1 and 3, especially in LE.
really trying to undersell ME1 with how much lore it was able to set up without exposition dumps
honestly dude, most of these complaints seem super shallow
@@Luxia-f1e no I shouldn’t lump ME1 in with 3 in that aspect you are correct. The beginning citadel portion of mass effect one is little expository overload but little stuff like being ambushed at choras den is such a small yet huge atmosphere builder that even this mega space station has a criminal underworld that can’t be snuffed out. While Mass effect 3 has funny toothbrush lady over sexualize a female ai voice because those lesbians sure are crazy huh. Also they were like everyone loved afterlife so let’s just make a soulless and way less interesting version that has literally zero secrets besides getting soon to be dead soldiers drunk with your meathead squad member, who’s only interesting dialogue is after you do 183 pull ups manually lmao. I don’t hate Mass effect 3 but people were more excited for the story and it seemed they focused more heavily on the mainstream appeal for the gameplay instead.
@@CaleebTalib Ill admit me3 is definitely rushed, Id argue its much improved and faster paced combat helps cover for that. Its more accurate to say the effort went into the gameplay and character *moments* over world building. Which makes sense, given that the themes are a war of survival. Theres already been 2 games to establish setting, its time to fully establish the true threat the reapers pose and what it will take to win.
Mordin
Legion
Wrex
Javik
(tali if you choose the geth)
joker
all have some truly emotionally charged and powerful moments.
you can seriously feel the stress and anxiety that ME3’s war sells. The reapers are tearing through everyone and everything
most of ME3’s biggest issues are likely from EA’s time constraints and demand for a weird multiplayer system (which tbh was pretty fun, but kinda shallow)
they’re all great games, but ME2 has some serious issues in the gameplay department compared to the others. A great story is great, but I can get the story through a youtube video.
After playing through Legendary Edition on insanity through all three games, I have to admit that I changed my mind regarding ME2 as well. I never really spent much time arguing about which was best on forums or anything, it was just a personal opinion I kept to myself. As I played through ME1 though, I couldn't help but love everything, despite the memories I had regarding ME1 after playing ME2. Between when it first came out on Xbox 360 and then finally PC, I had well over 200 hours of ME1 game time, and while most of the memories are good, I was dreading combat (especially on insanity with level 1 characters) and the Mako sections. But playing through them on LE were actually quite enjoyable. When I finally finished ME1 and moved on to ME2, I was feeling really good about starting ME2, until I remember how every damned enemy was protected on insanity. Thankfully I stuck with soldier the entire trilogy, but it was still really annoying when I wanted to utilize my squad powers. And while the story and ending was every bit as good as I remembered, when I moved on to ME3 (which I was somewhat dreading due to my memories regarding the ending), I was actually relieved that I wouldn't have to carry that damned stupid heavy weapon on my back, worry about stupid Scions and Praetorians anymore (or ASSUMING CONTROL!), and be stuck with a slow ass jog. Plus, being forced to carry every weapon, yet somehow being excluded from SMGs (the Locust was so sweet in ME2) as a soldier was really annoying. I think combat really bugged me in ME2 more than I cared to admit.
When I started ME3, I immediately loved how movement and combat felt, and how insanity was still difficult but finally fair with regards to using powers (no more armor for stupid husks and the other lowliest foot soldiers). Side note I have hundreds of hours on both ME3 and Andromeda multiplayer (several maxed UR weapons), and yes, they easily put ME2 combat to shame. Anyway, after going through all of the incredible highs, seriously one after another such as completing the trilogy spanning threads of the genophage and the geth war, and killing THREE Reaper destroyers, when I finally got to that ending, I was actually okay with it. Somehow after all of this time, I guess I just figured what the hell, what did I really expect to happen? I was a fan of the indoctrination theory, but I was open to anything other than the green space magic. But ultimately, I felt like it was fitting due to the way they hammer into us the whole synthetics always destroying organics and needing a solution to that. I might not agree with the idea or the solution, but based on what I experienced in playing through the whole trilogy in a few weeks, I could just accept it and enjoy the finale.
So I guess I will say that ME3 is my all time favorite followed very closely by ME1, and then ME2. Not something I would have expected to admit, but there it is, and thanks for also sharing your video.
1. Mass Effect
2. Mass Effect 3
3. Mass Effect 2
4. Mass Effect: Andromeda
Looking at the like/dislike ratio, it's sad that someone can't have an unpopular opinion without just getting railroaded by the internet. You raise valid points, especially now that the LE exists. ME1 was always my favorite - I do not know how mining planets from orbit (boring and tedious) is preferable to getting boots on the ground and actually exploring uncharted planets for resources - and ME3 has some of the best character writing in any game, not just the franchise it belongs to.
The like to dislike ratio shouldn't discourage anyone. I think most dislikes are from people who show disapproval to the idea that ME2 is the least important game in the ME trilogy. I mean it kinda is as most of the game is full of distractions that have nothing to do with the active Reaper threat but I think it still plays a key role at expanding the ME universe. One thing I couldn't get over was how disconnected ME2 Citadel was from plot events. Flawed game but insanely drama with companions.
@@fops1999 agreed. ME2 is more about building up your squad's loyalty than about the galactic reaper threat. In ME3 however, the reaper threat is ever present
Saying Taylor Swift is an atrocity to music (which she is) is an unpopular opinion. Saying Mass Effect 2 is overrated is a profoundly stupid ass thing to say. Plain and simple.
I mean you said it yourself. Unpopular opinion. Unpopular opinions have consequences.
@@jussiesmollet4137just a matter of perspective. A Swift fan might make the same argument.
I honestly have never minded Mass Effect 3’s ending. The Legendary Edition made playthrough number 6 for me and I get legitimately emotional each and every time because of how well ME3 developed and topped off relationships you build in the series.
What ending do you choose?
I usually go destroy. I haven’t had a Shepherd yet that believes anything Starchild tells him/her haha. I picked control once just to see how I felt about it, and I tend to feel synthesize is wrong just because it kind of feels like you are just forcing that on the rest of the galaxy.
@@CDubs0191 lol true, and well its the only one where Shepard might be alive
I get superemotional when reaching the end of ME3 too but I do feel that the ending of it was lazy, especially at the beginning when the difference was just the colour and I get that it is their choice what to offer but it certainly does not do justice to ME3 itself or even the whole trilogy
I get what you are saying. Certainly before the extended cut it was rough. For me the extended cut was a good answer.
When I first played me1 I thought it was a bad game and thought it was a pain to get through but now that I'm playing it in the legendary edition I am really enjoying it. I actual liked playing it more than 2 and I thought maybe it was just because I've played 2 a lot more times. I thought the character development in 3 was so much better than 2 but every time I would tell that to someone they would just talk about how much they hated it. I'm so glad there are people that actually agree with me
The Suicide mission alone makes me disagree. The build up, the threat of death for your team, the music and an actual boss. Don't even get me started on the fact that it has by far the best character roster of any Mass Effect game. One has Wrex and Liara and Three has Liara. Number 2 has Mordin, Grunt, Miranda, Thane, Samara and Legion. (They all have Garrus and Tali). It might not be the best one but its not even remotely over rated.
This is a very valid reason to base your views on; suicide mission is great.
IDK, man, I don't think the human reaper could get past Marauder Shields.
@@Roonayy This comment wins.
That and Mass effect 2 actually has nuanced writing insted of Alliance good cerberus bad
Which squadmate do you pick for the last battle?
There's more to the games than just roleplaying and combat, I think most people love ME2 is because of how it took a complete U-turn from ME1 and told a much darker story were you're choices directly effect whether you and your crew survive the suicide mission, and there's a sense of progression in gaining the crews loyalty that isn't present in the first game. I agree with most of this video but the way you boiled down the experience into only combat and role-playing kind of cheapened your critique because there's a lot more to it than that. I agree that ME1 and ME3 don't get enough credit though
Exactly this.
Touching on gameplay, while ignoring the story, characterization, presentation and sound makes this video seem more like clickbait than anything else.
Couldn't have written it better myself.
Exactly, there's more to Mass effect than it being an RPG, and let's not forget that ME3's combat stemmed from the improvements that were made in ME2 (they basically just added combat rolling and polished it up a bit.)
@@Oxideist yeah - in the grand scheme of things, ME2 brought a lot of new stuff to the table, mechanics and story-wise. ME3 just took everything that was already established and ran with it.
Yeah I guess it had a darker facade but in actuality the only thing darker about it is that you're kind of a rogue Spectre working for Cerberus and spending most of your time in the Terminus, which is a really fucking cool concept that I thought could have been executed better. ME1's story is still very dark and has probably the creepiest moment in the entire series when you first meet Sovereign. Plus you've got the Rachni, the Thorian, and the whole theme of indoctrination and genocide.
ME1 by leaps and bounds is my favorite in the trilogy. ME2 is my least favorite because it ruined the potential for ME3, which could've been sooo much better if ME2 just continued to build on ME1; Preparing for the Reapers.
Yeah, the RPG elements were extremely dumbed down. Squadmates being restricted to only three skills and a passive meant that you ended up using the same companions on certain missions and against certain enemies. Armor pieces barely had an impact and half of them were locked behind DLC. Weapon variety was technically better than ME1 but still pretty poor when compared to similar games. Gameplay-wise, it's really difficult to even call it an RPG, more of a shooter game with occasional RPG elements.
I was making the exact same argument in a discord server I'm on and everyone agreed. We all had the same thought after playing back through the Legendary Edition. The improvements to ME1 make this far more apparent than it was before.
I only played ME2 & 3 on the PS3 so I was excited to play ME1 and it was a damn great game
I agree. The visual improvements and improvements to the combat have elevated ME1 straight back to first place. The story has always been Number 1, but it was tough to so readily give it the crown when thinking about the graphics and clunky combat... but now. Wow. Legendary Edition has made it SO easy to say with confidence that ME1 is the best of the trilogy.
*Spoiler Warning*
Thank you for saying that ME3’s ending wasn’t THAT bad. Like I might get shit for this, but on replaying, I think that both the Perfect Destroy and Synthesis endings are very fitting conclusions, and while yeah, the ending isn’t perfect, what better ending could there have been?
As for whether ME2’s overrated? I enjoy the story most of all the games, but I do like much of what you’ve talked about here. Great video, thanks for this!
Completely agree, it was nice to hear someone else say what I've always believed
Nah, it's THAT bad. People just grew accustomed to it, got tired bashing it, or moved on.
@@Overlord734 Exactly. People have just had time to get used to it, and now that the trilogy has been out for so long people are looking back on it with nostalgia goggles.
The ending was completely out of left field, tone deaf/thematically unfitting, directly contradicted claims by company officials that the ending would not be "a binary choice you make at the end of the game" and it was just BORING.
@@juliagoetia I can only speak from personal experience but honestly the very first time I played ME 3 I thought the ending was brilliant, it actually took me a long time and hearing alot of different opinions to realize its faults and then through many replays I ultimately felt like the ending while not great was ultimately a minor blip in one of the greatest games ever made and that the dlc made it a million times better. So I really have to disagree with your assertion that everyone grew used to it and look back on it with nostaligia.
Honestly, I really liked Mass Effect 3's ending. This is probably because I waited like 6 years to actually play it after the hype died down and because I fell down the Sheppard indoctrination rabbit hole. The main complaint is how your previous decisions don't matter and that is a valid complaint but I guess I was just expecting that after Mass Effect 2 and how shallow the changes were based on what you did in Mass Effect 1.
I actually enjoy the mass effect 3 ending with my thoughts being Shepard sacrifices his happy ending to give everyone else a happy ending a fitting end for him and you even get the choice to sorta give him a happy ending by making him survive with perfect destroy but I don’t really like how you have to sacrifice edi and ruin jokers chance at love
Recruiting all the interesting characters and gaining their loyalty was so good in ME2 that it will always be my favorite. That said, I see how all the ME games have valid reasons for being a favorite.
True but I feel like there are way too many characters. With the limit of only just 2 squad mates it feels too overwhelming. However, those characters what made the story feel whole and expanded the universe even more like the drell and justicars/ardat yakshi
Well, a problem with that is the characters/squadmates are kinda boring in ME2. Like they introduced them but they just stayed in their rooms and never interacted with each other that much like Mass Effect 3. I feel like in terms of squadmates ME3 did better. You had squadmates actually talking to each other and moving around. You had Ashley and Tali get drunk, Garrus, James, and Javik talking in the kitchen, conversations between squadmates through intercoms, getting to talk to them in the Citadel.
You don't get that in Mass Effect 2. Hell, you don't even need to talk to the characters to get their loyalty missions. All you have to do is wait until Kelly tells you they need to speak with you. You could get them without even talking to them for even a minute unlike in ME1 where to get Garrus, Wrex, and Tali's missions.
The only problem with ME3 is the journal with secondary missions is really frustrating and you can't understand which one you have completed and which not. The first Mass Effect is the most complete with exploration, dialogues and lots of interaction with npcs but the second makes the interaction more solid and the story more complex, the third is more guided than the others (specially of first) but the story ending is epic and I enjoyed lots playing it. So I agree with you but I even think that specially by who have played the legendary edition the three games have to be considered as one huge sci/fi masterpiece and that's the way it has to be played (imho).
I expected people to change their minds after the Legendary edition. ME1 was ALWAYS the best one. And ME2 was ALWAYS the WORST one. It's too bad that ME3 has only be defined by its ending. The best moments of the trilogy happen in ME3.
The score on ME1 makes it my favorite
A very brave title haha. I definitely rank ME3 > ME1 > ME2 > MEA. On replays, I find ME2 to be difficult to get through with some missions, especially Omega stuff.
I always appreciate people sticking up for ME3.
I generally find the opposite. ME1 & 2 feel so easy to get through but ME3 just doesn't feel quite the same and I find it harder to get through at some points.
I find it difficult to rank MEA along with others in the series. Because other games in the series did better in most places than MEA, but there are places where MEA are way better than the rest of them.
It's best in combat and customization, no doubt about it. Like you get to shift classes mid fight, fluently. NO GAME DOES THAT.
It's arguably best in exploration with ME1 in second place.
Mission structure ranked last. All the collectible mission really hurt the exploration aspect of the game.
Lore and background story are surprisingly on par with ME2 and 3, because there was not much that they expand upon which hurt them since they started in a new galaxy. They need ME1 class of lore for a new start.
Overall storyline. Just so-so. They tried to put in some plot twist, but it's just not a Bioware storytelling quality.
Characters are arguably better than ME1 though certainly pale in comparison to ME2 or 3.
Protagonist, of course Ryder will always get compared to Shepard, but it's not a fair comparison. Because unlike Shepard, he's an inexperienced kid. But interestingly, you get to see him slowly grow into his character instead.
@@araisikewai I agree that I can't really rate ME:A in with the trilogy. It was kinda "meh" overall, but it really did have some bright spots, especially the combat, and I appreciated the lighter overall tone. You were purposefully out there to explore and make things better and didn't feel rushed to take on the overarching threat.
ME2 was the first game of the trilogy I played, therefore it will always be my sentimental favorite.
With that said there are a handful of things that Bioware changed from ME1 that I'll always question, things like:
-The introduction of thermal clips.
-The removal of individual power cooldowns.
-Certain powers no longer penetrating shields.
-The diminished skill tree and RPG elements.
I love the game to death, but there are certainly a few things that has lowered my opinion of it.
I can totally see where you're coming from with all this.
Mass Effect 2's most glaring flaw is the insufficient amount of Liara.
lair of the shadow broker got you covered fam
@@Matt-bg5wg not good enough
Imo Liara lean more towards the boring, vanilla type of character and dare I say that she is kind of Mary sue-ish
I’m so glad someone actually dared to put this into words and I’m even happier that ‘someone’ was you. Your comments are solid, well based and challenge the audience to rethink about what has been solidified as a ‘general truth’. I had a very similar experience/revelation when going through LE, especially when it comes to side quests as well. I didn’t remember ME2’s being so dull.
My biggest beef with ME2 is how reduced the RPG element is. (I'm more about story than combat.) Shepard is never truly allowed to say, "I don't care that Cerberus brought me back to life, I hate Cerberus and am forced to work with them because no one else wants me." Elements of the writing were either rushed, or cut out, or flat out never happened, and the game forces the player to accept Shepard is gonna go along with Cerberus, no matter their actual opinion (which they're only allowed to voice if they're okay with working with Cerberus). There are several points in the game when a anti-Cerberus Shepard could say, "now wait a damn minute" when called out on working with Cerberus/being with Cerberus, but those don't happen.
Combat-wise, you're right on the money. I now enjoy ME1 because of the Legendary edition, and going from tons of power options to half a dozen is painful. And frankly, it stinks not being able to put Shepard in whatever armor I want in ME2 and ME3 - I loved that about 1.
ME2 is actually my least favorite
It doesn’t have the heart of ME3 nor the world building of ME1, it is not the night of combat, or the best main story.
I love all of the Mass Effect games immensely, ME2 was my introduction to the trilogy, and it is one of the greatest games ever made, but so are ME1, and ME3.
I honestly thinks it has the most heart, I felt more of a connection with the crew in this game than all the others and it had all the best story moments for me too.
I went through the same process as you - came into the series at 2, and upon reflection - feel it is actually my least preferred - though it is of course still incredible
I'm gonna say it outright: combat in ME2 sucks! It's terrible, it's non sensical, it's straight up logically offensive. You're really telling me that 2 years after ME1 weapons technology has suddenly degraded to janky heat clips that are way less effective than the unlimited occasionally overheating guns in ME1? And if I have to deal with a back to the stone age weapons system, why can't I at least stockpile ammo? You companions are effectively useless, you get hit three times while once again glued to a freaking box you didn't skirt around far enough and that's it, end of journey, you're dead on casual. The freaking map is usually greyed out so like a lost lamb heading to slaughter I wander around aimlessly while being shot at looking for a freaking button in a dark basement. The dialogue system is the same crap as it was in DA2 where you either need to be eternally nice or an eternal ass to your followers because hell forbid you might actually agree with someone on a certain topic once and they'll stab you in the back later on because you're not 100% rivalry anymore
ME3 is my favourite, closely followed by ME1. I found ME2 a little grindy and repetitive, too many squadmates, you spent the whole game collecting them while the over arching story was sidelined.
Mass effect 2 feels like a giant sidequest but 3 is one step forward two steps back. For every one thing done well they fuck up other things. And to me 1 is super grindy so despite its many flaws it is still my favorite.
AND I SHOULD ADD THAT ME2 IS TOO MUCH ORANGE
Lol😂
Well here are my reasons on why mass effect 2 still holds up even after the legendary edition improved ME1
1. The suicide mission
I rest my case
2.It’s also very character driven and let’s you have the most fun as a renegade without feeling too bad for your actions and cool glowing scars
3. Best space bar/club in the whole trilogy
These are absolutely the reasons someone should use to defend ME2. Well done.
@@ExaltedMarch even as a full Paragon the Renegade interrupts were awesome and added to the feeling Shepard was angry AF after spending two years on a laboratory and the only organization that openly supports him was a group of terrorists who killed an Alliance Admiral for asking too many questions among other things.
The suicide mission was an actual well though put mission that integrated a bunch of situations and ship upgrades into the result of the mission success. While ME3 had it on the topics about the Genophage and the Geth/Quarian conflict the rush Bioware had made them drop that same mechanic by the time the last missions came about.
What I do say against the secind game is that it set a bad example to follow: lots of DLC packs that lead to Bioware cutting content like Javik and Leviathan from ME3 initial release and that it felt like a big side quest as it didn't explored the main theme of the series: the Reaper actions per se.
For me it's mostly Omega. That place is memorable. Wish it was a lot bigger with more exploration.
I loved the combat more in ME1 where you don't have to camp in cover 100% of the time and you can use all of your abilities instead of use 1 wait use another wait. The janky aim was to limit classes weapon skills and balance out the combat for being able to use all skills. ie. you can go soldier and get all the weapon skills and never have a problem aiming but you also don't get all of the strong biotics and tech skills where as a sentinel you get no skills besides your class skill which helps pistol aim but you have lots of biotic and tech usage. It made picking a class at the beginning way more of a choice imo where as in ME2 it pretty much just limited your weapon choice and in ME3 it limited your abilities.
ultimately I agree with you. I love the triology but it felt like on my most recent playthrough I just rushed through ME2 to get to ME3 where I take my time more, use different combination of weapons, etc.
There are still two things where I'd give ME2 the top spot. First, adding and developing new characters. It better be the best at this - it's really the whole point of the game. ME1 did a solid job of this given how much it had to carry in the storyline and worldbuilding departments, but it doesn't have the variety or depth that ME2 has. ME3 does a really good job building on top of what ME2 provided, but ME2 still gets more credit to me for laying all that groundwork. The other thing where ME2 wins is the ending sequence. I think a big part of why ME3's ending got hit so hard by public opinion is actually because ME2's ending was so legendary. The suicide mission is the most epic stretch of gameplay in the entire series, and the major decisions every step of the way also mean that the stakes really hit home. Even though Mass Effect 3's whole story was about setting up for the best possible situation heading into the final sequence, the suicide mission actually does this better by making the entire game that preceded it have real consequences - skip loyalty missions, miss an upgrade, or do missions after the crew is taken and there will be consequences. It's really something special, and I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a better ending sequence in ANY game - not just in Mass Effect. While I agree that ME3's ending isn't as bad as its reputation suggests, I'd still rank it as the worst ending of the series (Marauder Shields = final boss... need I say more?). The ending of ME1 had a pretty good buildup, final boss, and resolution, but it still can't compete with the suicide mission.
Agree with both broad points. A lot of people pointed out that the suicide mission mechanics are simplistic and binary, but, at the end of the day, it's a unique and effective concept that should've been iterated on, in ME3, instead of scrapped.
The reason why a similar ending sequence wasnt implemented in ME3 was because of a rushed development cycle and the addition of a multiplayer component that seemed to take precedence over single player progress (Gunsmith trophy/achievment as a great example).
@@CynicalWarlock well, Bioware was rushed I mean, had an artistic integrity inspired by EA during development and they had to integrate multiplayer into the single player experience somehow.
@@luisemoralesfalcon4716 Yeah, the stringent development time was, for sure, the biggest factor. It seems ludicrous to me that the 3rd game in the series had the least development time.
@@CynicalWarlock and that brings me fears with the upcoming game.
As someone who just played through the series for the first time with the Legendary Edition, I find your opinion very interesting. ME1 may have the better "mechanics," and ME3 may have some amazing story elements, but I still play games for enjoyment. Just because you have the best mechanics or dialogue doesn't automatically mean that you have the most enjoyable game. They are certainly part of what make a game fun, but they don't dictate it.
I actually found ME1 relatively boring and overstaying its welcome until the Reapers were introduced. I could tell that it was a "good game," but I had such a hard time enjoying the ride along the way. It made me feel bad because I thought I should have been enjoying it and yet it felt stale for some reason.
ME3 was enjoyable and the callbacks to the relationships you built along the way was fantastic, but it was far from a perfect game. I will always love the Citadel DLC and the combat was the most satisfying out of all the three. I also got pushed into decisions that I didn't want to make because of decisions made in the previous two games. These dilemmas added an extra layer that were only impactful because of the previous two games. Very good game all things considered.
Then there's ME2. The opening sequence where the ship is hit and you're walking through the destroyed hull grabbed me for some reason. I still don't know why it mattered so much to me, but it did. Cinematic scenes like this and the tension-filled (since I played as a paragon character) story between Shepard and the Illusive Man really drew me into the world. This is to say nothing about the whole new cast of companions coupled with some amazing DLC. Then there's the final mission where I felt like I actually had a team and I wasn't entirely sure if they would all make it through (sadly, some died). The game kept me riveted from start to finish.
While I might change my mind when I play through the games again, on a first playthrough, ME2 was the most enjoyable with ME3 and then ME1 coming afterwards. Obviously everyone will have different opinions about this, but I found it interesting that I'm basically taking the same stance as people did when the games were first released.
Your experience highlights the fact that ME2 has 2 things that the other 2 lack (that's a lotta '2's):
presentation & characterization.
The cinematography, camera angles, lighting, sound, heightened sense of drama/stakes and overall feel (presentation), as well as the dialog, backstories and motivations of your crew, along with those of characters like the Illusive Man, all converge to make ME2 the most memorable experience, for most people.
The presentation draws them in, and the characterization wins them over.
Simple, yet massively effective.
Mass Effective, even.
@@CynicalWarlock Story felt like garbage. You go almost no where plot wise and the whole "suicide mission" felt pointless. Scanning planets was annoying. Crew members were definitely the best part.
@@cyrusbuck4425 Precisely why I didn't mention story at all, cause it's very barebones and doesn't advance the overall plot of the series. I guess this goes to show that characters and presentation trump story, for better or worse.
I wouldn't say the suicide mission was pointless; ME3 made it pointless, by turning whatever you did in it into a number. The possibility of losing teammates, during the mission, made it worthwhile, for me, despite the simplicity of the mechanics.
P.S.
Yeah... Planet scanning is stupid... Not that ME3 has something better.
@@CynicalWarlock I did appreciate tht ME3 made crew interaction more frequent. Dialogues to eachother in combat, on the Normandy, etc. Made it feel much more like a team and even friends.
The Citadel story dlc smacked tht even more so. Seeing how they play off eachother alot more often with some ball busting humor between each other.
Really fleshed them out as ppl since we already got a extensive background on them tht was developed in the 1st 2 games.
@@Daigon95 That's definitely one of ME3's strengths. I also like how the crewmembers changed locations, every now and then. Made them seem more like real people, and less like NPCs with exclamation marks on top of their heads.
Always thought ME2 was a bit overrated and ME3 underrated. ME3 remains my favorite in the series, and honestly I really enjoyed Andromeda after my second play through. Still can’t get past the ME1 combat though.. even with the “upgrades” of Legendary. For me, ME3, Andromeda, ME2 and the ME1. Regardless though, Mass Effect is the best sci-fi series of any medium in my opinion.
Also for me ME3 automatically loses for me because of the lack of quest tracking. Its quite insane that it doesnt have it. A new player has to literally fly thousands of light years to figure out where tf they were to hand in a quest, and it doesnt even tell you when you have the item or whatever. Good game but puzzling choices made
@@jonathansoko1085 the game was rushed but i agree
First time legendary edition player, I like LE mass effect 1 combat better. It has WAY more abilities to use, so far Mass effect 2 feels like Gears. Maybe I’m playing wrong though
Felt like ME1 was super easy because everyone has so many abilities
Don't compare gears combat, with me 2 combat.
*RT*
"I've had enough of your disingenuous assertions."
ME2 had the most time in development and it shows. It's the most complete game out of the series.
I mean I always took the opinion that ME2 was the best one as a consistent experiencie. So I already agree with everything you said the game was lacking, like the combat and role playing choices. The dialogue wheel was the same to me, not because it didn't have a true neutral, but because the writing stepped up. To me, ME2 is King of the trilogy because it is the most complete experience as a game, if you put the RPG elements, Mass Effect 1 is first, the combat, to me is Mass Effect 3 (regarding the trilogy only). But saying the dialogue and the combat scaling back on its original iterations when the change in combat in ME2 is not underwhelming, is not enough for me to not consider it the best. The argument here is that ME1 and ME3 are better because they do best what they are strong at right?, but what about the narrative strides of ME2? maybe the ending was not as engaging but I felt like it was the most original story (ME1 may have an argument to be more original but I still think the concept of the suicide mission is better). What about companions on ME2? that's undeniably the best on this game, you get to discover so much about them, practically the game is dedicated to them. Maybe its not the most complete RPG but I don't necessarily thinks its the worst game of the trilogy because of it. In the end to me the games were pretty much on the same tier of perfection, with ME2 having a slight edge. So to me its not that important that the verdict is that ME2 is the best, but that the trilogy is ONE OF THE BEST GAMING EXPRIENCES IN VIDEO GAMES, PERIOD. so to me it still stands that ME2 is the best, but I really am considwring whether ME1 or ME3 are second and third, but then again I love this games with their differences and enjoy them every single time the best I can.
There's no Charge in 1, it can't be higher than 2.
I totally respect your logic on this.
@@ExaltedMarch Truth be told, I'm also replaying the MELE and I'm on 2, and I'm hecka biased for that sweet sweet charge. But it's always been my favorite, despite a lot of it's flaws. 1 and 3 are also up there, I too am a shameless ME fan that if a stranger so much as HINTS they've played these games my filter shuts off and I'm just gonna keep going x.x
Good vid, even though I literally felt like you were leading this horse to the wrong watering hole. You make solid points and I can respect the conclusion, even though I don't agree. XD
Pleased to meet another esteemed individual that understands there's no greater way to defeat your enemies than with a telekinetic headbutt...
Mass Effect 3 is a superior game in style and substance. People complained about the ending of the finale to the trilogy, but it is a fine conclusion. The audience got more closure with DLCs and the game play is far better than 2 or 1.
Edit: I never understood why people complained about the ending. Yes they reduced all the infinite decisions of the three games into a regression formula essentially, but we all know the true transgression was Andromeda. They concluded Shepard and the Milky Way only to fail on expanding the Mass Effect world in Andromeda.
This is how I always looked at it. The reason why I think ME2 was lauded as the best in the trilogy was because it was the middle ground of ME1 and 3. ME1 had a superb story while ME3 had superb gameplay mechanics. ME2 combines both aspects albeit not as strongly in each category of its peers.
And if we include ME:A I was by far in terms of combat and weapon/armor customization the best of the ME games. There was a ton of weapons/armor to obtain and could be modded in a way possible. Could you imagine a black widow sniper rifle with a enemy seeking bullet or a fully auto and infinite ammo N7 Valkyrie ar? In ME:A it’s possible to make it. And combat was so free that you could approach most fights in multiple different ways. I’m also probably a part of the small minority of people that actually enjoyed ME:A.
How can i like this video more?
Agreed... My personal ranking is ME3 - ME1 - ME2 - Andromeda... Andromeda last because of the story, and some of the choices in world building.. The combat is really great though and still an okay game.
I love ME2 and its own story. But as a Mass Effect game it's the worst. The combat especially after the first one had its combat redone is subpar, though it did make way for the great combat of ME3. It has almost no effect on the story so for the trilogy overall it had the worst story (again great self contained story). The choices are limited and almost worthless especially compared to the other two. I still love the game, but ME3 is my favorite because everything was polished so much in all the aspects I listed.
Mass Effect 2 is the best Musical
*Mordin clears throat*
mordin is my favorite in the series; and the only reason why i hate to say that 2 isn't the best
100% agreed. ME1 is clearly the best of the trilogy in terms of world building, introduction to the characters, story execution, etc. etc. ME2's biggest flaw is really its story, and how disjointed and irrelevant most of the content is to the overarching narrative. Besides Tali's, Mordin's and Legion's loyalty missions, what else actually built on the existing conflicts set up in the first game and actually had it pay off in ME3? Don't get me wrong, I love the ME2 squad. Jack's development in from ME2 to ME3 was wonderful, and I always cry for Thane in ME3. But when you can summarize a whole game's story in two to three sentences, is it really a role playing game with much depth?
I understand that people feel the planet exploration in the mako is tedious, but why should that element of roleplaying be sacrificed and streamlined into simple probing? The missing neutral dialogue is also such a great point -- it also ties into the difference between ME1 Renegade and ME2 renegade. ME1 Renegade wasn't really a sadistic jackass, s/he was more like a no-nonsense person who got shit done. It felt natural to switch between paragon, neutral, and renegade options depending on the situation and still have your Shepard feel "consistent".
And the battle system on Insanity: is it really that great of a combat system when it's basically a basic cover shooter where enemies have 100% accuracy any time you pop your head out of cover? ME3's Insanity felt like it had more variables and you actually had the freedom to risk going out of cover to use skills and flank enemies. And yeah, the combo detonations. ME3's combat is clearly superior, I don't understand how anyone could argue ME2's combat is better. Especially with the lack of thermal clip spawning made it less fun. The weapons themselves also lacked choices and variety compared to ME3.
So, what DID ME2 do better than the other 2 games? The opening of ME2 is still one of my favourite game openers of all time. Seeing your ship destroyed and Shep gasping for air still gives me goosebumps. The suicide mission was thrilling, and the stakes felt real. Having control of your tactical choices where it could result in permanent deaths was god tier. It's a great game, but it's not as good as ME1 and ME3.
your a noob complaining on the difficulty of 2 you just dont know how to urilize your squadmates, plus you probably werent getting weapon, armor and biotic upgrades.
@@edwardsantiago1000 Nope I got all upgrades and I used all powers frequently. I beat the game just fine for a noob, lol. Criticism =/= complaining btw. If you mained sniper rifle you would know the thermal clip issue. Especially when the criticism about thermal clip drops lead to BioWare increasing the drop rate in Legendary Edition.
The amount of times you went out of your way to justify yourself that "me2 is not a bad game" is energy draining and overdone. You made your point the first two times you've said it
Nitpicky, but correct.
@@CynicalWarlock he said it too many times for it to be nitpicky. His points are good, but it's like he's feeling guilty that he's making this video lol
@@LEONSKENNEDY91 True. It ends up reminding you that you should be undignified, instead of just letting you enjoy the video.
Mass Effect 3 is what happens when the middle episode of the trilogy does nothing to advance the plot the first game set up. If 2 was all about preparing the galaxy for the reaper threat, a vast majority of the problems 3 had would not be there. Mass Effect 2 ruined the trilogy not 3.
They really wanted to make the council deny the reapers again because everybody loved hating on them in me1 for that. Do it again.
I think that the plot of the Citadel DLC makes no sense IS THE POINT.
It is such BS that it can only work if you love the characters. It is that one "comedy episode" that every great TV show needs.
I've always felt the same. ME1 was my favourite and 3 despite my issues with it does a lot of things I like. ME2 really focuses on self contained stories and characters. I think it excells at adding more nuance to a lot of the world. You learn more about all the different races and cultures in ME2. Also the suicide mission and loyalty missions were both just really neat. On the other hand it doesn't have much in the way of a plot like ME1 or even 3 and I didn't like how limited customisation was. Even the classes feel massively streamlined in a way they don't in 1 or even 3.
I liked all of them but ME2 is still the most memorable for some reason.
I like Mass Effect 2 but I think the gameplay is the worst in the series. I didn't like the switch to thermal clips. I hated how the planetary vehicle exploration was limited to a few DLC worlds especially because I prefer the Hammerhead to the Mako. While I can understand reducing the number of weapons some I think they went way too far doing so, and I especially hate how Heavy Pistols and Submachine Guns, aka the two gun types usable by the most classes, are the types with the least selection (Two of each in the base game and a third of each added via DLCs).A problem mad even worse by the fact that I dislike burst-fire Submachine Guns and in the base game you can't get a Full-auto Submachine Gun until the second set of recruitment missions, I also disklike how the skill selection was reduced.
And Legendary 2 actually makes it a little worse IMO. In Legendary 1 Shep is decent even with untrained gun types which IMO is how it should have always been because it makes sense for a best of the best Special Forces officer. Shep was always decent with all Gun types in 3 but in Legendary 2 Shep forgets how to use any untrained gun types.
ME2 has always been my favorite too, but I do agree you make a lot of good arguments about ME1 and 3's strengths over ME2. That said, one thing that really stood out to me in ME2 vs ME1 this time around in the Legendary Edition is the squadmates and your crew, specifically your conversations with them. In ME1, you have six squadmates, and very few actual opportunities to further your dialogue with them, especially Tali and Garrus (which makes me extra glad they brought them back in ME2 for more development). It was about halfway through the game, right after I finished Garrus's request about Dr Saleon that I could just no longer say anything new to him. Every time I would come up to him I'd get the line, "Shepard, I wanted to thank you." Following that, I never had a reason to see him for the entire latter half of the game, and similar case with Tali. Wrex actually had a bit more, like after the standoff on Virmire, IIRC. Kaidan and Ashley both had a couple stages more of dialogue than Wrex, Garrus and Tali. Liara actually had about as much to say as Kaidan and Ashley did too, come to think of it, probably because they are the three romance options. And with the crewmates, after the prologue, you get like one conversation each with Joker, Adams, Pressly, and Dr Chakwas for the entire rest of the game, with literally no reason to ever see them again either.
ME2 improved on all of that. It actually *doubled* the number of squadmates you get compared to ME1, and each of them (minus Kasumi and Zaeed) actually have about double the number of new conversation topics as you got in the first game, and even more for the romance options. Speaking of which, instead of having one unique romance based on your gender and one romance shared across both genders, each male and female Shepard get three unique romance options (Garrus/Thane/Jacob and Tali/Jack/Miranda), and that's not including Liara in Lair of the Shadow Broker, or the partial romances like Kelly and Samara, if you count that one. And instead of fulfilling a simple request for Garrus, Wrex, and Tali, which are each completed over the course of an only partially-related sidequest, each of your squadmates in ME2 get their own dedicated loyalty mission, including the two DLC characters. And the crewmates have more to say too. Chakwas, Gardner, and Ken & Gabby all have one normal conversation, and then once you fulfill their requests, you get one more stage, with special mention to catching up with Dr Chakwas over a glass of brandy. Joker and Kelly have comments on each of your squadmates and often make remarks on specific missions you just returned from. Even Ken and Gabby frequently have new ambient dialogue exchanges with each other that you can overhear.
What I'm saying is, to me, part of what makes ME2 really stand out is the much-expanded manner in which you can get to know a cast double the size of one in the first game.
In addendum, I also love the Suicide Mission at the end of the game, which can vary widely depending on some non-essential side stuff you may or may not have done over the course of the rest of the game. It actually takes some of your choices into account, which aren't just limited to dialogue either, and with those choices you may or may not have made, all twelve of your squadmates have the possibility of dying in one way or another, even Shepard if you push it far enough.
Things like that are what help make Mass Effect 2 a better experience over Mass Effect 1 for me.
Great video, totally agree. I felt so disheartened by the ending of ME3 when it first came out that I never finished a second playthrough of 3, even though I had four character lined up at the time. I never bought the DLCs and just played the MP. Now, with Legendary Edition, the benefit of time, maturity, and all the DLC, ME3 blew me away. On top of that, the updated combat made ME1 feel great, and on my second playthrough of LE, I found it really hard to spend hours on ME2. I'd do one Mission and one Assignment and set it aside for a different game. I still love ME2, like you, but its definitely, with the changes to ME1 in LE, the weakest. Don't get me wrong, I love the suicide mission, but fighting on the outside of the Citadel with Sovereign looming over you was always my favorite finale.
I hate all the dislikes you're getting. Even though I agree with you, its a well thought out video and if I had disagreed, I doubt I would feel compelled to dislike it. You're going after a sacred cow, so I guess its expected.
Thanks so much for watching and the support. I don’t mind the dislikes! Everyone is entitled to express their opinion; I wouldn’t hit the down vote button to disagree either but to each their own.
Besides, this is a price to pay for being first. Give it two years and this will be the prevalent opinion.
After replaying all of them I have to say the first one is the best because it was and rpg not just a 3rd person shooter
ME2 was the beginning of the end that basically wasted a timeslot on the trilogy's overall plot because let's be honest, the Collectors are a goddamn DLC plotline.
It's a fine game since it plays well, but as a Mass Effect title, it left ME3 dealing with both finding a way to stop the reapers and then actually stopping them. I implore any fan to give this a read: www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=28475
The sequel to ME1 could have been so much but instead of finding ways to stop the Reapers, we focus way too much on the Collectors
ME1 has always been my favorite. Even with the old combat. I love the way powers work in that game. I did not like the changes to powers in ME2 and 3.
This this right here. It also has the only good storytelling in the franchise if I'm being honest.
ME1 will always be special for starting the franchise in such a stellar way. It made me WANT to discover and learn every little detail about it's lore (unlike DA, which never grabbed me, lorewise). I prefered the more RPG focused gameplay of ME1, but ME2 will always be my favorite. It has many flaws, but in my mind still one of the best sequels to a triple A game. most notably because of the character development. going from ME2 to ME1, talking to each character is such a chore. Everyone is such a wiki entry to their race with daddy issues ( the writers at bioware clearly had some repressed issues there, cause that trend continued through all the games, but in ME1, it's litterally everyone).
@@FuriousPope Agree, the character writing has always, ALWAYS, been where ME 2 has a leg up on ME 1. There's only one dud character in the main roster, and if I'm honest I still like the narrative of their loyalty mission.
People can pick and choose their favourites depending whether they want to elevate different elements like worldbuilding or gameplay, but make no mistake characters are the reason ME 2 was the most celebrated title within the fandom.
It's not overrated, it just doesn’t hit the same on that FOURTEENTH playthrough. I just played the trilogy for the 1st time after listening to years of hype and it still held up. ME1 was great but ME2 is what sold me.
My problem with mass effect 2 especially playing on insanity is the less powers and the combat. I enjoyed mass effect 1 on insanity it was hard. But but not grinding hard. Like I'm only just onto Morton recruitment mission. And I'm struggling so bad on the fan bit cause I can't use snipers to held against the rocket guys.
I'm sentinal as well as I like versatile powers but I can only use a pistol and SMG. If I could use all guns would still be a grind but not as difficult
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. ME2 is "overrated" for a good reason it's a step up in terms of writing and gameplay. Gameplay wise builds are reduced yes but I've learned to appreciate it even more than i did back then with some weapons being assigned to specific classes ( I know the original mass effect was the same way but that changed with ME1 LE) your squadmates were more fleshed out in ME2 than the prequel and sequel, even had their own loyalty missions diving further into their character. Decisions seem to held more weight dragging your feet to save your crew could result in their death or not preparing yourself to assault the collectors would end with your teamates early demise. Some of the idea's they went with in combat situation kept it interesting too like trying to avoid the sun from killing you while being swarmed by geth or firing at toxic biotic containers in return would either give you a boost in biotic power or your enemies. There was clever level design scattered about Mass Effect 2 just wasn't present in sequel.
I would say 3 is my favorite. Solely because the combat was damn near perfected and you can carry anything you want into battle. You're not limited by your class. 2 is my second favorite. I really like that the main quest is just recruit the best the galaxy has to offer and become friends. 1 is alright. It has the Noveria mission and that's my favorite mission in the series.
I just had this convo with my cousin. Basically to me ME2 feels like a giant sidequest at the end of the day lol its still good but ME1 & 3 feels like im on a real mission.
Your new rankings I 100% agree with. If it wasn’t for the planet layouts and the mako exploration ME 1 would be my favorite BioWare game of all time.
Having only played LE and Andromeda, Andromeda is definitely dead last in my ranking. ME2 is 3rd.
ME2 combat is just bad, probably because it was made for consoles, but I'm more annoyed by how poorly the main plot was built. Most of the plot is utterly stupid, from Shepard working for Cerberus to the baby reaper (???). You could simply delete ME2, and do ME1 -> ME3 without changing anything, as most of ME2 story is completely insignificant to the main plot. ME2 is only saved by its characters, which was big disappointment after the initial masterpiece ME1 was.
Thank you for this video. I'm a huge fan of the ME franchise, I've played almost as many times as you have, but I always cringe a little bit when people throw words like "flawless" around regarding any of these games.
In fact, if you haven't, I would recommend you check out Raycevick's series on the Mass Effect games X years later. He has a very well articulated way to point out the flaws of all three separate games, while still not bashing it and pointing also at the good things we all love
Also, this comment was almost entirely for the algorithm
Raycevik always said ME never truly had a great story (ME1 but janky as fuck) with great gameplay (ME2 had a meh plot but great characters) and a great ending (ME3's Catalyst was genuinely terrible).
It’s about the dialogue/ the characters for me. Everything else I can push through begrudgingly.
About ME1 LE: I’m surprised they didn’t add music to the creepily quiet planet exploring quests. Missed opportunity :/
For me the Legendary Edition did the exact opposite. The gap between Mass Effect 2 and the other 2 games become even larger.
For me it is the Empire Strikes Back of Mass Effect.
I see all these comments and wonder: Have we been playing different games??? Granted, Legendary improved a lot of things, but before the remaster, ME 2 was the most refined in the series, certainly not "too linear", like some of you say and definitely had some of the best character interactions and so much more!!! Not to fucking mention Miranda Lawson and the general atmosphere and mood of the gameplay and plot. HELLOOOO, COLLECTORS ANYONE???? One of the best villains in video games!!!!! And so much more!!!
ME3 would have my favorite combat if it actually had any semblance of difficulty on insanity mode. Even without using Garrus or James to mow down the enemies the game is really kind of a joke due to how literally everything is just exploding non stop lol. The story itself is a lot stronger in ME3, but you said it yourself, we love Mass Effect because of the characters. And well, ME2 has by far the biggest and best set of characters in the series.
When the Paragon Icon popped up I wanted to click it lol.
Every. Single. Time. Lol
I played ME 2 for the first time this month, and I hate it lmao. Actually, I like it, but if I compare it to ME 1, the storytelling is so linear and lacks plot-twists. In ME 1, we face Saren and then we know about sovereign and now Sovereign is the antagonist, and then the Citadel is a fucking mass relay. But ME2 is just hire people to fight the Collectors. WHERE IS THE PLOT-TWIST????
This is what i've been saying for years to my friends.
For me ME2 is still number one. I cared way more about all the characters and the relationships. The first time I played it I really believed any or all of them could die. I worked my ass off to get my crew through that suicide mission and surprisingly I succeeded on first play through.
I just replayed ME1 and ME2 Legendary and I can say while improved ME1 felt like a slog. I appreciate the deep customization and RPG elements but for me those are not the most important part of the experience. The relationships felt hollow/shallow in ME1 and I found myself wondering how I had any strong feelings about those characters.
I think it just boils down to what you value most out of a game experience. All 3 games in the trilogy are fantastic and any pick as a persons number one is valid.
I totally hear you on all points, and I hate to be THAT guy. I've played through all the games 9 times but the last 20 minutes does destroy a lot of the immersion because at the end of the day none of your choices actually mattered in the end. You can start with ME3 and still get the same endings. It just sucks when you're playing a great story but in the back of your mind every time you're going through it that nothing I do actually matters.... Even if you think the ending isn't that bad, it still feels like a totally different game once you get to that last 20 minutes. I just try to pretend it doesnt exist at this point lol, but it is always a bummer in the back of my mind when I'm playing.
I came to pretty much the same conclusion after I played the LE. ME2 is the game in the series that I've played by far the most and I love it to pieces, but at this point it's clearly my least favorite in the series. Although it does feel like you're asking me which of my three children is my favorite.
In addition to what you said about the improvement to ME1's combat in the LE, I think we should also add that it runs much, much more smoothly than before, which to me really highlights the fact that it also has the best art direction, or at least my favorite because I just love that Syd Mead style so much. The sequels departed from that style - they still look good, but they just don't have that unique flavor anymore.
Also, I think maybe another reason why ME2 is so many people's favorite is that it's the one that really made the series famous and probably the first one a lot of people played. I was very lucky to have friends who basically held a gun to my head and said I had to play ME1 first, no matter how janky it was, and that I'd regret starting with ME2, and I'm really glad I listened to them.
Recently finished an insanity run on LE after my last (of many) playthroughs 5-ish years ago. Back then I probably would have dismissed a video like this, but after coming back to the trilogy I found that you made a lot of good points that I agree with. The squad interactions of ME3 made the characters feel alive and like they were actually friends, while in ME2 it was kind of like therapy sessions with Shepard. Still love love love this trilogy to death but no longer have rose tinted glasses about it. But that’s okay because well, nobody’s perfect.
I have ALWAYS felt this way, but would always get jumped on for not enjoying 2 as much as everyone else.
I have major complaints about the plot: It's a more character focused game, which is fine and cool, but the actual plot? There..isn't much. The Reapers will come regardless of the Collectors, you could honestly skip the plot of 2 and go into 3. And speaking of characters, there are redundancies, and for a game that focus's so much on characters they NEVER TALK TO EACHOTHER. Grunt and Miranda are basically the same: Genetically modified and created by someone obsessed with legacy, and who doubt their greatness. Thane and Samara, both people adhering to a set of rules, both proficient killers who have no sympathy for those they kill, and who have a run away child bent on killing others.
The combat is also just so boring. 3 feels SO GOOD, but I just find ME2 to be a snooze fest, and the game I dread playing.
Imo this game has the least fun gameplay out of the 3
Yes, i agree that ME2’s combat and customization systems aren’t the best but I personally love ME2 the most because of the story, the relationship building and how much you get to learn abt your squad mates and characters especially in their loyalty missions and just missions in general, it also had one of the best and most shocking opening in any video games I remember playing ME2 for the first time and seeing the Normandy being destroyed my crew members dying, and then moment where Shepard steps into the space where the ship was broken and it was just shocking and heartbreaking I kept hoping that everyone was okay and gonna make it out alive
All valid reasons. Squad mates and the drama of the opening are great reasons to love ME2.
I think ME2 is the best overall but 1 and 3 have highest highs.
Or to put it another way. It's flaws are less glaring so it feel better in memory.
Personal favorite is ME3. Favorite mission is still the collector base touhgh
The only reason why i love mass effect 2 more than mass effect 1 is because of the mako
Even with the legendary edition
I respect this lol.
@@ExaltedMarch thanks brother keep up the good work
I'm surprised and was thrown off by the fact that Bioware didn't carry over the decision to make all ME1 weapon types usable regardless of class into Mass Effect 2 when Legendary Edition released and thus you still need to wait for Collector Ship if (for example) you want to use snipers as a biotic class or assault rifles as any class other than Soldier.
Also I wish they had incorporated Mass Effect 3's 'off in conversation' helmet option because I feel discouraged from picking full cover helmets like N7 Breather when I manage to make decent or even high quality custom Shepards as I'll only see them on the Normandy... which is also why I most often Cerberus Assault Armour is the only non customisable set I use (mainly for more Cain ammo because one shotting tough/annoying enemies like the Praetorian and using nukes to troll bosses is just too much fun).
Absolutely 100% agree.
I think because most players did NOT experience the Mass Effect games in sequence really colored the 'ratings'
When Mass Effect 2 was released . . . the majority of people who played it had NOT played ME 1. ME 1 made the franchise famous and the move toward a full shooter brought in tons of players. The same happened with Mass Effect 3 . . . the majority of ME 3 players had not played either of the previous two games.
Mass Effect 1 really suffered when people played it after having played either of the other games. It loses much of the wonderful worldbuilding experience and all the janky combat issues really showed up.
Mass Effect 3 suffered when you didn't have the background history of the first two games, not only do you lack the character history and lore background, but the default world state in ME3 if you don't import a save is pretty bleak. And of course the ending.
They are all great games, each with different strengths and weaknesses. But most importantly. The whole experience is greater that the sum of the parts!
It does puzzle me why the Collectors are in ME2 so little.
You remember how in ME1, you'd go on to a drifting ship or into a mine, and it'd be full of husks? Or the Geth would be setting up bases, or would ambush you? Or maybe when you left Feros to find more stuff about ExoGeni working on Thorian Creepers, or Cerberus trying to use cloned Rachni after Noveria. A lot of side stuff in ME1 related to the main story. In ME3, almost everything has something to do with the war, and it's a rare mission where you're not either fighting the Reapers or Cerberus.
There's lots of random side stuff in ME2, but you'll usually find critters, monsters, or one of the merc groups - Blue Suns, Eclipse or Blood Pack. Never Collectors. We hear that they're attacking outposts and colonies a lot, but we don't see it except for the Horizon mission. For that matter, they could even have shown up in some more of the main missions - Mordin's recruitment story is about a plague on Omega designed by the Collectors and distributed by Vorcha. There could have been some Collectors at the end fight of that mission, for example, working with the Vorcha.
Replace some of those random merc band outposts with Collector attacks, and that might have been cool. Show them as an active, present force moving and working throughout the Terminus Systems, like the Geth throughout the Attican Traverse in ME1.
I respectfully disagree but mostly she it comes to ME3. I just started 3 about a week ago again and I'm not sure how to pinpoint what it is but I always find 3 to be the most difficult to get through 1 (especially the Legendary Edition) and 2 it feels like a breeze but there's times in 3 where I just notice a dip in how much I enjoy it.
I love ME1's roleplaying and how it's like rediscovering the universe everytime I jump in. ME2 I love how it expands on the universe and the great cast of added characters. ME3 I enjoy the conclusion to the trilogy and the grand choices but not always the in-between I guess.
I still really like all 3 games of course but everytime I get to 3 I just never get as much enjoyment out of it as 1 or 2.
The initial opinion that ME3 is the most disappointing and over the top game in the series is true.
I like the way you think, I enjoyed ME3 a lot more than ME2 but then I saw the reviews after I had beaten the game and then I sort of leaned towards their opinions of how the game was worse than every game in the trilogy, until this video. Keep it up!
ME3 is my favourite Mass Effect. It has the best combat, the best character moments, the best dlcs, the second best implementation of rpg elements and the best morality/persuade system.
Fight me :p
Holy crap you hit the nail on the head. Im going through the trillogy for the 4th and probably last time after not playing it for 9 years. That combat rework in ME1 really makes all the difference and it brought back so many fond memories back from 09 playing it the first time. Im in ME2 right now holding off on doing the IFF mission and i just find ME2 so basic and dull. The only thing keeping me going is how compelling the characters are and the suicide mission will still be my favorite Final mission of the 3 games. I just want to move on to ME3 already so i can get my better skill trees and weapon customisation
Pretty much my exact thoughts. I really love ME2, but it’s my least favorite in the trilogy because it can be way too linear for its own good. As always, the video is great, good shit.
ME2 Was the Best Hands Downnn💯💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿💯💯💯💯💯💯💯😌😌😌😌😌
Even Doe I Love ME1 & ME3 And ME-A
After playing the legendary edition trilogy, I prefer mass effect 1 the most. It gave you that space exploration feel when you land a planet and see the moons circling the planet and the huge sun.
The combat in me1 is also the best. You can give any team member any gun and you can change their suit armor for better ones. In me2 and 3 you can't.
Garrus can have a shotgun in me1 if I choose to give him one. Mass effect 1 had the strongest rpg elements.
I actually love all three games so much it is hard for me to choose a favorite. ME1 is an awesome beginning to a epic story and it has some of the best rpg moments in the trilogy. ME2 has awesome characters that truly start to feel like friends to you and the final mission is just absolute gold (I love the consept of giving your squadmates actual tasks during the mission, it really makes it clear that Shepard couldn't succeed in the mission without them). ME3 has the best combat of the three and I love how visible Shepard's doubt/fear of the upcoming war and the stress of gathering reinforcements is in this game. I love my Shepard, so this really makes me empathize with her. I am fairly new to the fandom as the legendary edition was my introduction to the series, but honestly I don't really mind the ending. Sure, I would have liked to know if Shepard was ever reunited with his/her friends & LI if they all (Shepard included) survived, but that's hopefully what the next game is for ;) Until then, I shall headcannon that yes, my Shepard did survive (as I picked the destroy option) and her friends are indeed trying to find her or at least find her body. Another thing about the trilogy I loved was the relationships, especially the romantic one. My Shepard romanced Garrus and boy do I love it xD (honestly, I don't think I can romance anyone else now, Garrus' romance is too good) and I love how he is this awkward, nervous idiot in ME2 (which was honestly so adorable) and then in ME3 he is the most caring BF Shepard could ask for and also on occasion smooth as hell (I mean that whole tango scene from the Citadel Dlc is just so perfect xD) and saying the final goodbyes to him in the end really made me tear up. All in all, what I am trying to say here is that all three games have their merits and I for one can't say which is the best. They are all important parts of an epic trilogy.
dude you are wrong about one thing the combat in me2 remaster is better compared to 1 remaster. The enemies in Mass effect 2 on insanity are more challenging than in ME 1 and that to me is better gameplay because it keeps me on my toes. The Ai in mass effect 1 just is subpar compared to Me2, enemies seem to stand still at times and not shot back. haven’t yet gotten to ME3 but i in the past i had ME2 as the best of the 3. As of now playing the remaster it is a tie with 1 and 2 both great games in their own right.