Galaxy of Mystery - Mass Effect 1 In Retrospect

Mass Effect 1 did a lot to lay the groundwork for a franchise that's managed to reach a whole new generation of RPG players. In this retrospective, we look at what Bioware did to make that happen.
This is part 1 of a three-part series that will be analyzing the main trilogy of Mass Effect games to explore what made these games great and where things needed improvement. All three games are played on the recently-released Mass Effect Legendary Edition with no mods on PC.
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-- CHAPTERS --
0:00 Intro
01:25 Chapter 1: Bioware and Mass Effect
04:14 Chapter 2: Shepard and Eden Prime
15:16 Chapter 3: The Council and the Citadel
23:47 Chapter 4: Noveria and Rachni
46:07 Chapter 5: Feros and the Thorian
56:56 Chapter 6: Saren and Virmire
1:10:42 Chapter 7: Liara and Therum
1:16:29 Chapter 8: Companions and Uncharted Worlds
1:42:20 Chapter 9: The Protheans and Ilos
1:54:27 Chapter 10: Saren and the End
2:10:00 Conclusion
-- MUSIC --
rb.gy/cfovzn

[@johnnyzen4282]

I always loved Sovereign's voice. Whatever filter they used is awesome.

[@PrivateSessions]

Rip my subwoofer.

[@humblegamer7876]

simply crank the flange. like garrus but times ten

[@christophergroenewald5847]

They also reuse his voice later in ME3 for the Destroyer on Rannoch

[@MistahJay7]

@@christophergroenewald5847 That's not sovereigns voice lol

[@FinneousPJ1]

My Spotify conjured a cool song sampling that Carcer City - Sovereign

[@chesterstevens8870]

"This is a game about discovering who our Shepard is." One who punches reporters.

[@nobobonobo]

The lugenpresse gets what it deserves

[@rowdyrobgaming8726]

My renegade shep was nice to all reporters except jihlani. She got a punch and headbutt. Maybe if she was capable of acting in good faith and not going incendiary but i dont play her games.

[@apictureoffunction]

What really cracks me up is in the Shadow Broker DLC for ME2, you can see her on a camera feed trying to interview a Krogan, and the Krogan keeps getting pissed about her camera being right in his face, so he just straight decks the reporter in the face. And given that he's, well, a KROGAN, the punch literally lifts the reporter off her feet and sends her flying through the air lmao. Even though I'm mostly Paragon, I always deck that reporter

[@beach9131]

And does everyone.

[@mastertadakatsu]

I always did until I found out about the joy that is putting her in her place with her own tactics

[@NobleRenegade7]

"...and consistency is the key to building a gripping narrative." ONE MORE TIME FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK

[@Existential_Robot]

It's such a good lesson, and it should be No. 1 priority for every aspiring writer. I don't really give a shit about the little intricacies and nuances of your particular magic system (as an example), just answer the questions as they come up and keep it consistent.

[@corneliusdwyer1824]

The thing I most irrationally angry about in the entire world is that the first reaper we meet is called Sovereign and the reaper that can assume direct control and is ostensibly the face of the reapers from our point of view is called Harbinger. Those names should absolutely be swapped.

[@Tjaty]

To be fair, Sovereign never said that was its name. Didn't Legion say that "Harbingers" name Nazaa?

[@PensFan35]

ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL

[@DillonCatterson]

@@PensFan35 I know you feel this Shepard

[@Majorwindy]

@@TjatyI thought sovereign was named Nazarra - the one who reached out to the heretic geth to make an alliance

[@s0urp0wer5]

Never thought of this until now and I couldn't agree more. Wow.

[@dbsensei7963]

I feel personally attacked that you did two planets before picking up liara

[@Br0kenMask]

Most ME players: yay dialogue options! _only ever picks bottom-right or red / top-right or blue line before even reading it_

[@PrivateSessions]

I should have complained more about the dialog wheel. I'm rectifying that in the Me2 video.

[@Sorain1]

Biggest RPG design flaw in the series: Not letting you take any option at any time (that isn't continuity dependent on previous decisions) and just _track_ your paragon and renegade scores. I ended up playing ME 1 twice purely to have a new game plus file where I had max in both so I could _actually do what I felt fit_ throughout. By far, the most fun I had playing ME 1. To the point I played ME 2 only after getting a cheat to max out both from the start of the game. (Absolutely recommend it, vastly more fun RP experience.)

[@DarkWraithKevin]

@@Sorain1 agreed, when legendary came out i decided to do this and it was the best, I can't imagine playing this game any other way. Apparently I'm in the minority that prefers renegade shepard but some of the options are just plain psychotic and I couldn't stand choosing them with the notion "well, I need the points". I used to love the system but after my playthrough with max renegade/paragon idk. Maybe it just needs better balancing? It's really hard for me to say. I'm normally really opinionated lol but how do you change something that's so integrated into the game design?

[@DarkWraithKevin]

@@Sorain1 i didn't beat the game back to back btw lol. I just used the editor, I recommend it unless you like playing this game a lot lol

[@Sorain1]

@@DarkWraithKevin Well for a re-release the fix is easy. Make a toggle so the game ignores the renegade/paragon requirements for choices and interrupts. For a new game? Instead of limiting what player's can do, use the system to TRACK player behavior. Then bend reactions to fit the style the player has displayed. Hell, if it was me designing ME 1, I would have tied some of the key story decisions to your score. If you were mostly Paragon? Council is saved. If you were mostly Renegade? Council dies. The game would need to be up front about this, but it could be easily applied in a logical manner to most things. Whichever team mate you cared about (brought with you, talked with) is the one saved on Virmire. In edge cases where the score isn't clearly one way or the other? Then the player is prompted to choose, because it's a reasonable question of what way their Shepard would decide.

[@Jackson-cj1zx]

2:00:59 “I hope you know what you are doing human” that line from Garrus is a so cold. Only other time a companion calls you “human” is a cut line from Mordin’s conflict with Grunt

[@StoicDivinity]

I miss the magic of playing this game for the first time shortly after release. It was so immersive: the Codex left me wanting more from the ME universe. It felt so massive at the time, everything felt meaningful. I've never played a game that's given me the familiar sense of wonder Mass Effect stirred in me.

[@PrivateSessions]

Indeed. It also helped a lot I was still very young and really didn't have much exposure to scifi outside of the Halo games. A couple of my friends had the exact same experience and we still talk about mass effect a lot even though the trilogy is complete. It was an incredibly influential game.

[@christophergroenewald5847]

I sort of played the games backwards. Starting with ME3 and ending with ME1(long story) so I never experienced the mystery of ME1, but it was still amazing.

[@chazzwozzio]

I am revisiting this game and have learned new shit from the codex that I never read before

[@Existential_Robot]

Destiny did that for me until the writers began answering all the mysteries in a dissatisfying way.

[@deifiedtitan]

I think my biggest criticism of 1’s writing is solely Shep’s dialogue being rough. Paragon comes off as submissive rather than diplomatic, and Renegade comes off as needlessly hostile rather than unscrupulous. Hits its stride in 2, where Paragon Shep isn’t above getting his hands dirty and will make it known, and Renegade Shep is ruthless to get things done rather than because he just wants to get into needless fights.

[@rogerlynch5279]

That was a struggle from DAY 1 for the developers vs. BIOWARE. The team wanted the options as a means of uathority but BIOWARE wanted it in the way the dialogues were handled in KotOR - So out came a hybride of both standpoints. Also BIOWARE had wanted from the beginning on a SHOOTER with RPG elements like in BROTHERS IN ARMS for example not a full fledged well done RPG.

[@lazaglider]

What’s this? The hugely underrated gem of a channel I came across last week has made a 2 hour video about my favourite ever game series? Ok, well that’s my evening planned!

[@Twisted_Logic]

I love the whole trilogy (even 3), but 1 will always hold the most special place in my heart for the reasons you discussed. It really felt like they threw the baby out with the bathwater with the aspects they cut going forward. I can only imagine the heights the series would've reached if they'd expanded and polished what was already there

[@PrivateSessions]

I doubt it would have been as successful if they didn't pivot in me2. I get why they did it, me1 was a slow game by comparison. I just think they could have struck a better balance if they'd just spent more time charting their course and using side content and side convos to appeal to the fans of me1.

[@Ywhre]

Meeting Vigil for the first time was a religious experience for me. Still is to some extent but there are no words I could use to describe what I felt back then, when I played for the first time. It was so... nostalgic. Weirdly, for something long lost, that never even really existed.

[@MALICEM12]

Old games really were magic weren't they?

[@gaidenblattner176]

Oblivion’s long cut popped onto my suggested two days ago and now I’m fully caught up on your content. I love the effort you put into these and your takes are refreshing honestly.

[@gonzalogonzalez2585]

Same thing, here! I'm slow on the catch-up, but loving the content.

[@lordsole6964]

@@gonzalogonzalez2585 err well we will try a we red w we

[@lordsole6964]

Rright

[@lordsole6964]

Are t

[@lordsole6964]

I tree we t

[@saltyshrimppasta]

I’ve gotta say, I forgot just how baller the renegade ending is. It’s a shame that they had to retcon the “Human Empire” vibe Udina put off

[@MALICEM12]

Yeah, the series definitely went bitch as it went on. Cerberus went from being presented in a neutral light to being Saturday morning baad guys. The first game was the only one that allowed a human first mentality. All the others went full Star Trek

[@eltarn5375]

@@MALICEM12 And that would be fun? There are plenty of movies/series/games about "humanity first", which have the same depth that renegade shep had in first ME - they are mostly boring and those that aren't are that way because of the cheese factor. And about "bitch" Star Trek - ever watched DS9? They went the right way with ME2, IMO, removing cringy racist Shepard roleplaying and embracing brutal aspects of renegade from ME1.

[@MALICEM12]

@@eltarn5375 my comment was mostly about Cerberus having depth and not just being cartoon villains. And by star trek I mean the series in general. It's always been pretty utopian DS9 is the exception mean to critique that view not the norm. And the "humanity first is boring" is subjective. Most people think Halo was awesome and it was humanity first. But again, I was criticizing most how they did Cerberus more so than Shepard

[@eltarn5375]

@@MALICEM12 Well, fair enough about DS9 being different from the rest of the Star Trek - but that's not what I was trying to say, it was more that DS9, while not being afraid about tackling political/moral/philosophical questions without going full cheese mode - still trying to operate within universe rules, but approaching it from a more realistic, rugged perspective. Some parts of Halo were awesome. Some were not. So it's not about a theme/idea, it's more about an execution - and, IMO, execution of that idea in ME1 was pretty weak. Even when not playing "by-the-book' puppy loving Shepard, but a more ruthless one, I still picked a fair share paragon dialogue options, because a lot of the renegade ones, although some were quite awesome, were really rough - made the character look like a really unlikable asshole, contrasting to how they tweaked it into sequels. Cerberus was given a proper look only in ME2 - in ME1 they weren't developed yet. Yes, the were mentioned in quite a lot of questlines, but with no clear motivations, ideas, philosophy or anything. And ME3 dumbed a lot of things down, not just Cerberus. So it's pretty weird to me that all other games except ME1 went full Star Trek. Andromeda - yeah, sure, I agree. ME3 - in some ways, but in some ways they did allow quite interesting choices and experiences, like Salarian Deal, choosing Geth only and stuff like that, it wasn't all Star Trek. And ME2 was, in my opinion, more personal, serious and down to earth of all ME games. It's ME1 that, of the original trilogy, that was the most "Star Trek" to my eyes - understandable, it being a first game of the series - but contrasting with how you feel.

[@Patrician]

1:26:30 Oh thank god someone said it. I generally don't do romance in Mass Effect because it's extremely inappropriate. Which means Bioware games aren't for me because they are full of that kind of stuff.

[@PrivateSessions]

It seems like a weird addition to the game, but it's actually extremely appropriate for the genre of space opera. There's always romance in those things because genre tropes I guess. If there's one thing I'll give ME credit for, they really did nail the space opera genre in a way I've not seen a game before or since hit. Still, aside for the meme factor, I never actually cared about romancing in these games. This run especially: pure meme each time Shepard gets his groove on.

[@jasonjayalap]

23:35 "None of the other species has the balls" **shows two non-humans and woman**

[@PrivateSessions]

Bioware can be cheeky. I always loved that shot.

[@ghilean1174]

The moment you drop the nostalgia glasses, you notice that every squadmate besides Wrex and Ashley have barely any personality and/or development in the first game. Jesus, man.

[@Tripleat117]

My first playthrough, going in as blind as possible, but i knew there was a notorious crew choice in the game. BUT I didn't even realize Virmire WAS the suicide mission. I had sent Ashley with the Salarians, Kaiden had bomb duty, it felt like it suited their roles. When the first decision happens when Ashley calls, i remember distinctly thinking "yeah, Ashley can handle herself, and right now the bomb going off is priority. Sure kaiden said the bomb was secure but like it might be possible they can hack it and shut it down." So i saved him instead, realizing that it was the suicide mission. Another funny note, i was playing mostly nice dude, and was trying to just be nice with Ashley but then it starts turning romantic and i didn't want that, and I had little experience with bioware games so i wasn't sure how to say no without renegade, not realizing it wouldn't be renegade. So now the whole Vimire mission seemed like i let Ashley die in order to escape an awkward relationship, so that was fuckin hilarious.

[@Fami_Salami]

So blowing someone up in a nuclear blast is better than saying no to them 😂

[@DanMcLeodNeptuneUK]

I distinctly remember playing this on the lowest settings towards the end of 2007 on a laptop and being totally hooked. I spent ages just reading the codex lore entries!

[@DanielSan1776]

That’s a good name I approve

[@trooperodst6880]

Lore is insanely good. Finest work ever done by bioWare.

[@DanMcLeodNeptuneUK]

@@trooperodst6880 yes

[@trooperodst6880]

@@DanMcLeodNeptuneUKKZbin has such Great notification system.........

[@AmeliasTea]

Your Shepard is a ruthless man

[@Gjlewin]

I got Liara much earlier in my play through, it was fun to see how different that introduction is when you get her later on in the game! Also, been really enjoying all your vids

[@connorharnage6697]

Watching this during my playthrough of Mass Effect 2. I loved Dragon Age and KOTOR so I decided since DA 4 won't be out for a while, I'd play Mass Effect to scratch that itch. I didn't realize that overnight I'd become nearly as obsessed with this galaxy as the Star Wars universe they adapted or the world of Thedas. Bioware never ceases to amaze me

[@ninski2893]

Great video once again! Must say I really enjoy how you weave your own character’s story into the retrospective. Its an original spin to a tried and tested formula that I really enjoy. Keep up the good work!

[@apictureoffunction]

The only reason the Rachni attacked in the original war was because they were indoctrinated by a Reaper, possibly Sovereign. If you save the Rachni Queen, the Rachni join your side in ME3 in the fight against the Reapers, partially out of debt to Shepard and partially to get revenge against the "race" that forced them into warfare and nearly ended the Rachni's existence

[@Intestine_Ballin-ism]

"they were corrupted good guys all along!!!!1111" WoW tier writing

[@deifiedtitan]

@@Intestine_Ballin-ismThey specifically weren’t the good guys all along, though? They want revenge and to protect themselves, not to do it out of a desire to save the galaxy. They’re at best neutral and happen to be doing a good thing after being a galaxy-wide threat. Not being responsible for your previous actions doesn’t mean you were a good guy all along. You’ve invented an argument to be mad at, my dude.

[@zafelrede4884]

Shepard doesn't know that at this point

[@LabyrinthForPigs]

Violence is fun.

[@MelGibsonAfter4Beers]

ME3 isn't canon

[@muttipi]

imo the council should have stranded the rachni on a conservation world or something like that tbh, there definitely should have been a ‘tell the council about this’ option because i don’t think shepard really has much experience when it comes to dealing with endangered animals. Also I think it’s a little weird that you killed all the test subjects on virmire but spared the lady who was willfully working with saren to do these tests on people.

[@weelzneal4768]

They'd shoot their spore/eggs into space. They'd eventually would have spread again

[@amandakrueger6462]

The praise you give ME1 is entirely warranted. I haven't finished the video yet, but I wonder if you were/are as affected as I was by Ilos. Every time I play, I keep the screen for the planet description up for a very long time before initiating the mission. Ilos haunts me, and when I walk around that obviously post-apocalyptic utterly ruined landscape, I'm frightened. It's like disturbing an enormous tomb, and no one should be there. I cry every time I talk to Vigil; the imagery he dredges up of the last scientists dying horribly on the Citadel (and in the stasis pods), it's nightmare stuff. And yet...despite the tragedy at every turn on Ilos, I leave feeling hopeful. Even the sight of exactly what the Reapers will do to the galaxy, Shepard doesn't give up or run away. It's bravery that I wish I could have; just a wonderful story. I'm looking forward to finishing the video :)

[@Creamy6oodness]

Funnily enough, the quicky you can have with jack in ME2 is probably the most realistic sexual encounter you can have in the entire trilogy 🤷‍♂️

[@jacobgoldsbury]

MAKO>planet scanning

[@markdavis180]

"Ugh, probing Uranus..."

[@PrivateSessions]

I'm straight up going to use a save editor in ME2 to skip that nonsense. I think people would rather see a video a day earlier than me waste a full recording session scanning planets.

[@malinus3023]

I preferred the planet scanning because I LOVE the Galaxy map music. That was literally the only thing that made the experience tolerable.

[@PrivateSessions]

@@malinus3023 There were a couple of bangers that play on the uncharted worlds. And the weird ambient bell-chiming elevator music that plays inside all the bases has strangely grown on me over the years. But yeah, the map music is unmatched.

[@malinus3023]

@@PrivateSessions The only games that can come close to touching ME's OST is Halo or Crysis 2

[@NateSammich]

Holy shit I've never seen the renegade ending before that was insane, I always felt too guilty to let the council die hahaha

[@PrivateSessions]

I'm genuinely surprised the neutral option is also to let the council die. It goes to show how infrequently people play renegade and neutral Shepard, because yeah, most people save the Council. Just wait until you see some of the interactions you get in ME2 for killing the council.

[@NateSammich]

@@PrivateSessions Yeah I think it's a problem that's in a lot of RPGs, I feel it in games like Fable where you can just be the worst person ever, then afterwards I'm like wow I feel terrible now. I don't know if it's something you're looking at for the videos but I remember if you start a new game without transferring a save from ME1 to ME2 and so on the game would pick major decisions for you and I do remember playing ME2 and the game defaults to just picking all the renegade options.

[@PrivateSessions]

@@NateSammich I think it defaults to the neutral options which are almost all actually renegade options. But yeah i remember having that and being completely caught off guard when everyone on the Citadel hated my guts and found out that's what happens if you kill the council. That's back when I always played paragon Shepard all the time so I didn't know.

[@Mygrandpaspodcast]

@@PrivateSessions I play as a paragon but I always let the council die. If you don’t know that the outcomes Are the same it makes sense to make sure the human fleet lives to destroy the reaper it’s the logical choice (plus fuck the council they literally don’t help at all and actively hinder your ability to save the galaxy)

[@512TheWolf512]

Counsil is literally useless, it's one of the only renegade choices I've made throughout the entire franchise

[@poilboiler]

Man, the space battle at the end of Mass Effect 1 still gives me goose bumps. The ones in ME2 and 3 only gives me a sense of boredom and mild frustration that you're not allowed to skip them. I don't even know if you can skip it in ME1.

[@Mygrandpaspodcast]

Damn I started listening to this and just kinda assumed it was some big ass youtuber based on the mic quality and editing. Holy shit man you deserve all the subs keep making great content like this. It’ll pay off

[@Angel-qp9mp]

I just found your channel and I'm a huge fan already, keep up the good work man

[@h.stiner6467]

No, Jade Empire was BioWare's first attempt to make a world from scratch. I am sure somebody has posted this, but just in case.

[@rogerlynch5279]

Not to forget JADE EMPIRE became worldwide GAME OP THE YEAR AWARDS in the beginning of the Two Thousands. Thanks to the Gamer´s trust we have such diamonds like KotOR, DRAGON AGE ORIGINS and MASS EFFECT.

[@jdmj707]

You played such a mean commander lol. Half these cutscenes I’ve never even seen cuz I’m too stuck on paragon

[@PrivateSessions]

This is why I did it. Some of the choices weren't what I'd normally do but I figured there's a lot of dialogue and cutscenes people just never seen before.

[@jasonjayalap]

It's a great source of humor: No matter how outlandish the renegade response is, the npcs ultimately respond "Well, I guess you're right."

[@DanielSan1776]

I am to But I did do a renegade play-through There are some truly badass moments that will still get you the results you want

[@ratcoolbud]

What a great video! Organized, and clear. I love it. Thanks for putting this out! I can't wait to see your next video retrospective.

[@PrivateSessions]

ME2... soon...ish.

[@adamscowcroft8357]

Just have to say this is what I fall asleep to. But come back and watch again in full the next day. Keep it up!

[@micahbernard2532]

What an incredible video, I must say you truly captured my feelings about Ilos. I absolutely love the end of mass effect Ilos and The Citadel were incredibly well done and at that point in the game I was fully invested and immersed in a game world no other game to date has truly done. One last thing to point out I think using the citadel as the final mission was genius, the hub world that always felt relatively safe and mellow turned into shambles was a fantastic way to conclude a game such as this.

[@jackbagdadi6117]

Awesome work on all your retrospectives. Watched them all. Deserve dozens of thousands more subs. Keep it up!

[@RPKris]

I'm so happy that I found your channel and love that you've reached 1k Subs :D

[@FlakonFraggs]

Renegade Shepard is just disgustingly fun to play Paragon can't even compete

[@PrivateSessions]

Especially ME2. So many renegade dialogue options in that game, especially the renegade speech checks and interrupts, are literal classics.

[@MistahJay7]

I love how right away in Eden Prime you can literally threaten all the colonists lol literally do that every time Did my first Paragon run lately and good god that was boring. Time to get rid of the stench and play normally again

[@nawazish283]

This is the kind of content I’ve always been looking for. You’ve earned yourself a life long subscriber.

[@_Astrum]

I've watched all of your video so far an I absolutely love them.

[@MoeMorales]

Great Job here. Now awaiting the next two Mass Effect games

[@nobel11]

This and your ME2 videos have been great! Also, I've never done a Renegade MaleShep run, so it's pretty cool seeing all these choices I never make.

[@Bethgael]

Same. Like saving the space n@zi. ;)

[@kohrakthehorriblebionicle6187]

Having never done a full renegade playthrough this was an especially illuminating video for me

[@joelRmontfort]

Just played the game all the way through for the first time. Watched the entire video to catch up on what I missed and get some perspective before I play the sequel. Great work dude, this was comprehensive.

[@danielaguilar7651]

1:18.00 LG Orbifeld plays. legendary bro. i like ur channel the more videos i watch of yours. great video

[@brentheymans1362]

Thanks dude, watched this while working was a great listen!

[@Jormelli]

Remaking Mass Effect from the ground up with the same plot refined by the original people who wrote it and then continuing the story that was setup instead of abandoning it, that day dream haunts me and will haunt me for the rest of my days. The lost potential in this one IP is immeasurable.

[@fmsyntheses]

I just subbed and hadn't even finished the Oblivion video you magnificent bastard

[@thebyzantineempire779]

Loyalty missions are a good way to get to know your squad mates without making you bring them on every single mission hoping for unique dialogue

[@MisterHPlays]

I've always loved how now matter the kind of Shephard you play, you're unquestionably bad at dancing.

[@rogerlynch5279]

You should wait until the proprietor of the FLUX dances . Then dance, it makes a big difference.

[@aaronmarchant8121]

Keep making videos man, your content is fantastic

[@darkbeach72]

Really nice camera movement shots on Ilos. Beautiful.

[@plant_pot119]

It's mind blowing you only have 13k subs after watching this quality video, absolutely love it

[@alecmoriarty]

I have huge respect that you completed this as a renegade. Almost all of this dialogue was new to me!

[@gaiusgrdn]

Amazing video and amazing channel. Subbed for sure. Your channel is gonna be huge one day

[@512TheWolf512]

With how much reapers bank on shields, I have no idea why the galaxy didn't immediately start developing explicitly anti-shield weapons. Circumventing them all together would've been best if possible

[@raaaaaaaaaam496]

I think it’s canon that there isn’t really such a thing unless it’s a small scale

[@christophergroenewald5847]

They did. The Mass Disruptor torpedo is equipped with an eezo warhead and is designed in such a way that it can pass right through shields, it's dark energy explosion warping armour and destroying shield emmitters. The only problem with this weapon was that it was too slow. Ships in mass effect use an automated laser point defense system that renders missile based weapons useless. That's where fighters came in. Capable saturating point defense systems with too many torpedos at near point-blank range, fighters became pretty lethal in combat. A common tactic was that fighters would tear down the shields of Capital Ships allowing them to be swarmed by smaller ships. Later a ship mounted variant of the Mass Disruptor torpedo would be designed called the Javelin Disruptor torpedo. These were faster and were typically fired on converging trajectories to amplify their detonations. However, they were still quite susceptible to point defensive and were typically a secondary weapon on Frigates and were used by larger ships as an extra layer of point defence. By the time of ME1 only the Mass Disruptor torpedo was in use as the Javelin was still in its experimental phase. Both torpedos proved to be quite effective against reaper shields, however reapers also used laser based point defenses and they were much more precise than those of other ships. Their secondary weapons were also turreted and capable of slicing Cruiser in half. Like I said the torpedos have to be fired at close range. Against a reaper that was a death sentence

[@512TheWolf512]

@@christophergroenewald5847 clearly they should've investigated other possibilities, than torpedoes

[@christophergroenewald5847]

@@512TheWolf512 like? The only other weapon that can ignore Kinetic-barriers is a directed energy weapon like a laser. The problem with that is not only are lasers prone to overheating and burning out, but the typical battle usually occurs across thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometers. Far out of the range of laser fire. Even if a battle were to occur at ranges where lasers would be effective, the ablative armour used by mass effect ships is designed to spread heat across a large area, rendering heat based weapons useless. This only leaves kinetics as a viable offensive armament against reapers, but the Sovereign-class reaper shields have been known to shrug off the weapons fire of entire fleets or upto 4 Battleships simultaneously (note that as of ME3, the human navy only had 8 fleets and 9 battleships. Sovereign-class Reapers number in the 10s of thousands)

[@Tripleat117]

​@@christophergroenewald5847 coming in late to the conversation but an entirely other option that exists is hacking, which EDI talks About in ME2 when asked about her specs. Being able to crack the software and disable ship systems. Not really something you can even use against a Reaper but still another option at their disposal regarding battles on a more level playing field.

[@codydavenport8429]

Just binge watched everything you have on your channel over the last few days and subscribed. Would love to see you cover the Witcher games after you finish ME.

[@PrivateSessions]

Ooof the Witcher games... Gonna be a while on those. Just the Witcher 3 alone will have to be a monster of a video. But I do want to hit them eventually.

[@masterjedi8072]

I will the first game some credit, none of the others has a line with quite the feel as "I can legally execute everybody in this bar." Its like the other games forget that Shepard can act with almost total impunity. He killed 300,000 Batarians, based off of what many considered to insane ramblings, and his punishment was house arrest. He wasn't even arrested by the Council, the human government arrested him. Which being a Spectre, the Alliance didn't have authority to arrest him, so he was under voluntary house arrest. The council on the other hand, didn't care in the slightest. To be fair, they were batarians, but still.

[@mateuspalaro]

Just finished watching this for the second time and I must congratulate you for your hard work, all ouf your videos I've seen are truly special. I'm glad to see your channel growing, keep up the great work! ❤ Edit: Also, you're the only one to summarize my own thoughts about the game (and the trilogy in general), including the "hot takes".

[@duross101]

Mass Effect review. Legendary edition. I've watched Dwolf, Salt factory and now you make these reviews and I'm not disappointed. Fantastic use of my time watching glorious work. Gj man

[@UsernameGeri]

Salt's reviews are crap tbh. Which really surprised me since I liked his KotOR reviews.

[@UsernameGeri]

Fantastic video, glad I found it and your channel. This was a perfect way to do a sort of commentary-esque recap/in-depth review analysis of the game. This is what I expected from Salt Factory's review of Mass Effect but was sorely disappointed. There are really one like a couple of videos like this, and honestly, I'm really glad I found another one that isn't apologetic towards ME2, and can really appreciate ME1- the game that started off the franchise in the first place- for all of its strength in world building, lore etc., instead of fawning over its (mostly) irrelevant sequel. On to your ME2 video now lol.

[@joevile240]

I never got Liara late enough to get the "hallucination" dialogue. That's a great touch.

[@iamnotagoose]

Sad to see you made the simp choice on Virmire

[@Syenthros]

You. You make good content. I'll be watching your career with great interest.

[@Schafe44]

“Good god Shepard” best line in the game for sure

[@goofman4332]

This deserves way more views king

[@jashloseher578]

Weirdly, watched through this series of yours in reverse order! That being said, what I wanted to comment on here, is how with you opening the video using nothing but silent footage and ME 1's soundtrack, is that I so very much missed its charm in the later two titles. There was a couple of spots here and there where they brought back some, but that was almost exclusively just the Citadel background tracks, and little else. Anyhow, thanks for creating all this. 11~ hours to view, but I can only imagine how many painful hours it took to create all three!

[@Noblesix84]

I didnt know you could go so long without saving Liara that she starts to lose it.

[@Tripleat117]

I knew you could delay saving her but I didn't know you can delay THAT long and have her lose her shit about how we found out so much already.

[@inybisinsulate]

Back in the ME1 days girls actually wanted a tumble after the fourth dialogue screen and being told that he "needed to GoOoOoOoo" which is so damn teasing Shepard is a magnet. A Bosh'tet tease.

[@inaraoftyria3878]

I love this video. I fell in love with Mass Effect for the same reason you did. The incredible world building had me so interested in everything. Beyond what's obviously presented in dialogue and gameplay, I've spent HOURS reading through codex entries. Learning the politics and the culture of each race bioware created for this series. The version of the Milky Way that they created is so believable because the people who created it knew everything about it. I'm sure they thought of things we didn't. Weird tangent - my favorite question to ask sci-fi and fantasy writers is "where does the poop go?". Is it jettisoned into space? Kept in tanks that have to eventually be taken to colonized worlds for disposal? Used for fertilizer? You never have to explain how it works to the audience, but to create a believable world, you should know the answer yourself. I firmly believe the creators of ME know where the poop goes. There's so many details it'd be hard to believe that they don't know nearly everything about the galaxy they built.

[@inaraoftyria3878]

Thinking about this now only makes ME2 and 3 all the more disappointing. I get WHY they pivoted. Continuing down the dense RPG path would have alienated a large chunk of the fanbase that got into the games with 2 because of the action gameplay. But still. I miss when ME was an RPG first, and not an action game with rpg elements.

[@joshkarn1951]

Mass Effect had a lovable derpy charm to it from Shepard to the crew to even the Mako that made me love it. Sentinel with Tali and Liara as the alien waifu squad made combat interesting. Started with ME2, then played the PS3 trilogy edition and free dlc.

[@Knight1029]

I really do love the Mass Effect series so much. I just feel like their is no other game like this that has been made since that wasn't just another Bioware game. Spiders Studio comes close but it does not hit it in the same way. There is, so, much that I love about the Mass Effect games that you talked about it. And even though it is sad that you won't talk about the Andromeda, as I controversially like it, it will be great to see the other games being reviewed.

[@jackjeager8785]

Ashley AKA Southern comfort

[@Armorion]

Hell Yeah, another 2 hour + video to go in my "Hours to Waste" playlist, I'll be back here in a little while after I finish the Oblivion one again.

[@xXvironXx]

Renegade Shep is one of the most satisfying protags I've played. Enjoying the vid, never was a big fan of the first ME game, always felt like the lacklustre gameplay dragged it down more than the story could pull it up; you've somewhat changed my perspective on it though, Bioware really did a great job at setting the stage and building a fascinating world there. Might need to replay it at some point...

[@PrivateSessions]

Honestly the legendary edition made a lot of neat little improvements to the gameplay of ME1 that I feel makes it actually fun. Still not as good as 2 and 3 in terms of gameplay, but it's definitely playable by modern standards. If you got the ability to, I'd highly recommend the legendary edition. The main story of the first game is really something unique, I've yet to play anything else like it, and what I covered in this video is like 15% of what's there to be explored. It's got so much depth few games can match even now.

[@xXvironXx]

​@@PrivateSessions My worry with remakes is the possibility of cut content, and alterations to suit modern sensibilities. Though it certainly does look better gameplay-wise. It's been a while since my last playthrough, so I might just give the legendary edition a shot. Really enjoyed your Oblivion Deconstructed series, btw, looking forward to future uploads!

[@PrivateSessions]

@@xXvironXx I've got an unhealthy knowledge of what is in Mass Effect 1, and I didn't notice anything cut, but there's definitely something to be said about alterations diluting the purity of the original, and they did alter more than they said in any promo material. In my opinion it was all done tastefully and true to the original, but others might disagree. I know I had to switch back to the old Mako control scheme because the new one just didn't feel right, fortunately they had that option in the game settings. Also the new photo mode was a brilliant addition that made making this video easier.

[@layset1885]

YESSSSSSSSS, THANK YOUU!!!

[@chandler_martian]

Loved how this game introduced such an immersive and expansive world to learn about and get lost in. I’m glad the gameplay improved with each installment but by ME3 I was really missing the intricacies and attention to detail that existed in ME1’s story

[@chrishoward3733]

Could you imagine how awesome it would be if they made a new mass effect trilogy that plays and looks like baldurs gate 1/2 or the original fallout games? Turn based squad combat like xcom would so work

[@Afrafasti]

I remember playing Mass Effect 1 after first fully completing Mass Effect 2 to 100% numerous times. Suffice to say the gunplay was my least favorite part, and having to get a certain number of kills with each weapon as an Infiltrator is a pain I still remember to this day. I completed that journey again on the Legendary edition and it is still a great series. I look forward to watching this (and hopefully) your analysis on Mass Effect 3. Hands down favorite quote is still 'You big stupid jellyfish!' I never could stomach being a renegade for most of these choices in the Mass Effect series. Please keep making these choices so I may actually see what a Renegade badass can do to the galaxy. Thanks for saying the rachni was in a giant Mason jar. It's my name and I fucking giggle at all the dumb jokes I've made about it. Carcer City made a song called Sovereign that is amazing and that interaction with Sovereign was thankfully not ruined even though I played Mass Effect 2 first.

[@Afrafasti]

When the fuck did I write this comment

[@RevelationNone]

please make more videos. i love your content man!!!!!

[@wyattbottorff2473]

15 minutes in and I just realized I never even played the first Mass Effect. The sequels did such a good job of filling me in I never felt as if I missed out.

[@joevile240]

Thank you for sparing Wrex. That is all. Great series.

[@primachpepe8597]

Never played these games, but i trust and respect your commentary. i know nothing abouit the setting barring the memes, so it will be an interesting journey.

[@primachpepe8597]

Having now finished this retrospective i can see several things. 1. i missed out on a good game, sadly i didnt have the hardware to play it all those years ago and from the memes ad what you have stated, its sequels dropped the ball 2. as a Scifi fan, seeing that level on the deadworld was fascinating, hauntingly beautiful then to go onto the final battle and completion of the story - from highnote to a reasonably satisfying narrative end. I do get the impression that the end is fairly malleable with what choices you make. I wonder what the cannon ending is. 3. morality in games is such an arbitrary thing, because in real life its hardly ever so black and white. i dont like such faux morality options, as its hard to do them right. the first one with the queen bug thing, that is an interesting one to ponder but i ultimately would kill the creature knowing full well that if it got out it would become a threat. I will see as i continue this series of yours, but Bioware has a habit of delivering an amazing 1st game but not being able to follow up on the sequels as well, if not flubbing them entirely - Dragon Age im looking at you. overall though, i can definitely see why people liked this series especially at the time. The patented bioware characters(TM), grandiose story telling and following an easily followed format (almost beat for beat no different to original dragon age, from background crisis to foreground villain & problems). Add in the fact that its a shooter, on consoles during what i would call the height of the consoles era, throw in choices (ignoring their problems when broken down) and you have a 20-30 hour game with reasonable replayability. Couple that with a strong ending, almost magic in a bottle

[@xenon8117]

My favourite game of the trilogy. With MELE ME1 became fun to play and looked great and I was so happy to have it. Love this game.

[@jarredlucas4000]

Wtf is mele?

[@xenon8117]

@@jarredlucas4000 Mass Effect Legendary Edition

[@wayneigoe6722]

Am I the only one that let the Rachni live? It helps later on in Mass Effect 3 and I agree with the queen, especially after seeing how the Krogan later on aren't considered "real" Krogan...

[@blissfulrain]

No I'd say most people let the Rachni live. It's the one downside of this review (and a few others honestly) to me is the presenting of renegade or paragon options as like THE cannon way it happened when the rest of the review is presented in a neutral manner.

[@yuzuichikawa]

Actually thinking about it. The dock worker. When you think about it, they really should've took his word more seriously. Like he literally named drops Saren. Like how would he even know his name if he didn't hear it. Also you mean to tell me there was no video cameras anywhere at Eden prime? None? I love the game but when I thought about that it makes the council look even WORST. :c

[@rogerlynch5279]

But it was a very realistic schen. Black Marketiering happens all the time.

[@ageoflove1980]

I have never enjoyed new codex entries as much as in Mass Effect 1. Because these are not generic side stories, but almost all instrumental in a deeper understanding whats going on. The subtle way the writing rewards people taking the time to read is very clever, with all these little things happening in conversations. You constantly think while playing... "hey, I read something about that, interesting". And that gives the idea that you can make informend decisions, sometimes much later in the story. And it really shows how much care and detail went in to the writing. For example, you read a bit about the Turians and the militaristic nature of their society and the relative power of their armies, and that in return helps you to clarify why some prominent Turians behave like they do. Its not necessary by any means to understand the plot, but it just adds so much flavour to it all. And it also shows that the game respects your time and intelligence by not just feeding you random nonsense just for "content's sake" . Also, its just great to have a properly serious story with real tension in the conversations, from a time before everything got infected by the Marvel "everything has to be tongue in cheek" style of writing.

[@chazzwozzio]

I never done a renegade run so kudos on showing me what happens!

[@panimala]

Thanks for helping me entrench my standpoint why Mass Effect 1 rains supreme in the franchise.

[@chrishoward3733]

Renegade ending is actually pretty fuckin epic

[@belhariry]

Sad it doesn’t carry over to the other games, the council is exactly the same in the other games

[@jasongordon3064]

First thing I do when I finish the first game will be watch this. Apologies if you already say in the video, but do you plan on covering the rest of the games in the series? Just so I know whether I should prioritise them so I can watch your videos when they come out :)

[@PrivateSessions]

The plan is to do a video like this for each of the main three games. Expect ME2 around the first week of July, and ME3 around the first week of August. :)

[@hanspennyloaf335]

There was just something so magical about those first 3 games. *P.S. Paragon 4 lyfe

[@eatme982]

I'll raise you a renegade to paragon redemption arc across the series

[@weelzneal4768]

Paragon till death

[@HereticalKitsune]

First time I am seeing Legendary Edition and damn, that looks so good.

[@crow__bar]

I love your style of retrospectives, including your Shepards choices into the story as it progresses. But man did it physically hurt at times to hear him be a dick to my favourite characters xD

[@drakkenmensch]

2:06:25 Commander Shepard pulled a Kris Angel there. Every episode of his show Mind Freak ended the same way, with Kris pretending to die performing his trick while the narrator screams "Oh my god, Kris Angel is dead! *KRIS ANGEL IS DEAD...* oh there he is walking out of the crowd."

[@hughjass9914]

Would love to see you make one of these for ME2 and ME3

[@PrivateSessions]

Me2 is coming very soon

[@hughjass9914]

@@PrivateSessions what's it like being a king? Can't wait

[@halokinger]

Man. I never actually got these dialogues with Liara. Wild.

[@renaigh]

they have all these cool races but Commander Shepard has to be an Earthling. Missed opportunity.