Mass Effect 3 in 2021: Was It Really THAT Bad?

[@jayveeeee]

Before you say it..... Short answer: no, it really wasn’t 😉 Thank you guys so much for watching! The support on these 2021 videos has been insane 💙

[@nubnubdubdeh]

Do an opinion or speculation on Assassins creed Infinity announcement please

[@porsche911sbs]

I don't agree with some of your opinions. I like that the Destroy ending kills EDI and the Geth. I also like the Control and Sythesis endings, IMO they are viable alternate choices over Destroy.

[@GangstarComputerGod]

As a person lucky enough to do an entire first playthrough with the legendary edition, I love 3 almost as much as 2. I’m grateful I never had to feel that letdown so many fans did when it first released. Can’t wait for ME4.

[@Hellion73]

@@GangstarComputerGod Lucky you😔👍

[@sevach]

It's not a bad game, objectively, but i absolutely despise it, for how railroady it is and how after feeling "i'm Sheppard" for 2 games it broke that connection, it's good, but i fucking hate this game.

[@browser30]

I bought Mass Effect Legendary Edition for the first time, going in with no real expectations, and while part 1 was mechanically a challenge, the story was solid. Then I played part 2 and discovered the mechanics had grown, the graphics were better, and the story was great. Now I am in part 3 and I am absolutely loving the game: seeing the choices I made have an impact, and realizing the threat of the Reapers was finally and immediately made manifest was jaw dropping. I haven't finished it, but this is one of, if not the best, space opera rpg I have ever played.

[@nathandts3401]

2 weeks later... How'd that ending hit for you?

[@nerad1994]

Did you beat the game yet?

[@blitzphantom9488]

It’s the best game trilogy ever

[@browser30]

I finished Mass Effect 3 and was not disappointed with how the game went. The ending was very Space Opera, imo. I ended up choosing the synthesis conclusion and was pleased to see Joker and Edi together at the end, but after the credits rolled I grew less satisfied with the conclusion I chose. Now I am replaying the trilogy over again (on Insanity) and trying for the best possible ending. And yes, this is the best video game trilogy I have ever played. (Now if only Bioware would make a new ME trilogy with the story telling and choices like the original but with a combat and skill system like Andromeda)

[@browser30]

@@nathandts3401 Initially, I was fine with the ending. But the more I thought about it, the less satisfied I became. Now I have to go back and destroy the Reapers. :)

[@CoffeePotGames]

No. It wasn't ever that bad. In fact, this entire trilogy (specifically in the Legendary Edition) is a masterpiece. Just absolutely incredible

[@veslar]

With all the DLC's installed, Mass Effect 3 ending was never an issue. The game was wholesome, and the Citadel DLC...was magnificent.

[@mortenbjerremannnielsen4388]

I agree 👍

[@blasterkrios7253]

I hated Brooks and The Clone

[@Thecermit]

that dlc can go crap itself

[@Suisai13]

I've never heard the game was THAT bad in the first place. Lots of people had serious issues with the ending, esp the original ending. But I never heard "Mass Effect 3 = bad game"

[@Disastra]

the discourse around the game during launch and shortly after was awful, tbh. While it turns out most people were enjoying the game (feelings of the last 10 minutes aside), a minority of very angry, very vocal people were trashing Mass Effect 3 and the entire franchise every chance they got. These people flooded forums and the like, repeatedly posting about how 'Bioware ruined mass effect' 'garbage game' ad nauseum. There were petitions to not only change the ending, but to force bioware to remake the entire game. These idiots talked about filing law suits, that bioware had deceived them, etc. It's the basic fan entitlement that runs rampant these days, and this was one of the early outbreaks tbh

[@jackiewilliams4854]

@@Disastra It's what happens when a game outgrows it's original fanbase and it becomes everybody's game (Dark Souls suffers from the same problem). ME3 plays better than the first 2 games by a mile and contained some of the series best writing. I didn't mind the new ending but I never had a problem with the original ending either. Bioware and ME3 in particular were hijacked by social media bigmouths and we received the new ending and Andromeda soon afterward. The early days of Bioware are refereed to as the "Golden years of Bioware" for a reason.

[@blitzphantom9488]

Agreed

[@EightThreeEight]

NerdCubed picked it as his worst game of 2012. And no, I do not agree with him in the slightest.

[@blitzphantom9488]

@@EightThreeEight agreed, it’s a great game with a slight let down of an ending.

[@Old-ded-memes]

I’ve said it a million times. I love this game, but I really hate how I didn’t get a showdown with Harbinger! I wanted the option to fly the Normandy up Harbingers ass with the dialogue options [ASSUMING CONTROL] and [I KNOW YOU FEEL THIS]

[@emmdubb]

They did drop the ball on Harbinger. I don't see this mentioned enough. He should've been hunting Shepard the whole time.

[@renatoribeiro6311]

"This hurts you"

[@andrevaughn6980]

🤨😭💀

[@badger297]

If you're just playing this series for the first time in the remastered version I envy you so so much

[@pressxtojason]

I never got around to Mass Effect so I think I'm gonna drop on the remastered trilogy after I finish up Nier Automata. I'm going back to play everything I didn't in the last 10 years.

[@GangstarComputerGod]

That’s what I’m doing because I had little kids in 2012. Now that they have their own systems in catching up with so much and this was high on my list. I adore this series and I’m happy I’ve gotten all the content in one smooth package.

[@TFalconwing]

My wife and I used the ME3 love theme as our wedding march. The music is so good.

[@pranavprashant3915]

You are living your life well

[@raaaaaaaaaam496]

Cringe

[@MrLew1965]

@@raaaaaaaaaam496 Yup! Scary thought !!

[@raaaaaaaaaam496]

@@MrLew1965 like seriously man

[@MrLew1965]

@@raaaaaaaaaam496 Dude !! I can think of 6547 different songs I would play at my wedding then ME3 Theme Song !! If you can't understand that ?? Too Fucking Bad !!

[@Radwar99]

The complaints about Mass Effect 3 was about the ending not the game in general. In fact ME3 had by far the best gameplay of the 3, brought back mods and made biotics and tech even more amazing by adding plenty of new explosion possibilities. I'd also add that the online mode was amazing as well and is why I've played this game for over 400 hours.

[@porsche911sbs]

the gameplay in 3 is so good, especially the Vanguard class

[@stevengross9792]

The gameplay sucked too. The developers decided it was more important for them to impose their vision of a single, less accessible experience when they decided to do away with menu commands.

[@blitzphantom9488]

@@stevengross9792 it’s a good game, I recommend you play through it again.

[@baransevim3969]

First time I played Mass Effect 3 I loved it, then I went online and found out I was wrong and it’s complete trash. Being serious, the ending was only bad in it’s original form. With the extended cut it’s perfectly fine. 10/10 trilogy, greater than the sum of it’s parts.

[@jayveeeee]

Pretty much my experience too

[@Rainbowhawk1993]

I had the same experience. ME3 is my favorite of the series.

[@benmac7552]

I played it for the first time in may and with all the dlc (the extended cut, and leviathan in particular) the ending was so much better than what people got at launch therefore I was actually really satisfied with the ending. The og retail version just feels unfinished compared to the LE version.

[@Rainbowhawk1993]

@@benmac7552 I’m very happy you enjoyed it. It makes me happy to see a new generation of people witness the full journey of an epic saga without any of the hate back in 2012.

[@benmac7552]

@@Rainbowhawk1993 The funny thing is, I played a little bit of me1 and me2 when I was 10 in 2012 but never finished them. So coming back to the franchise in 2021 not really remembering anything was exciting having heard all the praise mass effect got. And oh my I'm so glad I waited until the legendary edition came out so I could play the entire thing with all the content and at an older age so I could fully understand the story. These games are really remarkable and I'll never forget them.

[@Shadowpack95]

mordin didnt create the genophage, he modified it, it was around for about 1000 years before the game

[@BongoBrando]

I played the trilogy when they first released and have been in love with it ever since. Words cannot express how much better Mass Effect 1 is now.

[@jrad410]

I only got ME3 in 2016 so my first experience with the game was the extended cut. I loved the game, personally my biggest problem with the game was how characters ME2 were sidelined in 3. ME3 had a fantastic opening, best combat in the OG trilogy, and some great level design.

[@ps4games164]

What are you smoking and who is your dealer? Seems good stuff.

[@jrad410]

@@ps4games164 ?

[@ps4games164]

@@jrad410 You talking for ME3 fantastic opening. You talking for how this game deserve love. You must hell of a high with some good stuff to say this seriously.

[@jrad410]

@@ps4games164 oh you making a joke lol ok cool

[@ABeastGaming]

@@ps4games164 i taught it was good too maybe you're the one smoking the good stuff?

[@adamp3160]

ME3 with warts and all is still THE most I have ever been invested in a game and I love it for that.

[@Steel-101]

I’ll be honest I was one of the fans that didn’t get angry at the ending back in 2012. I picked the red destroy ending and I was satisfied. When I destroyed the reapers I felt like I did my job as Commander Shepard. Also I was able to accumulate enough war assets without the multiplayer(didn’t have Xbox live back in high school). I wasn’t shown the shepherd survives scene but my fleet didn’t get obliterated. However I will not defend EA and BioWares Business decisions. Having Javik as DLC and releasing the game with an incomplete ending is completely irresponsible. The “extended cut” shouldn’t have been DLC, it should’ve been part of the package on day one! Also I didn’t like the fact that you needed multiplayer to get the full ending before the extended cut. I don’t like it when video game 🎮 companies assume that everybody has online or a strong Wi-Fi connection.

[@menotyou9836]

This. In 2012 I had internet that cut out frequently. It’s why I abandoned halo reach… they punished disconnects.

[@noway8662]

@@menotyou9836 Not this. ME3's overall plot is pretty terrible even with all the DLC and plot hole fixes / retcons related to things like mass relays. Even without being overly nitpicky, it just doesn't mesh well with Mass Effect 1 and 2, and of course the starkid runt scene and preceding non-sense is just topping on the cake. Gameplay is better than in 1 or 2, and there are lots of missions to go through. It's not a bad game, but it's definitely a bad plot.

[@TheEbenenGolem]

I, to this day, do not understand peoples problems with the endings. Like what did they expect was gonna happen? Probably a: We defeat the reapers and everybody lives happily ever after. I actually think the endings werent half as bad as everyone said they were. I particularly like the control ending.

[@veergauba]

There really is only 1 ending with 3 different colors.

[@jonporter7709]

Ok this is the thing most people think of, like oh you just wanted a happy ending. No, I didn't I went into ME:3 fully expecting shepard not to come out of it. What I can't stand is being straight up lied to which is where the crux of my issue comes from. Before the game launched Casey Hudson gave what has to be an infamous interview stating that player choice would matter and it would not come to an A, B, or C ending; which is what actually did happen. Fans went way overboard no doubt but lets not forget Bioware and EA hyped this thing to no end. The worst part for me is right up til the London mission the game was everything i wanted. London didn't feel big enough that should have been some epic 3 hour mission where you got to see all your assets at work. The run to the beam is neat but to this day no one seems to be able to explain why you don't die when Harbinger hits you when everything else he touches is obliterated . And then the Star Child, never introduce a major character who is central to the entire plot in the last ten minutes. I won't get in to the Reapers logic or the choices themselves, because its been talked to death. But if they could have just had anything the Star Child say make sense I would have been ok with it, but its illogical and worst of all Shepard excepts it no objections. The Extended Cut helped a bit but not enough to salvage this ending, and look at Bioware since. ME:LE is the first real good press they've had in years and its a remaster

[@DurtyDan]

We were told "Your choices matter" and then at the end we found out that was a lie.

[@blitzphantom9488]

Nah, dog. the ending was sh*t.

[@bencegergohocz5988]

@@veergauba i keep hearing this and it's a fucking bullshit argument. The 3 ending are very different from a "what happens" pőoint of view. Sure, you get a similair wave amimation but that fucking nothing... in fact, the ending that aren't destroy are so extreme that me4 will likely canonise destroy...

[@COOKIE-gk9oc]

I loved developing my Sheppard from a ruthless and unforgiving renegade to a caring and heroic paragon throughout the series.

[@MistahJay7]

I always do the complete opposite lol start out paragon mostly in 1 then slowly become a full renegade by the end of 3.

[@alekesam]

It's fun both ways for me. One of these days, I'll be able to make it through the entire series completely renegade. So far, I've done full paragon/paragade, gone from paragon to renegade (and vice versa) but it's really hard for me to be renagade across all three games consistently.

[@jalenallen4942]

I've never thought about doing this!! That's gotta be awesome I always do full one way or the other. But this is immersion at it's finest haha. I like the idea of him being good and slowly becoming more ruthless due to the demands of war.

[@RobertEdwinHouse9]

Unfortunately the first game doesn't really let you do kinda both Like I want to save the queen but I don't want to save the council...

[@RTX4050Games]

I think title is wrong.... Maybe it should be why mass effect 3 is still incredible on 2021

[@jayveeeee]

Honestly it could go either way. Similar to my last video, lots of people would say The Last of Us Part 2 is considered bad instead of good. I just pick one and go with it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ if you watch the vid I spend most of it praising this game so obv I don’t think it’s that bad

[@troy6219]

It’s not great I’d give it a 6 or 7

[@troy6219]

Mass effect 2 9/10 Mass effect 1 8/10

[@RTX4050Games]

@@troy6219 mass effect 3 is 11/10

[@ileamonster]

the opening invasion is in vancouver and mordin didn't create the genophage, he modified it at a later date

[@gibbyfraustro2509]

The way to describe mass effect 3. by the great word of the prothan " ask the trillion of the dead if honor matter...the silence is your answer " . Mass effect 3 ask the question what will you do to ensure your survival. Will honor help you live or the end justified the mean.

[@joshimura1995]

Played all 3 when we're released, played and finished the LE last month and one thing that changed is me seriously thinking that me3 is the best one actually despite its shortcomings, like the cut content ( like miranda as crew member). On the other side ME2, previously my favorite and most played game in the series, is now my least favorite in the trilogy. The game felt like a big side quest. Playing all 3 back to back only made it all so much more clear. Still a really good game.

[@RyanPiano25]

I played Mass Effect for the first time with Legendary Edition and loved it. Have clocked in over 270 hours so far with two playthroughs. For some reason I thought ME1>ME3>ME2. I got the destroy ending with 8200 TMS and thought it wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be?

[@MuzgontarAco]

For me it was never about the ending.. It is quite literally about the friend I made along the way.. The Krogans and Wrex, the crazy Salarian, my bro Garrus, The sweet Tali and her dream about her homeworld, Liara and her innocent scientist to galactic superpower... you could go on and on.. With the citadel DLC is the cherry on top for me..

[@noTTep]

Sweet Tali and Bro Garrus? Ah, I see you are a man of culture as well!

[@TheAdrinachrome1]

I think you must mean my true love garrus.

[@Callus1234]

I actually enjoyed ME3 the most out of the trilogy….. up until the end. The biggest disappointment was that nothing you did throughout the game made any difference in your three choices.

[@ligeliacable]

You have changed throughout the game. You left your mark on the world and your crew. But that's headcanon

[@keithwilliams1795]

There should have been an in-universe effect on the final battle of the player making all the right choices, but it doesn't.

[@JohnnyThund3r]

That's because none of that matters in the context of the greater questions about civilization, society where we are going as a people. You had a personal impact on the world through your choices but ultimately when ultimate choice is given to you nothing you did really mattered, all that matters is the choice you make right then and there. It's explained better in the Merge with Heilos ending where Helios tell's JC Denton "We are our choices."

[@andhrosband2409]

While I love the Citadel DLC I think the problem is that it was so successful. Watching the crew of the Tempest try and have their own Citadel type moment felt really cheap. The reason that the Citadel worked is because we loved these characters. In most other games I see it, it is an attempt to get us to love them.

[@FlorisDVijfde]

The ship is the Normandy, the Tempest is a submachine gun (and doesn't hold a candle to the Blood Pack Enforcer, as many Brutes found out...).

[@andhrosband2409]

@@FlorisDVijfde Tempest is the vessel from Andromeda. Unless this is one of those Andromeda doesn't exist posts. In which case, "I should go."

[@FlorisDVijfde]

​@@andhrosband2409 Oops. No Andromeda does exist and it is not a bad game. But apparently one with more forgettable names ;-).

[@thatfilmbuff8135]

Mass Effect 3 was never really hated in the first place. Just the ending was, and I think rightfully so. As someone who just finished the trilogy for the first time, the ending felt very anti-climatic and the choice felt a little empty in my opinion. For a trilogy to be as phenomenal as this one and then to end with players going “meh,” that’s not good

[@TyAlpha1]

I thought the original ending wasn’t great but right up to that point it was amazing, and the extended cut did add a lot of what was missing. I ended up going with synthesis but it did feel like you were getting backed into a corner in the first place.

[@spartacus24n74]

I LOVE ME3. It's a phenomenal story, and you do see significant payoff from events and relationships that came out of the previous games. The game play feels good and the combat has weight. I was disappointed with the ending, only because it felt flat; there was so much work that went into getting the crucible put together, leaning on alliances with roots in ME1 and ME2, and pulling together the largest fleet in galactic history for that final push against the Reapers. The scale was enormous and there is so much anticipation for the final push that the ending they chose just doesn't meet the moment. I agree that this trilogy is AMAZING and ME3 did a lot of things right, but the ending is a bit of a black eye for the series. The ending just prevents the series from getting a 10 out of 10, but a 9 out of 10 is still pretty damn good.

[@Spamsmoothie1701]

My take on it is that Mass Effect 3 is one of the best games I've ever played in spite of it's issues. The ending absolutely sucked and at the time it was a punch in the gut, especially given how bleak the endings were prior to the Extended Cut DLC. That being said, there are a lot of mods for the game that even resolve that issue if you want to take it that far. After doing that, it's the best game I've ever played with the only caveat that you have to install mods to get around the game's issues. But, if you are a PC player that's not a big deal.

[@karlespina7690]

I personally think, it's your journey, so you get to give your own meaning to the ending you choose. I was always a peacemaker, and so synthesis for me was a no-brainer for my shepard.

[@khellum1268]

What has siding with the reapers and turning everyone into husks got to do with being a peacemaker?

[@NobletheSavage]

Using Leaving Earth as your intro song is a great choice .

[@MondoMurderface]

"Our expectations have changed so much" lol.. That's a nice way of saying our expectation have been lowered.

[@Dimvou83]

The issue is not to have a "happy ending" but an ending where your decisions matter, cause you can do everything "wrong" kill most of your squadmates etc and you still get the destroy ending, which still makes the most sense(you are literally fighting against the Illusive man "control" choice moments ago) .The explanation for the Reaper's purpose is complete garbage and they should have stick with the dark energy theme imo. Again you literally proved that notion wrong by making peace between Geth and Quarians and the game doesn't even acknowledge that in the final conversation.It's just not good enough. The indoctrination theory is really great and despite being there unintentionally can save the ending in a lot of peoples mind(Sheppard surviving but only in the destroy ending really fueled that)

[@MsYunaFires]

I hate to be That Fan, but Mordin Solus did NOT create the original Genophage. He only altered it after the Krogan began adapting to the original strain and their population was surging. His STG team stabilized the species' birth rates, doing so to not completely wipe the Krogan out, but not have them suddenly taking over the galaxy, either.

[@jayveeeee]

Yep, that’s my mistake and a pretty big one. Sorry for the mixup and thanks for the correction!

[@andrewbarri3519]

Not even a question, the story we were building up to was dropped and none of our choices mattered.

[@firefly44220]

I’ll be honest: once I heard how it ended, I never played this one and therefore never finished the series. I loved the first one and never finished the second because I just couldn’t get into it for some reason. But now in 2022, the trilogy is on sale and I’m thinking about snagging it and playing the series all the way through

[@Chaotic_Monk43]

Considering how short development was between 2/3, I think 3 is amazing, a great story tieing in lots of previous characters organically, satisfying combat and a fantastic sense of scale. Sure, the ending was a tad basic, but how can you make every single decision matter and still have a comprehensible ending? I see 3 as a whole is tieing up lots of smaller plot points across the game, not all in the final mission. I would even put it above 2 because whilst it's great, it feels like lots of smaller disconnected stories given how much of the game is squad-mate specific missions that your other person you bring doesn't engage with at all. I would take a small squad roster with more interactions over a massive roster where one of your squadmates melts into the background.

[@tresfordays9644]

I never really thought the ending was that bad, it was decent, it was everything else about the game that I absolutely loved, playing through the final push through London for the first time is one of my favorite game memories, absolutely love this game

[@unclesaltytoldme]

No it wasn’t bad. I cared so much about all of the characters. I haven’t felt that in any game since.

[@MattRowland]

The ending was fine. Even before the extended cut. People ignored the journey they had been on. How many times did someone say their choices didn't matter? Those people must have done nothing.

[@nolgroth]

You are very kind. To me, ME3 got only one thing right and that was the gameplay. It was the ultimate expression of the action-rpg mechanics introduced in ME2. Quite literally, I believe that every major point was a betrayal of narrative promises made in the previous installments. Save the Rachni Queen? Doesn't matter. Kill her? Doesn't matter. Same thing with the Geth choice in ME2. The massively important need to keep the Krogan population in check? Negated because an elderly Salarian had "imminent death" regrets. That's not to even mention all of the bit characters we met along the way either getting killed via social media or, rewarding our Paragon choices by having the character end up indoctrinated and doing terrible things. Then we get to the Crucible itself. "Yes Admiral, we have the plans for a device that the Protheans thought would destroy the Reapers. What does it do? Why we have no real idea. Oh, throw all of our resources into this unknown Hail Mary and hope for the best? Sure thing." Really? But okay, let's go with the last, desperate hope thing. You get to the ending, where Starchild tells you that you can use the Crucible to fundamentally change reality (at least in the case of the Synthesis ending) but can only change it in ways that it defines. Seriously? It's no wonder the Indoctrination Theory gained so much traction. Mass Effect 3 might have had some touching moments along the way, but the underlying narrative structure was built on crumbling foundations. The ending, which was only the most emotionally evocative part of that falling house, was laced with some sort of nihilistic need to have any "victory" be pyrrhic at best. No matter how much fun I had along the way, everything I did built to that moment and that moment was ruined by some wannabe edgelord thinking they were meaningful or clever. It sucked way back then and it will suck if/when I play it again. For me, ME3 is why I ultimately decided to skip the trilogy remaster. Knowing there is a "Happy Ending" mod out there is heartening, but it doesn't settle Bioware's complete tone deafness. I just don't feel, as a consumer, that Bioware has earned my money. ME Legendary just stinks of an easy cash grab, playing on the consumers' nostalgia. I've gotten old, bitter and cynical about video game developers and publishers, I suppose. That said, I loved your video. You made some compelling arguments as to why ME3 can be enjoyed independently of the ending. I don't agree with all of your opinions and conclusions, but it was well argued. In the end, I don't want to take away anybody's love of the ME trilogy or even ME3. I just don't share your enthusiasm.

[@gamingeagle19]

EA made mistakes by making Javik paid DLC and by putting in a game journalist as a character in the game and that original ending was atrocious but 99% of the game is phenomenal and has some of the best moments and arcs in the entire trilogy.

[@connorharnage6697]

I've played Mass Effect 1 and 2 twice, once the original, and once Legendary. I'm starting ME3 Legendary Edition right now and I'll say it, whatever the ending is, I don't care. It cannot fuck up the amazing journey getting there

[@Midgert89]

I never felt the Catalyst was that bad of an Idea. It should have simply been some imprisoned AI that created the reapers and that wants to help you destroy them in order to erase its own mistake. The problem was all the convoluted choices and reasons for its sudden desire to let shepard kill it and all the reapers. The ending should have been destroy for paragon with no choices, or a hardcore control ending for extremely renegade players.

[@MattRowland]

Point of clarification: the Reapers never rebelled. Remember what Leviathan said: they are still serving their purpose. They are doing exactly what they were made to do: the preservation of life. Shepard is the one who asked the question "you're wiping us out to save us?" And what does the Catalyst say? "No, we harvest advanced civilizations, leaving the younger ones behind." They keyword is "harvest." They preserve the harvested species in Reaper form. Is that what we want? No, but it's doing what it was intended to do.

[@TheMarine316]

This’ll be unpopular but I don’t care, mass effect 3 wasn’t bad, actually I’d even say up until the “god child” ending for me it rivaled the greatness of mass effect 2, the ending was horrible, yes I agree but everything that came before that to me was on par with ME2, I liked the mission structure more in ME3, the sense of urgency to get Warring species to work together to take on the reapers, the combat was superior to ME2 IMO, the Extended ending was far better with giving more context and closer but it was still far from being great but I refuse to let the last 15 minutes spoil the previous 50 hours of gameplay, I loved it then & I love it now & as a whole the ME trilogy is a masterpiece for me… sans the last 15 minutes.

[@ryangoldsmith4411]

36:00 one thing that’s overlooked when people say about the Reaper motivations is that they don’t just kill organics, they harvest them, the reapers are like giant vaults, each one is the product of the harvest of an entire species, which preserves their genetic data, their culture, history, minds etc, all of that. It’s all just locked away in the shell of a Reaper

[@vinceA3748]

No, it wasn't. It wasn't bad at all. The ending was disappointing, but I loved the rest of the game. The Citadel DLC alone, made it an awesome experience. I loved this game.

[@Whatacomedian_]

14 years later.....I finally completed my mass effect journey. Playing in 120fps as a biotic god zipping across the screen with agression felt right in 2021. Gameplays wise this game is top tier.

[@nihlify]

It was never bad. A good game with a disappointing ending that turned into an ok ending after patches.

[@marshallm0992]

Awhile ago I came up with a hypothetical ending where as a paragon Shepard you convince the star child that humans and synthetics can live in harmony, but only if you end the war between the geth and the quorians. Since a big part about what makes a paragon Shepard what they are, is their ability to talk there way out of most situations.

[@brt1strrbb110]

I don't think it's that the ending was bad. Most gamers it would be considered pretty decent. It's that the entire series, hundreds of hours of gameplay, was so well done it was a letdown. As for just the third one, I'll take 99 hours and 45 minutes over amazing content for an average 15 minutes. It wasn't the final season of GoT

[@sofajockeyUK]

Bad? The game is awesome. Most of the game is genius, particularly the genophage story and the Geth arc (plus Leviathan and Citadel). The ending isn't perfect, but I've become very comfortable with the 'Control' ending. :-). And the classic multiplayer was awesome back then (still is) though the war asset link was wrong.

[@mrmoviemanic1]

Thank you, Mass Effect 3 is my personal favourite of the trilogy.

[@uhobme2028]

Having recently replayed it, I honestly forgot how much a step up the combat was from 2. Little changes but a much more faster paced. In terms of the story, My biggest issues before were important story content hidden behind a paywall and the galaxy at war multiplayer shenanigans but now that everythings there, I think my main issues now are mostly Some Plot Holes and the Ending. I agree about how the way the game conveys the stakes, After missions I always enjoyed going to the asset terminal to read updates about the situation and how the Reapers are bearing down on everything. A very underrated part of the game in my opinion. Overall, Still a fun experience.

[@awood9214]

Was it bad? No. In fact, it was actually great. But, the overall product was rushed and needed more development time

[@JoeSmith-mx1sr]

I agree that the removing of the player's choices in the first two games and then in the game itself (decision regarding quarians and geth the most profound) affecting the final outcome was the biggest weakness of an otherwise excellent game. The extended cut did fix a lot of damage, but the lack of player agency is still felt. This could have been and should have been fixed and without a great deal of effort--a couple of extra slides based on choices and war score would have done it. The scene that plays out if you get the 'best ending' while good, could have been better had there been a road where EDI and/or the geth survived. I do think that pride on the part of the developers played a role in their refusal to 'fix' the ending in the Legendary Edition--there was no way they were going to admit to the fans that they made a mistake and the more the fans demanded change, the stiffer their resistance--human nature.

[@JohnnyThund3r]

Na.... The endings were good, the initial release needed fixing to add context but that's about it. They are the cannon endings you must accept, or go with ending 4...

[@Art0r1a]

My biggest let down of ME3 was when I played a campaign where Mordin died and his absolutely epic line "Someone else might have gotten it wrong." meant duck all for the developers of ME3. That IMHO was a big flip for the players from the devs.

[@uniteddreams7065]

In my heart the Citadel DLC was the real ending. Basically I'd start the quiet version of the Citadel party near the final battle and loud version after the Reapers are extinguished from the galaxy.

[@lippi2171]

People who started defending ME3 in 2012 instead of jumping on the "ending is bad game is horrible" bandwagon were the heroes of the time and were proven to be right by the reception of Legendary Edition.

[@robosergTV]

need full remake of the whole trilogy. Not remasters, a full remake.

[@DanielCarrapa]

I was a madly invested fan in 2012. And I hated the (original) ending of ME3. It crushed me so hard that I turned off the console for 3 months. I remember the next game I played, Max Payne 3. I just needed to shoot things. It was like therapy. It took me a year to replay ME3. The nostalgia kicked in, I remembered the love and joy the series had given me. I missed the beloved characters. So I decided to replay it and accept it for what it was. Downloaded all the dlc's. And I loved it. Still wasn't a fan of the ending, but as a whole, it was quite an accomplishment. And it had the best gameplay in the series. Looking back, I think we all kind of expected the end of the trilogy to be our Star Wars coronation scene. And it definitely wasn't that. Structurally, I think what made Mass Effect 2 so great also compromised the flow of ME3. It was insane. By the end of ME2 you could have a scenario ranging from all companions alive to any combination of companions dead. This meant that, for ME3, their storylines had to be segmented, which felt a bit frustrating. So ME3 felt more contrived than ME1 and 2. And, still, as I replay ME3 LE, I'm amazed at what BioWare was able to do. It actually works. The game itself wraps up so many threads, from major to minor choices. Sure, some stories aren't as well resolved... the Rachni, for example. Or Jacob, if you had him as a romance option. But others are fantastic. Tuchanka, brilliant. The evolution of Jack. The Quarians and the Geth. As a whole, this trilogy is an incredible achievement. Insane, that these three games were launched in the span of 5 years, and one single console generation. I don't think Mass Effect 3 is perfect. Sure, I can wonder, here and there, how the ending could have been this or that. But for what it is, it's a great conclusion to an incredible journey. And, so far, as an interconnected video game series, unparalleled as well.

[@pyramidschemer4083]

It was a great game, people were mad that the final choice was crap but years later it stands as a great game by itself and part of possibly the best story driven sci fi trilogy on any visual media, be it games or movies

[@MaximusOwen1]

Regarding the ending I don’t think the backlash would have been anywhere near as loud had the Extended Cut been included on day 1. It’s still rubbish as the Reaper motivations and catalyst wasn’t really thought through, but it wouldn’t have been such a kick in the balls. The real villain though is EA, by giving BioWare just a few months to complete the whole game they signed the trilogy’s death warrant. Had they been given the time to complete it properly we could have had another ME2.

[@themotivatedmaycry9120]

I just finished the ME trilogy for the first time today and I'm just gonna say ME3 is by far my favorite out of the 3

[@xPhillMcDx]

I wish I could play through these games again for the first time. I'd be interested in your opinion on Andromeda in 2021. I think I might play through again.

[@jayveeeee]

Hey Phil! Hope you’re doing well man :) I wish I could too, that first time experience is magic. I need to replay Andromeda. I made a video like that in early 2020 but tbh it’s not my best. I played the first few hours and then made the video, I’d like to go back and play start to fijish

[@xPhillMcDx]

@@jayveeeee thanks Jayvee, all well over here - survived covid so far as well the hottest heat wave in Canadian history, unstoppable! Haha Let us know if you play through it, could maybe do a community playthrough or something! Hope you're doing well - I haven't had a chance to finish this video bit so far....*french chef kiss*

[@efxnews4776]

@@xPhillMcDx Andromeda is... problematic... I love the combat, is really good, superior in any way the previous games, and by the way surpassing some really good shooters too (if you ever played Control and liked the combat there, it is basically Andromeda). The exploration also is great, visuals and backgrounds are breathtaking, and do remind us of ME1 when we sometimes stop just to look at the view. The nomad is way better than the mako to drive, but it doesn't have guns. The let downs are that despite the excellent combat that feels organic and fast paced, the you don't control your squadmates anymore, you do can send them to position, but you can't do this while the game is paused. The premise, is good, i like the idea of colonizing other worlds, and all that came along with that. The real problems is the story, characters, plot points, and execution, the exploration aspect was clearly rushed, it doesn't add anything for the main quest aside the first planet, all the others you can revisit after completing the game, in the second act of the game it literally opens up and deliver all at once, you can visit all planets and get 100% of viability without even touch the main quest, it is too much. The characters have a ton of side quests, but this quests mostly don't have any real meaning or are poorly executed. Characters are horrible or simply aren't all that great... one of the characters litereally want me to throw him out of the airlock because of the stupid side quest he put me in (perhaps that was the idea, some folks say that this sidequest is their favorite, so...). Overall, i would say play and see if it is worthed, the gameplay certanly is fun at least the combat... but if you are expecting and epic story like the OG trilogy, well, you won't get it there.

[@gregorythegreater9541]

@@jayveeeee here's a hot take I'd be interested to know your opinion on: SAM in Mass Effect Andromeda is a more refined, realistic take on the OT's synthesis ending. Like you talk about in this video, Mass Effect has always involved the relationship between organics and AI. The difference in ME:A is that instead of space magic, it explores a possible symbiosis between the creators and the created in a more grounded way.

[@GeorgeNoX]

anyone who thinks this game is bad is just dumb, the game is awesome. Sure the ending could have been handled better but to judge the entire game on ending is just wrong. The game has great gameplay and is fun to play IMO. I would not have beaten it over ten times otherwise...

[@GODISTHEGREATEST4EVA]

The only thing bad about this game was that cliffhanger gargbage ending.

[@captshavers]

Something else to note is the scene where you see Shepard's N7 chestplate at the end of the destroy ending and it cuts to black as he/she inhales. I think this outlines that ending as the canonical ending as well.

[@youngnord]

ME3 was my first one in the trilogy as a kid. I remember hearing the reapers for the first time and going the whole game thinking when I hear that sound everything is going to go bad lol

[@ArchLordXarnor]

For me, the problem wasn't taking away my choices as you discussed. It was when it broke away from the well developed science fiction universe they'd created - a universe where things are explained. You know how things work. Then this magical crucible thing shows up and its just a big deus ex machina red button to fix the problem. THAT makes me feel like all the war-prep I was doing was pointless.

[@Joker_JAK]

I've played through the entire trilogy dozens of times and I have always loved the ending to ME3. Maybe the key to my enjoyment is that I had zero expectations. I just went on the journey and loved the experience.

[@claytonhayes2760]

Same here. I think people have forgotten that aspect of playing games. Don't expect or assume anything. Just pop the game in and enjoy the ride. You are almost never disappointed then.

[@davidoffofficial]

It s never too late to start this series. I just finished it a week ago, and I admit that i have been avoiding this games a lot in the past and it s crazy thinking about it, how much i love them now and how i was completely off the idea of playing them before. So mass effect 1 was the one that i tried playing a few years ago and i rember not liking the combat so i stopped playing it after only doing the feros misssion when you get the three main mission(im talking about noveria and the other one with liara cant remember the name). Now again the story captivated me as before but because i already had all of the other mass effects i decided to commit myself to the game and I dont regret it. The story in the first game is easily at least 9/10. The characters are still good. I personally liked liara soo much in this one. The Virmire mission... Omg its still one of the best especially the wrex decision. And as i got to 2 is was a whole another level(Characters arc, Characters story, Gameplay, story pacing, the final mission) and as i would love to keep talking about theese games,my point is I played the third one, i actually took a break only for this one before playing it knewing it might be the last one, and i actually really liked the ending. It ended the saga really good for me, because if you cared about the Characters so much, the ending is so emotional. I romanced tali and i actually felt so intrigued to the final choice cuz i thinked of her when she said that she has a home with shepard but also sacrificing everything they worked for, making peace between quarians and geth for shepard to maybe live. When I choose the control option I felt so empty but happy at the same time. I cant say i wouldnt picked if it were an ending where all can live but i like it more and i feel its more memorable and unique this way

[@Nicinoo-lm7pl]

I could start playing ME3 tomorrow in early 2022 and I bet I would still get the same enjoyment out of it as I did back then because I really enjoyed playing it. I never played 1 or 2 but I think it was a good sci fi game.

[@AkashDeep-kn2jl]

Mass effect 3 was nowhere near bad, apart from the ending the whole game and the DLCs was a masterpiece

[@SovernGaming]

I think something that makes the Starchild more palatable is acknowledging its motive makes no sense and is due to their flawed creation by Leviathan. Because think about it, why destroy organic life to save it from synthetics and not just take out the synthetics instead? Why wait 50,000 years when an AI apocalypse like gray goo could have easily happened in the current cycle by then? And the third game shows that synthetic and organic conflict is not inevitable if you settle the geth/quarian war. So, the reaper motive makes no sense, but that’s OK because they weren’t supposed to be doing the whole reaping thing in the first place.

[@bluerangerx11]

I had a bigger problem with mass effect 2 after replaying the legendary edition because I knew the sucide mission was a bad choice for a middle chapter of the trilogy. Mass effect 2 is a great stand alone game but a horrible middle chapter. I felt mass effect 3 respected me as a player more than mass effect 2 . It will take me forever to explain but this is my opinion

[@Rainbowhawk1993]

You’re not alone. I’m going to make a video that’ll go into great length about why ME2 is the weakest of the Trilogy.

[@ParanormalFire]

I really enjoyed playing Mass Effect for the first time with the Legendary Edition, and with Mass Effect 3 I wouldn't say the ending is trash, but it is very underwhelming.

[@jonporter7709]

Go watch the original endings online. People forget the reaction was to the original endings not the Extended Cut ending that are in ME:LE

[@GangstarComputerGod]

I think I’m less underwhelmed because ME4 is a thing. Although I have no idea what it’ll include.

[@Yakub943]

@@jonporter7709 Extended cut still isn’t a good ending. It didn’t change the ending other than explaining how your squad mates got off Earth and why the Normandy was leaving the solar system, and a slide show. Still the same fundamentally flawed ending.

[@emmdubb]

Mass effect 3 was my favorite. Only because I love the way everyone's arc wraps up. The stakes are highest and the fact that no matter what ending you choose sacrifices are made. It's poetic and epic. And that score. I gotta say though Harbinger should have made more of an appearance. I'm with you in Destroy ending being the best. Now I've come to terms the Geth and EDI can be recreated. Originally yes Synthesis felt right at first but that's because the weight of that unity with Quarians was still fresh. But Synthesis is just not an interesting story end. Snap of fingers boom evolution complete. Nah. It needs to happen gradually and I feel like a lot of people would be slow to adapt that change naturally. Control is the worst choice. Canon Shepard wouldn't want that. Especially right after the illusive man's rant that leads to Andersons death.

[@blasterkrios7253]

James Vega and Steve Cortez ruined the gamee

[@sauce7670]

honestly having replayed the remastered trilogy like 7 years later I was surprised how much I liked ME3 but I have to be honest the ending almost ruins the entire expirence for me. That doesnt make it a terrible game just a dissapointing climax

[@badger297]

I love the format of these kinds of videos you do and how in-depth and informative they are. Well done

[@johnchamney4568]

Couldn’t agree more about the music in me3. It brings the weight and emotion of the story and just hits you

[@syncmonism]

I remember thinking that the game was actually amazing. It just also felt like it should have been longer. The last part of the game had a rushed, half-assed feel to it which really wasn't a good way to finish the epic trilogy. The actual combat seemed like a significant improvment over Mass Effect 2, which was itself an excellent game.

[@phant0mdummy]

I find it hilarious to think that Mass Effect players complained about an ending having colored choices... after spending a hundred hours only ever choosing red/blue dialogue to max their chosen alignment out. Did nobody see the writing on the wall? The entire series was boiled down to this binary decision that made you play one side or the other exclusively. There was zero benefit to being neutral. Then the ending does exactly what the series did all along and people lose it.

[@TLoaf]

I don’t necessarily hate the game. But I just wish they would’ve spent a little more time on it

[@Theoldman27]

Was the game that has a 92 on Metacritic that bad? What kind of question is that? It was obviously a great game to anyone who isn't butthurt about the ending.

[@DarudeF1]

Mass Effect 3 was never a bad game. The last 1% of the game was questionable but the 99% before that was amazing. Why do people judge the full game purely on that last 1%? Seriously.

[@ainfaiz6201]

No cuz why would some people wanted an ending with Shepard to staying alive? He literally deserved a rest after what he'd done for the galaxy. Destroy ending is the best ending, it kinda fits how it should've ended. Kill the synthetics.

[@jacobstrain1666]

Hate the idea that everything needs a happy ending

[@jonporter7709]

That isnt the issue, i dont care if the game had a happy ending I wanted it to make sense, it didn't

[@jacobstrain1666]

@@jonporter7709 how doesn’t it makes sense it’s literally all explained

[@jonporter7709]

@@jacobstrain1666 Its an AI that rose up against its creators telling you AI will always rise up against their creators so Reapers show up every 50000 years to "Harvest" aka kill everyone so that AI wont kill their creators. That is circular logic that ignores that the Geth didn't rise up they simply defend themselves and when given the choice wanted peace instead, so it makes no sense why the Reapers are doing anything. I would have rathered the reapers reason simple be because they can because I can at least understand that

[@jacobstrain1666]

Jon Porter 50000 years is a span of time we cannot comprehend and the cycles continued for billions of years. They have witnessed it time n time again. The AI has a single prerogative. Preserve life. It fufilled this by harvesting the dna of advanced space faring civs while letting non space flight capable civilizations live. The harvested dna was converted to reapers thereby “preserving” said harvested light. The geth were a serious issue in the galaxy and just because we made peace for 5 minutes doesn’t disprove the reapers in any way

[@jonporter7709]

@@jacobstrain1666 The Geth were those who wanted peace, they didn't start the morning war, the quarians did. And the AI betrayed his creators, his answer to the problem was to do the same thing. Leviathian is pretty straight forward the AI betrayed them, the Ai says otherwise but he is no better than what other AIs were. The Starchild's existence is in and of itself another plothole all together; how could the Keepers ignore the signal when the AI who built and controlled them lived in the Citadel? That is just bad plot outline, defend it however you want its bad. I dont care if the reapers were beyond understanding that would have been ok, but don't explain it as AI built by organics bad and kill organics so I; an AI, have built synthetics to kill organics so organics can't create synthetics that'll kill organics, its dumb

[@KrimsonKracker]

The "destroy" ending is fantastic because it ABSOLUTELY forces you to weigh the choices you made earlier (regarding the Geth and such) into account. It's not nullifying those choices, but instead giving them extra weight... there is no cannon "logical" ending as you like to claim. Fun fact: "control" actually has the LEAST negative consequences (in theory). This is the only ending that allows things to potentially return to "normal".

[@Gusmed007]

Now I remember the actual disconnect I felt with the ending: after being a hero for an entire trilogy, I was introduced to, what felt to me, like the ACTUAL ANTAGONIST (the Starchild)… and had to play by his rules. This is like if Thanos suddenly said to Captain America: “Ok, man, check this out: instead of me destroying half the universe, you get to choose if: a) You get to control my troops b) You merge all the villains and heroes together c) You kill all villains, but also millions of innocent people. PS: In EVERY instance, Captain America dies. But if you watched ALL 22 movies before this and wait for the post-credits scene, they show his dead body and, for a brief second,, if looks like he is breathing.

[@xenon8117]

19:42 It’s actually Vancouver not London.

[@TheLilmuzzy]

I would add to your point about the escalation of conflict throughout the series with a comparison to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Chasing and capturing a rogue spectre vs getting Frodo started with his journey, tackling a suicide mission and defeating the second largest threat to the galaxy vs the battle of helms deep and defeating the second largest threat to Middle Earth, and finally each subsequent title culminating in the bottle to end all battles where everything is on the line for both sides. I haven't heard any critique compare the two franchises like this before and I thought it was a neat insight.

[@MrSalamandave]

Mass Effect 3 is the best of the trilogy. People who hate the final ending(s) just need to grow up, because things don't always end like you want. And I say final ending, because the whole game is an ending, closing the subplots developed during the other two games.

[@ikraikgaming]

Wow. Yeah. This was my first time playing the trilogy so I was not tainted from the reviews or previous misshaped experiences in a way. For me the ending paved way properly. I chose the Synthesis not because it’s a please all solution but my Shepard made all those choices to lead that. I felt the ending could echo some decisions that I made so far to reflect the choices and choose once and for all but one thing that stuck to me was EDI and Legions experiences. EDI asked several questions that I often see in Scriptures and Philosophical thoughts. She didn’t want to be human. She just wants to be a better individual for her and for Joker. This was through the tiny interactions I do every time I do a mission. A hope that Synthetics and Organics which can do wonders together. Same thing for Legion. They have a collective mindset like a democracy. It’s understandable that they would have constant issues but ultimately they too were looking for the best of their future just like other species like the Krogan, Salarians, etc. The geth then put forward the solution for me and I know what to aim for And that was what Shepard fought for too. Hence synthesis was the better option for me. I didn’t want Control because the cycle would repeat regardless since there is no perfect being and it would take another Shepard to make that Mark again. Destroy meant stoping all synthetics to do so but would that stop the curiosity of living beings to make an image of themselves? Would that feeling be eradicated? If so then we would lead to a situation similar to Tuchanka’s Genophage aftermath. A stopping point where species thrive harvesting on resources at no end destroying galaxy by galaxy, the catalyst’s worst case scenario. I didn’t understand the hate, maybe my reasoning may or may not be canonical but that’s the ending I chose Shepard to fight for. I guess it does really comes to perspective doesn’t it? As soon as the catalyst spoke of the options I knew what to choose, because that’s what Shepard would do. The right thing. No matter the costs. As you can see this is easily my favorite franchise now and can’t wait to see how they would handle ME4 moving forward.

[@TopSmutty]

Mass effect 4 is a fever dream my friend

[@ikraikgaming]

@@TopSmutty so the mass effect tease with Liara was for Legendary Edition alone?

[@JohnnyThund3r]

Reading through the comments I'm noticing a trend, everyone who hates the "endings" seems to really just hate the fact you need to kill Edi and the Geth if you choice option one. Choices have consequences people, that's kinda the whole point.

[@angeltonny1746]

@@JohnnyThund3r It's not just that. People focus too much on what the ending is rather than how the ending could've been. Why isn't the ending about bringing the Galaxy together and putting the Reapers down conventionally? Why does the ending have to revolve around a plot mcguffin that uses space magic to resolve the final conflict of the series. Why is there not a happy ending if you do everything right?

[@JohnnyThund3r]

@@angeltonny1746 There are no happy endings... Jezz.. not when you are dealing with heavy questions about the nature of life, our place in the universe, etc. What would be the "happy ending" in Afghanistan right now? The Taliban suddenly realize their ideology is wrong and throws down their Arms and joins western civilization? Never gonna happen, just like Shepard is never gonna save everyone.

[@bodfishhh]

I really disagree with the happy ending stuff. The reason it works in ME2 is cause it’s not the final game. I think if everything works great and everyone survives including Shepard it takes away the weight of the whole reaper war. I totally agree the colour choice ending isn’t great but I don’t think it’s bad. Like the fact every choice has good and bad points makes it a weighty decision. Destruction for example does mean the death of EDI and geth (if they are alive) which makes it a hard but needed decision.

[@neopolitan2862]

Honestly I had never played mass effect before the legendary edition came out and once I had finished the finally of 3 the only thing I could feel was pure sadness and a bunch of other emotions. Regardless of if the ending is absolute trash or not,I will never forget and will always appreciate that game for making me feel so much at the end.

[@salomo7934]

Nope it was a masterpiece. If you played it right you have no other conclusion.

[@djinnglebells241]

I believe that there is a justification for Sheperd to pick the Synthesis ending. The destroy ending basically says “eventually, synths will rise again, and eventually Reaper-like beings will come to power.” Depending on your Sheperd, the logic might be “goal is to stop the Reapers. That means breaking the cycle forever. Synthesis breaks the cycle forever.” This especially works with a largely Renegade “objective, no matter the cost” Sheperd.

[@lud3re384]

I think that for the rest of time ME3 will invoke a sense of regret in me. Regret and wondering, what if the developers had 3 years to make it instead of 22months. A great game up until Kronos Station but with weird quirks before that as well. It's very noticeable that they were writing and changing the ending up until ME3's original release (Novembre 2011). The ending is far from awful, however, to me it feels like a good meal that was taken out of the oven too early.

[@ryancentnarowicz]

Only thing that pissed me off was if you proceed in the main missions in mass effect 3 Jack can die if you don’t do a certain side mission on time. I had no idea that can happen oh wells next play through!