Mass Effect Trilogy - Companions Ranked

[@icarian553]

A little correction. Mordin didn't create the original genophage. That was hundreds of years earlier. Mordin was part of the team that created the modified version of genophage because krogans started to develop a resistance against it.

[@TheStormieKnight]

I was about to say the same thing. The only way Mordin could have worked on the original genophage is if he was an asari. Lol

[@DrZaius3141]

@@TheStormieKnight Or, ironically, a Krogan.

[@larrisAWSOME]

"a little" lol

[@zedarkenigma]

It’s technically accurate as he did create the recent upgraded genophage. I’m just splitting hairs though.

[@mrmathh3680]

@@TheStormieKnight the original genophage was made 1476 years before mass effect 3, maybe if he was a krogan (they live forever) asari only live to 1000-1200 years

[@jettbass]

Joker’s almost a companion too. He’s there the whole time, has plenty of dialogue and even briefly playable.

[@firstclaw1]

Yes, Joker is perhaps the most prominent crew member, who is not a selectable companion in the regular missions. But man, playing him in that special event mission left me more scared for my hero's well-being than ever with Shepard.

[@MortismalGaming]

I did consider putting the Normandy crew in here, but decided against it

[@elvenatheart982]

He should have been fully playable in 3 imo

[@BubblepunkAD]

@@elvenatheart982 And... do what? Joker is at risk breaking a limb over going to the toilet!

[@KeytarArgonian]

Joker is the only character that can canonically survive the entire series.

[@jasonfitzpatrick2197]

“Had to be me. Someone else might’ve gotten it wrong.” Place them in whatever order you like, that’s the best line/moment in the series.

[@shawngillogly6873]

Legion, "Creator Zora, Does this unit have a soul"? is still my favorite, assuming you get the best ending of the Geth/Quarian plot. But the highest points of the series are easily the Genophage Cure and Rannock.

[@Bigcountry4415]

I hate the ending of the game (even with the extended cut) however moments like those 2 are what make this game my favourite (and the gameplay).

[@WhoopsISuck]

Great line, but for me the pinnacle of the game is the moment as FemShep when you hear Thane say ‘she’ in his dying prayer. I’ll never forget how emotionally invested I was at that moment the first time round; still hits me like a ton of bricks every time.

[@nwahally]

That would be "Geth do not infiltrate intentionally" in my books.

[@disk3001]

This is the first time I've seen Jacob ranked so high He's such a throwaway character that only does negative things, makes bad calls and his development seems to go backwards

[@Mattznick]

i'd argue james is worse and more of a throwaway

[@firstclaw1]

@@Mattznick I found James more cool and straight-forward with less ulterior motives and more loyalty.

[@ladnil]

Jacob gets a ton of extra points for a great loyalty mission. Otherwise, his primary character trait is that he's there to contradict whatever advice Miranda gives you. And given that MIranda's character is about being hyper competent, contradicting her does not win much favor. Jackass told me to throw Legion out an airlock ffs.

[@MortismalGaming]

It's interesting to me that people think me putting him in the bottom 5 is still too high lol

[@Nightstalker565]

@@MortismalGaming Commonly the community ranks him lowest and its become a bit of a meme at this point

[@GeneralOdium]

Mordin's death was the first time I wept at something in a game, just rewatching that stupid tower in this video gave me tears. Mordin was such a good character

[@Jasta85]

I was so mad that we had no way of saving him, definitely one of my favorite characters, and while he went out like an absolute legend, there were so many other companions I would have gladly tossed out the airlock in exchange for him surviving heh.

[@IReallyDontKnowWhatToEnterHere]

It's the most emotional video game character death of all time for me.

[@ladnil]

Coming on the heels of the awesome Thresher Maw vs Reaper fight too.

[@jeramie1992]

The renegade version of his death tore me up.

[@egoranonymous3223]

Kasumi saying goodbye to her partner had me sobbing.

[@AmShaedar]

I love Mordin's character and story arc so much. He is an amazingly written character. Even though he knows his actions were drastic and their consequences severe, he still believes his actions were justified, he has the arguments and the logic to back them up. The more the game progresses though, the more you can see that the ethical implications of his actions start to matter more and more to him. To the point that he is willing to sacrifice himself to cure the genophage, as it "had to be me! Someone else could have gotten it wrong". Best character arc ever.

[@zedarkenigma]

What he did was necessary at the time but when circumstances changed he was strong enough to re-evaluate that decision and change it. Mordin was such an amazing character because of that development and all the nuances that were a part of his backstory that could be argued for or against him. He just had great depth.

[@adahnyemeth6317]

Im shocked to see Jakob this high on the list. To be clear, i do not dislike any character from these games, but he certainly belongs to bottom 3 in my list.

[@MyKeyMoonShine]

Jacob would be dead last for me just because what seems like an interesting character at the beginning becomes one of the most boring characters in the entire game. Then they have him cheat on femshep in ME3 if you romance him. That and the story about his dad also seem a bit insensitive for one of the very few black characters in the series.

[@eldetpacko7401]

@@jmmywyf4lyf zaeed does really good damage with the incisor

[@eldetpacko7401]

@@jmmywyf4lyf me2 biotics aren't really that powerful compared to 1 and 3. Zaeed is fine and id definitely take him over jack or Tali gameplay wise for example

[@MortismalGaming]

I mean he was still bottom 5 lol

[@pastafarian7]

@@MyKeyMoonShine this makes me think… If there is some truth to stereotypes and not many black characters in these types of games, wouldn’t completely avoiding stereotypes also be kind of bad / inaccurate? We don’t want every black character to be an anti-stereotype, if that makes sense… Like, maybe it’s good to have one story about an absent black father, as long it’s not every single one? Idk. Fine line, probably easier to just avoid controversy, but that’s not art.

[@Blasted2Oblivion]

Let's be honest. Your best companion is the M7 Lancer. She even left the team during Mass Effect 2 like some of the other but she came back in 3 like the loyal friend she is.

[@vinccool96]

I'm sorry, but Black Widow for life

[@RedDrake110]

Mattock(or Harrier) + Suppressor + Graal or Prothean rifle + Widow + Graal + Suppressor (anti reaper runs)

[@bruhgod123]

geth plasma shotgun gang

[@dumplingshakes22]

For me it’s always mordin. He’s just so cool and he reminds me of Spock in a lot of ways. Super intelligent and pragmatic but also able to empathize more than you would think. Garrus is just great but he’s on the top of everybody’s list.

[@KingZealotTactics]

"I'm Garrus Vakarian and this is my anus!"

[@SLlNKl]

@@Rex1987 ngl mordins entire schtick is to make sense so.. lol

[@nickshumaker4784]

“Stand amongst the ashes of a trillion dead souls, and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer.” ― Javik

[@MrSzreder]

Shooting Mordin outside of the tower and later killing Wrex after he learns of your betrayal has to be one of the most cutting, villainous acts you can do as an 'evil' protagonist in rpg's history. And it is so precisely because the characters work so well

[@adamlowrie2625]

Garrus has always been my favorite. Other companions may have more emotional character arcs, others with bigger impact on the galaxy, but Garrus is your bro throughout. He will always have your back.

[@Punggles]

I’m still shocked they made something as big as a living Prothean just a DLC. Javik should have almost been central to the plot

[@MortismalGaming]

I really wish he had gotten more writing and attention

[@mmoemulators]

@@MortismalGaming I dunno, Mortym. Javik's banter and cutscenes after recruiting him, hearing how life was in his timeline compared to Shepards, I feel Javik is a top-tier character just from his perspective of things - good or bad. Amazingly strong character. PS: The banter between him and Liara during the Kallini mission is awesome.

[@gregdearing]

It's a pretty solid list. I do think Joker deserves to be included (and high up) in the rankings. He gets lots of screen time, has interesting characters arcs, and his personal mission is a welcome change of pace and perspective. But most importantly... he's GENUINALLY FUNNY thanks to the talent of Seth Green. This is a rare find in video games, where the "funny" character is often just Jar Jar style comic relief.

[@RedDrake110]

Agreed. In ME2, he has a quip for every single character you take with you the russian national anthem line in ME3.

[@mehmetokur1150]

I ve been playing games on different platforms for more than 30 years. More than 20 years on pc, playsations of different generations. Played many games that I loved and enjoyed deeply. Like Baldurs Gate games, Pillars of Eternity, Planescape Torments, Bishock games etc. But with Mass Effect games such a world building, such great companions that you want to do extra missions for them not just because for the experience or loot but you actually care about them, curious about their story, wanting to learn more about their past. I've haven't had such a gaming experience in no other game. For me it was like reading a good sci fi novel, playing a great game and watching an epic space opera movie all together. Mass Effect is one of a kind a such a uniq experience and I am glad to see this channel appricate the game espically companions. One thing I should mention I would rank Mordin at least in top three. His people story, his sacrifice, his character they are all perfect combination for a sci fi game. And I belive he kind of looks like Clint Eastwood. 🙂 By the way although he was not a companion Illusive Man deserved a honorobel mention. His absence was a big negative impact in the last game. Finally the game has a great soundtrack perfect fit for an epic sfi game. Enjoyed your videos about Mass effect , thank you 👍

[@firstclaw1]

Yes, despite some points worth critique like the boring parts or some difficult to fathom story twists ME is a huge achievement in gaming in itself. With this world building one could make a huge series out of it easily.

[@MoonJung82]

The best moment in the games is finding out who Archangel is and Shepard's reaction.

[@KeytarArgonian]

James, Zaeed and Javik are the 3 characters that have actually grown on me the more I have played. Particularly James. His dialogues in missions are where the character shines, but because he will never, ever be picked over Garrus, nobody ever sees it.

[@TheAurgelmir]

I think ME1s characters would have benefitted a lot from loyalty missions. The issue with Kaiden is that we are only TOLD that he has issues with his implants, not shown it in any meaningful way. That's where the Loyalty missions shine in my opinion.

[@KeytarArgonian]

Wrex and Garrus get companion missions in ME:1. Tali has one too that is mentioned but has no mission menu until you finish it, at least, it’s not mentioned in the mission title that it’s Tali’s mission. Kaiden get unique dialogue for one of the Biotic commune missions which really should have been his loyalty mission. No idea what they could even do for Ashley. Would have been nice to have seen a mission surrounding restoring her family’s name or some kind of pardon for her grandfather.

[@crmccauley1]

Nice to see Jack so up high. I've always thought she was a bit underrated by the fanbase

[@Arcling]

Tali and Garrus are my favorites, popular opinion! I even made a playthrough where I always picked them as my squad (as soon as they were available). Not surprised about Kaidan, you didn't like him since the beginning. However, I'm surprised about Javik's rank and Jacob being ranked higher than him. Javik is in my opinion one of the most interesting companions, we learn more about Protheans and the way he talks with some characters (and about their species) is quite funny, plus his overall attitude is understandable, him being the last survivor and all of that. As for Kaidan, I would rank him above Jacob and James, he was still more interesting than them, imo. Mordin is arguably the most interesting from the companions introduced in ME2, his personality, interesting background and involvement in some important events. I also liked Zaeed and Kasumi, despite their limited involvement, given they were dlc characters.

[@khoavo510]

Javik gives good insight in how the prothean was and his dynamic with Liara was quite interesting (the way in that he is different from what Liara thought about his species and culture, similar to how we often romanticizes particular parts of history or culture). However, I'm SO sick to death of him keep repeating "in my cycle" over and over and over again. Like he could've used different phrases but it's just that one line over and over again that he became obnoxious over time, at least to me he is.

[@RedDrake110]

@@khoavo510 he also had a bit of PTSD as he was sort of like shepard in how he had a special forces team of his own, who got indoctrinated and he had to gun them all down himself which is why he acts a bit diffident/dissociative with others

[@VonThalberg]

I played this game (the whole story, 1, 2 and 3) in parallel with a friend and we did have different choices here and there, and we talked about it. To my surprise, our experience in ME3 was quite different, as he chose Ashley and I Kaidan. While he described Ashley as being bitter, whiny and even b****y at time, to me, Kaidan was like a troubled little brother, that needed to come to terms with the fact that the world isn't black and white, and sometimes you can't get things done if you work by-the-book. The heart-to-heart he had with Sheppard in the hospital and later on the ship really smoothed up his character for me. He grew a lot throughout the games and in the end, he was willing to march into hell with you. Really underrated character.

[@DrewBreckner]

Checked in to make sure you got #1 right and you did! Garrus is second only to Eder in recent RPGs at being a good, relatable friend to your character.

[@kevind3974]

Both of those people will literally dive thru hell for you

[@Haywood-Jablomie]

I identify as a good relatable friend to a shepherd . Please use the proper pronouns while praising me for my stunning bravery

[@lol3xtrach3353]

Every rpg gotta have the easily likeable warrior/soldier companion

[@Haywood-Jablomie]

@@lol3xtrach3353 I identify as that person.

[@Colak01]

"We're best bros, Garrus" pretty much spot on. Agreed on almost all of the place, having top 3 from all the way 1 to 3 shows, how well they are written, and how much screen time helps to develop their stories. Seeing Tali from her inexperienced youngling to accepting Geth, witnessing the progress of Garrus from a cop to a literal badass... great memories.

[@TheBlueDeath123]

I like Ashley’s story arc. She really goes through a lot and grows and changes. But Tali will always be numba one

[@citizencrimson201]

Waifu is not a companion :^)

[@TheBlueDeath123]

@@citizencrimson201 I kept her in my party in ME 1 when she was not romanceable just because I liked her tech skills. Great against Geth

[@Roland_Deschain]

Tali lovers arise!

[@prodbyANT]

It's a shame Ashley isn't in ME2 or ME3. Sucks she has to die on that planet for killing Wrex. Real shame.

[@DillonCatterson]

​@@prodbyANTalways kill kaiden

[@Synystr7]

Garrus and Tali were my only squadmates for the entirety of the trilogy.

[@svenbtb]

Your companions and getting invested in their stories and plot arcs over the course of 3 games is definitely the best part of these games. It's really satisfying seeing how the characters change, grow, and deal with various consequences of their/your actions, and seeing how you're able to help them along the way.

[@quintinkuo3355]

Romanced Jack? Ah, I see you’re a man of culture as well.

[@tobiasL1991]

This video really reminds me how astoundingly great mass effect really is. Shame there are no games since it that rival it. As in no game has companions as deep or as human as this.

[@me36391]

I always say it is one of the rarities where everything came together, writing, characters, visuals, and that music.

[@tobiasL1991]

@@JimmyMon666 I mean human emotions, as in real life emotions, human in this context doesn't mean of the human species. It means having emotions like us human get.

[@endesmus]

@@JimmyMon666 Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most human

[@suzanner8360]

Thane is a very interesting character. He is my favorite romance too;.there's a very touching moment after the citadel party. Garrus is also one of my favorites too.

[@firstclaw1]

Didn't romance him. Maybe I should try. I like him, but among the aliens somehow to me the Asari are more attractive most of the time. Of course I had to try to even romance Morinth once just out of curiosity...

[@waltblackadar4690]

Decent list. Best Bro, Space Wife and 2nd Best Bro as the top 3. Though I'd have Liara ranked higher given her arc is far more involved than Jack's. I'd say that Thane vaults up a few spots if you romance him as FemShep - it's probably the most heartbreaking storyline in ME.

[@RedDrake110]

top 10 imo 1) Best bro Space cop 2) Space suit wife 3) Red angry titan bro (also second best bro) 4) Info Broker blue wife 5) Science wizard lizard (on speed, also can sing) 6) Best mecha boi 7) Eidetic Memory dad 8) I'm angry (also tattoos for days) 9) Baby Boi Krogan 10) 50,000 years ago/ Dat Ass (can't quite decide on one so both sit here)

[@RedDrake110]

@@MsKeylas space suit wife is Tali Angry red Titan is wrex

[@RedDrake110]

@@MsKeylas yup bottom of the barrel stays at the bottom. Jack is a good choice to have. For me, her only problem is being underutilised. Top 4 (other than wrex) are at the top since they have lots of showtime, time for character growth

[@ducky36F]

As a scientist myself I love Mordin and Liara so much. So refreshing to have scientist characters in sci fi aren’t just evil or dumb.

[@karlklein2263]

"Jack is kinda my type" I see you too are a man of culture

[@jamiebernal9030]

Samara is probably my favorite character from the entire trilogy. She was wise and noble but also struggle with balancing her code and her love for her daughters. Also she’s incredibly powerful even amongst asari. I took her on most missions in ME2

[@KeytarArgonian]

It’s unfortunate that Samara suffers from ‘late in the game’ syndrome. If you don’t get her early enough you miss half of her dialogue, like her run in with Nihlus from Mass effect 1.

[@heatherperkins9737]

I love finding out how different players react to the gameplay, characters and choices. My list would be pretty different, but it’s been fun hear about yours. And my list changed a lot as I played through, with new characters coming in and older characters changing and evolving.

[@Theis_Ejsing]

Having played the trilogy 7 times or so now, I must say it's a great list. Totally agree with top 3 and most of the bottom ranks. Would have Liara and Mordin as 5 and 4, but very good. Jacob last thou. What a tool :D But hard to rank some of the best companions in all of gaming. Really where the games shine.

[@violetbliss4399]

Best thing about ME companions for me is that, while sometimes uneven, it shows the complexity of people, where you can find something to like or dislike in the most unlikely of places. There's not a lot of games that manage that without having it being really arbitrary or in your face about it. For instance, with Mordin, not only does he embody this, but his arc is such that the one you could normally see as the "best one" is in fact probably his worst nightmare from his perspective. The companions and the setting are the best parts of ME for me.

[@arkanim94]

*checking where the two best friend are placed* Good, very good.

[@mrgallbladder]

Pretty good list. I can't hate. Personally I would switch places for Kasumi and Jack, and put Miranda higher on the list a few spots.

[@bigwig8657]

I have the same top 3, but Tali Wrex and Garrus in that order, but all 3 are among the best companion arcs in gaming, full stop. Very solid ranking that I cannot disagree anyones place on.

[@snorkman2]

Ashley is quite a good character, she has more nuance then people give her credit, I like how she is sceptical of aliens on a 'racial' level, yet the first one to tell you to check on Liara after Benezia dies. It cracks me up when you team her up with Wrex in ME1, He calls her out for being racist, next interaction she flips it around and calls him out for being sexest. The way they respond to each other a sign of intelligence and humility shown by both.

[@CrazyxEnigma]

Yeah she grows a lot. I think a lot of the dislike comes from the fact she always believes you to be a Cerberus spy no matter what. When I played ME2 the first time I felt utterly betrayed since I was all Paragon and romanced her in the prior game.

[@tonilynnp]

I can understand the hate for Kaidan, especially if you play male Shepard. But as a romance option for female Shepard he's my favorite character. I would never want to be in a relationship with someone who blindly follows without question, and I understand his point of view regarding Shepard and Cerberus. He grows a lot throughout the game, at least when you have access to the extra content that comes with the romance. Regardless, I could never save Ashley. She just grates on me. To each his (or her) own!

[@Flagonborn]

I loved Zaeed, he was basically my favorite character from 2.

[@O-D-X]

Yeah, I loved Zaeed and Katsumi way more than Jack and Jacob.

[@IndoManiac90]

@@O-D-X Agreed, I wish Zaeed and Kasumi would have been main characters of ME2 instead of Jack and Jacob

[@DatDude01]

Thanks for the awesome video. Everyone was pretty on point in this ranking.

[@bigwig8657]

How dare they make me like Moridin so much, his sacrifice ending caps one of the best written companions in gaming. Not my favorite companion, but given the atrocities he committed and that I consider Ashley the "bad companion" says a lot.

[@Kryptice]

Loved your ranking of the ME companions. I'd be so interested to hear your take on the recurring characters of the franchishe like Joker, Anderson, Udina, and also the minor ones like Kelly Chambers, Cortez, Samantha Traynor, Conrad Verner. Or perhaps even a tier list of the antagonists like Saren Arterius, Matriach Benezia, Balak, The Illusive Man. In any case, awesome video. Keep up the good work!

[@shadowthoughts7959]

There are many whom we'd swap for our bottom 5 or the mid-section, but we can ALL agree that Garrus is "our favorite turian on the Citadel."

[@Moberick21]

You got the top 3 right, no question at all. I am glad you went through this series, I hope you are too. It's been fun watching your experiences

[@nickkoenig4009]

Great video as always, Mortym. I wondered where you would put Garrus, and no surprise, he was your number one. He's my favorite companion as well. Throughout all three games he was always in my party. Keep up the excellent content, and I'm sure it won't be long before you hit 100k.

[@me36391]

Excellent comment about Garrus and how it could have been his story too. Great list and great breakdown of their stories.

[@okagisama]

Tali definitely n°1 for me. But i can totally understand your ranking.

[@darkespl3732]

Garrus and Tali on the #1 and #2 as IT should always be. Best friends of Shepard

[@kevind3974]

Also best romances

[@TrisWood]

Great summary for the companions. Probably the best I've seen.

[@mikevm3375]

Am i the only one that mass effect is the only game where i don’t change the look of Shepard at all? I don’t know but canon Shepard is so iconic that I don’t change him/her ( the female version I change little details) and when I watch other ppl playing their own version it feels…weird. Like it can’t be shepard.

[@juan23415]

I was really hoping that was the number one pick, I absolutely love that character. I think that agree with your top picks completely, this have given me an urge to play the legendary edition. When they came out, I played each several times, so I remember most of this quite well.

[@seoulpower8043]

Your top and bottom rankings are spot on. Garrus is such a bro.

[@Marcos-tk1sf]

I agree with you about Ash, of course any species worth its salt will place itself as a priority in terms of intergalactic survival. However, as you mentioned, the main objective is to unite everyone against the greater evil. Wrex is the one Barbarian who rolled the dice and got (str/dex/con/int/wis/cha) 20/20/20/18/18/18. Mordin, I also thought the sacrifice's end was fair, but I cried a lot. In short, few games have made me care about characters the way the ME series did.

[@cordeliacentauri1737]

Can this ranking wait? I've got some calibrations to make.

[@BohdanChub]

Javik and Liara was a great combo for me because how different they were. And I really liked EDI comments as a squad mate.

[@Zx180100]

As a Tali lover, I agreed with this list. My first playthrough I choose Liara on my first playthrough and it was great, but the relationship that we got with Tali is on another level. I wish that we have more time with some companions like James and Legion, but the fact of the game got rushed really brought a lot of problems.

[@Gollvieg]

My personal favorite would be grunt. His "parent" died before he was even cognizant of him, leaving behind this impossible legacy of becoming the ultimate Krogan. He is basically a child who was forced to be an adult "Perfect Krogan" without knowing what it means to even be a Krogan and throughout the series you are placed into the position of being his surrogate parent, guiding him by example and teaching him what it means to be an independent person. You even help him pass his rite to adulthood and find his place in his ppl.

[@Hellspeth]

You got everything perfectly fine, exactly how I'd put it, its a question of nuance and interest and in my case, and for the reasons you state Tali and Liara are my favorites followed by Legion and EDI.

[@pockystyx4087]

Jacob is a character I cannot believe how the writers handled. I feel so bad for the female Shepherd players who romanced him, only for the writer to shoehorn in a stereotypical cheating baby’s mama plot line. The hell were they even thinking?

[@Carlosinabottle]

Fr, one of the few black characters in ME and they make him a cheater with a baby momma lol

[@pockystyx4087]

@@Carlosinabottle yeah; not so subtle in the way they wrote him to be a stereotype.

[@Paul0Grech]

Pretty much nailed it right on the head. Glad you got to play the series and that you had enjoyment out of it.

[@pragmaticeagle4832]

Holy shit, a tier list after my own heart. With the exception of romancing Jack on my "main playthru" (I'm a sucker for Tali) I feel damn near identically about each of these explanations for these characters.

[@garrusvakarian3473]

I completely agree with your rankings.

[@rellicproduction]

I guessed the bottom 2, I also guessed the order for humans that's scored high, I am surprised about Miranda's placement because I feel like a lot of fans don't think highly of her, but I definitely do, solid list

[@LogicalReasonss]

I think Jack was my favorite overall companion, but i brought Wrex and Garrus on most missions because their banter together was just great.

[@robertthebard]

This is one of the few gaming series that I will replay specifically for the companions.

[@lavenderwyvern]

Finally, someone with a rational opinion about Kaidan. :P Even as a femshep player, I never liked him. He's incredibly unpleasant lol. However I never ended up with Ashley so I suppose that means I like her less? I had forgotten about her. My squad was always Garrus first, with the second companion usually Liara, Thane, or Javik. Samara and EDI were other favorites. Tali was a companion I really disliked, which I think is a sort of rare opinion. I just couldn't ever abide by the whole Quarian/Geth thing. It really disturbed me when you get to the part that explains the Geth's existence and I couldn't ever like Tali again after hearing her opinions/side on it. (Though I guess I don't fault her for it, I just couldn't like her after that) I always chose the Geth over the Quarians in the end.

[@tzikas95]

Can't argue with the list. Another great video. You should do that for every game you enjoy😊

[@dark_winter8238]

Solid list. Would move a few a couple of spots either direction but no hard disagreements.

[@Mandrake42]

Tali and Garrus are my faves as well. In fact I like them both so much I cant pick between them so they are equal first for me.

[@martinsmith5520]

Hi, I really enjoyed your videos regarding Mass effect. So much so that I bought the legendary edition and replayed all three games as a full Renegade. Some choices were incredibly hard but I think that the hardest was at the end where you can choose to shoot Mordin. He falls in the elevator and goes up to the the tower. He then drags himself to the console but he dies before regulating the temperature of the device and so the genophage was never cured. That moment hurt me like a ton of brick. Oh and by the way, during the third game, Wrex finds out what you did and you have to kill him if you are Renegade

[@bigego503]

Mostly agree. Minor exceptions. Jacob was in many ways one of the most blah characters for me. I actually would have him below Kaiden. Kaiden was a good character in many ways and, since I played as a 100% combat Sheperd the first time thru, a good compliment in battle. Ashley I took a disliking to very quickly because of her bigotry but in all honesty, never really gave her a chance to grow out of it. Perhaps I'll play thru again and give her a chance. Kudo's to your opinion of Jack, my far and away favorite romance figure. Lastly, I didn't really like Miranda because she strikes me as a rich person feeling to sorry for herself. Good vid

[@Bensonders]

I always felt like Maleshep-Garrus-Zaeed had somewhat of a triangle going. When you played a paragon male Shepard, Garrus sometimes could feel like a watered down version of yourself and Zaeed embodied what Shepard would be if he went renegade. Sadly this meant that Garrus rarely added something to my roleplay experience, because I am paragon for life. But I think he has a super different meaning if you are/play as Femshep and thats awesome! And Zaeed is one of my favorites and I really liked butting heads with him, he really reminded me of options/consequences that exist in my actions and it felt good to have differing opinions in the squad. Unrelated to all this: Samara became one of my favorite "romance" options due to the citadel dlc. This small moment with her had such a strong impact on how I felt about her and how I saw her as a crew member. In ME2 I was just very indifferent about her, I guess she felt a bit behind, when the other strong biotic in the team has such a strong presence, haha. But really, seeing here open up just for a minute was one of my highlights in ME3!

[@TerryHoskin]

Ride and die : Tali & Garrus Great squadmates : grunt, liara, mordin, wrex, thain, edi, legion. Good squadmates : Maranda, kaden, kasumi, javic, jacob Annoying squadmates : jack, ashley, samara, zaeed The worst: james

[@captainfantastic7643]

Great tier list. As I was listening I was noticed that the most interesting and best developed characters were all kind of outsider/rebel types to their race who could could fully understand and explain their culture while also being willing to go beyond the social constraints of their culture towards a universal or collective morality. Which makes sense because Sheppard's teams were kind of multicultural black ops teams working to save the various cultures from their inability to work together. This is probably what makes Jack the most interesting human as she is such an outsider that has suffered the failings of human culture and is much more relatable than Kaida n and Ashely who embody the failings of human culture.

[@joemccarthy57]

My rankings are similar to yours, Jack may be a little bit lower while Liara higher, but otherwise it is very much the same. Also: Joker. He should be top 5.

[@SpaceTalon]

As a fellow Jack enjoyer I have to say that you have a very fine taste, good sir.

[@talkgamingtome]

Happy to see Jack high up on the list - you've got good taste.

[@jper4911]

Grunt has the most hilarious cutscene in the entire trilogy in the Citadel DLC. "...from the explosion. keep up Shepard"

[@MrGouldilocks]

Garrus, Wrex, and Tali are, objectively speaking, the three best characters of the trilogy. I'd have a hard time ranking those three, but they're on a different level from all of the other companions.

[@josuke4448]

My top three are Garrus, Liara and Mordin. You know, Garrus reminds me ALOT of the early Toa of Ice, Kopaka and Nuju. The voice, the observation device over one eye, the colour scheme. Even their personalities have similarities.

[@jacobstaffordmiller1635]

Holy shit a bionicle reference 💯

[@watchespaintdry5757]

Galaxy map theme. Best companion *chefs kiss*

[@jacoporegini8841]

With the exception of the jock, which is at the very bottom for me, our lists are identical.

[@PsyFurion]

When you got to the top 5 i knew who would be in the Top 3 because they are my favorites as well.

[@saltlord8843]

Before watching the video I ranked them all to see how we would stack up. I was disagreeing with most of your placements, then our top 5 were the same albeit in a slightly different order.

[@Moosenthusiast]

The Garrus bro moments are absolutely excellent, he's Dirty Harry, Batman and your best friend. ... Ps don't play Andromeda. Don't do it to yourself.

[@ElPolloDiabloCH]

Well written and acted companions are what made the Mass Effect series such memorable games for me. Also, totally agree with Garrus being #1.

[@Biouke]

I mostly agree with that ranking. And this almost motivates me to get and play that legendary edition with watered down expectations, enjoying ME for what it is instead of deploring the lack of RPG. Just to see all those character arcs wrap up in ME3, that's telling how well written they are :)

[@konstantinlozev2272]

Vega's elbow work as he was cooking those eggs is weird AF. Just passed that part of ME3

[@neilmanansala399]

Really great list, Mort! I know you were insinuating that a lot of people would disagree with you in the comments, but I have to say, your list is almost the exact same as mine - the only main difference - Mordin is Top 3 for me. What a deeply complex character. He starts off as a fast-talking (and slightly annoying, to me), Spock kind of character - very pragmatic, utilitarian even. But as the story progresses, he begins to show more empathy & heart. He ultimately comes down to the realization that his greatest work (scientifically) - the Genophage - was morally wrong. He doesn't go out shooting a rifle, or blasting someone with biotic powers - he goes out hacking into a computer! The most Mordin-fitting death. He dies reversing the Genophage, so that the next generation of Krogan have a chance at the life he denied them. Shephard: I'm sorry Mordin: I'm not; had to be me. *elevator glass closes* Mordin: Someone else, might have gotten it wrong. I LOVE this line of dialogue. Mordin got to choose his own death, and be a little witty/snarky doing it. Also love when Mordin pauses in thought and goes, "... would have liked to work on the seashells." Him and Shepard talked about what Mordin would do in retirement, and he said he'd retire to somewhere by the sea. Shepard said he'd get bored in an hour, and Mordin admitted he might run tests on the seashells at the beach.

[@metallixro]

Javik second most interesting companion! Actually surprised hes not even in the top 10! Anyway almost everyone has Garrus at no. 1, deserved!

[@lavenderwyvern]

I loved Javik! Always kept him and Garrus on my team in the 3rd game. I feel like Javik was a really important puzzle piece to the story, not to mention he has some of the funnier lines. And an excellent voice actor too!

[@JazzzRockFuzion]

Only going to disagree about Kaiden and Grunt - I’d put Kaiden in the upper 3rd and Grunt right near the bottom, if not last. Kaiden is a subtle character with a tragic backstory who isn’t afraid to question Shepard; I always appreciated that. Grunt is a fairly one-dimensional, forgettable character who simply provides muscle/firepower to the team. Man, looking through the comments, I had no clue Jacob was such a controversial character! I’ve played through the trilogy three times and never had a problem with him. Sure, he’s fairly run-of-the-mill, but I loved his loyalty mission (confronting his f’d up father, who’s been playing ‘god’) and found him a fairly realistic, grounded presence.

[@IndoManiac90]

both Kaiden and Jacob suck, Grunt is cool and the concept/idea behind his character and the reason he exists is cool in itself, krogans are also vastly more interesting than humans in this series and grunt is fun to listen to while Jacob and Kaiden are both forgettable and boring both in terms of how they look and their personalities.

[@CrazyxEnigma]

It's a testament to old Bioware's good writing that the common reason for a companion being at the bottom is "they were boring" or "they didn't have enough screentime" instead of hatred or a character being terribly written. Even my least favorite characters I don't dislike just wish they had more going on.

[@penzancepirate]

An interesting fact about the famous Scientist Salarian song that Mordin sings: it is actually a "re-arrangement" of the very famous (and exceptional) aria "I am the very model of a modern Major General" from Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance". Look it up, it's hilarious!

[@FunkStyles]

Garrus made a huge shift in ME2: going from your latch-on yes man in ME1, to having an actual personality in ME2. One of the best changes between the games. Best companion is Zaeed. His stories in ME2 were the best part of that game, and him trying to get in Samara's pants in the Citadel ending house party was the best part of that game.

[@O-D-X]

See I felt like Garrus' story in ME2 was so contrived that I lost interest in him as a companion.

[@FunkStyles]

@@O-D-X His loyalty mission was a bit weak, but his ambient conversations while in your squad were great.

[@sylvainstone2411]

Quite different from my own list... and in its method I would not have made a ranking this way. Just 3 categories would be perfect to sort them. For me, the outstanding ones are (no specific order): Garrus, Miranda, Ashley, Liara, Mordin, Wrex, Grunt, Javik, Tali The fantastic ones are James, Samara, Kasumi, EDI, Thane The excellent ones are: Jacob, Zaeed, Kaden, Kasumi, Legion, Jack. None are bad.

[@onemoreminute0543]

For me I'd go: 19) James 18) Kaidan 17) Zaeed 16) Legion 15) Jacob 14) Samara 13) Thane 12) Kasumi 11) Grunt 10) Miranda 9) Javik 8) EDI 7) Tali 6) Wrex 5) Mordin 4) Jack 3) Liara 2) Ashley 1) Garrus

[@shawndixon4742]

mordin tali garrus wrex thane are my top 5. no joker was surprising... but understandable. really great reviews!

[@MwelwaOnCos]

Please make a video on your Favorite/Iconic moments in the Mass Effect Trilogy