I’ve had some interesting experiences with the Mass Effect franchise. In fact, I’m probably what you’d call a fanboy. I’ve bought every single piece of downloadable content released, I’ve played over 300 hours of the franchise in total, and I’ve grown emotionally attached to every character in some way. I hate to see them go with the conclusion of the trilogy, but looking back on things, my experience has been far from the norm. My fellow fanboys will either be pleased or peeved at my following confessions, but each has changed my perspective on the franchise.
5. I felt closest to Kasumi.
Garrus might be my bro, and I may have romanced Tali, but there’s something about Kasumi that just sets her apart. Her mischievous ways tend to make me smirk, that tattoo on her lower lip always draws my attention, and there’s just something about not being able to see the rest of her face that draws me to her character. However, the winning factor is the fact that she calls me “Shep”. It might just be a simple nickname, but it shows that the two characters are clearly very good friends.
4. I felt bad about romancing Tali and keeping her from being with Garrus.
When I found out that had I not romanced Tali she would be with Garrus, I actually felt some negative feelings towards Garrus. After awhile, however, I found myself feeling bad for him. Sure I’d made a FemShep and romanced him in a different playthrough, just to see how he’d handle it, it wasn’t the same. As I walked through the Geth ship with my two longest crewmembers friends, and they continued to bond – with each other and myself – I realized that those two would certainly be happier together.
3. I liked Mass Effect 3’s ending better before Extended Cut.
The Indoctrination Theory. A geniously crafted theory revolving around the works inside of Shepard’s mind. I found it indomitable, but BioWare nonetheless, threw it aside as they crafted the universe’s future. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to get more closure, but as someone who enjoys deeper thought, I really enjoyed debating with others about what had actually happened.
2. I ran through Mass Effect 1 in three hours after I bought Mass Effect 2.
I completed seven playthroughs of the original Mass Effect and had no idea how the sequel would handle the game-saves when it came to importing your character. It turned out that it took your most recent playthrough, so I had to run through the first game again even though I had the second one in my hand. Unfortunately, my first playthrough was my completionist run, and I really wanted to get to the second game. I toggled the difficulty to easy, and charged through the main questline as fast as possible causing myself to miss out on the repercussions of most of the minor decisions such as the avid fan.
1. I chose to let Wrex die.
Yes, you read that right, I let him die. As I just mentioned, my eighth and final run occurred as I tried to restore my original decisions, the one’s I made during my first playthrough. However, on my first playthrough I didn’t have enough charisma to do either the paragon or the renegade decision. On my eighth, I did. It took me almost ten minutes to make the decision as I sat there and argued with myself over my choices at hand. In the end, I chose to mirror the exact choices, no matter what had changed; Wrex took the bullet.
As I sat in the Mass Effect panel at PAX East, the developers asked how many people played with Wreav and how many had played with Wrex. I expected around a 50-50 split, but I was far from right, I was one of 20 out of the hundreds there that had let Wrex die, and I chose that fate for him.
But that’s the beauty of the franchise that we’ve come to know and love. Your story can be completely different and have hours of content that I never got a chance to experience. For me to go through Wrex’s quest-line would require a return to the original game, and that’s not easy to do considering how quickly the game’s mechanics were improved.
For now, I wait for our return to the Milky Way. I might have to live without Shepard, Tali, and Garrus, but I’m certain that BioWare will expertly craft even more friends (and enemies) for us to make in the future.
What are some confessions that you have to make? How have your experiences shaped your adventure through the galaxy? Share them below or discuss Mass Effect 3 in our forums.