"No matter what happens, you've been a champion to the krogan people, a friend of Clan Urdnot, and a sister to me. To every krogan born after this day, the name Shepard will mean hero. *bro handshake* That was the moment I knew I made the right choice by not betraying Wrex.
Riley Nybeck Not curing the genophage gives you the most heartbreaking death ever. Mordins death is unbearable if you shoot him. Wrex's death is also quite spectacular. "I know.. what you did.. shepard.." as he falls out the window in the citadel. Wrex even knows Ashley might have killed him on virmire: "What's the matter, Ashley not around to do your dirty work? Oh right, you killed her too." There's alot of amazing things for the Renegade route. Alot of heartbreaking moments but some amazing badass ones too. Would only recommend full renegade for second playthroughs. You'd have to have a heart of stone to shoot Mordin.
DManVI I've played Mass Effect so many times I've lost count. And everytime I try to go renegade, I can't bring myself to do it because of just this mission alone.
Seeing how the Krogan originally had about 1000 or so siblings per year I dont think it's in their nature to care for family, unless they are strong. And then they'd probably wanna kill them, to prove themselves stronger.
It's a small moment, but I think Wrex stating to Eve that he knew Shepard could be counted on is easily one of my favorites. Wrex has lived so long, seen so much, and been screwed over so many times. The fact that, despite all that, he was willing to have faith in someone again, was deeply moving. Anyone who betrayed Wrex after that might legit be an actual monster...
Shepard who betrays their Friends (Crewmate to friends) or letting them die, never supported when they need comfort and also never hugging Tali in her needs are Terrible as Monsters.
@@gzapray7203 No. Earlier, we have this exchange: Wrex: Just like the old days, Shepard, right down to me pulling your ass out of the fire. Shepard: I was the one with bullets flying at me. Wrex: And I gave you the moral support to dodge them!
@@Raezaroth I think it's only the case if you don't talk to him after the Suicide Mission since I've seen playthroughs where he sings yet doesn't sing in this mission It's interesting how that works
hell yeah. At long last, this war-mongering species finally learns to unite as one people, to fight an enemy that poses a much wider threat, to throw away old grudges and finally show the galaxy just what honorable warriors they really are. They are KROGAN!
Overlord was honestly boring to me, I always dread when I have to play it in ME2. this mission was far more emotional and involved as far as the trilogy.
@@davidmadera009 Honestly I think those are me2s two weakest dlcs. They had some good moments but they were such a slog to playthrough and had some moments that just felt like filler.
Wrex: Go ahead, Shepard! We’ll try to shake this thing and find you! Mordin: Thresher maw getting closer! Wrex: Tell me something I don’t know! Mordin: Metal in truck an excellent iron supplement for maw’s diet! (This part always cracks me up! Too bad it wasn't shown in the video.)
When I first saw this scene, I felt sad for Wreav, like he could have had a better chance to show off character. Then I saw his full story in ME3 if Wrex died and was a bit excited! ... then I realized that it's probably for the best that he didn't make it.
Every playthrough I always save Wrex on Virmire. Wreav's a total jerk. The way he thinks and all that you know he'll want revenge for the krogan. With Wreav in charge it's the only time that sabotaging the cure would be a good thing. Not to mention you let Wrex die and you miss out on some of the best moments in the Citadel DLC
I love Wrex. He's such a boss. It's even cooler when you see him on Earth, he offers humanity a place to live on Tuchanka after the war, showing that he and the krogan respect humanity.
It’s a stark contrast to Wreav, who demands Australia as payment for “rescuing” earth. Wreav wants payment, Wrex wants to be side by side with humanity, plus the fact that, right after Wreav, his real brother, is killed, he calls Shepard a brother or sister. Shepard is closer to family than his own blood brother was. Further emphasized in the Citadel DLC by Wrex’s combat line, “You mess with Shepard, you mess with ME!” He takes any slight or threat to Shepard as a personal insult. Wrex is just one of so many fantastic characters in this trilogy.
The part of the storyline on Tuchanka was the best of the whole ME3. Your decisions from both previous games played a big role: ME1 Wrex dead/alive; ME2 saving/destroying Maelon's work, Mordin dead/alive + combinations of these possibilities (Wrex dead - can save Mordin but Wrex alive - cannot save Mordin etc.) One really felt the consequences here...Well, time for another playthrough :D
Something really small about the scene in the Tank with Mordin, Wrex, and Eve, is how Shepard asks about the ancient Krogan, and Eve mentions they used to be a proud race. And then Mordin, who has been trying to hide his personal feelings and logic this entire time, just quietly interjects with “until Salarian interference”. Sure, he could have meant the chain of events that started with the Salarians uplifting them, but the way he says it makes me think he recognizes just how horrible a fate the Krogan endured for so long. It’s very understated in a paragon playthrough, but it’s so fucking interesting to see Mordin go through this character development. I love it.
And saving Kirrahe too back at Virmire. He and the entire STG will join the war. I mean, he said that the standoff between Shepard and Wrex, especially when they successfully managed to talk him down, becomes a legend among the STG.
@@gzapray7203 Kirrahe himself did say that STG cared little for Salarian politics and recognized the threat the reapers posed to everyone despite what the Dalatrass said. And god bless the Salarian Councillor for having Shepard's back (even if reluctantly)
@@BlazinVoid59actually there is a good chance that the silarian councler was constantly trying to assist Shepard and believed him about the reapers the only ones that seem to actually not believe until too late were turians as archives of battle for the citadel confirms they know the truth
But the power that this mission had was so moving that I literally stood up and shouted and then cried my heart out afterwards. The hate of thresher maws being replaced with pure awe, one of my favorite game friends acknowledging me, and then Mordin Solus showing what it means to be a true hero. All of the hate for the ending is ignorant of the entire rest of the game.
Aleksa Petrovic What makes the ending the worst is not just that it's terrible, but also that it's the culmination of three games, and the total lack of choice in a game series touted to be all about choices. Mass Effect 3 is an amazing game and is art. The ending, however is not.
@@antiochus87I don't understand what's wrong with the endings. You can destroy the reapers. Shepherd dying was collateral damage and shouldn't have been a surprise
@@angeloalvarez5520 On a merely surface level you're right. I don't know if you played ME3 when it was first released, but there is A LOT wrong with the ending that just got reduced from downright terrible to mediocre and just disappointing with a lot of nastiness, rudeness and patronising by Bioware along the way. So if you want to know why Bioware started earning hate from the fandom (sometimes rightly and sometimes wrongly) then this is a good place to start. I'll just run through a few of the highlights on why the ending is terrible, but there are whole video essays explaining this in depth. 1. Yes, Shepherd can destroy the Reapers and yes, Shepherd dying is a suitable sacrifice to end the story, but this is not a movie or a novel, this is an interactive medium of storytelling. All along the way Bioware kept emphasising player choice and freedom as key themes of the games and the design of the game, with player choices from ME1 and ME2 carrying over. By this logic, there should be multiple ways to end the story of ME3 with different ways to defeat the Reapers, and with the distinct possibility of a "Golden Ending" where Shepherd survives. 2. Instead many of your earlier choices prove to be totally meaningless and have no impact on the ending whatsoever. Instead the player is railroaded (forced along a path established by the game) in the least subtle way possible. The game ends with a conversation with the Illusive Man (which goes against his character as established in ME2); and with the Star Child where essentially the Star Child (i.e. the villain) preaches at the player before forcing them to make a meaningless choice of a color ending. This takes away player and character agency. This is a bad ending to any story whether it was a novel, movie or TV series. The fact that this was a videogame and this is where they chose to remove player choice is insulting. You can't call out the Star Child over his lazy condemnation of all biological life, the half baked logic of the Reapers, or the unspeakable horrors committed against billions of people by the Reapers over cycles. No, you have a half-assed defense of biological life suffering collective punishment at the hands of an AI manchild, and you can't even point out the examples in-game where you've proven it utterly wrong. You then have to make a choice, on the villain's terms which boils down to pick a color and has no real consequences. The green ending just means everyone glows now and seems to imply that fantasy racism (i.e. between biological and synthetic beings) is ingrained in the blood and DNA. That's not at all hypocritical or problematic at all... 3. The ending to reject the Star Child was added after release as a massive F U to fans who criticised the ending. It's an instant game over. This all shows a massive amount of disrespect for fans and essentially concludes that Bioware's official stance is that the Reapers were right. 4. It's anticlimactic. I get the themes they try to establish, but to build up Harbinger (essentially the Reaper leader) over ME2 and ME3 and then to just forget about him, and to ditch him in place of the Star Child (who, BTW had absolutely no foreshadowing in the original release of ME3, and was only foreshadowed in the Leviathan DLC which was released later). It's again bad writing. 5. The ending is full of plot holes. At the end, Shepherd ends up on the Citdel again over Earth and everyone there is apparently dead. The Citadel is the main hub for ME3 (as well as earlier games), there is a whole long sequence to protect it earlier in the game, and it's where the majority of the supporting characters who aren't on the Normandy hang out. It was only established later (and not even in the games) that not everyone died on the Citadel, otherwise it seems that all these supporting characters were just killed off, off-screen for no reason to further the story or the character arcs. Also, the very fact that the Star Child is on the Citadel goes against the plot of ME1, where Shepherd stops Sovereign from using the Citadel to bring the Reapers sooner. If the Star Child was there, then presumably it would have been easy to bring the Reapers there earlier, support Sovereign and not just wait around for ME3. The fact these plot holes exist and are so obvious and numerous are a testament to how Bioware pulled the story out of their asses. There are plenty of others, and plenty of other parts of the game that are downright terrible, but the ending is only passable in hindsight. There are plenty of other games that did endings with player choices better, including with the clipshow that ME3 ended up adding, ripping off these better games. This again was added months after the game was released. Thanks for the reminder, this is all why I haven't bought a Bioware game in years, and why I have no interest in the upcoming Dragon Age or Mass Effect. Anyway, hope this answered your question enough.
@@antiochus87 that makes sense yeah. And I'm pretty sure they came up with the ending in 20 minutes because it got leaked, it's definitely half baked. I remember reading an article stating that the writers had no clue how it would end for a lot of the game's production. Your choices definitely do matter for priority missions like Tuchunka and Rannoch, but not the ending. Crunch time and EA ambition must have been a factor in all this. I definitely don't care about the new Mass Effect, since it'll have none of the same writers. It's going to be nostalgia bait, or take place so far in the future that it might as well be a reboot. We can already be certain that it won't take place decades after the war, which passes up the opportunity for the writers to use the complex social and political situation after the reapers. But really, after 12 years there's just no point in digging up a grave. They should just make a new IP
17:58 the moment during my first playthrough that drew me back to the first moments of this trilogy. Letting me know the story was coming full circle and that this would be a game for the ages. Damn I love this music.
Wish Mordin didn't die. I got ME 2 late so didn't understand why people liked the nerd characters but after playing 2 and 3 you realise he's one of the best.
Man, when Karos dove on the Reaper? Badass. Until this very moment, the Reapers seem so indestructible. Like they're infallible. The fact that she alone killed one is so impressive to me, and probably showed Commander Shepard that it is doable, even if it's incredibly difficult. Amazing moment.
I see the fear of krogan, but living in fear isn't something a way to prosper. Which is why if I was forced to play personally and logically I'd always help cure the genophage. As a wise leader once said. All sentient life deserves a choice, a chance.
The funny thing is that most of my trust for the krogans came from Eve and Wrex. I've made Wrex a promise on Virmire and I always keep my promises. Betray the krogans? Never! In Andromeda it was a whole different thing. Drack was completely trustworthy, so was Kesh, but all that dudes in New-Tuchanka? I really don't know if it was a good idea to hand them the relict-drive to give them an advantage over the rest of the exiles and the Nexus. Ultimately I hope they are as loyal as the krogans in ME as soon as I treat them with respect and show them that I'm half krogan inside myself :D Somebody want a headnut? :D
Mordin I don't know what these words mean to a Salarian but know that I love and care for you deeply. You may be a Salarian but know that a human calls you his brother. Rest peacefully knowing that you sacrificed your life to not only save the Krogan people but the entire galaxy.
This is undoubtedly the best mission in the entire trilogy! At least story-wise. To bad this version doesn't have Mordin singing though, it is such a powerful ending. Overall, I believe Mordin turned out to be one of the most interesting characters in the game :))
20:11 as if the genophage could stop the reapers. the way I see it, the dalatrass had nothing to offer, the salarian support would have come either way
The krogan earns the right to live. The Salarians are wrong and they no right to treat the krogan the wrong way. The krogan are strong and proud and curing the genophage was the right thing to do.
Seriously, they used the Krogan to defeat a force that would have destroyed all life in the galaxy, and then turned around and practically neutered their entire race once the job was done. Fuck the Salarians!
Shepard: This salarian is not your enemy. He's here to help cure the genophage. Wreav: His kind gave us the genophage! Why should we trust him? Wrex: Because I do. And so will you Wreav. Eve: Enough!
In case you didn't know (and if you do, ignore this): Wrex's survival has no impact on Eve, but her attitude regarding Wreav is more negative. If you didn't import a save file, the game acts as if you never completed any loyalty missions. I know this last bit because Mass Effect 3 was the first game in the series I played. I wised up and got the trilogy a few months later.
I cry every single god damn time I see the meeting of Wrex, Eve and Wreav. But its the time when Eve starts talking when the tears start falling. Oh Mass Effect...
First time i played ME3 using my previous saves from ME1 and ME2. I have to say it is much more realistic, and some things turned out to be better. Having Wrex instead of Wreav really got to me. The Wrex's speech to Shepard at the end was incredible. Long live the krogan!
6 years later, i still wish there was renegade dialogue for curing the genophage. After all, a bully has few friends when he needs them most. (or "she" in the case of the Dalatrass)
How do you get the dialogue where Shepard asks if Wrex is ready after his 'procedure' and Wrex threatens to toss Shepard's Blood-Dragon-armored ass out of the shuttle if he utters one more word? I've replayed ME3 time and again, and not once have I gotten that dialogue.
I think you should talk with Eve and Mordin very often until Wrex comes in, tells the salarian to leave her unharmed and Mordin will remind him about the procedure. I think you might've just found out since its been 4 months, but I like to answer questions. (Its more of an assumption though)
hahaha that is a side quest just full of hilarious possibilities where Shepard goes to the Khelpik Valley and witnesses a krogan Orgy going on. I mean there was a mating request for Shepard in the 2nd one from a krogan female. So would be hilarious to see a cutscene of shepard trying to hide and run away from a big bertha type krogan.
sabatoging Krogren is stupid idea. Face a war vs Krogren in future that 1. may not happen 2. could easily be won with armies now 3. That very likely not happen because Krogren learn there lesson. Or stay loyal and stop Doomsday event.
Big question. I have a plan to get maximum war assets because I have the base version of the trilogy with no DLC and I want the Shepard survives ending, so to get max war assets from this mission I’m thinking, kill wrex on virmire, make sure Kirakhe survives, destroy maelons data sabotage the cure and make sure Mordin survives as far as I know this is how you get the max assets but I’m not sure. But my biggest question is if you get the salarian support here and still save the dalatrass do you get more war assets? Because I originally thought that saving the councillor just gave you the assets you could have gotten from sabotaging but idk. If that’s the case then I shouldn’t kill wrex, save the data and not sabotage the cure.
"No matter what happens, you've been a champion to the krogan people, a friend of Clan Urdnot, and a sister to me. To every krogan born after this day, the name Shepard will mean hero.
*bro handshake*
That was the moment I knew I made the right choice by not betraying Wrex.
sbn4 if anyone betrayed wrex you can go to hell
Riley Nybeck
Not curing the genophage gives you the most heartbreaking death ever. Mordins death is unbearable if you shoot him.
Wrex's death is also quite spectacular. "I know.. what you did.. shepard.." as he falls out the window in the citadel. Wrex even knows Ashley might have killed him on virmire: "What's the matter, Ashley not around to do your dirty work? Oh right, you killed her too."
There's alot of amazing things for the Renegade route. Alot of heartbreaking moments but some amazing badass ones too. Would only recommend full renegade for second playthroughs. You'd have to have a heart of stone to shoot Mordin.
DManVI I've played Mass Effect so many times I've lost count. And everytime I try to go renegade, I can't bring myself to do it because of just this mission alone.
@@archangel1178 I did it though. I can't risk the safety of the galaxy
@@starsfalldown1234567 You even sound like Renegade Shep!! XD
*wreav dies
Wrex: "...meh. He was a pain in the ass anyway."
lol whatta bro
they just shared the same mother, nothing else + their father tried to kill wrex so the family is kinda broken anyway
Seeing how the Krogan originally had about 1000 or so siblings per year I dont think it's in their nature to care for family, unless they are strong. And then they'd probably wanna kill them, to prove themselves stronger.
I feel the same way about one of my brothers. :P
you don't want to have to deal with Wreav. He is the meanest jerk. So mean that sabotaging the cure on the death of krogan female, is paragon option.
That's true love man..
It's a small moment, but I think Wrex stating to Eve that he knew Shepard could be counted on is easily one of my favorites. Wrex has lived so long, seen so much, and been screwed over so many times. The fact that, despite all that, he was willing to have faith in someone again, was deeply moving. Anyone who betrayed Wrex after that might legit be an actual monster...
An actual monster... and a dude with a deathwish, since he might be the strongest krogan around, if we don't consider Grunt.
@@Khiffwrex is the strongest in brute force they are either equal or wrex is stronger than add the biotics of wrex
How dare they support the genophage 😢
Shepard who betrays their Friends (Crewmate to friends) or letting them die, never supported when they need comfort and also never hugging Tali in her needs are Terrible as Monsters.
Shepherd: I'M FIGHTING A REAPER, WREX!
Wrex: I know! You get all the fun!
Wrex is probably eating with envy at that line. XD
@@gzapray7203 No. Earlier, we have this exchange:
Wrex: Just like the old days, Shepard, right down to me pulling your ass out of the fire.
Shepard: I was the one with bullets flying at me.
Wrex: And I gave you the moral support to dodge them!
"Would have liked to run tests on the seashells"
D''''''''':
"Genophage cured, krogan free. New beginning... for all of us."
this was the first time i ever heard mordin say that, normally he dings his song & then dies
@@satmtca thats happens if you didn't talk to him in mass effect 2 after suicide mission, and he didn't sing the "salarian scientist".
I'm not crying, you're crying 🥲😭
@@Raezaroth I think it's only the case if you don't talk to him after the Suicide Mission since I've seen playthroughs where he sings yet doesn't sing in this mission
It's interesting how that works
I think this has a lot more impact and weight than him singing the "scientist salarian" jingle.
07:45 "with the Genophage cured we'll have a lot of catching up to do" **chuckle* oh Wrex, you'll come to regret those words later :-)
The dialogue with Mordin in the tower was different for me. He sang that song he did in mass Effect 2.
Yeah this dialogue only plays if you don't have him sing in ME2
Dusty Rhodes you say that but i got him to sing
@@blackouthorus1519 you must also make him have sex talk as well .
The game is very specific. He won't say anything about seashells unless he mentions it.
14:41 when you're an ancient genocidal god robot but get suplexed by a big-ass worm
Shai Holud
definitely one of the most badass scenes in all of mass effect
Best mission in the entire trilogy in my opinion.
hell yeah. At long last, this war-mongering species finally learns to unite as one people, to fight an enemy that poses a much wider threat, to throw away old grudges and finally show the galaxy just what honorable warriors they really are. They are KROGAN!
arrival, proyect overlord
Overlord was honestly boring to me, I always dread when I have to play it in ME2. this mission was far more emotional and involved as far as the trilogy.
I loved Ranoch too
@@davidmadera009 Honestly I think those are me2s two weakest dlcs. They had some good moments but they were such a slog to playthrough and had some moments that just felt like filler.
Wrex: Go ahead, Shepard! We’ll try to shake this thing and find you!
Mordin: Thresher maw getting closer!
Wrex: Tell me something I don’t know!
Mordin: Metal in truck an excellent iron supplement for maw’s diet!
(This part always cracks me up! Too bad it wasn't shown in the video.)
It's easily missed, that's why. You have to be really close to the truck in order to hear it
When Mordin died in my playthrough he was singing that song we talked about from Mass Effect 2.
Shit had me crying.
I am the very model of a scientist sala... No I still can't do it *starts crying again*
@@sharangcool you want a little of red lirium? It's in offert Low price, for you Red templars
"Wrex, are you sure you're ready for this after your.. procedure?"
"One more word and someone gets tossed out the shuttle!"
Tuchanka where even million year old xenocidal machines are eaten by the wild life its enough to make a cadian feel right at home :P
Catachan you mean.
dude sarcasm much?
Perfect
Eve: what about wreav
Wrex: no way he survived that he was a pain in the ass anyway
Me: hahah true that
When I first saw this scene, I felt sad for Wreav, like he could have had a better chance to show off character.
Then I saw his full story in ME3 if Wrex died and was a bit excited!
... then I realized that it's probably for the best that he didn't make it.
Every playthrough I always save Wrex on Virmire. Wreav's a total jerk. The way he thinks and all that you know he'll want revenge for the krogan. With Wreav in charge it's the only time that sabotaging the cure would be a good thing. Not to mention you let Wrex die and you miss out on some of the best moments in the Citadel DLC
"I told you we could count on him."
D'awwwww. Wrex you the best bro.
19:52: just as shepard is walking away, Wrex turns his head towards Bakara...yeeeeah we all know wut he wants ;DDD
Lei BAKARA MY QUAD ARGHHGGG
That moment the soundtrack changes to "Virgil's Theme" from Mass Effect 1 is just .... Perfect.
A parody of an earth song
Agreed
@@angeloalvarez5520 You think they found the Gold Record?
I love Wrex. He's such a boss. It's even cooler when you see him on Earth, he offers humanity a place to live on Tuchanka after the war, showing that he and the krogan respect humanity.
It’s a stark contrast to Wreav, who demands Australia as payment for “rescuing” earth. Wreav wants payment, Wrex wants to be side by side with humanity, plus the fact that, right after Wreav, his real brother, is killed, he calls Shepard a brother or sister. Shepard is closer to family than his own blood brother was.
Further emphasized in the Citadel DLC by Wrex’s combat line, “You mess with Shepard, you mess with ME!” He takes any slight or threat to Shepard as a personal insult.
Wrex is just one of so many fantastic characters in this trilogy.
All we need now is a gun that fire's giant thresher maws. Shepard, Mordin, you just saved an entire race from extinction. Way to go!
"Time to do what Krogan do best- save the galaxy from giant monsters"
The part of the storyline on Tuchanka was the best of the whole ME3. Your decisions from both previous games played a big role: ME1 Wrex dead/alive; ME2 saving/destroying Maelon's work, Mordin dead/alive + combinations of these possibilities (Wrex dead - can save Mordin but Wrex alive - cannot save Mordin etc.) One really felt the consequences here...Well, time for another playthrough :D
Something really small about the scene in the Tank with Mordin, Wrex, and Eve, is how Shepard asks about the ancient Krogan, and Eve mentions they used to be a proud race. And then Mordin, who has been trying to hide his personal feelings and logic this entire time, just quietly interjects with “until Salarian interference”. Sure, he could have meant the chain of events that started with the Salarians uplifting them, but the way he says it makes me think he recognizes just how horrible a fate the Krogan endured for so long. It’s very understated in a paragon playthrough, but it’s so fucking interesting to see Mordin go through this character development. I love it.
Just in case anyone’s wondering, you can get the Salarian’s support even if you cure the genophage by saving the council in ME1.
And saving Kirrahe too back at Virmire. He and the entire STG will join the war. I mean, he said that the standoff between Shepard and Wrex, especially when they successfully managed to talk him down, becomes a legend among the STG.
Kirrahe and Aria were seriously missed opportunities for squadmates in this game 😔
@@gzapray7203 Kirrahe himself did say that STG cared little for Salarian politics and recognized the threat the reapers posed to everyone despite what the Dalatrass said.
And god bless the Salarian Councillor for having Shepard's back (even if reluctantly)
Also thanks to Thane the salarins join in because the council gets saved yet again.
@@BlazinVoid59actually there is a good chance that the silarian councler was constantly trying to assist Shepard and believed him about the reapers the only ones that seem to actually not believe until too late were turians as archives of battle for the citadel confirms they know the truth
I've been rewatching this video for 10 years. . . time well spent if I'm honest
I just played through the trilogy for the first time and im most likely rewatching this video for the decade to come.
This game kissed your ass a lot, and it felt good.
You're Commander Shepard, damm right it kissed your ass.
If EA hadn't rushed the release we would've gotten a damn good rimjob. But alas, this will do.
Try renegade and not so much
I remember playing this mission for the first time... Mordin dead felt like a stab to the heart...
Tuchanka in ME3 is a good example of what the rest of the game could have been.
If not for EA's meddling, rushing it out.
=(
But the power that this mission had was so moving that I literally stood up and shouted and then cried my heart out afterwards. The hate of thresher maws being replaced with pure awe, one of my favorite game friends acknowledging me, and then Mordin Solus showing what it means to be a true hero. All of the hate for the ending is ignorant of the entire rest of the game.
Aleksa Petrovic What makes the ending the worst is not just that it's terrible, but also that it's the culmination of three games, and the total lack of choice in a game series touted to be all about choices. Mass Effect 3 is an amazing game and is art. The ending, however is not.
@@antiochus87I don't understand what's wrong with the endings. You can destroy the reapers. Shepherd dying was collateral damage and shouldn't have been a surprise
@@angeloalvarez5520 On a merely surface level you're right. I don't know if you played ME3 when it was first released, but there is A LOT wrong with the ending that just got reduced from downright terrible to mediocre and just disappointing with a lot of nastiness, rudeness and patronising by Bioware along the way. So if you want to know why Bioware started earning hate from the fandom (sometimes rightly and sometimes wrongly) then this is a good place to start.
I'll just run through a few of the highlights on why the ending is terrible, but there are whole video essays explaining this in depth.
1. Yes, Shepherd can destroy the Reapers and yes, Shepherd dying is a suitable sacrifice to end the story, but this is not a movie or a novel, this is an interactive medium of storytelling. All along the way Bioware kept emphasising player choice and freedom as key themes of the games and the design of the game, with player choices from ME1 and ME2 carrying over. By this logic, there should be multiple ways to end the story of ME3 with different ways to defeat the Reapers, and with the distinct possibility of a "Golden Ending" where Shepherd survives.
2. Instead many of your earlier choices prove to be totally meaningless and have no impact on the ending whatsoever. Instead the player is railroaded (forced along a path established by the game) in the least subtle way possible. The game ends with a conversation with the Illusive Man (which goes against his character as established in ME2); and with the Star Child where essentially the Star Child (i.e. the villain) preaches at the player before forcing them to make a meaningless choice of a color ending.
This takes away player and character agency. This is a bad ending to any story whether it was a novel, movie or TV series. The fact that this was a videogame and this is where they chose to remove player choice is insulting. You can't call out the Star Child over his lazy condemnation of all biological life, the half baked logic of the Reapers, or the unspeakable horrors committed against billions of people by the Reapers over cycles. No, you have a half-assed defense of biological life suffering collective punishment at the hands of an AI manchild, and you can't even point out the examples in-game where you've proven it utterly wrong. You then have to make a choice, on the villain's terms which boils down to pick a color and has no real consequences. The green ending just means everyone glows now and seems to imply that fantasy racism (i.e. between biological and synthetic beings) is ingrained in the blood and DNA. That's not at all hypocritical or problematic at all...
3. The ending to reject the Star Child was added after release as a massive F U to fans who criticised the ending. It's an instant game over. This all shows a massive amount of disrespect for fans and essentially concludes that Bioware's official stance is that the Reapers were right.
4. It's anticlimactic. I get the themes they try to establish, but to build up Harbinger (essentially the Reaper leader) over ME2 and ME3 and then to just forget about him, and to ditch him in place of the Star Child (who, BTW had absolutely no foreshadowing in the original release of ME3, and was only foreshadowed in the Leviathan DLC which was released later). It's again bad writing.
5. The ending is full of plot holes. At the end, Shepherd ends up on the Citdel again over Earth and everyone there is apparently dead. The Citadel is the main hub for ME3 (as well as earlier games), there is a whole long sequence to protect it earlier in the game, and it's where the majority of the supporting characters who aren't on the Normandy hang out. It was only established later (and not even in the games) that not everyone died on the Citadel, otherwise it seems that all these supporting characters were just killed off, off-screen for no reason to further the story or the character arcs. Also, the very fact that the Star Child is on the Citadel goes against the plot of ME1, where Shepherd stops Sovereign from using the Citadel to bring the Reapers sooner. If the Star Child was there, then presumably it would have been easy to bring the Reapers there earlier, support Sovereign and not just wait around for ME3.
The fact these plot holes exist and are so obvious and numerous are a testament to how Bioware pulled the story out of their asses. There are plenty of others, and plenty of other parts of the game that are downright terrible, but the ending is only passable in hindsight. There are plenty of other games that did endings with player choices better, including with the clipshow that ME3 ended up adding, ripping off these better games. This again was added months after the game was released.
Thanks for the reminder, this is all why I haven't bought a Bioware game in years, and why I have no interest in the upcoming Dragon Age or Mass Effect. Anyway, hope this answered your question enough.
@@antiochus87 that makes sense yeah. And I'm pretty sure they came up with the ending in 20 minutes because it got leaked, it's definitely half baked. I remember reading an article stating that the writers had no clue how it would end for a lot of the game's production. Your choices definitely do matter for priority missions like Tuchunka and Rannoch, but not the ending. Crunch time and EA ambition must have been a factor in all this. I definitely don't care about the new Mass Effect, since it'll have none of the same writers. It's going to be nostalgia bait, or take place so far in the future that it might as well be a reboot. We can already be certain that it won't take place decades after the war, which passes up the opportunity for the writers to use the complex social and political situation after the reapers. But really, after 12 years there's just no point in digging up a grave. They should just make a new IP
I AM URDNOT WREX AND THIS IS MY PLANET!!! god i loved that line by wrex
17:58 the moment during my first playthrough that drew me back to the first moments of this trilogy. Letting me know the story was coming full circle and that this would be a game for the ages.
Damn I love this music.
Wish Mordin didn't die. I got ME 2 late so didn't understand why people liked the nerd characters but after playing 2 and 3 you realise he's one of the best.
The Tuchanka thread is one of my favourite stories in all of sci-fi, not just videogames. Absolutely splendid and made ME3 worthwhile on it's own.
He just wanted to study seashells in the ending.
Shepard: "THERE'S A REAPER IN MY WAY WREX!!!"
Wrex: "I know, You get all the fun!"
Man, when Karos dove on the Reaper? Badass. Until this very moment, the Reapers seem so indestructible. Like they're infallible. The fact that she alone killed one is so impressive to me, and probably showed Commander Shepard that it is doable, even if it's incredibly difficult. Amazing moment.
I see the fear of krogan, but living in fear isn't something a way to prosper. Which is why if I was forced to play personally and logically I'd always help cure the genophage. As a wise leader once said. All sentient life deserves a choice, a chance.
16:43 that deep breath he takes knowing that these are his last few moments is chilling yet admirable he’s made peace with his fate
He was breathing quite heavily while crawling to the console in my playthrough
My right ear enjoyed this video
The funny thing is that most of my trust for the krogans came from Eve and Wrex. I've made Wrex a promise on Virmire and I always keep my promises. Betray the krogans? Never!
In Andromeda it was a whole different thing. Drack was completely trustworthy, so was Kesh, but all that dudes in New-Tuchanka? I really don't know if it was a good idea to hand them the relict-drive to give them an advantage over the rest of the exiles and the Nexus. Ultimately I hope they are as loyal as the krogans in ME as soon as I treat them with respect and show them that I'm half krogan inside myself :D Somebody want a headnut? :D
Mordin I don't know what these words mean to a Salarian but know that I love and care for you deeply. You may be a Salarian but know that a human calls you his brother. Rest peacefully knowing that you sacrificed your life to not only save the Krogan people but the entire galaxy.
This is undoubtedly the best mission in the entire trilogy! At least story-wise. To bad this version doesn't have Mordin singing though, it is such a powerful ending. Overall, I believe Mordin turned out to be one of the most interesting characters in the game :))
More than 7 years later and this still makes me cry. I love Mass Effect so much.
This mission was a blast.
To quote the great private caboose:
“Man, she is really kicking their asses”.
Having Vigil's theme and Eve's theme together made this so much more beautiful. I always cured Genophage, couldn't sabotage in good conscience
"With the genophage cured, we'll have a lot of catching up to do." Wrex would come to regret those words...
Krogan and Turians, longtime enemies uniting to cure the genophage, and the cure being delivered by a Salarian. God I love this mission so much.
Fuckin Wrex....best character ever, right there with Mordin and Grunt.
20:11 as if the genophage could stop the reapers. the way I see it, the dalatrass had nothing to offer, the salarian support would have come either way
She offered safety and stability after the war
@@angeloalvarez5520 she offered the reapers a smoother path to sur'kesh on the way to kill them all.
7:28 So you've been to Earth before, Eve?
I starter playing this in 2021 but the menu music still hits me
The krogan earns the right to live. The Salarians are wrong and they no right to treat the krogan the wrong way. The krogan are strong and proud and curing the genophage was the right thing to do.
Seriously, they used the Krogan to defeat a force that would have destroyed all life in the galaxy, and then turned around and practically neutered their entire race once the job was done. Fuck the Salarians!
12:36 honestly gave me chills. Wrex is a bro =)
Shepard: This salarian is not your enemy. He's here to help cure the genophage.
Wreav: His kind gave us the genophage! Why should we trust him?
Wrex: Because I do. And so will you Wreav.
Eve: Enough!
Thanks. Have to watch the final cutscenes as my cat decided to suddenly jump around my gaming room. Boy, I missed some of the best parts.
In case you didn't know (and if you do, ignore this):
Wrex's survival has no impact on Eve, but her attitude regarding Wreav is more negative. If you didn't import a save file, the game acts as if you never completed any loyalty missions. I know this last bit because Mass Effect 3 was the first game in the series I played. I wised up and got the trilogy a few months later.
Gosh, this trilogy truly was something else. Legendary franchise.
I cry every single god damn time I see the meeting of Wrex, Eve and Wreav. But its the time when Eve starts talking when the tears start falling. Oh Mass Effect...
I think I prefer the version where Mordin starts to hum "I am the very model of a Scientist Salarian" to this one.
First time i played ME3 using my previous saves from ME1 and ME2. I have to say it is much more realistic, and some things turned out to be better. Having Wrex instead of Wreav really got to me. The Wrex's speech to Shepard at the end was incredible. Long live the krogan!
the part with all the krogans was BEYOND badass.
Me3 was my favorite, i didn't let the ending ruin it for me.
6 years later, i still wish there was renegade dialogue for curing the genophage. After all, a bully has few friends when he needs them most. (or "she" in the case of the Dalatrass)
Regardless of the ending this mission had me crying I loved Mordin's character Redemption arcs always get me
I pity the fools who chose The Dalatrass' offer over our Brogan Wrex
Shepherd has a bad case of the glitches.
if mordin didn't stop to be phylosophical and ran to the elevator, he would have lived.
11:20 I love that Wrex IMMEDIATLY! Gives Eve credit.
*salute*...ill see ya soon Mordin, drink's are on me.
I cried when mordin died. Such a great character
That whole scene had me in bawling the first time I played through it. Even now, 11 years later, I still cry
There must be something really interesting to his right when talking to the Dalatrass..
If Kirrahe is alive, the STG says "fuck you" to the dalatress and provides support anyway.
that reaper getting dragged down into the dirt is the most badass scene in the mass effect universe
Everything but the last 10 minutes of this game was beautiful. 9.9/10
God I love this mission and Mordin. And my favorite Blood Dragon armor is icing on the cake.
Had to watch this after seeing the renegade option
Can't hold tears every time I hear the music
The big worm fighting the reaper then it flees after 1 shot then ATTACKS FROM BEHIND
man the graphics still looks great
Inhabitants on Tuchanka really showed the meaning of "get off my lawn" to the Reapers that day.
MASS EFFECT NEEDS A REMAKE NOW
How do you get the dialogue where Shepard asks if Wrex is ready after his 'procedure' and Wrex threatens to toss Shepard's Blood-Dragon-armored ass out of the shuttle if he utters one more word? I've replayed ME3 time and again, and not once have I gotten that dialogue.
I think you should talk with Eve and Mordin very often until Wrex comes in, tells the salarian to leave her unharmed and Mordin will remind him about the procedure. I think you might've just found out since its been 4 months, but I like to answer questions.
(Its more of an assumption though)
Mordin Solus: The very model of a Scientist Salarian. 😥
This game is so much better than andromeda, holy crap.
How are we supposed to know if Mordin is the model of a scientist salarian? I don't know what his xenoscience studies range from!
They range from urban to agrarian.
I can't wait to meet Urdnot Mordin in ME4
I never heard the non singing dialogue before. Interesting.
hahaha that is a side quest just full of hilarious possibilities where Shepard goes to the Khelpik Valley and witnesses a krogan Orgy going on. I mean there was a mating request for Shepard in the 2nd one from a krogan female. So would be hilarious to see a cutscene of shepard trying to hide and run away from a big bertha type krogan.
all it would take for Mordin to be saved is if he took a few steps back instead of talking to himself
One life ended so that trillions could begin!
We will fight them on Tuchanka! Spoken by Urdnot Churchill.
Turian: I bet u want to sabotage cur-
Me: *aims heavy pistol at hologram* NOE!
wanna see this epic moment remastered :}} love mass effect
Wonder how many Krogan kids were named Shepard?
i would really like to know how to get him to say this beacuse this is much better than his song
This is why I am a Paragon
sabatoging Krogren is stupid idea.
Face a war vs Krogren in future that 1. may not happen 2. could easily be won with armies now 3. That very likely not happen because Krogren learn there lesson. Or stay loyal and stop Doomsday event.
3:46 Never gets old
Rest easy Mordin you deserve it
Big question. I have a plan to get maximum war assets because I have the base version of the trilogy with no DLC and I want the Shepard survives ending, so to get max war assets from this mission I’m thinking, kill wrex on virmire, make sure Kirakhe survives, destroy maelons data sabotage the cure and make sure Mordin survives as far as I know this is how you get the max assets but I’m not sure.
But my biggest question is if you get the salarian support here and still save the dalatrass do you get more war assets? Because I originally thought that saving the councillor just gave you the assets you could have gotten from sabotaging but idk. If that’s the case then I shouldn’t kill wrex, save the data and not sabotage the cure.
without a doubt the best section in the game for me