ME 1 is an almost painful reminder of when Bioware still cared about RPGs, no location in the later games ever matched the atmosphere of Noveria. It’s a shame that the development time wasted on the side content and DLC didn’t just go towards making a more fleshed out campaign. And Donald’s right, ME3 combat is the only one that strikes the tactical 3rd person/RPG balance correctly, and I find myself replaying ME3 the most because combat is the bulk of any actual playthrough.
Mass Effect 2 handled weapons the best while the third game gave them extremely generic upgrades. And the first game handled armor and Shields and fitness the best. Mass Effect 1 alone understood that when you increase your fitness level, you would realistically increase your melee attack and your health level at the same time. It's complete BS that the third game forces you to choose between health and melee. Mass Effect 3 also pretends that your fitness level will affect your Shields when in reality your armor would decide that.
Yeah because BioWare using the same damn Outpost for almost every side mission is a really good sign that they cared. Not to mention the horrible Planet exploration, subpar map design, mediocre DLC. Extremely dated gameplay... don't get me wrong, I still love the first game. But I don't know how anyone could actually prefer it over the others.
@@NostalgicGamerRickOShayand Mass Effect 1 gave you a lot more options for upgrades outside of fitness. So naturally when it came around to Mass Effect 3 where you only had a handful, they would let you choose one or the other in order to incentivize the player to create a more unique build instead of just maxing everything out in ME1.
@@khithompson3385 Story, NOT gameplay, is what sold Mass Effect. I was honestly tired of combat-centered games like Call of Duty, and fake-RPGs like the Fable franchise, when I first found Mass Effect. I immediately forgave the gameplay because the STORY kept me hooked.
That was honestly my hope for Andromeda... take all the previous lessons learned from the trilogy, and apply the best aspects of them into Andromeda... Man, I was a naive kid back then...
1 had so much story to tell but a lot of it was through text. I always imagine a ME1 where all the story content was fully fleshed out, and with a less inane inventory system
@@Colonel_Bat_Guano Like the prothean artifact on eletania. The text was pretty cool but it would be better if you could actually see the protheans studying primitive humans.
Citadel DLC is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. The feels, reverence for characters, and writing that Citadel has are more than enough to give 3 the nod for me.
Honestly yes, but Soldier Shep versus clone Shep in Legendary difficulty was AWFUL. I absolutely despised that fight. The rest of the DLC is great though.
Citadel DLC felt very bait-and-switch. It was sold to me under the claim that I would get to experience a bonus mission with my beloved ME2 characters. The Arena DOESN'T count. And the whole CAT-6 fiasco was a predictable waste of time.
really damn well written, like seriously. its quite amazing that i have a favourite game in the trilogy yet i agreed with every point everyone made for and against it, no empty arguments here.
I cannot tell you how much I absolutely LOVE these Mass Effect videos. Always look forward to new ones and rewatch often. I may have missed it if it was mentioned in before, but what classes do the boys all main? In the future I would love to see the classes, abilities, and different weapons in each game ranked/tierlisted.
The more ME content you upload from the boys, the better. You make these so realistic and entertaining to watch, thanks for these! And from my view, no need to comment which ME is best. It's like trying to figure which LotR movie is best.
ME1 is probably one of the most iconic games that ever existed. I mean the locations have such a great atmosphere, noveria, feros, virmire, ilos they are awesome. The villans are emblamatic. Matriarch benezia The Goat Saren even Balak the terrorist. I mean it's great that bioware updated the combat. But even the original still has that vintage vibe that makes old games great. Plus the story is 10/10.
I'm going to be honest. My favorite game by far is ME1. Sure it's combat is wonky and it's exploration is something that is subpar. But it has heart. The citadel in ME1 is the best layout it had at any point. Sure there are many side-quests with forgettable characters, but there's also quite a handful that have butterfly effects into ME2 and 3. Dialogue is probably the best overall in ME2, but I prefer the tried and true method in ME1 even though it heavily expects you to play multiple playthroughs or abuse a bug on Noveria to get max paragon and/or renegade. I will always remember the first time I played through ME1, that sense of adventure and awe was unfortunately not continued in 2 and 3, even though they are fantastic games in their right, they just don't feel like ME1 feels. I personally love the options for weapon mods and ammo types not being a skill requirement. Explosive rounds on shotguns is always funny, and being able to shoot forever with snowblind rounds with pistols is something that just CAN'T happen in ME2 or ME3. The scale in ME1 is also fantastic, there's TONS of content in the game, but most of it is optional and the quest tracker actually works (unlike in 3). There will never be an ending in Sci-Fi history that hits as hard as ME1 and ME2. They have extremely strong endings, and I honestly can't choose between them on which I like more. Overall, my preference in games is 1>3>2. Note that just because 2 is ranked last, that does NOT mean I dislike the game, or even think it's a bad game, but because of the recruitment system in 2, it limits your freedom to explore the universe too much early and I think ME3 has a more reasonable explanation for limiting where you can go.
I must tell you this: I played MASS EFFECT 2 first in the series, back when it came out. And it was beautiful. It was interesting how the player and Shepard "discovers" this world. There were a lot of moments like "I'm gonna do the Archangel mission first, because it sounds cool" and then I found out, that this archangel-boy is someone related from the first game, it felt like there was connection between the old squad from ME1. When I arrived in Citadel, I thought to myself - Who is this Saren everyone talks about? And what in the hell is a Reaper? How did I become a Spectre? It really pulled me in and when I played ME1 I connected all missing dots together. It was much more fun and I was thrilled to finish it. To be honest - ME3 was more likely to be a fan service. I liked all three of them. What a shame there aren't any other ME games. Best trilogy ever.
ME2 is peak. Underrated world building that massively fleshed out the galaxy and added a ton of new species, much better characterisation and squad member writing, it had fun gameplay that provided the basis for the next game to innovate from, and the Suicide Mission is one of the best final levels in gaming history.
the vorcha, those giant dumb bugs and what else? me2 is overrated as fuck and is only favourited by the same people that think brown/tan shooters of the early 2010s were peak gaming
RPG elements in ME2 are so dumbed down that it is outright insulting to the inteligence of the players. For f*** sake most of the character don't even wear armor and would rather go into battle wearing sexy outfits.
@@RamboSnoop You get Vorcha, Collectors and Drell for brand new species, but also a ton of new lore and worldbuilding for Asari, Batarians, Hanar, Quarians and ESPECIALLY Geth. It did a lot to flesh out what was already there.
As a lore geek, Mass Effect 2 frustrates the shit out of me. They retconned so many fantastic bits of lore from the first game, and the trend only continued and got worse in 3. Mass Effect 2 took the series from a grounded, quasi-hard sci-fi universe comparable to The Expanse and turned it into just another generic Star Wars-esque setting with slightly less advanced technology. ME3 can only be held accountable for doubling down. It didn't start the problem.
im honestly surprised you didnt talk about the multiplayer in 3 I thought it was a fun feature and it was dissapointing that it was not in the legendary edition. its honestly really fun and amps up ME3 as a game
The multiplayer was just a shoehorned in addon for 3 in an attempt for bioware to cash in on some of that sweet multiplayer revenue and loot box addiction. They were judging the games based on the single player story experience. When people talk about which modern warfare game they like best, they are talking about the campaign in the trilogy, not the multiplayer lobbies.
Interesting! My favourite overall has always been 2, but I understand those who find the story too inconsequential by being "side quests and daddy issues". ME1 had the most intriguing story, and ME3 had the greatest standalone moments and best gameplay. Excited to see what you came up with, PrimeRadiancy!
I love how the comments are JUST discussing the games. Like listening to politicians discuss this is super normal. Just shows how good this dude is at writing dialog
Mass effect 2’s story was all a giant side quest. All just building up to the final mission set piece. The final mission set piece was good… impressive.. but it’s not an entire game.
Before LE came out I would’ve said 3. Great combat, excellent missions and emotional endings to stories that came full circle from even the 1st game in Wrex’s and the Geth’s case. I’m with Donald that the only thing against it is the ending. But now with LE and improved graphics and gameplay I think 1 can make a good argument as the best or damn close to 3. World and lore building, excellent atmosphere on missions and while you’re still Shepard you aren’t god yet, proving the Normandy squad to the galaxy and seeing just how fragile the galaxy is before the Reapers is very fun and interesting. Not to mention that it’s a true RPG. I’m not saying that 2 is bad but it is the one I look forward to the least when replaying the trilogy.
I concur, the LE made the gameplay far more tolerable to the point where I think overall it is the best game. The story is easily the best. It's pure, the atmosphere is a study in non-verbal story telling. It truly felt like an adventure movie that you played
@Abfallkannibale I don't understand the praise 3 gets and I've soured a bit on 2 over the years and these videos actually made a pretty good case for why 2 is overhyped
@@Captain_Insano_nomercy Yeah, they basicly tried to broaden the market for 2, which is why they needed to put a speed-bump into the narrative, so new players would neither be thrown right into the bigger plot nor would have to play me1 first for context. The changes they made were harsh over-corrections of things that were (admittedly) a bit clunky in 1, but still over-corrected. Also, this might just be me though, 2s world feels very small compared to the other two games, almost as if it was just a big spin-off-addon or something. Maybe because the visual scale of the politics and stuff got completely pushed to the side in order to focus on small, highly loaded ares and plots. The more I think about it, the weirder 2 gets. Strange.
@Abfallkannibale all good points. I also dislike how they shoe-horned in an ammo system to try to appeal to shooter fans, and hey at least they tried an in-universe explanation, but it still sucked. I mean, I was in the military and let me tell you that having guns without ammo fixes SO many problems that the whole "oh but now we get more shots per minute" argument falls flat. There are so many economical and logistical advantages to not needing ammo alone that it's not even about reloading time
Would have still been wild for ME3 to have dual stories depending on your decision on the suicide mission. Destroy the collector base and ME3 stays similar to what we know, but keeping the station giving a choice in ME3 to stay with Cerberus. Basically have a ruthless renegade story version where Cerberus doesn’t turn against the rest of humanity, but you ruthlessly step into the power vacuum left after the invasion of earth and subvert the council races. Could have had so many different stories based on decisions, but man would that have been hard to create
Nah despite how ME2 has you remembering Cerberus they are so unapologetically evil from the first time you see them in 1 that the only human support you would get is like terra firma. Shepherd had a hard enough time convincing the council to work with the alliance, convincing anyone to cooperate with Cerberus is out of the question. Cerberus is a terrorist organization first and foremost, peace between the geth and quarians is easier to achieve than Cerberus and the rest of the galaxy. You would also lose most of your squadmates cuz their love for you does not extend nearly as far as you think it does, the second you start vibing with the illusive man they will say their goodbyes. Side mission central has gaslit people about Cerberus
Facts!! In ME1 side missions, cereberus makes it ABUNDENTLY clear they are enemies to humanity. I will never forget it. I got me2 in 2011 1 year before ME3 came out and I repeated me1 multiple times doing the side quests, so when I played me2 for the first time and cerberus was mentioned that motivated me to go full blown paragon and not trust cereberus. @@RaphDeGrate
I wrote my own version of the story that had 4 games instead of 3 and I had people tell me it was quite good, and my version went something more like that. Shepard would have stuck with cerberus much longer and there would have been a massive choice at the beginning of the third game on whether or not you are rolling with cerberus. The entire third game would be more about alliance versus cerberus as the reaper invasion counted down and their proxies waged war for them
I'm stoked to see we've returned to Mass Effect. If you need any ideas, how about best weapons by weapon class (assault rifle, shotgun, etc) or generally overall
It’s Mass Effect 2 in terms of overall quality. Gameplay was solid, world building was solid, sides missions were solid, DLC was solid. Sure, you can nitpick some parts, but as a whole ME2 doesn’t miss often enough compared to its peers. ME1 captures that space/sci-fi feeling and really showcased that aspect of the universe well. The story was god tier here. No question. But it’s gameplay really holds it back for me. ME3 is such a throttle ride that does nearly everything right just to fumble at the ending. RPG elements should’ve been used more. The dlc for this game are bangers especially The Citadel for obvious reasons. Gameplay is perfected here and multiplayer is GOATED.
ME2 is the only game without a significant weakness. ME1 is significantly weighed down by its gameplay, ME3 by its ending. ME2 doesn't really have anything anywhere near as substiantially bad, it may have some rough patches but no huge glaring weaknesses
Not sure of the creative thought process that gave birth to this debating heads of state but it's easily the most original, interesting and entertaining channels around. And the fact that they talk about Mass effect. My all time favorite game is just icing on the cake.
Maybe it’s just because 2 was the first one I played, and I played it so many times, it just has a special place in my heart and it gives me a different feeling whenever I replay the trilogy
ME2 is definitely the best out of all ME's in terms of characters and dialogue, which is probably why you love it so much. ME1 and ME3 definitely fall short character wise when compared to ME2 outside of the Citadel DLC
I enjoyed ME3 the most, yet I see it as the worst, having so many memberal moments and characters, with great combat, but when it drops the ball it drops it hard, leaving there to be more wanting, it’s a strange experience but one I enjoy more than the others
Yeah ME3 highs are soooo great, but the lows are really damn low. The other two games always maintained consistently good logical writing, where as 3 retcons shit and pulls plot points out it's ass quite often. Even with it's big writing flaws it's still my favorite though.
Mass effect 2 has got to be the best with character development,gameplay and the shadow broker dlc is a lot of fun to play loyalty missions are great also and the suicide mission to this day is the best mission in any of the mass effect game’s
your comment reminded me of the time when I used to reload my save to restart the Suicide Mission every day. The music, the combat, the characters, the scene. All of it came together for maybe one of the most epic missions of all gaming.
My favourite game to play is ME2. The best moments are in ME3 and the foundational pillar that gave us everything we love was ME1. All 3 of them together gave us the Citadel DLC which will forever be the best Mass Effect game.
So what I’m getting is Mass effect 1: great world building and exploration Mass effect 2: great story and character development Mass effect 3: Best Gameplay Hopefully the next game will have all three
I will say that out of all 3 games I've always had a stronger desire to play ME1 the most because of the variety of ways you can roleplay and I do love the clunky, but charming Makko and Uncharted Worlds. ME2 I wana re-play because I love it's characters, but I remember how tight the game is in terms of freedom and pales in comparison to ME1 and even 3 in some regards, and if you know what you're doing, there really isn't that much left to come back to, beyond re-experiencing the same story with slight variations in dialogue with which characters you bring to each location.
A friendly reminder that Andromeda with a few mods becomes a really fun game. The 3 big ones are removing the dash delay and the hip fire penalty for the sniper rifle and adding the multiplayer powers to single player. Oh and Road Rage turns the vehicle into something actually fun to drive.
First up, these videos are so good man. Like the quality is top notch and you can really see the effort put into them. And secondly, in my opinion I love the first one the most. Imo it’s the least controversial of the three and the role playing elements are PEAK in this game. When debating the 3 games I feel like no one ranks the first one as the worst. There’s always an argument as to whether that’s the second or the third game. And thirdly, I love all these games and just because I like the first one more that the others that doesn’t stop me from playing them over and over again ❤️
Mass Effect 2 was always my favorite for such a long time, but in my older age I’ve grown more patient. Mass effect 1’s gameplay doesn’t bother me as much and it’s far superior roleplaying elements in the series; coupled with the smarter written overall plot help move it to my number 1 spot in the series.
Before MELE my order was 3, 1, 2 (obviously not in any way saying 2 is bad) purely because 3 has best gameplay and also has Citadel DLC which I think is the most enjoyable part of the trilogy. Since MELE gave ME1 a huge glow up my order is 1, 3, 2. ME3 still beats 2 for the better gameplay and wrapping up squadmate story arcs but 1 now has enjoyable combat and also some of the most memorable moments in the trilogy
08:00 - Obama lost the argument there. The "exploration" of having to trawl half the galaxy for minerals, Turian insignia, Salarian dog tags, Asari writings and Protean data was SO FREAKING ANNOYING.
Modded ME3 is the best one. There's only one ending and lots of other plots over the trilogy get tied up fairly well. Best combat by far. Any reduction in customizable skill points vs me1 is made up for in spades by how fun it is to combo different powers together along with ammo types so even soldiers get some fun combos. All the multiplayer guns modded into SP is so fun to mess around with. In terms of enjoyment when I replay the series it's 3, 2, 1...Let's jam!
I think these are all good arguments tbh, but no games are without their flaws. Mass Effect 3 is my personal favorite of the trilogy for many, many reasons. It feels the most personal, emotional, and has my favorite moments out of the trilogy. Tali is also my favorite character and her romance in the third game has my favorite moments ever. I first played the trilogy back to back 5 years ago when I was still in middle school and I still get emotional nostalgia thinking about it now. I can always go back and replay the trilogy back to back and re-do every single option I did before and not get sick of it. I can’t say that about many games tbh. Also the Citadel DLC is like the best thing ever.
This just reminded that I love them all. Ive tried to play just 2 or 3 and just do the genesis dlc. But i couldn't, can't play one of them without playing them all.
Gotta be 2, might not have had the scope or storytelling of 1, nor the combat of 3, but it had the best characters and certainly thr best finale in the series
It's interesting isn't it that each game has it's strengths. No two games were exactly the same, so it's hard to objectively say which is best Even looking at the comments it's about 40% for 3, 40% for 2, and 20% for 1
I feel like ME1 was the best story/plot wise, ME2 was the best character wise, and ME3 i guess was good at both? Its crazy to think ME is such a good game series that theres almost no arguments (from what ive seen at least) of people on what the best game is.
If only ME2 could have established that instead of The Collector Base, the human reaper was being built on Mars by indoctrinated humans with the help of collectors we could have Shep and the gang stumble upon the Catalyst before killing the human reaper and causing major damage to the Mars sites, then we would both have setup for the Catalyst in ME3 and wouldn't need a DLC as to why Shepard is called to Earth.
Me2 is easily the best it doesnt move the reaper story to much but it introduces some of the seires best characters. While also making tali and garrus significantly better. Its also the game that explores the cultures of each race making the universe more relized. Me1 might have a better plot but me2 has a better story.
Objectively gameplay wise is Andromeda, Narratively wise is Mass effect 1, RPG wise is Mass Effect 1, the best overall is Mass Effect 2. Worst ending is Mass Effect 3.
"I'm a real boy, Pinocchio BS" damn joe was a W in that one, in reality they all have problems, ME2 with a lack of weapons, it's a sacrifice and painful to stay alone in cover and depend on your companions, the confusing maps and inventory in ME1 and the rush story of ME3 and the transformation of cerberus into dumb stormtroopers , well everyone has their special flavor
ME2 being a standalone plot in hindsight is lame but it did an incredible job of bringing more people into the franchise without having to play the first one to follow what happened. You didn’t need to know anything from the first one to follow what happened thanks to the excellent groomed default world state, while the ME1 fans got a TON of transferable world states and NPC appearances for importing their save. It is actually crazy how they revoiced and reimplemented entire replacement characters based on your decisions. All the while providing a seamless and fun introduction to the series for anyone who can’t contend with ME1’s more dated mechanics and slower pacing. Next time tag me in for you Biden
ME1 is my personal favorite but i love Andromeda gameplay. Hopefully the presidents can do the same format for Andromeda without slamming the game thr whole time. Ranking the best missions, companions, NPCs, etc. And we still need a ranking for the side quests for the trilogy!
ME1 had the best atmosphere and worldbuilding. ME2 had the best character development and final mission ME3 had the best combat and did a great job of closing alot of character arcs 2 built on. The DLCs were also really good. Shepherd's character arc in 3 was the best as well. Andromeda was pretty Empty.
@@hetmanotoja Tbh I kinda hated the Andromeda combat. The guns felt really unimpactful, the jumping was cool but they used it way too much, and the terrain was never really all that interesting; it was mostly just a set of arbitrary barriers and crouch points that led up to a big room. Non-aerial movement also felt very clunky. Not my favorite.
@@wcs9582 Agreed on overuse of jumping and environment design, but with some QoL mods Andromeda combat is a really step forward from the Trilogy. If you just forget it was suppose to be ME game it would be decent. Kinda wish for no mans sky-like game with this kind of combat.
Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 to a degree help the player feel like they and Commander Shepard are the same person. Mass Effect 3 Commander Shepard feels like a completely disconnected and hijacked character that is frankly cringe in many instances.
In all honesty, any argument for any of the games is valid. ME is one of the best game series ever. It’s a distinction of fractions of a point that even then are within the margins of error. 1 had the best rpg 2) was a work of art 3) had the best DLC and action
ME1 did have way more story, but so much it was often relegated to text. And what a lot of people don't realize is that while ME1 does give you seemingly more conversation options, a lot of them are actually the same voice line delivered the same way. It's just flavor for your own head canon sometimes. Other times yes, you will have three distinct responses
Me1: It's a great start. It has its odd kinks in game design, but it is still solid. Me2: made so many improvements but I think the story is oddly disconnected without the reapers and was resolved in one game Me3: ending aside, took things from both, and improved them further.
I have to say, you have really improved on these AI videos, before i was a bit bored because they all agreed and were just talking thriugh what happens on a mission, now they actually disagree and argue which is much more entertaining. Good job!
Mass Effect 1 was a rough-around-the-edges gem that blended some classic KotOR beats with a competent (but unpolished) shooter. But for ME2, rather than double-down on the RPG aspects (despite console players proving they were into cRPGs by buying Dragon Age and ME1), Bioware made ME2 a Gears clone with a dating sim tacked on. It was so streamlined you could barely still call it an RPG, but Bioware’s knack for telling a story and writing characters that people cared about carried it through. Then Mass Effect 3 was an abomination that was (barely) carried by the strength of the characters. Bioware nailed the characters so well that the audience became upset by the ending, overlooking that the series plot had completely collapsed in on itself, and what had previously been an intriguing space opera was reduced to, “Oh, wow - we just found these totally legit blueprints for a giant can of reaper-b-gone that haven’t been foreshadowed or alluded to in any game, book or comic before this moment… despite it literally being right in front of us this whole time. Let’s stop working on everything else and put all our effort and resources into this one deeply implausible bucket.” I kept waiting for those plans to be a reaper trap, or a prothean trap, or something interesting… but no, it really was just a magic anti-reaper device that we’d never had suggested or foreshadowed in any place, ever. It felt like such a cop out - they’d clearly written themselves into a corner. Then ME:A rolled around - despite actually managing to blend deeper character customization and it’s combat mechanics more effectively than any of the previous games, it got panned when people compared that one game to the entire preceding trilogy and found it lacking. Lazy memes around the animations focused on a lack of external polish, something that was never a ME strong suit (no one minded that in ME1 Captain Anderson’s head looked less like a wise military man and more like an aged potato). It had a plot that was more coherent and interesting that 3. It has new characters that were interesting without the benefit of using previous characterization as a crutch. It set up a series arc that wouldn’t require a magical deus ex crucible to resolve. It was rough around the edges, just like ME1 - a sterling effort from a new team… torn apart by sulking fans because it didn’t include their blue waifu and panned by other gamers for bugs that were no worse than what you’d find in Skyrim or Fallout. But rather than grow MEA out, like they did with ME1 - they killed it…. If they'd given it time to grow it could have easily kicked off a trilogy as impressive as the first. After Anthem I don't think Bioware are even capable of making a good series again.
I'm on the same page with you about Andromeda. It has a lot of potential. I think it's overall a good game. All the games have problems, just different ones, as this video showed it perfectly. I hoped to get an MEA2 to see my Ryder's growth but unfortunately it seems less likely to happen. I might be biased though because I played MEA first then MELE. ME2 is my least favourite so far. It felt like an overextended DLC to ME1. There are only two things it does better than the other ME games: the character development of the NPCs and the structure of the suicide mission. My list after my first playthrough: 1. ME3 2. ME1 3. MEA 4. ME2 I'm currently in my second playthrough, post-Noveria in ME1 (completed all the sidequests that popped up before), and oh boy I'm bored. My opinion might change after I wrap up all 4 games again.
I adore 1, two is the best, and 3 would have been the best had they not rushed it out the door and didn't flop the ending. The lack of companions in 3 really hurt my soul and the ending crushed it entirely.
ME2 for the story and ME3 for the combat. Cross-class combos in 3 opened the door to a wide variety of powerful options across your squad. ME3 doesn't have as many options for character building, but choosing the right options to min/max your ability to prime and detonate combos is important, especially on insanity. In that aspect, character-building choices matter more, even if fewer options exist.
people praise the storytelling of 1 more than 3 when you can clearly see the love, emotional depth and actor talent shine through the most in 3 especially with the visual spectacle and setpieces that blow anything from 1out of the water. imo.
All 3 games do something better than the others. The first game is my favorite because of it being the most rpgish of the series, plus i enjoyed chasing down saren. 2 had the best showcase of characters and some of the most iconic missions in the trilogy. 3 had my favorite combat in the series and some of the best set pieces in the series. That multiplayer though...i still play it from time to time.
For me, the order is: 1. Mass Effect 2 Pros: Great Characters including what is in my opinion the best cast of Squadmates out of the trilogy. The GOAT final suicide mission. Great writing overall both for the story and characters. Interesting locations/Planets visited. Loyalty Missions. Some great DLC. Gameplay that in my opinion is in most ways as good as Mass Effect 3. The crazy intro really hooks you into the game. It took what the first game had established and introduced so many more iconic features, elements, characters, and locations. Introduced the Paragon/Renegade interrupts. Cons: Arrival DLC while cool in a lot of ways has some serious issues. Firewalker DLC is bad. It cuts down on the feeling of exploration that Mass Effect 1 had. The change to thermal clips was a mistake in my opinion. Watered down or removed much of the RPG gameplay elements of the first game. (Things like different classes of armor, the weapon upgrades, etc..) 2. Mass Effect 1 Pros: Great feeling of exploration that neither subsequent game was able to replicate. Has a really strong second half of missions with Virmire, Ilos, and the final part on the Citadel. Being the first game it established the Mass Effect Universe and many of the iconic characters, locations, and elements of it. Cons: Very repetitive locations with the same interiors being copied and pasted over and over. The Mako while I don't absolutely hate it like a lot of people do gets very old by the end of a playthrough, The combat is very clunky and it was even for the time the game came out. The character writing wasn't at the level Mass Effect 2 would achieve. Unremarkable DLC. 3. Mass Effect 3 Pros: A really great intro with the attack on Earth. The Citadel DLC is excellent. The multiplayer was fun although the monetization of it was annoying. Having a Prothean as a squadmate is really cool, but it shouldn't have been a separate DLC and Javik was underused IMO. Took the really solid foundation of Mass Effect 2's gameplay and refined it. Some really cool missions and moments. Returning squadmates and characters are generally well-written. Cons: The overall story writing really fell apart. The ending is a mess in so many ways that is full of plot holes and other issues even with the extended cut. The immediate introduction of the crucible as a Deus ex machina. Mostly unremarkable new characters. Kai Leng Much of the excellent cast of squadmates and other characters from Mass Effect 2 were sidelined. The Reapers which were mysterious and supposedly beyond our understanding are explained and the explanation doesn't make sense. Cerberus and the Illusive Man were transformed from being shadowy, interesting, and morally questionable into being generic evil bad guys. Many decisions/choices from previous games weren't given the respect they deserved. The catalyst/Star Child. Harbinger from Mass Effect 2 was sidelined. The layout and design of the Normandy is worse than Mass Effect 2
I miss the conditional unlimited "Heat Sink" anmo if the first one. I thought it was a rather unique or st keast seldom done thing making the ME universe stand out.
ME is peak sci-fi RPG - story is epic, world is logical, combat good enough, space magic is avesome and exploration serve they purpose(also peoples who complain about same bunkers and empty planets must remember that ME release in 2007 on PS3) . And after ME everything go into marvel style dumpster.
Only mass effect 1 gave me satisfaction wit character build and levelling up. And I liked the uncharted worlds.. I found it so cool to suddenly find a random outpost on a planet.. getting out of the mako… entering the structure.. I found it wondrous and a technological marvel of game building that I found have such an immersive experience.
I really loved the tight focus on characters in ME2, but I think my vote goes to ME3 because of the pay off as the conclusion to the whole series and the Citadel DLC.
Mass Effect 2 is the peak of the franchise. Its success was what made the franchise somewhat mainstream. It has the best characters of any Bioware game, not just Mass Effect.
I used to think ME2 is best, but now after several playthroughs I have to say, for me it's ME1. The atmosphere is unmatched, the sense of wonder and exploration, plus the huge OMFG moments as you discover the truth and the real fate of the Protheans. It's just amazing. ME2 and ME3 both have great things going for them, but they never lived up to the promise of the original.
There is no other gaming franchise which draws in a story from Three games, and includes choices which can have some impact on your gaming experience from all three games.
It really is a shame the LE didn't go hard on the Remaster, imagine the whole trilogy with ME3's combat, ME2's character writing and ME1's world building and story. Brings a tear to my eyes just thinning about it
ME 1 is an almost painful reminder of when Bioware still cared about RPGs, no location in the later games ever matched the atmosphere of Noveria. It’s a shame that the development time wasted on the side content and DLC didn’t just go towards making a more fleshed out campaign. And Donald’s right, ME3 combat is the only one that strikes the tactical 3rd person/RPG balance correctly, and I find myself replaying ME3 the most because combat is the bulk of any actual playthrough.
Mass Effect 2 handled weapons the best while the third game gave them extremely generic upgrades.
And the first game handled armor and Shields and fitness the best.
Mass Effect 1 alone understood that when you increase your fitness level, you would realistically increase your melee attack and your health level at the same time. It's complete BS that the third game forces you to choose between health and melee.
Mass Effect 3 also pretends that your fitness level will affect your Shields when in reality your armor would decide that.
ME1, Bioshock 1, and Assassins Creed 1 are all studies in atmosphere. Ironically they all dropped in 2007
Yeah because BioWare using the same damn Outpost for almost every side mission is a really good sign that they cared. Not to mention the horrible Planet exploration, subpar map design, mediocre DLC. Extremely dated gameplay... don't get me wrong, I still love the first game. But I don't know how anyone could actually prefer it over the others.
@@NostalgicGamerRickOShayand Mass Effect 1 gave you a lot more options for upgrades outside of fitness. So naturally when it came around to Mass Effect 3 where you only had a handful, they would let you choose one or the other in order to incentivize the player to create a more unique build instead of just maxing everything out in ME1.
@@khithompson3385 Story, NOT gameplay, is what sold Mass Effect. I was honestly tired of combat-centered games like Call of Duty, and fake-RPGs like the Fable franchise, when I first found Mass Effect. I immediately forgave the gameplay because the STORY kept me hooked.
My perfect Mass Effect game would have the storytelling of 1, the character writing of 2, and the combat of 3.
my most imperfect mass effect game would have the storytelling of 2, the character writing of 3 and the combat of 1 😭
That was honestly my hope for Andromeda... take all the previous lessons learned from the trilogy, and apply the best aspects of them into Andromeda...
Man, I was a naive kid back then...
1 had so much story to tell but a lot of it was through text. I always imagine a ME1 where all the story content was fully fleshed out, and with a less inane inventory system
@@Colonel_Bat_Guano Like the prothean artifact on eletania. The text was pretty cool but it would be better if you could actually see the protheans studying primitive humans.
@@sharklibur2980 Yeah, that's easily one of the coolest lore moments
Citadel DLC is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. The feels, reverence for characters, and writing that Citadel has are more than enough to give 3 the nod for me.
Honestly yes, but Soldier Shep versus clone Shep in Legendary difficulty was AWFUL. I absolutely despised that fight. The rest of the DLC is great though.
Do telltale walking dead season 2
Hard agree
Citadel DLC felt very bait-and-switch. It was sold to me under the claim that I would get to experience a bonus mission with my beloved ME2 characters. The Arena DOESN'T count. And the whole CAT-6 fiasco was a predictable waste of time.
Same here. I found myself smiling and reminiscing all the way while Shepard and the guys blast their way through a self-consciously goofy adventure.
really damn well written, like seriously. its quite amazing that i have a favourite game in the trilogy yet i agreed with every point everyone made for and against it, no empty arguments here.
Shit actually had me appreciating me3 more lmao
Agreed. Each of the 3 games has their pros and cons
Hillary being an Andromeda defender had me ROLLING
It feels weird hearing Obama talk about my modding group porting pinnacle station. Weird in a good way!
ME Modders 👍
I cannot tell you how much I absolutely LOVE these Mass Effect videos. Always look forward to new ones and rewatch often. I may have missed it if it was mentioned in before, but what classes do the boys all main? In the future I would love to see the classes, abilities, and different weapons in each game ranked/tierlisted.
Barry mains sentinel
Donny mains vanguard
Joe tries anything in hopes of beaten grissom academy.
The more ME content you upload from the boys, the better.
You make these so realistic and entertaining to watch, thanks for these!
And from my view, no need to comment which ME is best. It's like trying to figure which LotR movie is best.
Yeah and any mass effect fan worthy of actually being called a mass effect fan plays all three everytime they they start up the series again anyway.
ME1 is probably one of the most iconic games that ever existed. I mean the locations have such a great atmosphere, noveria, feros, virmire, ilos they are awesome. The villans are emblamatic. Matriarch benezia The Goat Saren even Balak the terrorist. I mean it's great that bioware updated the combat. But even the original still has that vintage vibe that makes old games great. Plus the story is 10/10.
I'm going to be honest. My favorite game by far is ME1. Sure it's combat is wonky and it's exploration is something that is subpar. But it has heart. The citadel in ME1 is the best layout it had at any point. Sure there are many side-quests with forgettable characters, but there's also quite a handful that have butterfly effects into ME2 and 3.
Dialogue is probably the best overall in ME2, but I prefer the tried and true method in ME1 even though it heavily expects you to play multiple playthroughs or abuse a bug on Noveria to get max paragon and/or renegade.
I will always remember the first time I played through ME1, that sense of adventure and awe was unfortunately not continued in 2 and 3, even though they are fantastic games in their right, they just don't feel like ME1 feels.
I personally love the options for weapon mods and ammo types not being a skill requirement. Explosive rounds on shotguns is always funny, and being able to shoot forever with snowblind rounds with pistols is something that just CAN'T happen in ME2 or ME3.
The scale in ME1 is also fantastic, there's TONS of content in the game, but most of it is optional and the quest tracker actually works (unlike in 3).
There will never be an ending in Sci-Fi history that hits as hard as ME1 and ME2. They have extremely strong endings, and I honestly can't choose between them on which I like more.
Overall, my preference in games is 1>3>2. Note that just because 2 is ranked last, that does NOT mean I dislike the game, or even think it's a bad game, but because of the recruitment system in 2, it limits your freedom to explore the universe too much early and I think ME3 has a more reasonable explanation for limiting where you can go.
I didn't ever think that I would agree so much on someone comment. Love you and me1🙂🙃
I must tell you this:
I played MASS EFFECT 2 first in the series, back when it came out. And it was beautiful. It was interesting how the player and Shepard "discovers" this world. There were a lot of moments like "I'm gonna do the Archangel mission first, because it sounds cool" and then I found out, that this archangel-boy is someone related from the first game, it felt like there was connection between the old squad from ME1.
When I arrived in Citadel, I thought to myself - Who is this Saren everyone talks about? And what in the hell is a Reaper? How did I become a Spectre?
It really pulled me in and when I played ME1 I connected all missing dots together. It was much more fun and I was thrilled to finish it.
To be honest - ME3 was more likely to be a fan service.
I liked all three of them. What a shame there aren't any other ME games. Best trilogy ever.
ME2 is peak. Underrated world building that massively fleshed out the galaxy and added a ton of new species, much better characterisation and squad member writing, it had fun gameplay that provided the basis for the next game to innovate from, and the Suicide Mission is one of the best final levels in gaming history.
the vorcha, those giant dumb bugs and what else? me2 is overrated as fuck and is only favourited by the same people that think brown/tan shooters of the early 2010s were peak gaming
Story-wise 1 is better, but character-wise 2 is in a league of its own.
RPG elements in ME2 are so dumbed down that it is outright insulting to the inteligence of the players. For f*** sake most of the character don't even wear armor and would rather go into battle wearing sexy outfits.
@@RamboSnoop You get Vorcha, Collectors and Drell for brand new species, but also a ton of new lore and worldbuilding for Asari, Batarians, Hanar, Quarians and ESPECIALLY Geth. It did a lot to flesh out what was already there.
As a lore geek, Mass Effect 2 frustrates the shit out of me. They retconned so many fantastic bits of lore from the first game, and the trend only continued and got worse in 3. Mass Effect 2 took the series from a grounded, quasi-hard sci-fi universe comparable to The Expanse and turned it into just another generic Star Wars-esque setting with slightly less advanced technology. ME3 can only be held accountable for doubling down. It didn't start the problem.
im honestly surprised you didnt talk about the multiplayer in 3
I thought it was a fun feature and it was dissapointing that it was not in the legendary edition. its honestly really fun and amps up ME3 as a game
Imagine they decided to make a free to play version of it with upgraded graphics and new skins and guns and classes
It was honestly my favorite part of a play through.
Taking a break from the main story to crush some skulls as a krogan was such a blast
Yeah its one of the best parts of ME3.
Yeah a massive missed opportunity not including it in the remaster.
The multiplayer was just a shoehorned in addon for 3 in an attempt for bioware to cash in on some of that sweet multiplayer revenue and loot box addiction.
They were judging the games based on the single player story experience.
When people talk about which modern warfare game they like best, they are talking about the campaign in the trilogy, not the multiplayer lobbies.
Interesting! My favourite overall has always been 2, but I understand those who find the story too inconsequential by being "side quests and daddy issues".
ME1 had the most intriguing story, and ME3 had the greatest standalone moments and best gameplay. Excited to see what you came up with, PrimeRadiancy!
I really love the atmosphere and tension of Leviathan. The music that plays when you’re talking to the indoctrinated mine workers gives me chills.
“The only time this mfer can string together a coherent sentence is when he’s talking about video games”
I love how the comments are JUST discussing the games. Like listening to politicians discuss this is super normal.
Just shows how good this dude is at writing dialog
Mass effect 2’s story was all a giant side quest. All just building up to the final mission set piece. The final mission set piece was good… impressive.. but it’s not an entire game.
Before LE came out I would’ve said 3. Great combat, excellent missions and emotional endings to stories that came full circle from even the 1st game in Wrex’s and the Geth’s case. I’m with Donald that the only thing against it is the ending. But now with LE and improved graphics and gameplay I think 1 can make a good argument as the best or damn close to 3. World and lore building, excellent atmosphere on missions and while you’re still Shepard you aren’t god yet, proving the Normandy squad to the galaxy and seeing just how fragile the galaxy is before the Reapers is very fun and interesting. Not to mention that it’s a true RPG. I’m not saying that 2 is bad but it is the one I look forward to the least when replaying the trilogy.
I concur, the LE made the gameplay far more tolerable to the point where I think overall it is the best game. The story is easily the best. It's pure, the atmosphere is a study in non-verbal story telling. It truly felt like an adventure movie that you played
@@Captain_Insano_nomercy 100% correct opinion here.
@Abfallkannibale I don't understand the praise 3 gets and I've soured a bit on 2 over the years and these videos actually made a pretty good case for why 2 is overhyped
@@Captain_Insano_nomercy Yeah, they basicly tried to broaden the market for 2, which is why they needed to put a speed-bump into the narrative, so new players would neither be thrown right into the bigger plot nor would have to play me1 first for context. The changes they made were harsh over-corrections of things that were (admittedly) a bit clunky in 1, but still over-corrected.
Also, this might just be me though, 2s world feels very small compared to the other two games, almost as if it was just a big spin-off-addon or something. Maybe because the visual scale of the politics and stuff got completely pushed to the side in order to focus on small, highly loaded ares and plots.
The more I think about it, the weirder 2 gets. Strange.
@Abfallkannibale all good points. I also dislike how they shoe-horned in an ammo system to try to appeal to shooter fans, and hey at least they tried an in-universe explanation, but it still sucked. I mean, I was in the military and let me tell you that having guns without ammo fixes SO many problems that the whole "oh but now we get more shots per minute" argument falls flat. There are so many economical and logistical advantages to not needing ammo alone that it's not even about reloading time
Would have still been wild for ME3 to have dual stories depending on your decision on the suicide mission. Destroy the collector base and ME3 stays similar to what we know, but keeping the station giving a choice in ME3 to stay with Cerberus. Basically have a ruthless renegade story version where Cerberus doesn’t turn against the rest of humanity, but you ruthlessly step into the power vacuum left after the invasion of earth and subvert the council races. Could have had so many different stories based on decisions, but man would that have been hard to create
Nah despite how ME2 has you remembering Cerberus they are so unapologetically evil from the first time you see them in 1 that the only human support you would get is like terra firma.
Shepherd had a hard enough time convincing the council to work with the alliance, convincing anyone to cooperate with Cerberus is out of the question. Cerberus is a terrorist organization first and foremost, peace between the geth and quarians is easier to achieve than Cerberus and the rest of the galaxy. You would also lose most of your squadmates cuz their love for you does not extend nearly as far as you think it does, the second you start vibing with the illusive man they will say their goodbyes. Side mission central has gaslit people about Cerberus
Facts!! In ME1 side missions, cereberus makes it ABUNDENTLY clear they are enemies to humanity. I will never forget it. I got me2 in 2011 1 year before ME3 came out and I repeated me1 multiple times doing the side quests, so when I played me2 for the first time and cerberus was mentioned that motivated me to go full blown paragon and not trust cereberus. @@RaphDeGrate
I wrote my own version of the story that had 4 games instead of 3 and I had people tell me it was quite good, and my version went something more like that. Shepard would have stuck with cerberus much longer and there would have been a massive choice at the beginning of the third game on whether or not you are rolling with cerberus. The entire third game would be more about alliance versus cerberus as the reaper invasion counted down and their proxies waged war for them
I'm stoked to see we've returned to Mass Effect.
If you need any ideas, how about best weapons by weapon class (assault rifle, shotgun, etc) or generally overall
The only way I judge a game is how it makes me feel. Mass effect made me feel a lot. Whole trilogy is goated. Full stop.
It’s Mass Effect 2 in terms of overall quality. Gameplay was solid, world building was solid, sides missions were solid, DLC was solid. Sure, you can nitpick some parts, but as a whole ME2 doesn’t miss often enough compared to its peers.
ME1 captures that space/sci-fi feeling and really showcased that aspect of the universe well. The story was god tier here. No question. But it’s gameplay really holds it back for me.
ME3 is such a throttle ride that does nearly everything right just to fumble at the ending. RPG elements should’ve been used more. The dlc for this game are bangers especially The Citadel for obvious reasons. Gameplay is perfected here and multiplayer is GOATED.
ME2 is the only game without a significant weakness. ME1 is significantly weighed down by its gameplay, ME3 by its ending. ME2 doesn't really have anything anywhere near as substiantially bad, it may have some rough patches but no huge glaring weaknesses
Not sure of the creative thought process that gave birth to this debating heads of state but it's easily the most original, interesting and entertaining channels around. And the fact that they talk about Mass effect. My all time favorite game is just icing on the cake.
Maybe it’s just because 2 was the first one I played, and I played it so many times, it just has a special place in my heart and it gives me a different feeling whenever I replay the trilogy
ME2 is definitely the best out of all ME's in terms of characters and dialogue, which is probably why you love it so much. ME1 and ME3 definitely fall short character wise when compared to ME2 outside of the Citadel DLC
I enjoyed ME3 the most, yet I see it as the worst, having so many memberal moments and characters, with great combat, but when it drops the ball it drops it hard, leaving there to be more wanting, it’s a strange experience but one I enjoy more than the others
Yeah ME3 highs are soooo great, but the lows are really damn low. The other two games always maintained consistently good logical writing, where as 3 retcons shit and pulls plot points out it's ass quite often. Even with it's big writing flaws it's still my favorite though.
Mass effect 2 has got to be the best with character development,gameplay and the shadow broker dlc is a lot of fun to play loyalty missions are great also and the suicide mission to this day is the best mission in any of the mass effect game’s
your comment reminded me of the time when I used to reload my save to restart the Suicide Mission every day. The music, the combat, the characters, the scene. All of it came together for maybe one of the most epic missions of all gaming.
Slam is such an amazing skill to use on Shadow Broker.... "Allright just lift him up and.. oh... he's gone.."
Mass Effect 1 is my favorite. It’s solely due to sentimentality. Seeing the Presidium for the first time? Magical.
My favourite game to play is ME2. The best moments are in ME3 and the foundational pillar that gave us everything we love was ME1. All 3 of them together gave us the Citadel DLC which will forever be the best Mass Effect game.
My vote is to think of the trilogy as 1 single game. Only way to make it all make sense.
So what I’m getting is
Mass effect 1: great world building and exploration
Mass effect 2: great story and character development
Mass effect 3: Best Gameplay
Hopefully the next game will have all three
I really appreciate their profile thumbnails highlighted based on their favorite endings. Barack has blue, Donald has red, and Joe has green.
4 months late but I love your videos.
Some of my favorite content on RUclips.
I did miss the exploration in the world of mass effect one in the other games
Same.😢
I will say that out of all 3 games I've always had a stronger desire to play ME1 the most because of the variety of ways you can roleplay and I do love the clunky, but charming Makko and Uncharted Worlds. ME2 I wana re-play because I love it's characters, but I remember how tight the game is in terms of freedom and pales in comparison to ME1 and even 3 in some regards, and if you know what you're doing, there really isn't that much left to come back to, beyond re-experiencing the same story with slight variations in dialogue with which characters you bring to each location.
A friendly reminder that Andromeda with a few mods becomes a really fun game. The 3 big ones are removing the dash delay and the hip fire penalty for the sniper rifle and adding the multiplayer powers to single player. Oh and Road Rage turns the vehicle into something actually fun to drive.
Couldn't agree more. Even without mods it's still a damn good game. Mostly.
Crummy story, crummy characters, lame voice-acting.
@@NostalgicGamerRickOShay And the Asari look like ogre Fiona if she was blue
@@R.Lennartz I swear, a lot of the Humans in that game look more like aliens than the other species do.
First up, these videos are so good man. Like the quality is top notch and you can really see the effort put into them.
And secondly, in my opinion I love the first one the most. Imo it’s the least controversial of the three and the role playing elements are PEAK in this game. When debating the 3 games I feel like no one ranks the first one as the worst. There’s always an argument as to whether that’s the second or the third game.
And thirdly, I love all these games and just because I like the first one more that the others that doesn’t stop me from playing them over and over again ❤️
Mass Effect 2 was always my favorite for such a long time, but in my older age I’ve grown more patient. Mass effect 1’s gameplay doesn’t bother me as much and it’s far superior roleplaying elements in the series; coupled with the smarter written overall plot help move it to my number 1 spot in the series.
Before MELE my order was 3, 1, 2 (obviously not in any way saying 2 is bad) purely because 3 has best gameplay and also has Citadel DLC which I think is the most enjoyable part of the trilogy. Since MELE gave ME1 a huge glow up my order is 1, 3, 2. ME3 still beats 2 for the better gameplay and wrapping up squadmate story arcs but 1 now has enjoyable combat and also some of the most memorable moments in the trilogy
ME1 is my favourite game, because it means, that when I finish it I can jump right into ME2, and then ME3
08:00 - Obama lost the argument there. The "exploration" of having to trawl half the galaxy for minerals, Turian insignia, Salarian dog tags, Asari writings and Protean data was SO FREAKING ANNOYING.
Modded ME3 is the best one. There's only one ending and lots of other plots over the trilogy get tied up fairly well. Best combat by far. Any reduction in customizable skill points vs me1 is made up for in spades by how fun it is to combo different powers together along with ammo types so even soldiers get some fun combos. All the multiplayer guns modded into SP is so fun to mess around with. In terms of enjoyment when I replay the series it's 3, 2, 1...Let's jam!
What is the modded ending?
@@JJ-52 Essentially destroy but with AI surviving IIRC
@@vasheroo that sounds like the best possible solution
Great vid as always.
How about Mass Effect 2/3 weapons tier list next?
It's coming, very long video and I already had this and one other short thing scripted.
I think these are all good arguments tbh, but no games are without their flaws. Mass Effect 3 is my personal favorite of the trilogy for many, many reasons. It feels the most personal, emotional, and has my favorite moments out of the trilogy. Tali is also my favorite character and her romance in the third game has my favorite moments ever.
I first played the trilogy back to back 5 years ago when I was still in middle school and I still get emotional nostalgia thinking about it now. I can always go back and replay the trilogy back to back and re-do every single option I did before and not get sick of it. I can’t say that about many games tbh. Also the Citadel DLC is like the best thing ever.
I wonder if the boys might want to debate classes?
This just reminded that I love them all. Ive tried to play just 2 or 3 and just do the genesis dlc. But i couldn't, can't play one of them without playing them all.
I love me1 the most.
its the best world building, its got the coolest story and it understood how to hook you on this universe.
Gotta be 2, might not have had the scope or storytelling of 1, nor the combat of 3, but it had the best characters and certainly thr best finale in the series
It's interesting isn't it that each game has it's strengths. No two games were exactly the same, so it's hard to objectively say which is best
Even looking at the comments it's about 40% for 3, 40% for 2, and 20% for 1
I feel like ME1 was the best story/plot wise, ME2 was the best character wise, and ME3 i guess was good at both? Its crazy to think ME is such a good game series that theres almost no arguments (from what ive seen at least) of people on what the best game is.
If only ME2 could have established that instead of The Collector Base, the human reaper was being built on Mars by indoctrinated humans with the help of collectors we could have Shep and the gang stumble upon the Catalyst before killing the human reaper and causing major damage to the Mars sites, then we would both have setup for the Catalyst in ME3 and wouldn't need a DLC as to why Shepard is called to Earth.
Me2 is easily the best it doesnt move the reaper story to much but it introduces some of the seires best characters. While also making tali and garrus significantly better. Its also the game that explores the cultures of each race making the universe more relized. Me1 might have a better plot but me2 has a better story.
Objectively gameplay wise is Andromeda, Narratively wise is Mass effect 1, RPG wise is Mass Effect 1, the best overall is Mass Effect 2. Worst ending is Mass Effect 3.
"I'm a real boy, Pinocchio BS" damn joe was a W in that one, in reality they all have problems, ME2 with a lack of weapons, it's a sacrifice and painful to stay alone in cover and depend on your companions, the confusing maps and inventory in ME1 and the rush story of ME3 and the transformation of cerberus into dumb stormtroopers , well everyone has their special flavor
ME2 being a standalone plot in hindsight is lame but it did an incredible job of bringing more people into the franchise without having to play the first one to follow what happened. You didn’t need to know anything from the first one to follow what happened thanks to the excellent groomed default world state, while the ME1 fans got a TON of transferable world states and NPC appearances for importing their save. It is actually crazy how they revoiced and reimplemented entire replacement characters based on your decisions. All the while providing a seamless and fun introduction to the series for anyone who can’t contend with ME1’s more dated mechanics and slower pacing. Next time tag me in for you Biden
ME1 is my personal favorite but i love Andromeda gameplay. Hopefully the presidents can do the same format for Andromeda without slamming the game thr whole time. Ranking the best missions, companions, NPCs, etc. And we still need a ranking for the side quests for the trilogy!
Hear, hear! Finally some love for Andromeda!
Yeah it has flaws but every game does.
Maybe rank andromeda missions next ? Or have them debate the story of the next game
I'm all about some Andromeda content.
I love the MS & MS2 for different reasons and as a guy who still plays the trilogy today, this convo is fire.
ME1 had the best atmosphere and worldbuilding.
ME2 had the best character development and final mission
ME3 had the best combat and did a great job of closing alot of character arcs 2 built on. The DLCs were also really good. Shepherd's character arc in 3 was the best as well.
Andromeda was pretty
Empty.
Andromeda had great combat tho, the only reason I played this game lol
@@hetmanotoja Andromeda did have great combat, just not a lot of enemy variety. Higher difficulties were also not particularly fun.
@@hetmanotoja Tbh I kinda hated the Andromeda combat. The guns felt really unimpactful, the jumping was cool but they used it way too much, and the terrain was never really all that interesting; it was mostly just a set of arbitrary barriers and crouch points that led up to a big room. Non-aerial movement also felt very clunky. Not my favorite.
@@wcs9582 Agreed on overuse of jumping and environment design, but with some QoL mods Andromeda combat is a really step forward from the Trilogy. If you just forget it was suppose to be ME game it would be decent. Kinda wish for no mans sky-like game with this kind of combat.
Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 to a degree help the player feel like they and Commander Shepard are the same person.
Mass Effect 3 Commander Shepard feels like a completely disconnected and hijacked character that is frankly cringe in many instances.
In all honesty, any argument for any of the games is valid. ME is one of the best game series ever. It’s a distinction of fractions of a point that even then are within the margins of error. 1 had the best rpg 2) was a work of art 3) had the best DLC and action
I'm with Obama on this topic
ME1 did have way more story, but so much it was often relegated to text. And what a lot of people don't realize is that while ME1 does give you seemingly more conversation options, a lot of them are actually the same voice line delivered the same way. It's just flavor for your own head canon sometimes. Other times yes, you will have three distinct responses
Me1: It's a great start. It has its odd kinks in game design, but it is still solid.
Me2: made so many improvements but I think the story is oddly disconnected without the reapers and was resolved in one game
Me3: ending aside, took things from both, and improved them further.
It makes sense that Obama prefers ME1, it released during his presidential term after all
I have to say, you have really improved on these AI videos, before i was a bit bored because they all agreed and were just talking thriugh what happens on a mission, now they actually disagree and argue which is much more entertaining. Good job!
The characters are the most interesting thing in this serie for my part. Thus ME2 is the best imo, no matter if it's a filler.
Mass Effect 1 was a rough-around-the-edges gem that blended some classic KotOR beats with a competent (but unpolished) shooter. But for ME2, rather than double-down on the RPG aspects (despite console players proving they were into cRPGs by buying Dragon Age and ME1), Bioware made ME2 a Gears clone with a dating sim tacked on. It was so streamlined you could barely still call it an RPG, but Bioware’s knack for telling a story and writing characters that people cared about carried it through.
Then Mass Effect 3 was an abomination that was (barely) carried by the strength of the characters. Bioware nailed the characters so well that the audience became upset by the ending, overlooking that the series plot had completely collapsed in on itself, and what had previously been an intriguing space opera was reduced to, “Oh, wow - we just found these totally legit blueprints for a giant can of reaper-b-gone that haven’t been foreshadowed or alluded to in any game, book or comic before this moment… despite it literally being right in front of us this whole time. Let’s stop working on everything else and put all our effort and resources into this one deeply implausible bucket.”
I kept waiting for those plans to be a reaper trap, or a prothean trap, or something interesting… but no, it really was just a magic anti-reaper device that we’d never had suggested or foreshadowed in any place, ever. It felt like such a cop out - they’d clearly written themselves into a corner.
Then ME:A rolled around - despite actually managing to blend deeper character customization and it’s combat mechanics more effectively than any of the previous games, it got panned when people compared that one game to the entire preceding trilogy and found it lacking. Lazy memes around the animations focused on a lack of external polish, something that was never a ME strong suit (no one minded that in ME1 Captain Anderson’s head looked less like a wise military man and more like an aged potato). It had a plot that was more coherent and interesting that 3. It has new characters that were interesting without the benefit of using previous characterization as a crutch. It set up a series arc that wouldn’t require a magical deus ex crucible to resolve.
It was rough around the edges, just like ME1 - a sterling effort from a new team… torn apart by sulking fans because it didn’t include their blue waifu and panned by other gamers for bugs that were no worse than what you’d find in Skyrim or Fallout. But rather than grow MEA out, like they did with ME1 - they killed it….
If they'd given it time to grow it could have easily kicked off a trilogy as impressive as the first. After Anthem I don't think Bioware are even capable of making a good series again.
I'm on the same page with you about Andromeda. It has a lot of potential. I think it's overall a good game. All the games have problems, just different ones, as this video showed it perfectly. I hoped to get an MEA2 to see my Ryder's growth but unfortunately it seems less likely to happen. I might be biased though because I played MEA first then MELE.
ME2 is my least favourite so far. It felt like an overextended DLC to ME1. There are only two things it does better than the other ME games: the character development of the NPCs and the structure of the suicide mission.
My list after my first playthrough:
1. ME3
2. ME1
3. MEA
4. ME2
I'm currently in my second playthrough, post-Noveria in ME1 (completed all the sidequests that popped up before), and oh boy I'm bored. My opinion might change after I wrap up all 4 games again.
I adore 1, two is the best, and 3 would have been the best had they not rushed it out the door and didn't flop the ending. The lack of companions in 3 really hurt my soul and the ending crushed it entirely.
ME2 for the story and ME3 for the combat. Cross-class combos in 3 opened the door to a wide variety of powerful options across your squad. ME3 doesn't have as many options for character building, but choosing the right options to min/max your ability to prime and detonate combos is important, especially on insanity. In that aspect, character-building choices matter more, even if fewer options exist.
ME1 because we get to witness our Lord and Saviour Richard Leroy Jenkins
After all this i would love seeing the boys discuss the dragon age games i think inquisition isnt as bad as some people say it is
Mass Effect 2 for me. Not just my favourite ME game, but my second favourite game of all time just behind Red Dead 2
First time I've ever agreed with Donald J Trump 🤣
I think the series works in different ways with each game. ME 1 is best story telling ME 2 is best character moments ME 3 is best gameplay.
people praise the storytelling of 1 more than 3 when you can clearly see the love, emotional depth and actor talent shine through the most in 3 especially with the visual spectacle and setpieces that blow anything from 1out of the water. imo.
All 3 games do something better than the others. The first game is my favorite because of it being the most rpgish of the series, plus i enjoyed chasing down saren. 2 had the best showcase of characters and some of the most iconic missions in the trilogy. 3 had my favorite combat in the series and some of the best set pieces in the series. That multiplayer though...i still play it from time to time.
Love your Mass Effect videos, but I'm looking forward to more Telltale's Walking Dead as well!
For me, the order is:
1. Mass Effect 2
Pros: Great Characters including what is in my opinion the best cast of Squadmates out of the trilogy.
The GOAT final suicide mission.
Great writing overall both for the story and characters.
Interesting locations/Planets visited.
Loyalty Missions.
Some great DLC.
Gameplay that in my opinion is in most ways as good as Mass Effect 3.
The crazy intro really hooks you into the game.
It took what the first game had established and introduced so many more iconic features, elements, characters, and locations.
Introduced the Paragon/Renegade interrupts.
Cons: Arrival DLC while cool in a lot of ways has some serious issues.
Firewalker DLC is bad.
It cuts down on the feeling of exploration that Mass Effect 1 had.
The change to thermal clips was a mistake in my opinion.
Watered down or removed much of the RPG gameplay elements of the first game. (Things like different classes of armor, the weapon upgrades, etc..)
2. Mass Effect 1
Pros: Great feeling of exploration that neither subsequent game was able to replicate.
Has a really strong second half of missions with Virmire, Ilos, and the final part on the Citadel.
Being the first game it established the Mass Effect Universe and many of the iconic characters, locations, and elements of it.
Cons: Very repetitive locations with the same interiors being copied and pasted over and over.
The Mako while I don't absolutely hate it like a lot of people do gets very old by the end of a playthrough,
The combat is very clunky and it was even for the time the game came out.
The character writing wasn't at the level Mass Effect 2 would achieve.
Unremarkable DLC.
3. Mass Effect 3
Pros: A really great intro with the attack on Earth.
The Citadel DLC is excellent.
The multiplayer was fun although the monetization of it was annoying.
Having a Prothean as a squadmate is really cool, but it shouldn't have been a separate DLC and Javik was underused IMO.
Took the really solid foundation of Mass Effect 2's gameplay and refined it.
Some really cool missions and moments.
Returning squadmates and characters are generally well-written.
Cons: The overall story writing really fell apart.
The ending is a mess in so many ways that is full of plot holes and other issues even with the extended cut.
The immediate introduction of the crucible as a Deus ex machina.
Mostly unremarkable new characters.
Kai Leng
Much of the excellent cast of squadmates and other characters from Mass Effect 2 were sidelined.
The Reapers which were mysterious and supposedly beyond our understanding are explained and the explanation doesn't make sense.
Cerberus and the Illusive Man were transformed from being shadowy, interesting, and morally questionable into being generic evil bad guys.
Many decisions/choices from previous games weren't given the respect they deserved.
The catalyst/Star Child.
Harbinger from Mass Effect 2 was sidelined.
The layout and design of the Normandy is worse than Mass Effect 2
These bros are true fans.
Why is Andromeda not in the S++ tier?
Hillary claiming Andromeda was the best ME game was just perfect. These vids are awesome and hilarious.
I miss the conditional unlimited "Heat Sink" anmo if the first one. I thought it was a rather unique or st keast seldom done thing making the ME universe stand out.
I agree with Donald. Such a based opinion about ME 3.
I'm sorry but "From Ashes" is not a DLC, because that shit was ready and locked behind a fucking pay wall.
ME is peak sci-fi RPG - story is epic, world is logical, combat good enough, space magic is avesome and exploration serve they purpose(also peoples who complain about same bunkers and empty planets must remember that ME release in 2007 on PS3) . And after ME everything go into marvel style dumpster.
Only mass effect 1 gave me satisfaction wit character build and levelling up.
And I liked the uncharted worlds.. I found it so cool to suddenly find a random outpost on a planet.. getting out of the mako… entering the structure.. I found it wondrous and a technological marvel of game building that I found have such an immersive experience.
I really loved the tight focus on characters in ME2, but I think my vote goes to ME3 because of the pay off as the conclusion to the whole series and the Citadel DLC.
Mass Effect 2 is the peak of the franchise. Its success was what made the franchise somewhat mainstream. It has the best characters of any Bioware game, not just Mass Effect.
ME 2 for story, 3 for combat and movement and Citadel
For me it’s 50/50 as ME2 final mission is just incredible
I really enjoyed the Multiplayer of 3, and it's a damn shame that it never got brought back.
My Turian Jetpack class was insane.
I used to think ME2 is best, but now after several playthroughs I have to say, for me it's ME1. The atmosphere is unmatched, the sense of wonder and exploration, plus the huge OMFG moments as you discover the truth and the real fate of the Protheans. It's just amazing. ME2 and ME3 both have great things going for them, but they never lived up to the promise of the original.
Maybe make a powers tier list? Flare from ME3 is overpowered
Are we talking original or Legendary edition, as there was balancing in the Collection that did change some powers I believe.
@austinfowler2707 yeah the power Flare wasn't around until legendary edition even then it was only available in ME3 after helping Aria take back omega
What if the real best Mass Effect game was the friends we made along away??
There is no other gaming franchise which draws in a story from Three games, and includes choices which can have some impact on your gaming experience from all three games.
It really is a shame the LE didn't go hard on the Remaster, imagine the whole trilogy with ME3's combat, ME2's character writing and ME1's world building and story. Brings a tear to my eyes just thinning about it
Kids like Mass Effect 1.
Boys like Mass Effect 3.
Men like Mass Effect 2.
But legends, legends like Mass Effect: Andromeda.
Well it’s easy for me when Jack gets in ME2, ME2 is the best. It was light on RPG but the characters hard carry it man.
Lol Hillary's massive L take is I think my favorite part of this video!
It's 2. Everybody knows it. And ironically enough the best combat by far is Andromeda.
I miss the longer videos
Oh damn, this is gonna be historical.
The one thing i woulda liked
Trump should have only referred to shepard as he. That would have been funny