Mass Effect 3 SPOILER THREAD: LOTS OF SPECULATION FROM EVERYONE

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I'm going to echo other's sentiments that this game really needed a DA:O style epilogue.

Its just unsatisfying that not only do we never see the impact that the final choice had on the galaxy, but also that we never learn the fate of the surviving cast members other than this game's Normandy crew being stranded on a tropical planet.
 
Yes, a DA:O epilogue would've been much more fulfilling. It's possible we might get something like that with Mass Effect Datapad for iOS with mail sent "to Joker" after the player's end sequence.
 
No, I assume it's just someone's kid in the distant future, possibly on the planet the Normandy lands on. They way he describes how details of the story had been lost to time suggested to me it was at least a hundred or so years later.

EDIT: I reread your post and I think you just misheard, the old guy didn't refer to the kid as shepard. He was telling the kid about you.

Here's a conundrum- if Anderson and the Illusive Man were dead, and Shepard sacrificed himself to do whatever, then how did the story exist to be told in the first place? Who knew about the conversation with the Catalyst?!?
 
Here's a conundrum- if Anderson and the Illusive Man were dead, and Shepard sacrificed himself to do whatever, then how did the story exist to be told in the first place? Who knew about the conversation with the Catalyst?!?

The space hamster snuck into one of your pockets. Eventually he evolved to speak.
 
Got this from BSN via SomethingAwful



A much better ending than the ones we got.

Yes I would have preferred that myself. Not only does it subvert the whole idea of the deus ex machina, because it focuses on them beating the villains the conventional way, but it gives actual meaning to the war assets you've accumulated in a logical way, rather than it helping you save Earth or your own life "just because."
 
Got this from BSN via SomethingAwful



A much better ending than the ones we got.

I would actually like that ending. "No, fuck you, we'll choose our own path to our destruction."

(Reapers may or may not fuck our shit up)

If Reapers don't fuck our shit up: Cue Shepard at a bar drinking.

MASS EFFECT 3 LOGO

CREDIT MUSICS!

New Game + option of continuing to explore the galaxy with party members that may or may not be alive a la ME2's ending.
 
My favorite part of Mass Effect wasn't the Reaper story but the universe and characters that my Shepard took a significant part in helping to tweak and mold. The endings basically undo all of that and fundamentally alter that universe (then they don't show us anything of those universes except for that Joker crash land scene, which is pasted across all three alternatives with very slight differences).

It's like guiding our hand in painting something really detailed, heartfelt, and personal over the course of five years, then giving us 3 buckets of paint (a red bucket, a green bucket, or a blue bucket) to throw and splash over the painting.
Exactly. ME was mostly a character driven game, not theme-driven like DXHR, which I thought for DXHR was a fitting ending. People can bitch about it, but throughout DXHR, at least you are almost always exposed to different POVs on transhumanism even through sidequests; at the end you basically say "this is my opinion on the matter after playing through the 30 odd hours of the game, I have come to this conclusion on the themes".

For ME3, it was straight out of left field. Sure you have the Quarian/Geth debate but that is so far in the periphery compared to how they just explained the True Intent of the Reapers in the last 10 minutes while most of the game was basically "gather everyone, we're gonna fucking duke it out; the superweapon is our last hope". Kinda wish they just played it straight with employing a long-lost superweapon instead of delving into philosophy at the end.

Yes, a DA:O epilogue would've been much more fulfilling. It's possible we might get something like that with Mass Effect Datapad for iOS with mail sent "to Joker" after the player's end sequence.
Either a DA:O-style ending where you just chat with everyone then peace out, roll credits (or slides) or a Fallout style ending (where all the consequences play out all narrated) would've done better. What you truly care about is if Shepard (if he lived) and your LI did whatever, or what all the other crewmates did after The Final Showdown. Nope, the NeoGAF OT just spelled it out clearly, you were Space Jesus and you (likely) died to save us all (and screw everyone over at the same time). To think, we were all hoping for people finishing the game to be "oh man, after all these years, Shepard finally got to X and A and B hooked up, C joined the Ys, etc." but all we have is red/green/blue.

Well, isn't the point that the Reapers are machines? Not like EDI or the Geth either, but just brainlessly completing their task. They'd been told - programmed, whatever - to return and purge every 50,000 years - and so they do. They don't really consider the ins and outs - they sow the seeds to do the job they were programmed to do at any cost, surely?
They either shouldn't have explained what the Reapers were or made them less like literal janitorial god machines that show up on a regular schedule to clean house. Not that I would say I have a better origin story or any other fan fic idea would, but with the ending, who knows. If the Reapers were once an organic race gone full transhuman and their only method of reproduction was harvesting races (basically what you discover in ME2) then they could've just stopped it there or just tacked on "and they come from another galaxy everyone 50 000 years to do so" and no one would be too critical about it.
 
Ugh... I played through ME1 and 2 a ridiculous amount of times, and i thought it'd be the same with me3. The ending pretty much completely killed any interest in ever playing through again though, because nothing I do will seem to matter considering i know what's going to happen at the end. What a shame.
 
Sure you have the Quarian/Geth debate but that is so far in the periphery compared to how they just explained the True Intent of the Reapers in the last 10 minutes while most of the game was basically "gather everyone, we're gonna fucking duke it out; the superweapon is our last hope".

Not to mention that Mass Effect is already one of those few space opera settings where people are actually quite paranoid about AI and don't embrace it, like in Halo or Star Wars. To make this the central point of contention pulls a complicated topic out of nowhere.

I also wonder what the Reapers/race that created them feel about transhumanist stuff like bioengineering entities, cloning, creating artificial (but biological not robotic) life. They'd probably have a conniption- oh wait they indulge in it themselves but the moment you do the same thing with a robot instead of a clone they space-genocide you.
 
Here's a conundrum- if Anderson and the Illusive Man were dead, and Shepard sacrificed himself to do whatever, then how did the story exist to be told in the first place? Who knew about the conversation with the Catalyst?!?

It doesn't matter. Grandpa is telling Kid a story.

And it's a pretty interesting way to introduce ME4. It was also real cute how The Guardian was Kid.

I mean, sure, Mac Walters basically retconned ME1 (and in a way, ME2), but the post-credits scene was obviously vague enough to make you wonder if the entire trilogy was real.

Which gets totally super-meta when you realize Dragon Age is a video game franchise in the ME universe.
 
Now that I've have a little time to come off the high of finishing the game, I'm still thinking about the ending. I don't really have a problem with the endings themselves, but the fact that they're almost the same things irks me a bit. I wasn't expecting something groundbreaking given BioWare's recent history. But I was hoping it would involve the characters more since they were the backbone of the game to me.

Also, that damn kid was stupid. They dropped the largest ball possible with the story because they put so much effort into that damn kid.

Apart the from the endings (and weak intro), it's the best Mass Effect game in my book. Everything was a huge improvement over the previous two games, with only the story being debatable in my opinion. It was an excellent culmination of the relationships developed over the trilogy. It was just the overall story that got crazy.

I only had 4 deaths, but I felt each one. The people I lost were Thane, Mordin, Legion, and Anderson. I don't know why, but Anderson was the one that hurt the most. I never had much interaction with him, but watching him die sitting next to Shepard was so damn sad.
 
I mean, sure, Mac Walters basically retconned ME1 (and in a way, ME2), but the post-credits scene was obviously vague enough to make you wonder if the entire trilogy was real.

Yeah that was the first thing I thought of when I saw that scene. Its completely meaningless. I mean I know they just wanted to establish that life went on and shit and Shepard became a massive hero/legend and it was a cool setting and all that but it was just too contrived and in no way made up for the rest of the "ending."
 
I mean, are you honestly getting upset over a scene that can be interpreted?

No, I was just expressing incredulity at the idea that "was this blood and sex and politics hard sci-fi shooter space opera all just a midwinter's night story from a grandpa to a boy," is An Actual Thing.
 
Yeah that was the first thing I thought of when I saw that scene. Its completely meaningless. I mean I know they just wanted to establish that life went on and shit and Shepard became a massive hero/legend and it was a cool setting and all that but it was just too contrived and in no way made up for the rest of the "ending."

Yeah, it could have been done better, no question there. And hiring Buzz Aldrin when anyone could do was plain weird.

Still an enjoyable story. I personally loved how convoluted The Guardian's plan was, and all of the endings are of course not going to make that much difference for ME4. I think t's a mistake to allow importing into ME4, since this was such a standalone story, and it takes away from the agency if it just continues.
 
Yeah, it could have been done better, no question there. And hiring Buzz Aldrin when anyone could do was plain weird.

Still an enjoyable story. I personally loved how convoluted The Guardian's plan was, and all of the endings are of course not going to make that much difference for ME4. I think t's a mistake to allow importing into ME4, since this was such a standalone story, and it takes away from the agency if it just continues.

Wait, was that seriously buzz aldrin?
 
Yeah, it could have been done better, no question there. And hiring Buzz Aldrin when anyone could do was plain weird.

Still an enjoyable story. I personally loved how convoluted The Guardian's plan was, and all of the endings are of course not going to make that much difference for ME4. I think t's a mistake to allow importing into ME4, since this was such a standalone story, and it takes away from the agency if it just continues.

I was wondering who the hell "Stargazer" was in the credits when I saw Buzz's name. That makes sense as a role for him.

The next Mass Effect game will probably be standalone or beginning of a new trilogy. Unless this cycle of consoles continues for several more years, I don't think we'll see a new ME game until next-gen anyway.

EDIT: Unrelated, but I just realized that since the ending of the game doesn't really matter, I can start playing the multiplayer now without worrying about my War Assets getting too high with my Renegade Shepard. I guess there's some good to come out of it after all. Yay!
 
Just beat the game, and plan on playing it again to save some more people. Mordin, Legion, Tali, Miranda, Thane, and Samara died.... I was fine until Tali decided to jump off a fucking cliff, and while I'm wondering what the hell I've done, I turn around and Legion is fuckin' dead.... This game is Dark Tower levels of depressing.

The ending sucked, but it was still a helluva ride. It's fun hearing what happened in everyone's playthrus. Seems like literally every past ally can die off this in this game
 
Well lets wonder what this means. ME3 Producer:

Michael Gamble via Twitter said:

So is BioWare going to be the first dev to actually have players buy the "good" ending as DLC for the game like we've all been joking about since DLC first began? Or is he just talking about ME4 plans that will totally make up for the apparent destruction of the ME franchise as we know it?
 
Well lets wonder what this means. ME3 Producer:



So is BioWare going to be the first dev to actually have players buy the "good" ending as DLC for the game like we've all been joking about since DLC first began? Or is he just talking about ME4 plans that will totally make up for the apparent destruction of the ME franchise as we know it?

IF ONLY YOU KNEW, GUYS

ugh. I wish they'd just, I dunno, own up that they recognize people don't really like the ending, or at least stick to their guns and be adamant about the game being finite and not tease shit like this three days after the game came out.
 
I'm super confused after beating it.

Could someone explain the three different choices and repercussions in detail?
 
I'm super confused after beating it.

Could someone explain the three different choices and repercussions in detail?

The scenes basically play out identically. Basically, the idea is that:

Destory: Kills reapers, but also all synthetic life such as Geth and EDI. Shep has a chance to survive if you have enough war assets. The ghost boy says that this won't bring peace, as synthetic life will rise up again in the future.
Control: Shepard dies to take control of the reapers and lead them away.
Synthesis: Shepard dies to create a hybrid of synthetic and organic life. The ghost boy says this is the one that will bring true peace.

In all three endings the mass relays get blown up, and the normandy crashes on a strange planet (although in synthesis, Joker has green veins, suggesting he's part of the new hybrid life forms.) The same post-credits epilogue happens after each ending too.
 
The scenes basically play out identically. Basically, the idea is that:

Destory: Kills reapers, but also all synthetic life such as Geth and EDI. Shep has a chance to survive if you have enough war assets. The ghost boy says that this won't bring peace, as synthetic life will rise up again in the future.
Control: Shepard dies to take control of the reapers and lead them away.
Synthesis: Shepard dies to create a hybrid of synthetic and organic life. The ghost boy says this is the one that will bring true peace.

In all three endings the mass relays get blown up, and the normandy crashes on a strange planet (although in synthesis, Joker has green veins, suggesting he's part of the new hybrid life forms.) The same post-credits epilogue happens after each ending too.

Does only Garrus Edi and Joker walk out of the Normandy in all three endings?

I appreciate you taking the time to explain this to me.

Man... what a kick in the balls.
 
No. Seems to be your LI. Saw Cortez walk out in one of them lol.

How do I get more people of the crew to survive?

Cortez gets shot down in mine. :/

My Effective Miltary strength was over 5000 and I chose the Synthesis route.
 
How do I get more people of the crew to survive?

I don't think it's about how many survive, it's just that it's always going to show those three people. It's ok, you didn't get a bad ending by seeing those three characters.

I had Javik walk out of my normandy along with Joker and Edi. O_o I romanced Miranda though.
 
So is BioWare going to be the first dev to actually have players buy the "good" ending as DLC for the game like we've all been joking about since DLC first began? Or is he just talking about ME4 plans that will totally make up for the apparent destruction of the ME franchise as we know it?

One could argue Bethesda did the exact same thing with Broken Steel and Fallout 3. I personally would never argue this point, but I've seen other people do it. I'm not sure how I would feel about if they added DLC that altered the ending. I guess if it was more like an expansion pack and less some 2-3 hour DLC segment I might be more receptive to it.
 
I dont understand why only three crewman walk out of the Normandy and it seems to be completely random outside of Joker.

When I did the synthesis ending Joker and EDI walked out, makes sense given their relationship, then Garrus, even though Ashley was my LI. Then when I went back and did the Destroy ending it was Joker and Ashley that came out and then Javik of all people. Meanwhile both Ashley and Garrus were in my final squad during the assault on earth.

Why only show 3 characters if theyre all still alive and not a single one has a reason for being on the Normandy since they were on Earth for the assault?


One could argue Bethesda did the exact same thing with Broken Steel and Fallout 3. I personally would never argue this point, but I've seen other people do it. I'm not sure how I would feel about if they added DLC that altered the ending. I guess if it was more like an expansion pack and less some 2-3 hour DLC segment I might be more receptive to it.

True, but Im with you FO3 ended with you dead and restoring the Capital Wasteland, that was simply people bitching because there clear alternatives to that situation, like the giant green fucker who could survive radiation right next to you. I dont think many people would be very upset if Shep died but we still got a "happy" ending with suitable scenes of our crew and friends. If they just ended the game with Shep and Anderson and didnt bother with any of that Guardian stuff and the 3 choices I dont think people would be so pissed and clamoring for it to be fixed.
 
I dont understand why only three crewman walk out of the Normandy and it seems to be completely random outside of Joker.

When I did the synthesis ending Joker and EDI walked out, makes sense given their relationship, then Garrus, even though Ashley was my LI. Then when I went back and did the Destroy ending it was Joker and Ashley that came out and then Javik of all people. Meanwhile both Ashley and Garrus were in my final squad during the assault on earth.

Why only show 3 characters if theyre all still alive and not a single one has a reason for being on the Normandy since they were on Earth for the assault?

Hmm, Miranda was my LI and Liara and Garrus were my squad mates heading into the final battle.

Only Garrus walked out with Edi and Joker.

I don't know what to make of the ending. I need to think about it for a while but jeez is it depressing.
 
My two favorite sequences of ME3:

- Chobot saying "this feels like pandering".
- Joker breaking the fourth wall and smiling at us

No, I was just expressing incredulity at the idea that "was this blood and sex and politics hard sci-fi shooter space opera all just a midwinter's night story from a grandpa to a boy," is An Actual Thing.

The bedtime stories I got as a little boy were amazing.

Alt-post: clearly, Grandpa is both Brothers Grimm.
 
One could argue Bethesda did the exact same thing with Broken Steel and Fallout 3. I personally would never argue this point, but I've seen other people do it. I'm not sure how I would feel about if they added DLC that altered the ending. I guess if it was more like an expansion pack and less some 2-3 hour DLC segment I might be more receptive to it.
Prince of Persia 2008 also did it, and then refused to release the ending DLC on PC.
 
I dont understand why only three crewman walk out of the Normandy and it seems to be completely random outside of Joker.

When I did the synthesis ending Joker and EDI walked out, makes sense given their relationship, then Garrus, even though Ashley was my LI. Then when I went back and did the Destroy ending it was Joker and Ashley that came out and then Javik of all people. Meanwhile both Ashley and Garrus were in my final squad during the assault on earth.

Why only show 3 characters if theyre all still alive and not a single one has a reason for being on the Normandy since they were on Earth for the assault?

The videos are all pre-rendered I think that's what happens for everybody for each of those endings unless on of the crew members who should be there is dead then it just cuts out early. I wouldn't read to much into it.


Prince of Persia 2008 also did it, and then refused to release the ending DLC on PC.
I might be remembering wrong but with that DLC don't you just end up in more less the same place as before rendering that DLC pointless.

Edit: Responding to post above.
 
Well lets wonder what this means. ME3 Producer:



So is BioWare going to be the first dev to actually have players buy the "good" ending as DLC for the game like we've all been joking about since DLC first began? Or is he just talking about ME4 plans that will totally make up for the apparent destruction of the ME franchise as we know it?

It does seem like there may be a future. Nothing huge, but Mac Walters just tweeted this:

Me too. RT "@chrisnavis: @macwalterslives Really looking forward to the future of the Mass Effect franchise after the #ME3 endings."
 
One could argue Bethesda did the exact same thing with Broken Steel and Fallout 3. I personally would never argue this point, but I've seen other people do it. I'm not sure how I would feel about if they added DLC that altered the ending. I guess if it was more like an expansion pack and less some 2-3 hour DLC segment I might be more receptive to it.

While the original ending of Fallout 3 was nowhere as bad as this one, it was still frustrating for similar reasons: despite playing a RPG and building a god like character, in the end it forced choices that were stupid like (spoilers for the ending of fallout 3)
forcing you to sacrifice someone even if you had a super mutant immune to radiation right beside you)
. Again, the original ending wasn't that bad, but they did basically sell a "better ending" DLC.

For me the destruction of the mass relays in all endings did tip that Bioware was trying to set up a scenario for future projects, similar to what they did in Dragon Age 2, where almost all the events on the third act end up happening one way or the other despite any choices you make. However there are enough differences in the endings that any possible projects that are not prequels are going to assume some canon, so I keep asking myself "why bother?".

As for the Michael Gamble tweet... sorry, but since the start you advertised Mass Effect as a trilogy. We reached the end and at last minute took a really terrible turn and soured the whole experience. Maybe they really have something masterful planned (I kind doubt it since this ending felt really rushed and tackled on) but as it stands now, after the storytelling problems of both Dragon Age 2 and this, I don't have any confidence in them.
 
Well lets wonder what this means. ME3 Producer:



So is BioWare going to be the first dev to actually have players buy the "good" ending as DLC for the game like we've all been joking about since DLC first began? Or is he just talking about ME4 plans that will totally make up for the apparent destruction of the ME franchise as we know it?

He's having a little back and forth with someone on there who isn't happy with the ending and the lack of choices mattering in the game. Nothing hardcore, but interesting. Have to keep checking back to see if things get crazy.

As for this game, I'll just walk away for a year and come back when all the DLC is out and go for a second run. It's hard going back knowing how shit the ending is, while I loved the rest of it.

When does post-game DLC become a "new ending you need to pay for" and when is it just post-game DLC?

I don't know, but I'd give them 15 bucks to add an ending that doesn't fucking blow.
 
When does post-game DLC become a "new ending you need to pay for" and when is it just post-game DLC?

Depends on the game. For ME3 though it'll be pretty clear if they change the ending, since previously they said no DLC would be post game but be worked into the main narrative.
 
Synthesis: Shepard dies to create a hybrid of synthetic and organic life. The ghost boy says this is the one that will bring true peace.

I still don't get this at all. Why was this option never revealed in the past? Why is Shepard the first organic being that has been given this choice? What did he even do? Why didn't Reaper Kid tell him this the first time he appeared? Is this one of those bullshit "you have faced the challenges and now I deem you worthy and I will benevolently give you what I could have given to you all along" things? Even Matrix fucken Revolutions makes more sense.

As for the Michael Gamble tweet... sorry, but since the start you advertised Mass Effect as a trilogy.

Mass Effect: On Stranger Tides
 
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