3 years later, does Mass Effect 3 ending still hunts you?

It is March 6th, the day that Mass Effect 3 was release in 2012. The biggest overhype game was the last Mass Effect game and then, you guess it, the ending meltdown which was the biggest controversial in 2012. I was hurt when the ending was a huge disappointment but the gameplay combat and MP made up for my disappoint favorite Mass Effect 3 game. That said, it's been 3 years now, some people still have a grudge with Bioware's ending, are you still made to this day?

Nope..... didn't care about the ending....

I really dont understand all the hate for the ending, i thought the ending was pretty good.

My choices still mean jack shit in the end...

I enjoyed the journey though, and a sub-par ending will never take that away.

Yeah it hunts me, barely got away with my life after it was hunting me last night

the ending wasn't as bad as everyone said. Everyone completely glossed over AC III

Yeah I didn't find the ending that bad honestly. Could it have been better? Yes. Does it affect the Mass Effect trilogy being one of my favorite video games? No.

Right now, I'm just looking forward to the new Mass Effect.

@johnd13: @The_Last_Ride: True. While I was kinda upset on the ending but I was also happy that Shepard live at the end when I pick the red one on my first play, so it was kinda mix bags for me. I really enjoy the MP and I end up putting like 60 hours on it for almost 2012 when there was anything new to play as far as MP goes.

Edit: I actually watch the Happy Ending mod onyoutube 8 months from ME3 release and I got to say that, it gave me true closer to ME3. That's pretty much how I felt.

I'm also looking forward to the new Mass Effect game but I'll wait for the reviews just in case something goes wrong. I felt that Bioware redeem themselves when they release DAI.

The ending is great with the extended cut and the leviathan dlc which explained everything. That made the ending very satisfying, knowing what the ghost kid actually is and what the reapers actually are. It was also very emotional. Overall amazing ending but only because the dlc did a great job of clearing up the confusions.

Never really got into the trilogy, so no.

The ending was absolutely horrible but i wasn't "hurt" in that sense.

I just know that Bioware is a shitty developer who care more about gender, sex and relationship nonsense then to provide a full game.

Played Mass 1 for about an hour, I got bored, no longer cared about the rest of the game nor it´s sequels.

Gotta admit, I´ve played The Order for about 30 min and unless some real shit happens in the next 20 min I´m going to get bored and leave it for good.

No the ending doesn't really bother me. While I was disappointed, not so much in how my choices mattered but more in how I wanted it to end story-wise. I still thought that it was ok. It didn't negate any of the fun I had playing three amazing games. I absolutely loved the Indoctrination Theory and wished that the developers had actually gone down that route. I'm definitely looking forward to the next Mass Effect game.

the updated ending was way better imho

It is still one of the worse ending in gaming even if you ignore that your choices does not matter. I was expecting that the choices made through out the games would matter little to nothing. I was write but the ending still suck. The star child was just lazy writing.

I do not like Bioware stories too much of the same thing and disjointed.

Having played ME1 recently I still find that game play the best and most unique, then ME3 and last is ME2 for the order of game play I like.

The next ME game is something I am just going to skip.

For me Mass Effect was about the characters, and to that end the entire third game felt like the "ending", and for me it was great. Scenes like Garrus and Shepard shooting cans on the citadel, watching Mordin enter the elevator and knowing he wouldn't be coming back, saving Wrex's people, saying goodbye to Liara. It felt like a story ended every few minutes and I don't hate on the game because it's got the Reapers ending wrong, I love the game because I got all the others right.

I didn't really like that the whole ending boiled down to 3 last minute choices, but I didn't think it was terrible. I didn't think it was realistic to expect that every little choice made throughout the series would have some sort of impact. That would make things extremely complicated. Everyone's adventure was still different, at least when it came to some parts. Even if I thought the ending was that bad, I don't think it would have taken away all the other good things about the games.

The only thing that I really disliked about ME3's "ending" was how every choice you made throughout the entire series boiled down to a numeric score and nothing else. I'm not a fan of games where the ending you get is determined by a multiple choice question you get asked at the end of the game. I'm a much bigger fan of games like Silent Hill 2 or SH Shattered Memories where your overall behavior throughout the game (not even a specific event or choice) determines the ending you get.

However, from a story perspective I didn't think it was completely awful although the "director's cut" ending is really the one they should have released initially. Showing how people got back on the Normandy was a conspicuous gap in the original ending, but I was a bit dissapointed that the "ending that is determined by who is still alive" boiled down to a color or B&W photo of each character depending on whether they were dead or not. That was a bit lame.

-Byshop

Nope...game was great, and still is.

I don't see how a game's ending could possibly hunt a human being.

Mass Effect series is meh. So the ending didn't affect me at all.

Made sense to me.

My paragon Shepard said time and time again through various conversations that he wanted to be able to help everyone but wasn't able to, and that wish came true at the end.

Didn't care particularly for anything in the series though, it was merely passable

It still bothers me since it almost ruined one of the best trilogies last gen.

The whole 3rd installment of the franchise was a let down for me......Mass Effect 2 is one of the most epic games i've ever played !

The whole 3rd installment of the franchise was a let down for me......Mass Effect 2 is one of the most epic games i've ever played !

:( ...THAT moment

Yeah same... I had no problems with the ending at all.

To me, it seemed like a few people didn't like it & made a big fuss about it & everyone seemed to join in.

I really don't understand the hate for the ending when the whole game was mediocre.

Am I haunted? No...Was I sad at how horrible it was written? Yes

No. It was more or less fixed. The emotional attachments are still amazing. Top 10 game of all time.

No, it gave up when I leapt from a cliff and landed in the raging river below.

This is the idea. People are missing the point. Your choices are reflected throughout the game, they just didn't affect the ending. A lot of people were shocked I guess. They didn't think about how the game they've been playing for 40+ hours was affected by choices, just the ending.

I still can not understand how anyone say the ends was not that bad.

The lack of choices affecting the ending was something I was expecting and I still say ME3 was a horrible end that hurt the story as a whole..

Well I don't understand why some say the ending is horrible... But hey, that's me.

@wiouds: "The lack of choices affecting the ending was something I was expecting and I still say ME3 was a horrible end that hurt the story as a whole.."

Oh give it a rest will ya!!

Prior note: I have only seen the extended ending, including the leviathan dlc.

I never really cared for the effect my choices had. The ending was a dramatic close to a space action movie. That's what it was to me; a space action movie. Nothing more, nothing less. I liked the characters. That's why I liked and still like the Mass Effect series.

Oh, I don't know... perhaps it's because not everyone thinks the game is as mediocre as you believe?

@XIntoTheBlue: It lacks any of the sense of wonder that Mass Effect 1 had and it lacks the memorable party and interactions within that party that Mass Effect 2 had. It brought you to new home worlds of iconic species, but almost every home world was in ruin turning what should be unique architecture to generic rubble. Then your party that you worked so hard and bonded with throughout Mass Effect 2 are almost entirely gone and your left with the crappiest recruits. Oh, and the fact that Shepard is the biggest self-entitled bitch, "DROP EVERYTHING YOUR DOING AND COME TO EARTH! THE REAPERS ARE GOING TO INVADE! MY SPECIES IS THE MOST IMPORTANT". So basically to sum up everything, the game is about Shepard running to and fro destroyed rubble planets whining about how he needs more help then the people who are under attack and he's doing it with a bunch of asshats who no one cared about in the first two games while the actual good party members are probably helping other societies instead of trying to rope them into a ponzi scheme of saving earth. The ending and plot is so crappy that a fan theory (indoctrination Theory) needed to be made for people to actually enjoy, not only the ending but I would say other parts of the narrative.

There are good moments in the story, like Mordin's elevator scene and the Geth hivemind, but those good moments are sparse.

nope. the ending was so short i barely remember it. All i can remember are the countless hours of fun I had with the Mass Effect games.

I didn't play the game until more than a year later but even then all that haunts me are the romance scenes. I like it.

I liked the ending and can't understand what the melodrama's all about really (I did only watch the ext. ending and had all the DLC). It's like Avatar; a lot of people were quick to point out the supposedly unoriginal story. I ended up seeing it in the cinema in 3D, not having a clue what it would be about, no hype invested, and it was one of the best cinema experiences of my life. I had minor withdrawal symptoms after leaving sad to say it, it immersed me into the world emotionally and to me that bypassed its flaws. Same with Mass Effect.

Yes, the ending still sucks. The primary reason it sucks is because it was so lazy, wasn't really an ending at all. It was clear the developers couldn't think of a proper ending and so went with the God option instead; y'know, suddenly inject some all-powerful character into the story that can conclude things with a snap of his/her fingers.

An analogy could be a big upcoming MMA fight, say Jon Jones vs Anderson Silva. It's about to begin, you're pumped for it, then Dana White suddenly appears in the center of the Octagon, mumbles some words to Jones who in turn mumbles something back, and Silva falls over unconscious in his corner without a punch or kick thrown. The ref lifts Jones' arm in victory and the credits roll. That is the ending of Mass Effect 3.

Well, that sucks. Just have the guys fight and let's see who wins!

And c'mon, what is gearing up to be a galactic-level confrontation ending because of some chit-chat is silly. If that were a viable solution it never would have gotten that far to begin with.

The fact that I invested probably a good 200+ hours into both Mass Effect, and Mass Effect 2, each, over probably 4-5 different characters per game (not including replays) and only ever played Mass Effect 3 through to the end once is a testament to how much I enjoyed Mass Effect 3's ending.

I still wish that the Indoctrination Theory were true, and not the canonical ending we were given in the "director's cut". It would actually make sense and fit into the story-telling up until that point, and be one of the best plot twists in the history of gaming. Making all my "choices" entirely useless in the end, and giving me merely three different "colours" to pick from... it was insulting.

I love the Mass Effect universe. I mean, I FUCKING LOVE what BioWare created with those games. But goddamnit, it still does "haunt" me to this day.

Wow, you just don't get it. That's the problem now with people who bash ME3's ending, they simply put, did not pay attention to the themes of the game or the foreshadowing of the ending (and I am not talking about Leviathan).

Lets help people get it shall we.

The master, the starchild, the Catalyst, was foreshadowed by Vendetta on Thessia before Kai Leng arrives, he does not appear out of nowhere. Shepard even asks "who is the master?". Second, the Catalyst does NOT solve the problem, he does not resolve the story, Shepard does. In fact the Catalyst says this after Shepard asks why he is helping him/her.

"You have altered the variables, the Crucible changed me, created new possibilities, but I can't make them happen, if there is to be a new solution, you must act/choose."

Its the CRUCIBLE, which Shepard and his allies successfully bring, that solves the problem, not a deus ex machina.

So, Shepard does win, however, in a cliché break, you finally meet the main villain AFTER its defeat, which is rare in a story. And in fact, if you want to finish off the Catalyst, pick destroy. However, the theme of ME3 is sacrifice and every choice in the end had a price. Victory is not won without cost.

Nevermind the backstory of the Catalyst completely fits the themes of the series and so does its character. The PROBLEM with the original ending was that it was badly underdeveloped in all forms of the ending. The concept itself was not flawed.

I enjoyed the series and the ended didn't ruin it in any way. The series as a whole was thrilling and very involved and that's more than I can say about a lot of games.

The Indoctrination Theory cannot work. In fact, it would cause a plot hole because Vendetta would not talk to you on Thessia if you were indoctrinated. Also it would completely wreck the rivalry between Shepard and TIM.

The ending simply put, does fit the franchise. The entire series was about how actions or decisions of one (or a group, race, person, whatever) can alter and affect the destinies of others and how this leads to conflict and bad consequences, especially if ignorant or unaware of the consequences the decision has on others. Think of it like this. How many quests in the series dealt with an AI project gone wrong? Or an attempt to control lifeforms to be used as tools that backfire and kill the lab? Or a race that was uplifted to solve a problem that led to problems and conflict later on? All throughout the series. Well, the Catalyst, the starchild, starbrat, whatever not only fits this theme, but twice over, as a way for its creators to control its subjects and then it controls the destinies of advanced civilizations in the galaxy after it backfires against its creators. Its a sci fi ending, hell, it puts the Mass Effect in Mass Effect. This is NOT Guardians of the Galaxy as a lot of the idiot fanbase thought it was.

And the Extended Cut, showed you the consquences of your actions, not just the final choice. hell, I got the outcome where the Rachni settled the Krogan homeworld in an ironic twist.

#

Please. Lets make a critique on your critique

At least we went to the homeworlds of the council species and really they were not really that much in ruins. Sur'kesh wasn't even invaded by the Reapers when you go there, Thessia was being invaded but the architecture was still intact. And Palaven was as "ungeneric" of a level as you can get, which did a good job at showing the dire situation they were in without being a grey and brown rubble fest.

Second, cry me a river, but Bioware made the correct decision on ME3's squad. The core ME1 characters (minus Wrex), EDI, and two new characters, one who as the Shepard of his cycle and one trying to follow in Shepards footsteps. The ME2 characters that play a bigger role in the lore, Mordin and Legion, as well as Miranda got bigger roles. Those that did not had one off missions. And now with the Citadel DLC, they are in the game more. Sorry, but that's how you handle a large cast, some characters just are more important than others. And really, the ME1 core has the biggest fanbases in the first place as well.

Third, yes, Shepard was to get help for Earth however, with the Crucible project, that's what Shepard is recruiting for, not to take back Earth because "we are special". Obviously you weren't even paying any sort of attention to the story.

No, while I didn't like it, I honestly don't care to hate it really as I moved on.

Apparently you weren't paying attention. If you've already beaten them prior to the godchild's appearance then why does refusing to answer his goofy questions result in your forces being destroyed and the Reapers winning? If you choose destroy it shows them simply falling out of the sky as though they've chosen to turn themselves off. If the Crucible is doing that it's a ridiculous amount of power for one machine, a godlike power. Speaking of godlike powers what about the synergy option? Simply answer a question and as though God just snapped his fingers all organic life suddenly becomes partially synthetic. C'mon! Bioware didn't know how to show the allied forces winning in anything approaching a realistic way. Obviously the whole thing got too big for them. So they chose a light switch kind of method which not only stretches credulity but is lame storytelling.

Sometimes I still think that how they ruined the story and fu*ked up the most important scene in the trilogy. They should've adopted Indoctrination Theory (which seemed to be the original plan of Bioware), then it could be the best ending ever. They did similar stuff in KOTOR as well, so fans expected the same thing with ME3 but it was nothing more than a poorly written ending.