The End of Four Years of Wonder

I may be a little late to the party having recently finished Mass Effect 3 over the course of the summer, but I was certainly not left out of my own personal frustration? Confusion? Dissatisfaction? Its hard to pick the right word. And most of those feelings, as we all know, come from the last five minutes of the game. Even the last minute. The cut-to-credits just seemed so jarring? Unjustified? Blasé? Again, its difficult to just use one word to sum up all my feelings at the end of the Mass Effect trilogy.

But theres that word: trilogy. I believe there is significantly more ease to ending an independent work (whether it be in literature or film or video games) than a series of works that are connected over a span of time. Whether it is a duology, trilogy or quarter- its hard to create an ending that appeals to everyone.

Even Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings ending suffered from one too many fade outs with a lot of after-the-fact sobbing. George Lucas ended the galactic warring conflict between the Rebels and the Empire with everyone being happy around campfires with teddybe--ewoks.

Mass Effect 3 ended with the insertion of a pseudo-deus ex machina, tied in with some Child and then a series of cutscenes that are so heavy in implying, and far from explicit. The after-touch of the Stargazer just creates the feeling of countryside, rustic stargazing- whereas ten minutes ago, we were neck-deep in the most pivotal conflict of human existence.

Is this the most appropriate way to go out?

I dont think so, no. I have my own slew of suggestions to BioWares writers on how making the ending of the game more satisfying. But then I realized- BioWare wasnt just finishing off a game, they were finishing off a trilogy (and various add-ons, comics and books, but thats not really what were talking about here).

When ending a trilogy, its hard to put it down and say, Thats over with. Thats done. I played Mass Effect back in 2008, and now four years later, I have finished that story, that saga, that evolution of inter-connected alien and human relationships that has spanned the course of suicide missions, wars, and calibrations.

Im unsure if many of the feelings towards the end of Mass Effect 3 is because of the ending itself- which has its share of flaws, as all endings do- or is it because it is just the end. Period. Its hard to let go, and, there are some aspects of the ending I cannot help to admire. The ambiguity is so powerful, implications over explicitness is where imagination takes over, vagueness can be good. And here I think the BioWare writers set themselves apart by stepping back, and just letting the world go on without force-feeding a fully-rounded conclusion to its players. Its up to us, individually, to interpret what happens next. And isnt BioWare all about the choice?

Is it the best ending? No. Is it memorable? Certainly. Would I have had it any other way?

The third and final question is hard to ask. I invested time and effort into the Mass Effect universe, and I daresay, in my playthrough - happy ending and all it - ended in a moment of grandeur, of victory, and most of all of wonder.

Exactly how it all began.