The Eight Best Moments of Mass Effect 3
5. Shooting with Garrus
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fovyxIpJAj0
Continuing in the friend theme, this was perhaps my favorite “bro” moment of the game. I didn’t really take to Garrus in the first game, but I grew to really like him over the course of ME2, and in ME3, I brought him along on every single mission, and I considered him my closest friend on the ship.
During one trip to the Citadel, he asks you if you want to go do something crazy, seeing as how the world’s about to end. He takes you to the top of the Presidium where the two of you have a sniper rifle skeet shooting contest with beer bottles.
You hit a few, but can choose to miss on purpose during a final difficult shot, which gives Garrus his moment of glory. As you do so, with his arms spread wide he says “I’m Garrus Vakarian, and this is my favorite spot on the Citadel.” A great joke, a great moment with a friend.
6. Game Night with Traynor
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1SYHncWR8M
I’m not sure if whether or not I let my last receptionist, Kelly Chambers, die at the Collector base has anything to do with whether or not Traynor shows up as your new assistant, but whatever the case, I like the young upstart quite a bit better.
When she asks to come up to your cabin for “game night,” I thought, “this could be trouble,” as I was trying to stay true to Tali. When she shows up, and has actually a virtual chess board in hand, I thought it was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. I sat down and played a rousing game with her, and it was a strictly platonic moment shared with a character I viewed like a little sister.
I’m told you can hit on her if you want to creep, but she likes the ladies, and will only go for FemShep. That’s alright, it was just nice to spend time with a new friend for a quiet night in.
7. Tali’s Homeworld
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6moXbgV0YL8
Of all the gifts you can give someone you love, a new planet probably tops the list. Curing the Krogan genophage was a fantastic plotline in itself, but giving Tali and her Quarians their homeworld back was probably my favorite development of the game, as it also allowed them to patch things up with the Geth, provided you were nice and didn’t kill them all.
The scene where Tali realizes she has a home again is just phenomenal, and you really can feel the emotion when she says how much it, and you, mean to her.
I thought at last it would be the moment where we finally saw her face, as she takes off her mask in the clean air of the planet, but rather we just get a photo of the instance later. I thought it was a nice gesture at the time, but it did taint things a bit later when I saw it was a crudely photoshopped stock photo. But still, at the time, the moment was lovely.
8. All Races Unite
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlhaDUmL9Ac
The grand plot of this game which had you and your crew uniting an entire galaxy to fight the Reapers is by far the best found in the series so far. You don’t really get a scope of what that means until the very end, when you see the fleets of every race come together in what has to be the biggest space battle ever recorded on film or in a game.
Turians, Quarians, Geth, Asari, Humans and more all come together for a common purpose, and sadly, this is the idea that makes the end of the game so terrible. The point the catalyst makes is that it’s impossible for organics and synthetics to work together and exist in peace, but that’s EXACTLY what’s happening right as you’re talking to him. Yet, Shepard says nothing.
A ninth moment on this list could be in my ending where Shepard jumps into the beam of light to be torn asunder so that he may combine all organic and synthetic life into one, thus effectively ending the Reaper cycle. During that moment, you feel like you truly are living up to who your paragon character is, making the ultimate sacrifice to save not only this universe, but all future iterations as well, as you ascend life to its next evolutionary phase. It’s a fine moment, and I have no problem with my Shepard dying for the greater good. It’s what comes after that which is so disappointing, which is in effect, nothing, and you don’t get to see any real repercussions of what you’ve done.
Anyway, I did love this game, and I think it should be remembered for more than just its terrible ending. There are a great many touching and astonishing moments to be found here, and despite all the controversy, the 99% that’s fantastic makes it one of my favorite games of all time.
The only two renegade interrupts my straight as an arrow paragon Shepard made. Shooting Udina, and stabbing the son of a bitch Kai Leng after breaking his sword with my bare hand. So damn satisfying.
Perfect list. Mordin and his seashells, Tali’s homeworld and shooting bottles with Garrus have been my most memorable moments as well.
Renegade triggering Kai Lang (Leng?) was awesome.
I also really loved the moment you have with Liara before the final battle (the galaxy in your mind thing), it was a really touching friendship moment, much like the shooting with Garrus.
Tali and Garrus making out also brought a smile to my face.
Meeting Jack for a dance at Purgatory was great as well.
@Howard Those were my only two as well. Amazing moments.
Great moments to be sure, with Thane and Mordin being really heart-wrenching for me.
And after Thane’s death, I hated Kai Leng with a passion like no other game enemy ever.
What happened if you didn’t Renegade interrupt Kai Leng? Or Udina? I was paragon, but it was like uh, what choice do I have? Get stabbed in the neck or shot in the face? Same with the Illusive Man, and I know he actually killed you if you didn’t interrupt.
Really weird use of that mechanic, as it’s never supposed to have been like a God of War quicktime event.
I managed to do the Mordin and Thane missions in a row, man that night wrecked me. First time I can honestly say I had tears in my eyes over a video game.
@Sverrir Sigfússon I agree, catching Tali making out with Garrus was just awesome
also the renegade version of Mordin’s death is way more fucked up, having to shoot him in the back and then they make you watch as Mordin painfully crawls trying to fix that atmosphere thing only to die just few feet from the console… seriously WTF! Bioware.
Definitely agree with this list… The only biggie I think you missed was saying goodbye to each of your sqadmates on Earth.
I don’t know what happens if you don’t Rengade Udina or Leng… Even my Paragon stabbed/shot them because damn it felt good.
If you don’t renegade interrupt Udina, your Virmire survivor shoots him. With Kai Leng, you just dodge out of the way and he hits the console you’re working on.
Two other things, EDI taking over the android’s body and the entirety of “Blasto 6”.
I was content with my ending personally. I can understand getting upset that the final cutscene is pretty much identical aside from having a different color, but I felt like there were multiple endings throughout the game. Curing the Krogan and settling the Geth/Quarian dispute were just as satisfying to me as blowing the Reapers into dust. Plus my Shepard survived, so all was right when I finished.
Oh shit, and Conrad Verner trying to take a bullet for me! Laughed my ass off when he went into slow motion.
@ Paul Tassi…Kai leng hit the TIM platform and shepard kill him one moment after…if you persuade kaidan/ashley he/she will shot udina..however if you dont persuade; you must kill kaidan/ashley and then udina…..
@ MZC about tuchanka…If you have Wrex on Tuchanka and you like him (of course you did) the renegade option its just wrong and unforgivable BUT if you have Wreav here (wrex dead) and maelon data (ME2 Mordin loyalty ending) is destroyed => Eve dead , you can SAVE Mordin and honestly; the renegade choice is here the right one (and feels right), because Wreav is a total asshole with plans of revenge…and he didnt notice the non-effect of cure unlike to wrex which will see through your scam and you must kill him (very nice but depressive scene)
Very true on all counts! One of the things I liked most about this game was how it took the history between characters into account (up till the finish, of course). If you take Liara and Garrus along with you for Wrex’s missions, he’ll talk to them. When companions of yours who know one another bump into each other, they’ll acknowledge it, usually in touching or amusing ways. I had EDI with me when we ran into Jacob again, and she noticed that he didn’t recognize her, and wondered if this was an appropriate opportunity to try ‘surprising’ someone.
It made the world feel so much bigger, and really emphasized what you were fighting for.
Gotta say, though, that moment with the thresher maw was just awe-inspiring. I thought to myself ‘yes – if mother nature herself can take these bastards down, then so can we!’
Oh and Paul, if you save Kelly she shows up in the refugee area in ME3 but won’t rejoin you. If you were fast enough to save Dr. Chakwas, she’s at the Citadle hospital and will join you if you ask.
Yeah, I met Kelly on the Citadel looking worse for wear and was given the option to be upbeat and friendly when we parted or tell her to change her name and go into hiding due to her betrayal of Cerberus. I went the cheerful route and after the attack on the Citadel, I heard some refugees recount Kelly getting shot down by Cerberus soldiers after she stupidly admitted who she was. This bummed me the hell out as she was my only romance in ME2. Mordin’s satisfied smile at the end (and his song)was just brilliant. Man, I couldn’t get the Quarians to lay off of the Geth so we had to put Legion down (I could never tell Tali “no”). While Legion was down on his knees about to die by our hands he asked Tali “Does this unit have a soul?”, and Tali answered “Yes, Legion. Yes it does.” That broke my fucking heart. Seriously. I’ve never felt worse about failing in a video game. I think I need therapy after all of the poignantly sad and beautiful moments in this game.
On the other hand, I had every intention of staying with Liara (I play femShep so no Tali this playthrough) but when Samantha used my shower and the camera zoomed on Shepard contemplating hotness and I was offered the chance to join Sam in the shower, how could I possibly say no? No other romance scenes until the end where Shep says “it’s you and me Traynor, no matter what happens” and meanwhile I’m thinking all I wanted was a fling. I was hoping ‘d have to make a choice like in every other game of this type, but it never gave me a chance to make it up to Liara, and that kind of bummed me out, because she obviously is more of a “true love” type. The final scene with her before the finale where Liara mind-melded with Shep and put her head on her shoulder was much more satisfying for me than the entire “romance” with Samantha Traynor. But hot damn was that shower scene sexy….even though they had clothes on for some reason. Anyways, amazing game. Just wish they’d worked out the Traynor option a little better. And the ending. Obviously.
I reading an upsetting lack of Grunt telling Shepherd that he’ll take care of the rest of the Rachni. I legitimately thought he was dead as he took down all those Rachni in a fit a glory and my mouth was completely open.
Gotta say, you nailed pretty much all the best parts in the game. My Paragon MaleShep let Mordin sacrifice himself for the genophage cure and my heart broke as Mordin hummed his song from ME2 in his last moments. So much so I couldn’t bring my Renegade FemShep to shoot him in the back [literally] my next playthrough.
It’s that level of emotion that’s sets this game apart. Being truly renegade in this means making decisions that would truly haunt me in real life (Samara’s death was hard enough without killing her daughter). You feel genuine reactions to your actions which is really why the ending felt so
(like that)
So I played the first two on my 360 but traded that in to replace my ps3 that went out, so I played me3 on my ps3 without a previous save file. Definitely a disappointing experience. The only previous characters I met were my current squadmates and people vital to the plot, Mordin, Miranda, illusive man. Wrex, thane, jack, grunt, legion, samara, all of them, dead, I checked the memorial wall. So disappointing.
So I’m on rannoch and when I have to decide whether or not to save the geth, and I had been told up to that point that I should save the geth because then I get the quarians AND the geth. Perfect! So I’m going through the conversations and save the geth. You know what happens when you don’t have legion and his loyalty? The geth kill ALL the quarians and Tali is so distraught she fucking throws herself off a cliff and kills herself! Now that is heartbreaking. Needless to say I restarted the mission and killed the geth.
now do a renegade list…. because shooting mordin and having a gun fight with Wrex was heart wrenching
Shooting that idiot Mordin was awesome, loved his final struggle. Tali’s jump to death was only the second best moment in the game.
@promf
Did you torture animals as a child.
I would have to include the whole mission with Grunt. From the time you land and he recognizes you, to the selfless rampage he goes on while you escape. He’s always been one my favorite characters.
Great to see that after all this bashing because of the ending, which would have been fine by “normal” standards, this entry managed to bring back our better impressions of the game.
It WAS a great game.
I don’t know a video game in history that made people actually care about so many characters.
Hopefully their dlc epilogue/ending is awesome, then all will be forgiven and forgotten.
What about Grunt? That moment was awesome, and the choice at the end of that mission is great. Put in a 9th moment for Grunt!
Legion’s sacrifice belongs in the top 3 I think. I’d rate the big death scenes – Thane’s, Mordin’s, and Legion’s – as the finest, and most powerful moments of the game, and I’d argue that Legion’s was the most fascinating. He finally obtains self-actualization, and in his brief time with it, he doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself for the betterment of his ‘people.’ The moment is a staggering accomplishment in sci-fi: End of a century-long war between creators and created, the debate on what makes something truly alive, etc. That scene is just done so damn well. “Does this unit have a soul,” is the big, most unforgettable line in the whole series in my mind.
Oh, and impaling Kai Leng in Thane’s name was the most satisfying moment in all of gaming, hands down.
*Spoilers*
Great list. The only other unmentioned scene I would have included would be the fall of Thessia. The mission was supposed to be the game winning battle, when you get the final piece of the catalyst, but the bad guys get there first and after you lose the fight, you stand on that balcony listening to, but unable to answer, the desperate cries for help as Illium pretty much dies in front of you. It’s the most hopeless and helpless I’ve ever felt playing a video game, a scene straight out of a movie.
I actually felt depressed after that scene,though that itself isn’t surprising; this series is one of the few that actually makes you feel anything. Anyone else go into the final battle actually, physically nervous that you might fail and kill everyone?
Only thing that I would include is when Wrex says that you have been a champion of the Krogan people, a friend of Clan Urdnot, and a sister/brother to me.
You should completely make a list with the hardest “renegade decisions”! Fantastic list. Loved how you used “I”, and acted as though it was real. Mass Effect=realest game ive evr played!
Can’t believe nobody mentioned two my favorite moments: When Vega and Garrus are standing in the ships galley trying to one up each other. And when you make Liara talk to Matriarch Atheyta, her long lost “Dad”