Sooo... Was BioWare Trolling the Fans in the Bad Timeline of Mass Effect 3?

[Winter]

I'm pretty sure we're familiar with the Mass Effect series here. Hell Chuck's review of ME2 was what got me to finally play the game and become a huge Mass Effect and Dragon Age fangirl and I'm sill hopeful for the next games in both series. We all know this series and have likely played it a number of different ways over the years, saving Ashly or Kaidan, convincing Wrex to see reason, shooting bottles with Garrus.

Realizing we were in love with Tali instead of Liara when we didn't get enough Reputation Points to save both the Quarians and the Geth and realized you would sacrifice an entire race because you couldn't live in this fictional world without her and are still pissed at BioWare for never making her romancable even though THEY RECORDED ALL THE DIALOGUE FOR SAID ROMANCE MOST OF WHICH IS STILL THERE AND THE VOICE ACTORS CAN JUST RE-RECORD THE FEW THAT ARE MISSING!!!... or is that last one just a me thing?

Anyways we all know this series. But how many of us have played the series without importing a save from the first game or using the Genesis Interactive comics to substitute the SI?

Now that the original Trilogy is all available on a single disc via Legendary Edition most fans tend to play the Trilogy all the way through and most don't even bother with Genesis and many haven't even seen the second interactive comic for ME3. But what happens if you don't important a save and what choices does Genesis Part Deux allow you to make?

Well what if I told you there is single character in both a ME3 no SI and Genesis for ME3 have in common that makes me think "They have to be doing on purpose JUST to mess with fans right?"

What am I talking about? Well let's start with ME3 no save import and you'll see.

Now for whatever reason BioWare decides to sorta, kinda, absolutely screw over any and all new comers to the series if you decide to start with with ME2 or ME3 and even Mass Effect: Andromeda but that's a story for another time so let's just focus on ME3 right now. If you decide to stat ME3 without importing a save from the other games in the series BioWare decided, for whatever reason to give fans a near worst case scenario for anyone starting this series.

For starters most of you're squad mates and crew mates across the Trilogy not to mention most of secondary characters from the first two games such as Conrad Verner and other people who seem rather minor and insignificant that they got rid of Conrad aka the best character in the series not named Garrus and Tali are all dead. Yes really, of the 19 squad mates from the first two games that are certain to show up in ME3 if you did not import a save are Liara, Miranda, Garrus (thank God), Tali (thank DOUBLE God) and Mordin (thank TRIPLE GOD). But as for everyone else well in terms of the Virmire Survivor it defaults to Ashly instead of Kaidan and everyone else is dead and some aren't even mentioned meaning the characters I just mentioned are the only survivors... with one notable exception.

Jacob Tailor.

I'll let the Tenth Doctor speak for everyone here.


youtu.be/z1B0VVRMC_c

Thank you Doctor.

So, yeah. Of every squad mate in the series BioWare made sure that Jacob was one of the 6 squad mates who shows up if you don't import a save from ME1 and 2. And that's not even the weirdest part. Yes we're not done yet.

You see if you don't have a save from the other games you can still use Genesis to fill in the gap and make a number of key choices... sorta! See when you get the ME2 in Genesis the comic doesn't include a lot of major choices from the second game like whether you choose to save the cure for the genophage, or being able to save your squad and crew, or if you do Project Overlord and save David and so on.

You are limited in what you can choose to do and many other minor choices are taken out of your hands completely. But the weirdest one is in terms of your romance and if you are playing as femshep you only have two choices for romance that Genesis will allow you to do. Thane... or Jacob.

YUUUPPP!!!! You cannot romance Garrus or flirt with Kelly, Samara or Morinth. You get three choices, Thane or the worst character in the entire BioWare canon who Cheats on you between ME2 and ME3 or no romance at all. At least in the first Genesis comic this made sense there were only 3 love interest, two of who were locked off depending on your gender but the fact that we have to pick between one character or another and is almost universally hated is mind-blowing.

This is especially worse for me because I have no interest in men romantically and I my only real option is a women I technically dumped.

So, this HAS to be on-purpose right? BioWare has to be aware of how unpopular Jacob is especially since they tend to listen to fan feedback and openly have no real love for him either. So, why make him one of the few who will defaultly show up in a no SI ME3 and make him one of the only romance options in ME3 Genesis?

This has to be trolling/punishing people who try to skip the games themselves because no other outcome makes sense. They know fans dislike Jacob and they don't really care about him so what better way to avoid skipping the other games and avoiding using the Genesis comics then forcing you to interact with Jacob.

And if that is the case. I tip my hat to you BioWare that is an impressive form of trolling.

[hammerofglass]

Huh. That's weird. Never played without an import and I had heard it locked off all the best storyline endings but I was sure Liara would be the default romantic partner for either Shepard because of how much focus she gets.

[CharlesPhipps]

Ashley-Shep forever.

[Winter]

Ashley-Shep forever.

Let's be honest the only True Loves of Commander Shepard are Garrus and Tali. The only flaw is that they cannot be romanced by both genders (fuck you Fox News for keeping me and my Quarian Love apart)..

[hammerofglass]

Ashley-Shep forever.

Let's be honest the only True Loves of Commander Shepard are Garrus and Tali. The only flaw is that they cannot be romanced by both genders (fuck you Fox News for keeping me and my Quarian Love apart)..

Not having a poly option with both and then having Tali be explicitly into the idea if the other two are together is the real troll.

[hammerofglass]

Off topic but I'm astonished we never get into this kind of chat over Baldurs Gate 3 on this board. I would have thought it would be huge with this crowd.