Sfdebris.net

MEA isn't the most popular game in the series and has, to date, the only Squad Mate/Companion in a BioWare game that I've actively wanted to kill or kick off my team, that character being Liam, and keep in mind that I'm someone who was neutral on Jacob, likes Sera (and married her when the option was presented) and despite hating everything she stands for I ALWAYS recruit Vivienne because she's so fascinating and well rounded. I even I couldn't stand Liam.

But there are characters who fans like from this game and since it's all but confirmed that ME5 will be continuing the story of MEA along with the Trilogy who from Andromeda would you like to see return, as a squad mate, crew mate or as a ally in the fight to come?

From what I understand, Bain Massani (son of Zaeed Massani) and Reyes Vidal are both pretty popular characters with many fans hoping to see the former return and become a squad mate due to his competence and general badassery. On a person note, while I have my issues with them, there are a few squad mates from MEA I would like to see return in prominent roles or become squad mates again, those characters being.

Cora

Cora is MEA in a nutshell, an interesting concept that was poorly executed. A human that was trained with the Asari to control her Biotics and was someone who was suppose to be the new pathfinder if anything happened to your dad. She later learns that a Asari Huntress who she worshiped let the Asari Pathfinder die and also that her role as the pathfinder was handed over to Ryder's kid. Even with MEA botching most of this a sequel could make good use out of Cora and help to better flesh out her character.

Peebee

For anyone who thought that Sera could be annoying she has NOTHING on Peebee. Sera at least, could be argued, to have depth and let's us get to know her as the game goes on but Peebee is pretty just Liara with all the charm and depth removed. The fact that she forces you to do her loyalty mission doesn't help and her romance is rather weak. So, why would I like her to return, simple, she's the one who has more of an understanding of the Remnant and she had a least SOME development in MEA and since Liara is coming back this is actually a good opportunity to help flesh her out by comparing and contrasting her with the Original Asari Archeologist.

Vetra

Vetra is one of the two characters in MEA I actually kinda like, even if she does treat Ryder like a doormat but hey, EVERYONE treats Ryder like a Doormat, but Vetra is at least nice to me and treats me with SOME respect. I also like how she DOESN'T feel like a Garrus clone. Sure she has some similar traits but there's just enough difference to make her stand on her own. I actually would like to see her return as a squad mate and even possibly as a romance option if Ryder didn't romance her.

Drack

I love this old bastard. He's a good father, has some of the stronger dramatic moments and several funny moments that actually made me laugh. Much like Vetra he manages to have just enough differences with his MET counterpart, Wrex, to make him his own character so I don't feel like I'm talking to a more grouchy version of Wrex. Just like Vetra I would actually want to see him return as a squad mate or, at the very least, a temporary squad mate for one mission just to have him around again.

And finally the Ryder's

The Ryder's are, IMMHO, the WORST protagonists in the BioWare canon which was not helped by BioWare's overall solid track record of Player Characters. Revan, Hawke, The Inquisitor and, of course, Shepard are all solid PCs with all providing a fairly good balance between the player and the character so I can say that these characters are just as much my characters as they are BioWare's. None are perfect (not a fan of how little control I have over Shepard in ME3, Hawke rarely gets to make a real impact on anything, Revan's backstory sometimes feel like it hinders the character I wanted to shape and the Inquisitor... actually I have no complaints there as DAI made me feel like this was 100% my character that let me be as cruel, as cunning, as kinda and as manipulative as I wanted).

But the Ryder feels like they are just there to be there. By removing the Paragon and Renegade system and not replacing it with a rather bland system that just felt like the same option no matter what I choose it made them feel powerless and unable to effect the world or characters around them. As I said everyone kinda treats the Ryder's like a doormat even their own squad mates. Even those who show me some level or respect style just see me as a means to an end and what's worse the game kinda does this to because I'm not the one who's important, SAM is.

SAM is what everyone is really after, SAM is the one who moves the plot forward and SAM is the one who is needed to save the day. Without him Ryder is just a regular person with no real talent and something everyone just sees as a tool to be used and discarded when of no further use.

Soooo, why do I want them back? Because there's so much that can be done with them. I don't want them as the ongoing protagonist but I would like them as a ally who aids us. Ryder doesn't work as a PC but they could work as a supporting character and if done right they could turn out to be great, first by showing that the events of the first game showed them that they had to grow a spine, and because of their uniqueness as a Pathfinder are shown to be completely Overpowered, tearing through a squad of enemies and killing a boss we have trouble with in a matter of seconds.

And those are the characters from MEA I would like to see in ME5. But what about you, who would you like to see return from MEA? Let me know.

Something about Ryder just rubs me the wrong way. I can't even put my finger on it, but she irritates me so much I get chased off before the end of the prologue every time I try to replay the game. She just... doesn't seem like an actual adult to me. More like a really sheltered middleschooler that daddy brought to work today. It's not the voice actress either, I got the same impression when I tried it with Scott.

Drack I would love to see him again but so much of what makes him great is his "I don't understand but I support you" attitude towards his daughter and her boyfriend that it would be pointless if the whole family isn't there.

Peebee playing off Liara is just a delightful thought. They would freaking hate each other.

The other two left so little impression on me I had to think for a second to remember who they were.

hammerofglass wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 8:34 pm Something about Ryder just rubs me the wrong way. I can't even put my finger on it, but she irritates me so much I get chased off before the end of the prologue every time I try to replay the game. She just... doesn't seem like an actual adult to me. More like a really sheltered middleschooler that daddy brought to work today. It's not the voice actress either, I got the same impression when I tried it with Scott.

Sheltered not so much. Very distant father, family basically only held together by the mother, kids are highly capable but end up in boring jobs without any future. They got stuck and stumped in their development early. I know people like that and don't mind them, because you face them with a challenge and you'll easily find out who's capable of growing and who is forever the frat-boy teenager which can be discarded. Male Ryder is the former and I suppose female Ryder as well, but I just couldn't stand playing through the game with her face.

I basically want to see everybody again, except for Liam. Incompetent, petulant, obnoxious. Should not be part of the team, at all. Needs counceling, dearly.
Cora, I have mixed feelings about. She's a bit bland, but I never disliked her. Similarly PeeBee. She's fun, but can be very obnoxious, as she seriously needs to learn when to goof around and when to be serious.

Vetra, Jaal, Drack. I'd like to see more of them very much. I miss them. Similarly Kallo and Lexi. Suvi, meh. Can't stand her accent and generally do not gel well with religious folks, though she seems to be a nice oddball to have around.

I must be the odd one out because I liked Sara Ryder.
To me she was fine. She came to Andromeda because she would have the option to explore. And her father's antics got her family blacklisted from work in the Milky Way. She had been a guard on a scientific mission. Lost it because of daddy. She never expected to be Pathfinder. She was content to follow orders and protocol. Now she is in command on paper. Everyone wants results but refuses to acknowledge a thing about her. Oh you tried colonizing twice and screwed it up? Okay she fixed things and got you a world. Secured it and got the radiation cleaning up. No party, no pat on the back for achieving what three times the man power as her team has. No this isn't good enough. Meet new aliens, oh what they hell are you doing trying to make friends here? If her squad screws up she is on the hotseat. But no one respects that. This is a corporal thrust into the role of a major or a colonel and succeeding but no one cares.
And at the end she did not have SAM. He was cutoff from her and she still operated the precursor devices. Including calling a damned fleet on willpower alone.

No she is just a whiny bitch and nothing without SAM the real hero of Andromeda.

Liam I am of mixed feelings about. Initially he seemed fine. His loyalty mission was funny as hell.
The rest of him can be shoved out an airlock.

Cora, she felt so under developed. Her biotics were only powerful in cutscenes. There should have been a bit more friction with Ryder possibly. I mean I like Cora, but she gets over being passed over pretty easy.

Vectra and Drack. From introductions to loyalty missions. These two are top marks awesome.

Now Peebee? Several times I wanted to shoot her. From the overly cheeky grin when she tackles you. To when she ejected the escape pod for her loyalty mission. Liam asked for help. Peebee shanghaied you. Then dumped you on a planet that we had no way to get off of again.

Now if you want a pie in the sky desire? I want Alec Ryder back. He came off as incredibly cool in the beginning. He only showed his distance in the flashbacks.

Nealithi wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 10:47 pm I must be the odd one out because I liked Sara Ryder.
To me she was fine. She came to Andromeda because she would have the option to explore. And her father's antics got her family blacklisted from work in the Milky Way. She had been a guard on a scientific mission. Lost it because of daddy. She never expected to be Pathfinder. She was content to follow orders and protocol. Now she is in command on paper. Everyone wants results but refuses to acknowledge a thing about her. Oh you tried colonizing twice and screwed it up? Okay she fixed things and got you a world. Secured it and got the radiation cleaning up. No party, no pat on the back for achieving what three times the man power as her team has. No this isn't good enough. Meet new aliens, oh what they hell are you doing trying to make friends here? If her squad screws up she is on the hotseat. But no one respects that. This is a corporal thrust into the role of a major or a colonel and succeeding but no one cares.
And at the end she did not have SAM. He was cutoff from her and she still operated the precursor devices. Including calling a damned fleet on willpower alone.

No she is just a whiny bitch and nothing without SAM the real hero of Andromeda.

All good points and I don't discount any of them, like I said it was just my opinion and I'm glad you like them.

Liam I am of mixed feelings about. Initially he seemed fine. His loyalty mission was funny as hell. The rest of him can be shoved out an airlock.

I personally think the comedy in MEA is a little to over the top as it often felt more like parody humor which is fine except this is suppose to be a spin-off to Mass Effect which took itself mostly seriously. I do get a laugh out of Liam's LM but it often feels at odds with the rest of the series so it also kinda turns me off.

Cora, she felt so under developed. Her biotics were only powerful in cutscenes. There should have been a bit more friction with Ryder possibly. I mean I like Cora, but she gets over being passed over pretty easy.

In all fairness that's true of all biotics as they're super powerful and can take on 3 mechs at once but in gameplay can get knocked out by one, so I don't hold that against Cora to much.

Vectra and Drack. From introductions to loyalty missions. These two are top marks awesome.

Agreed.

Now Peebee? Several times I wanted to shoot her. From the overly cheeky grin when she tackles you. To when she ejected the escape pod for her loyalty mission. Liam asked for help. Peebee shanghaied you. Then dumped you on a planet that we had no way to get off of again.

Again, she makes SERA look mature and reasonable and Sera's whole shtick is that she's immature and overly goofy. I think more could be done with her but I also get why so many fans dislike her.

Now if you want a pie in the sky desire? I want Alec Ryder back. He came off as incredibly cool in the beginning. He only showed his distance in the flashbacks.

I actually really loved the scene where he sacrifices himself to save his kid, it was a honestly good moment that had a lot more weight despite Alec's small amount of screen time. I honestly was more moved by that scene then the bit in ME3 where the kid died and since we've never found the body he could show up again and I wouldn't mind him coming back.

I'm with people on Vetra and Drack, the only two half-decent characters in the squad. I suppose Jaal was OK. Peebee was incredibly annoying, Cora mostly forgettable. I don't really see the problem people had with Liam, not that he was much good either. I can't even remember many non-squad characters other than Sam, a character that the game really could've done without.

I quite liked Vetra, including her romance. Drack was good, but it's hard to mess up a krogan. You have a deep-voiced tough guy and give them a little twist; Wrex has "my species is dying and I wish I gave more of a fuck", Grunt has "I'm a literal teenager who was born yesterday", and Drack has "these kids these days, they aren't violent enough! What does my sweet little girl see in this loser?"

Ryder was. OK, I guess. Didn't like her like I do Shep.

Jaal I forgot about, he made so little impact. Peebee and Liam were irritating and I didn't like them. Liam in particular tries too hard.

Cora could've been cool but her execution was AWFUL.

I'd be happy to see Vetra and Drack again tho.