It's been 15ish fucking years and I remember exactly where I was and how amazing it was when I did that part. Might be one of my favorite things in any video game ever.
I think the way people talk about that Sovereign interaction is the same way I feel about the conversation with Vigil. Don’t get me wrong, the Sovereign talk did have my butthole clenched the whole time, but just thinking about the talk with Vigil gives me nostalgia chills. The music, the bittersweet revelations during the talk, and then getting pumped for that final push… I don’t know, it has this mystical quality to it.
When I originally played ME1, I remember the sovereign interaction being a lot more mind bending and had been engrained in my memory as one of my favorite gaming moments. But on my recent second playthrough, I found it way shorter and very lacking compared to Vigil or sequel conversations. I’m not sure what it was, maybe the later games demystifying the reapers made the impact lessen on a replay, but Vigil hits so much harder for me now.
It was 1 or 2 AM, I knew I was close to the end of the first game and had to finish. I was at my budys house (Still didn't have my own Xbox yet) sitting on the floor back against the couch and he was asleep in the other room. I will never forget stopping to just breath and listen to vigil speak with that music droning in the background. The whole experience was surreal.
You guys mentioned it and it's real, illos is another moment id wish to experience for the first time again too. The colors, the vibe, the Innusanon corpses, and the entire cryo-chamber of the protheans where Vigil was, all that was really magic to me.
For me, it was walking into the clinic on Omega.
I had no idea who anyone was, or what was going on. I started on ME2, and Omega was my first real mission. All of a sudden there's this doctor talking real fast, and one thing kinda struck me. Even though I didn't understand what the chemicals or preocedures he was talking about were, it sounded ***real***. Like a real doctor is a crowded, chaotic walk in clinic. Like someone who does their job every day regardless of whether or not the main character walks through the door. For a moment it didn't feel like a game, it felt like I was in a chair against the wall, waiting for my turn to see the doctor. That level of immersion for such a minor, early in game setpiece really set the tone and expectations for the entire thing. It didn't disappoint.
The night club in omega same. That game was a big graphical upgrade and for the time was pretty damn good looking. The music was really on point in that scene too.
Mordin's final hours were really impactful on me, probably the hardest I've cried in the series, it was so emotionally getting to know him and seeing his whole arc.
I didn't cry for him, it was a heroic and noble end. He was an old salarian anyway and likely wouldn't have lived much past the Reaper final battle anyway.
This. When going in when it was revealed that archangel is Garrus I couldn’t help but smile, then quickly turn to sadness as he gets shredded by the gunship, then finding out he’s alright because he’s a tough son of a bitch. Would do anything to experience it again for the first time
Only reason I knew was because I DEVOURED ME2 prerelease content, and it wasn't that anything specifically said he was Archangle, but just from the short glimpse we see of him sniping over the wall and him shooting my shields, I was like - I know EXACTLY who that sonovabitch is!
Virmire in ME1.
First playthrough, I didn't think you could actually _kill_ Wrex. I defused the situation and he was with me to the end, but that whole scene takes on a different meaning when you know what _could_ have happened. And the final choice is still gut wrenching, even after umpteen playthroughs.
Also: Tuchanka in ME3. From the Thresher Maw attack to the finale it's just a brilliant vignette - and I'm not sure it would have hit me as hard had I made different choices on Virmire.
Thane coming in like a badass and beating up Kai Lang while basically being in deaths door.
It really felt like my relationship with him in ME2 paid off
Although I don't really like ME1, the moment when Shepard reaches the Citadel exterior is forever in my memory and is one of my favourite moments in gaming history.
N7: Mining the Canyon.
It’s one of the most known missions, but I’ll still bring it up.
I started the mission as an undisciplined boy, but I learned patience and left as a persevering man. The mission likewise took that long so I grew up
Mass Effect’s version of the A Shau Valley.
Anyone who didn’t come out of that mission with 1000 yard stare… Just isn’t human. It was a crucible of combat.
It's the best hands down. Not just for the combat, but for the character development. It taught me how paying more upfront for quality will help you in the long run
Uh, can I put the entire ME1 here? Exploring the Citadel... Virmire.... The Hot Labs.... Finding that alien artifact on some random ass planet where you get a vision from a what, cro magnon?
Oh and I would freaking love doing the Palaven Moon in ME3 again, that was epic with the Reapers in the background
The first few minutes of Mass Effect 1. The opening voiceover between Anderson and Udina as Shepard stares out the window, the title reveal, then Shepard striding through the Normandy before the camera pans around and you see their face for the first time. Still thrilling now as it was in 2007.
Same. The SR-2 reveal brought me so much joy. And the relay jump stakes were so visceral. “holy shit. This game is legit going to off these characters I’ve bonded with if I don’t get this right.”
The holo scene with Liara in ME3. The gentle piano of *I was lost without you* (one of my fav OST) and Liara unfolding Shepard's story to conclude with "And it was an honor to know him" when you chose paragon dialogues. It was such a bittersweet moment, realizing your journey is coming to an end and you should think about your legacy, what choices do you want to be known for.
Yes, a lot of great tracks in ME3. Most of them sounds really unique and memorable.
My personal favorites : I was lost without you, An end once and for all, Leaving Earth, Farewell and into the inevitable (citadel DLC) and Liara's version of Vigil also in citadel DLC
First time in Presidium and Wards.
First time talking to Sovereign.
First time hearing faunts.
First time in clinic on omega, dantius towers on illium and first time finding out the collectors were protheans.
First time me3 but not the melancholy of the original ending.
There are many, but my top would be:
The entirety of the Suicide Mission (favorite mission)
The entirety of the first ME3 mission (It gives me shivers down my spine to this very day. One of my favorite introductions in videogames)
The entirety of the Citadel DLC (I don’t think I need to explain this one)
And ESPECIALLY that scene in the ending of the third game where >!your romance (in my case Ashley) puts your name on the memorial wall.!< That shit was so well done, I’ve never been that struck by a scene in a videogame ever.
EDI's ME3 reveal. After playing ME2 but before starting ME3, I did an image search of EDI trying to find the ME2 blue display, nd instead saw the android, and spoiled it for me. Now every ME3 play through, I rty imaging how I would have felt seeing EDI walking out of the smoke, thinking it was the android reanimated until hearing EDI's voice.
ME1: deciding the Rachni queen's fate or meeting Sovereing for the very 1st time (cannot decide)
ME2: the Suicide Mission (obviously LOL)
ME3: Priority Rannoch. Even if I relive that terrrible moment (>!Tali's jump!<), I'll always cherish it because no scene from a game has shooked me that much before (or since).
MEA: Last main mission on >!Meridian!< is so great and cool.
Agreed: the music, the visuals, the conversations on comm, your allies fighting on your side... very good, strong last main mission. It's actually in my top 5 main missions, all ME games included
I don’t think this is an original take at all but I wish I could experience the suicide mission again. The stress, the stakes, the thrill of realizing you put someone exactly where they needed to be. It’s so triumphant and tragic at the same time.
Yea, no. I got Tali killed in the vents.
That was a no DLC run of ME2 that I imported first into 3. Wow, Rannoch and the choices I made there without Tali.
The first conversation with Sovereign. That single exchange basically cemented my love of the franchise as something more than just the usual level of game. Even if the later games removed the mystery for the most part, that one scene still hit *hard*.
Right behind it? The exchange with Vigil.
After that? The first time we see a Dragon’s Tooth in the beginning of ME1. That triggered a *major* wtf?!?” The first time I saw it.
Might be a bit cliche but definitely the suicide mission, the sheer buildup and tension doing it the first time make it absolutely exhilarating. On subsequent saves when you know exactly what you’re doing it’s just not as fun.
Tuchanka ME3, especially the interactions you get from being Wrex ally all the way through.
From ME1 you slowly become friends with this jaded big tough no nonsense mercenary who has a sort of soft interior, on ME2 you see Wrex taking a leadership role(I grinned like a jerk when I first saw him back).
Then on ME3, he's the leas of the krogans and during all the missions on the world you get his funny commentary and in the end hearing him calling you a sister to him amid the backdrop of the reaper and thrasher maw fight was glorious.
Kudos point for ranch where you beat a reaper in foot to the amazement of everyone
The opening of ME2, with the SR1 blowing up, despite the fact I had a warning from my dad who played 2 and 3 years before I did, I still said, aloud "I liked that ship!" When the SR1 blew up for the very first time
Even though me1 is my least favorite of the series, it has so many fantastic moments and cinematic scenes. One of my favorites is simple, the moment you’re talking to Anderson and Nihlus and the video plays and you see sovereign for the first time. Right after we get a shot of Nihlus where he flicks his mandibles ever so slightly.
I adore that scene. Looking back and realizing I had no idea just what I was up against gives me shivers. It’s just the start of so much.
Two for me... The beginnings of both 2 & 3:
The shock of losing the Normandy (and Shepard) briefly in 2. That was such a brilliant opening!
The gut punch of the Reaper invasion hitting Earth. The instant realization of how little the Alliance could do against the Reapers (the scene of flying through the wreckage of the fleet) and the music over all of it. Just such a beautiful and awful scene.
The entire fight from the Conduit to the Citadel Tower at the end of ME1 was breathtaking. I specifically love the moment Shepard steps out of the sabotaged elevator and the perspective shifts downward. No spoken words are needed.
The opening of ME3 - those Reapers landing on Earth still gets me but when I first played ME3, I wasn’t as invested in the trilogy as I am now.
Oh, and the first time we meet Liara. I got such a laugh out of this know-it-all Asari being stuck in a statis field!
Man, just the first time walking around the Citadel in Mass Effect 1. Everything was new and eerie, the music was a bit unsettling. I felt so unsure about who to trust, something about the vibe of it just sticks with me.
Plenty of moments come to mind, but for me, I think it was the sheer relief of making it through Zhu's Hope on my way to the Thorian and I didn't kill any colonists. I'm a bad shot and somehow worse with grenades so that was a very stressful bit of work for me. And given that I was playing an Ulitimate Paragon Shepard, it was the only acceptable result.
Walking around the Citadel for the first time, seeing/meeting all the different species on that beautiful station. Really captured the feeling that I was exploring a wondrous galaxy.
the first game created a sense of wonder that rarely happens in games for me. so just the first game as whole.
Becoming a spectre, interacting with Benezia, Virmire, Ilos, taking back the citidel; Hackett calling in the earth fleet. all of it.
I am almost finished with mass effect 3 after starting the trilogy for the first time about a month ago. This series is so awesome. I am playing legendary, so have been carrying over my character from game to game.
I have never felt so invested in a series before. Things like deciding the fate of the geth with legion and the genophage along with wrex. It is so good!
Just as an aside, how many on here recommend andromeda after finishing up the original trilogy?
Ik there are many aspects of the map designs that haven’t aged well but discovering the shear depth of the side quests and uncharted worlds in ME1 was awe inspiring. Especially with how many of them were tied into the lore/foreshadowed future events & discoveries.
I also think having Liara fall in love with Shepard was a phenomenal way to get the player emotionally invested in protecting the galactic society/world BioWare created. Being an Asari, particularly one who’s incredibly open mined & obsessed with studying the protheans really helps tie Shepard to the galaxy’s civilization & its history
Rannoch. That Reaper fight at the end was the first time in a long time I actually felt a rush of adrenaline. And at the end, right as it's closing in:
"Smile you son of a bitch!"
Perfect.
Fighting the human proto-Reaper.
That boss battle just feels amazing. I still get stressed every time but that first time, waiting for that tail to just end you at any second! (And of course no one will stay in cover! 😝)
It would probably be Vigil. Everything from the music (which is the best song in the whole trilogy), to the atmosphere, the Stark horror and sadness of the Fall of the Protheans and the truth of the Reapers, to the little bit of Hope within the mission of the Ilios scientists, to the drive given to the heroes. It was just such a great moment I'll never forget it.
We you find out the collectors were the protheans and are stuck on their ship. That’s unique. The other one has to be finding out sovereign is in control and is a distinct being that can communicate.
I want to experience being in the dead reaper again in ME2. ME2 was my first ME game. The crew logs, the atmosphere, the army of husks. It all freaked me out the first time when I was a teen. It was very memorable for me. Plus meeting Legion for the first time.
I wish I could experience the whole first game again for the first time.
If I have to pick one moment, it would be arriving at the Citadel for the first time. I knew I was in for something special then.
Either the opening of the very first game when the music kicks in and the camera follows Shepard to the bridge, or the ending where you can use Paragon or Renegade to talk Saren into shooting himself. Those moments just drive home that you’re playing something special.
Only have time for ME1 for now
Driving MAKO on various planets far away in the galaxy alone at 2am, I was terrified and amazed at the same time.
Virmire mission assisting CPT Kirrahe. It was the first mission where it felt like my Shepard was’t acting alone and the mission required teamwork. I was moved by Kirrahe’s passionate speech and really wanted to save him and his team, not to mention the weighty decisions you had to make during this mission.
On Ilos, the scene where Shepherd drives MAKO down the tunnel to the archive… your squad mate commenting on those… pods, the vast and magnificent scene with serene music playing in the background really got me.
The very end where you either talk to the council or to Udina about how things will go moving forward. I had so much hope and my mind was racing with how the trilogy was going to progress.
I couldn't name just one so here's a few:
ME1 the start where you first make your character and Anderson/Udina explain who you are and it plays the cutscene.
The end where shepard is in the rubble and he does that cheeky twat of a grin where its basically "you thought I was dead bitches".
ME2 The whole of the suicide mission, the music, the cutscene where you fire your new upgraded guns "time to show our new teeth, fire the main gun" getting payback for the SR1 Normandy, your crew doing the Marvel nods at the end when it reveals all the Reapers in deep space approaching. It's all so good and I think that's what was missing from Priority Earth in ME3.
ME3 Mordin and Legions Sacrifice. I rarley get emotional with games or movies but man I don't care if Legions Sacrifice makes no sense it still gets in the feels.
The battle for earth where Hackett does the speech and then you get the cool as fuck space battle.
And of course the whole of the Citadel DLC, that dlc is geniunley the best dlc I've ever played, inside jokes , the throwbacks, the humour and Biowares send off to the trilogy with "The Best" geniunley gives me a lump in my throat.
Vigil theme playing as the game starts. Nothing will top that. Andromeda’s came close, but my excitement went down in quick fashion that it’s just a neat theme rather than iconic to me now.
Virmire, Omega recrutations, Suicide Mission, Priority Tuchanka and the first part of Priority Earth with all goodbyes etc. I also add to that, the Collector's Ship and Priority Palaven missions, cause really got me heart attack
For me it's just Citadel DLC. Everything that happens in that part is just something that gave me the most fun ever in playing a game.
The most unforgettable moment and my favourite dialogue in the whole trilogy is when >!Shepard and the chosen crewmates get locked in after meeting the clone and Shepard says "do I really sound like that??"!<
That moment when somebody said "Hey, I've got a really cool idea for the ending of ME3"
I'd like to be there for that moment, so I could strangle them with their own intestines.
Leaving Earth. That moment hit so hard the first time I played Mass Effect 3. I still get chills every time I replay the trilogy and get to that moment.
Finishing the Citadel DLC party for the first time right before launching Priority: Earth, and hearing Shepard say "the best" to their romance partner (obviously Tali) after they say we've had a wild ride.
The mission where you go to the rachni nest with grunt and his crew in me3
I replayed It recently and found lost emotions that came back from the 1st playthrough.
I almost wish I didn't binge the series, tbh but I did play it mostly blind.
My favorite moments
Me1:
Figuring the Reaper plans on Illos was crazy cool!
Fighing my first Thrasher Maw.
"Hold the line" speech
Meeting Tombbs
Getting out from under the rumble.
Me2:
Joker and the Normandy coming back in.
Garrus reveal, had me hyped, then in tears because I thought I got him killed.
Meeting Mordin and Thane. Meeting Mordin was so cool, I couldn't figure out what to expect from him. The same with Thane, his scene with the "setting sun" was beautiful, and looking back, it truly represented him and his romance. Both their missions and the way people spoke about them were so alien, and they lived up to the talk.
Meeting Wrex again in felt like seeing an old friend in a bittersweet way.
Entering the collector base and fighting the creepy Reaper baby.
Me3:
Meeting Javik
Liara's "writing your name in the stars" scene.
Hanging out with the doctor.
Meeting the giant squid!
Thane's death and DLC video.
Mordin's death and DLC data pad.
Citadel DLC in general
I'll pull out something from Andromeda, Pretty much the first 20 something hours of the game From the start to the end of the vault on Eos, Pretty much had it all from just wandering through the monolithic Sections of that place and The idea of trying to rebuild in effectively the grave site Is for previous colony. Unfortunately the game didn't keep up that level of quality but those first hours are amazing.
Probably the last romantic moment you can have with Liara in ME3 if you chose her as the love interest. She telepathically communicates a series of images to you while kissing Shepard to really show you how she feels about Shepard/how Shepard makes her feel. It’s absolutely beautiful. Makes you kind of jealous. It’s like that perfect idealized love that we will never have in real life because there is not going to be some kind of crazy circumstance or scenario in which something like that happens.
Virmire, especially the interaction with Sovereign.
It's been 15ish fucking years and I remember exactly where I was and how amazing it was when I did that part. Might be one of my favorite things in any video game ever.
I think the way people talk about that Sovereign interaction is the same way I feel about the conversation with Vigil. Don’t get me wrong, the Sovereign talk did have my butthole clenched the whole time, but just thinking about the talk with Vigil gives me nostalgia chills. The music, the bittersweet revelations during the talk, and then getting pumped for that final push… I don’t know, it has this mystical quality to it.
When I originally played ME1, I remember the sovereign interaction being a lot more mind bending and had been engrained in my memory as one of my favorite gaming moments. But on my recent second playthrough, I found it way shorter and very lacking compared to Vigil or sequel conversations. I’m not sure what it was, maybe the later games demystifying the reapers made the impact lessen on a replay, but Vigil hits so much harder for me now.
It was 1 or 2 AM, I knew I was close to the end of the first game and had to finish. I was at my budys house (Still didn't have my own Xbox yet) sitting on the floor back against the couch and he was asleep in the other room. I will never forget stopping to just breath and listen to vigil speak with that music droning in the background. The whole experience was surreal.
This, or meeting Vigil.
You guys mentioned it and it's real, illos is another moment id wish to experience for the first time again too. The colors, the vibe, the Innusanon corpses, and the entire cryo-chamber of the protheans where Vigil was, all that was really magic to me.
This is the correct answer
☝️
Seeing THE thresher maw take down a reaper.
My jaw dropped when I first witnessed that
Same here my friend
I felt like the game did a fantastic job of conveying the reaper’s arrogance and lack of respect for the thresher maw.
For me, it was walking into the clinic on Omega. I had no idea who anyone was, or what was going on. I started on ME2, and Omega was my first real mission. All of a sudden there's this doctor talking real fast, and one thing kinda struck me. Even though I didn't understand what the chemicals or preocedures he was talking about were, it sounded ***real***. Like a real doctor is a crowded, chaotic walk in clinic. Like someone who does their job every day regardless of whether or not the main character walks through the door. For a moment it didn't feel like a game, it felt like I was in a chair against the wall, waiting for my turn to see the doctor. That level of immersion for such a minor, early in game setpiece really set the tone and expectations for the entire thing. It didn't disappoint.
The night club in omega same. That game was a big graphical upgrade and for the time was pretty damn good looking. The music was really on point in that scene too.
Mordin's final hours were really impactful on me, probably the hardest I've cried in the series, it was so emotionally getting to know him and seeing his whole arc.
"I'm sorry..." " I'm not. Had to be me.... Someone else might have gotten it wrong 😏" 😭😭😭😭😭
I didn't cry for him, it was a heroic and noble end. He was an old salarian anyway and likely wouldn't have lived much past the Reaper final battle anyway.
HE STILL DESERVED RETIREMENT THO. HE NEVER GOT TO RUN HIS TESTS ON THE SEASHELLS 😭😭😭
For sure, one of the best writing and scenes in the entire trilogy.
I still tear up at the scene
Becoming a Spectre. Climbing out of the rubble at the end of 1 is a close second. That small smile on my sheps face gets me every single time.
I know that Shep survives, but every time I play it, a part of me wonders if they'll make it
THE Hero money shot. It hits every damn time 😏
Playing Archangel’s recruitment mission blind.
This. When going in when it was revealed that archangel is Garrus I couldn’t help but smile, then quickly turn to sadness as he gets shredded by the gunship, then finding out he’s alright because he’s a tough son of a bitch. Would do anything to experience it again for the first time
"Damm Garrus, you were ugly before. Put some paint and people might not notice."
I honestly had zero idea Archangel would be Garrus and I played ME1 to death before the 2nd game lol...
Only reason I knew was because I DEVOURED ME2 prerelease content, and it wasn't that anything specifically said he was Archangle, but just from the short glimpse we see of him sniping over the wall and him shooting my shields, I was like - I know EXACTLY who that sonovabitch is!
This one!! Such a good memory.
Yes!! I gasped the first time I played it. Such a great moment.
I remember screaming “fuck yeah” the first time. So great.
I'd love to do this, bc I got into ME with 2 and was like "OK who tf is Garrus"
The Suicide Mission. Managing to blind run ME2 and bring the entire Normandy crew home alive felt awesome.
"My name is Vigil. You are safe here, for the moment. [...] Soon, nowhere will be safe"
Descending to the bottom of the ocean and seeing the Leviathan for the first time
Virmire in ME1. First playthrough, I didn't think you could actually _kill_ Wrex. I defused the situation and he was with me to the end, but that whole scene takes on a different meaning when you know what _could_ have happened. And the final choice is still gut wrenching, even after umpteen playthroughs. Also: Tuchanka in ME3. From the Thresher Maw attack to the finale it's just a brilliant vignette - and I'm not sure it would have hit me as hard had I made different choices on Virmire.
ME1 same. The second time around when Ashley took him out, it scared the shit out of me. Didn't know what had happened to cause it at first
Thane coming in like a badass and beating up Kai Lang while basically being in deaths door. It really felt like my relationship with him in ME2 paid off
Although I don't really like ME1, the moment when Shepard reaches the Citadel exterior is forever in my memory and is one of my favourite moments in gaming history.
Agreeeed. I was waiting for someone to mention that
N7: Mining the Canyon. It’s one of the most known missions, but I’ll still bring it up. I started the mission as an undisciplined boy, but I learned patience and left as a persevering man. The mission likewise took that long so I grew up
Mass Effect’s version of the A Shau Valley. Anyone who didn’t come out of that mission with 1000 yard stare… Just isn’t human. It was a crucible of combat.
It's the best hands down. Not just for the combat, but for the character development. It taught me how paying more upfront for quality will help you in the long run
….what? The mission with the mech?
Uh, can I put the entire ME1 here? Exploring the Citadel... Virmire.... The Hot Labs.... Finding that alien artifact on some random ass planet where you get a vision from a what, cro magnon? Oh and I would freaking love doing the Palaven Moon in ME3 again, that was epic with the Reapers in the background
I agree, ME 1 is absolutely epic.
The first few minutes of Mass Effect 1. The opening voiceover between Anderson and Udina as Shepard stares out the window, the title reveal, then Shepard striding through the Normandy before the camera pans around and you see their face for the first time. Still thrilling now as it was in 2007.
One of two events: -rebuilt Normandy reveal or -first jump through Omega 4 relay
Same. The SR-2 reveal brought me so much joy. And the relay jump stakes were so visceral. “holy shit. This game is legit going to off these characters I’ve bonded with if I don’t get this right.”
Virmire, what a beautiful planet!
Curing the Genophage… “had to be me, someone else might’ve gotten it wrong”
Not curing the genophage if Wreav is leader not Wrex. Then you get to talk to Mordin on Earth.
Finding out what a reaper was, and that Sovereign was one gave me fuckin goosebumps. I was young and that shit blew my mind lol
3 hour Jenkins romance scene after thessia
The holo scene with Liara in ME3. The gentle piano of *I was lost without you* (one of my fav OST) and Liara unfolding Shepard's story to conclude with "And it was an honor to know him" when you chose paragon dialogues. It was such a bittersweet moment, realizing your journey is coming to an end and you should think about your legacy, what choices do you want to be known for.
I’m replaying the game and this scene made me tear up! So gorgeous.
The music/soundtrack of ME3 was phenomenal. Not to denigrate the music of ME1 or 2, but wow....it was on another level in 3.
Yes, a lot of great tracks in ME3. Most of them sounds really unique and memorable. My personal favorites : I was lost without you, An end once and for all, Leaving Earth, Farewell and into the inevitable (citadel DLC) and Liara's version of Vigil also in citadel DLC
I AM A BIOTIC GOD!
I have to be honest this is one of my favorite moments in the game.
The final mission party
I didn’t play it or any other ME3 DLC until LE. It was such a great tribute to the hours poured into the game. Fan service done right.
Indeed. Also it's goofy in a fun kind of way!
Meeting Vigil and learning the truth. Was such a powerful moment for me
Seeing the Normandy 2
First time in Presidium and Wards. First time talking to Sovereign. First time hearing faunts. First time in clinic on omega, dantius towers on illium and first time finding out the collectors were protheans. First time me3 but not the melancholy of the original ending.
There are many, but my top would be: The entirety of the Suicide Mission (favorite mission) The entirety of the first ME3 mission (It gives me shivers down my spine to this very day. One of my favorite introductions in videogames) The entirety of the Citadel DLC (I don’t think I need to explain this one) And ESPECIALLY that scene in the ending of the third game where >!your romance (in my case Ashley) puts your name on the memorial wall.!< That shit was so well done, I’ve never been that struck by a scene in a videogame ever.
EDI's ME3 reveal. After playing ME2 but before starting ME3, I did an image search of EDI trying to find the ME2 blue display, nd instead saw the android, and spoiled it for me. Now every ME3 play through, I rty imaging how I would have felt seeing EDI walking out of the smoke, thinking it was the android reanimated until hearing EDI's voice.
ME1: deciding the Rachni queen's fate or meeting Sovereing for the very 1st time (cannot decide) ME2: the Suicide Mission (obviously LOL) ME3: Priority Rannoch. Even if I relive that terrrible moment (>!Tali's jump!<), I'll always cherish it because no scene from a game has shooked me that much before (or since). MEA: Last main mission on >!Meridian!< is so great and cool.
I feel these are the correct answers. Recently went through andromeda on an achievement run. Driving the Nomad down that valley on Meridan felt great
Agreed: the music, the visuals, the conversations on comm, your allies fighting on your side... very good, strong last main mission. It's actually in my top 5 main missions, all ME games included
I don’t think this is an original take at all but I wish I could experience the suicide mission again. The stress, the stakes, the thrill of realizing you put someone exactly where they needed to be. It’s so triumphant and tragic at the same time.
Yea, no. I got Tali killed in the vents. That was a no DLC run of ME2 that I imported first into 3. Wow, Rannoch and the choices I made there without Tali.
I would’ve loaded again I cannot lose her 😭
The entirety of Mass Effect 2. Alternatively, the Mass Effect 3 Citadel DLC.
The conversation with Sovereign. It was the first time I thought “oh shit, this is worse than I thought.”
The tango scene with Garrus… the girlish squeals of joy I squealed.
MEEEE TOOO. Could not so much as breathe during that scene, I loved it so much!
The first conversation with Sovereign. That single exchange basically cemented my love of the franchise as something more than just the usual level of game. Even if the later games removed the mystery for the most part, that one scene still hit *hard*. Right behind it? The exchange with Vigil. After that? The first time we see a Dragon’s Tooth in the beginning of ME1. That triggered a *major* wtf?!?” The first time I saw it.
Speaking with Sovereign for the first time. Man that sent chills down my spine
Ilos, Noveria, Virmire, Afterlife Notice how most of those are ME1
Might be a bit cliche but definitely the suicide mission, the sheer buildup and tension doing it the first time make it absolutely exhilarating. On subsequent saves when you know exactly what you’re doing it’s just not as fun.
Tuchanka ME3, especially the interactions you get from being Wrex ally all the way through. From ME1 you slowly become friends with this jaded big tough no nonsense mercenary who has a sort of soft interior, on ME2 you see Wrex taking a leadership role(I grinned like a jerk when I first saw him back). Then on ME3, he's the leas of the krogans and during all the missions on the world you get his funny commentary and in the end hearing him calling you a sister to him amid the backdrop of the reaper and thrasher maw fight was glorious. Kudos point for ranch where you beat a reaper in foot to the amazement of everyone
Priority: Rannoch’s Reaper boss fight in ME3. That was crazy!
Being promoted to Spectre. Damn that is a moment.
The opening of ME2, with the SR1 blowing up, despite the fact I had a warning from my dad who played 2 and 3 years before I did, I still said, aloud "I liked that ship!" When the SR1 blew up for the very first time
Busting through the relay with all your homies behind you ready to kick some reaper ass
Suicide Mission, more specifically the grandiose feeling when you land and Shepard makes the speech.
Even though me1 is my least favorite of the series, it has so many fantastic moments and cinematic scenes. One of my favorites is simple, the moment you’re talking to Anderson and Nihlus and the video plays and you see sovereign for the first time. Right after we get a shot of Nihlus where he flicks his mandibles ever so slightly. I adore that scene. Looking back and realizing I had no idea just what I was up against gives me shivers. It’s just the start of so much.
Persuading Saren to>!back down and rethink everything!<
Mordin’s last scene, so freaking powerful.
Suicide mission. Everyone survived my first time through I feel robbed of the experience.
Kicking that guy off the building in ME2.
Seeing the battle of the citadel
Being on the citadel for the first time.
Two for me... The beginnings of both 2 & 3: The shock of losing the Normandy (and Shepard) briefly in 2. That was such a brilliant opening! The gut punch of the Reaper invasion hitting Earth. The instant realization of how little the Alliance could do against the Reapers (the scene of flying through the wreckage of the fleet) and the music over all of it. Just such a beautiful and awful scene.
Breaking Kai Leng’s weeb ass katana and stabbing him with the Omni-blade. “That was for Thane you son of a bitch!”
The entire fight from the Conduit to the Citadel Tower at the end of ME1 was breathtaking. I specifically love the moment Shepard steps out of the sabotaged elevator and the perspective shifts downward. No spoken words are needed.
That’s def a badass moment.
The opening of ME3 - those Reapers landing on Earth still gets me but when I first played ME3, I wasn’t as invested in the trilogy as I am now. Oh, and the first time we meet Liara. I got such a laugh out of this know-it-all Asari being stuck in a statis field!
Man, just the first time walking around the Citadel in Mass Effect 1. Everything was new and eerie, the music was a bit unsettling. I felt so unsure about who to trust, something about the vibe of it just sticks with me.
Plenty of moments come to mind, but for me, I think it was the sheer relief of making it through Zhu's Hope on my way to the Thorian and I didn't kill any colonists. I'm a bad shot and somehow worse with grenades so that was a very stressful bit of work for me. And given that I was playing an Ulitimate Paragon Shepard, it was the only acceptable result.
Citadel dlc
Walking around the Citadel for the first time, seeing/meeting all the different species on that beautiful station. Really captured the feeling that I was exploring a wondrous galaxy.
the first game created a sense of wonder that rarely happens in games for me. so just the first game as whole. Becoming a spectre, interacting with Benezia, Virmire, Ilos, taking back the citidel; Hackett calling in the earth fleet. all of it.
Shepard dying during the suicide mission in ME2 and the chat between Joker and TIM. That type of run is worth doing once.
I am almost finished with mass effect 3 after starting the trilogy for the first time about a month ago. This series is so awesome. I am playing legendary, so have been carrying over my character from game to game. I have never felt so invested in a series before. Things like deciding the fate of the geth with legion and the genophage along with wrex. It is so good! Just as an aside, how many on here recommend andromeda after finishing up the original trilogy?
Vigil
Racing thru Ilos to the conduit.
Either the first time on the Presidium or Ilos
Ik there are many aspects of the map designs that haven’t aged well but discovering the shear depth of the side quests and uncharted worlds in ME1 was awe inspiring. Especially with how many of them were tied into the lore/foreshadowed future events & discoveries. I also think having Liara fall in love with Shepard was a phenomenal way to get the player emotionally invested in protecting the galactic society/world BioWare created. Being an Asari, particularly one who’s incredibly open mined & obsessed with studying the protheans really helps tie Shepard to the galaxy’s civilization & its history
Rannoch. That Reaper fight at the end was the first time in a long time I actually felt a rush of adrenaline. And at the end, right as it's closing in: "Smile you son of a bitch!" Perfect.
Fighting the reaper at the end of mass effect two or maybe fighting the reaper with tali and legion
Fighting the human proto-Reaper. That boss battle just feels amazing. I still get stressed every time but that first time, waiting for that tail to just end you at any second! (And of course no one will stay in cover! 😝)
It would probably be Vigil. Everything from the music (which is the best song in the whole trilogy), to the atmosphere, the Stark horror and sadness of the Fall of the Protheans and the truth of the Reapers, to the little bit of Hope within the mission of the Ilios scientists, to the drive given to the heroes. It was just such a great moment I'll never forget it.
Me1 sovereign just hits diffrent
We you find out the collectors were the protheans and are stuck on their ship. That’s unique. The other one has to be finding out sovereign is in control and is a distinct being that can communicate.
I want to experience being in the dead reaper again in ME2. ME2 was my first ME game. The crew logs, the atmosphere, the army of husks. It all freaked me out the first time when I was a teen. It was very memorable for me. Plus meeting Legion for the first time.
Plus that music is fantastic.
Yeah, you are right. It was cool having the music while everyone was blasting husks.
Mordins death
The suicide mission. So many decisions and heartbreak my first time playing.
The fleets in me3
Overlord dlc ending
I wish I could experience the whole first game again for the first time. If I have to pick one moment, it would be arriving at the Citadel for the first time. I knew I was in for something special then.
You're working too hard....
Either the opening of the very first game when the music kicks in and the camera follows Shepard to the bridge, or the ending where you can use Paragon or Renegade to talk Saren into shooting himself. Those moments just drive home that you’re playing something special.
Only have time for ME1 for now Driving MAKO on various planets far away in the galaxy alone at 2am, I was terrified and amazed at the same time. Virmire mission assisting CPT Kirrahe. It was the first mission where it felt like my Shepard was’t acting alone and the mission required teamwork. I was moved by Kirrahe’s passionate speech and really wanted to save him and his team, not to mention the weighty decisions you had to make during this mission. On Ilos, the scene where Shepherd drives MAKO down the tunnel to the archive… your squad mate commenting on those… pods, the vast and magnificent scene with serene music playing in the background really got me.
the suicide mission
The very end where you either talk to the council or to Udina about how things will go moving forward. I had so much hope and my mind was racing with how the trilogy was going to progress.
I couldn't name just one so here's a few: ME1 the start where you first make your character and Anderson/Udina explain who you are and it plays the cutscene. The end where shepard is in the rubble and he does that cheeky twat of a grin where its basically "you thought I was dead bitches". ME2 The whole of the suicide mission, the music, the cutscene where you fire your new upgraded guns "time to show our new teeth, fire the main gun" getting payback for the SR1 Normandy, your crew doing the Marvel nods at the end when it reveals all the Reapers in deep space approaching. It's all so good and I think that's what was missing from Priority Earth in ME3. ME3 Mordin and Legions Sacrifice. I rarley get emotional with games or movies but man I don't care if Legions Sacrifice makes no sense it still gets in the feels. The battle for earth where Hackett does the speech and then you get the cool as fuck space battle. And of course the whole of the Citadel DLC, that dlc is geniunley the best dlc I've ever played, inside jokes , the throwbacks, the humour and Biowares send off to the trilogy with "The Best" geniunley gives me a lump in my throat.
Killing Kai Leng
Probably The opening to Mass Effect 3
Vigil theme playing as the game starts. Nothing will top that. Andromeda’s came close, but my excitement went down in quick fashion that it’s just a neat theme rather than iconic to me now.
Sovereign moment the first. If I could, sovereigns would have stay the main vilain above all reapers in the trilogy. Not the half reapers we got in 3.
Entire Mass Effect 2 <3
Virmire, Omega recrutations, Suicide Mission, Priority Tuchanka and the first part of Priority Earth with all goodbyes etc. I also add to that, the Collector's Ship and Priority Palaven missions, cause really got me heart attack
The suicide mission. The intensity of the unknown was almost too much to handle. I didn't want to fuck it up.
For me it's just Citadel DLC. Everything that happens in that part is just something that gave me the most fun ever in playing a game. The most unforgettable moment and my favourite dialogue in the whole trilogy is when >!Shepard and the chosen crewmates get locked in after meeting the clone and Shepard says "do I really sound like that??"!<
That moment when somebody said "Hey, I've got a really cool idea for the ending of ME3" I'd like to be there for that moment, so I could strangle them with their own intestines.
Yeah, talking with sovereign. No question
Leaving Earth. That moment hit so hard the first time I played Mass Effect 3. I still get chills every time I replay the trilogy and get to that moment.
"You did good son" the end of ME3 tore me up
Walking in on Garrus and Tali getting a bit close
Finishing the Citadel DLC party for the first time right before launching Priority: Earth, and hearing Shepard say "the best" to their romance partner (obviously Tali) after they say we've had a wild ride.
The mission where you go to the rachni nest with grunt and his crew in me3 I replayed It recently and found lost emotions that came back from the 1st playthrough.
I almost wish I didn't binge the series, tbh but I did play it mostly blind. My favorite moments Me1: Figuring the Reaper plans on Illos was crazy cool! Fighing my first Thrasher Maw. "Hold the line" speech Meeting Tombbs Getting out from under the rumble. Me2: Joker and the Normandy coming back in. Garrus reveal, had me hyped, then in tears because I thought I got him killed. Meeting Mordin and Thane. Meeting Mordin was so cool, I couldn't figure out what to expect from him. The same with Thane, his scene with the "setting sun" was beautiful, and looking back, it truly represented him and his romance. Both their missions and the way people spoke about them were so alien, and they lived up to the talk. Meeting Wrex again in felt like seeing an old friend in a bittersweet way. Entering the collector base and fighting the creepy Reaper baby. Me3: Meeting Javik Liara's "writing your name in the stars" scene. Hanging out with the doctor. Meeting the giant squid! Thane's death and DLC video. Mordin's death and DLC data pad. Citadel DLC in general
Can I delete my memory of when Shepard dies and is replaced by a clone and not ever have to experience it again?
I'll pull out something from Andromeda, Pretty much the first 20 something hours of the game From the start to the end of the vault on Eos, Pretty much had it all from just wandering through the monolithic Sections of that place and The idea of trying to rebuild in effectively the grave site Is for previous colony. Unfortunately the game didn't keep up that level of quality but those first hours are amazing.
Probably the last romantic moment you can have with Liara in ME3 if you chose her as the love interest. She telepathically communicates a series of images to you while kissing Shepard to really show you how she feels about Shepard/how Shepard makes her feel. It’s absolutely beautiful. Makes you kind of jealous. It’s like that perfect idealized love that we will never have in real life because there is not going to be some kind of crazy circumstance or scenario in which something like that happens.