The confirmation of theMass Effect: Legendary Editionback in November confirmed years of rumors that BioWare would be remastering the original trilogy. Obviously, such an announcement has many fans excited to get back on the deck of the Normandy and visiting their favorite stores on the Citadel. It will also give players a chance to re-experience some of the most difficult decisions in BioWare RPGs to date.
There is one major decision, however, which now has an option which makes far more sense to choose than it did when the originalMass Effecttrilogy finished back in 2012. Even players who chose differently the first time will likely find themselves giving this decision a second look in theMass Effect: Legendary Editionin light of the recent news.
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Mass Effect 3’s Final Decision Before ME4
TheMass Effect: Legendary Editionisn’t the only hugeMass Effectannouncement revealed over the last few months. BioWare also released a trailer atThe Game Awards 2020for the next chapter in theMass Effectseries – colloquially known asMass Effect 4– which appeared to show fan-favorite companion Liara T’Soni walking past the husk of a ginormous dead Reaper to find a piece of N7 armor which could even hint at Commander Shepard’s survival.
The newMass Effect 4trailer points heavily to the Destroy ending being the canonical ending toMass Effect 3. Itscontroversial endingsaw players choose between three options: Synthesis, Control, and Destroy. Synthesis saw all synthetic and organic life in the galaxy merge, Control saw Shepard give up their human form to take over the Reapers as an AI, and the Destroy ending eliminated all synthetic life in the galaxy.
The Destroy ending is considered the best ending by someMass Effectfans because it’s the only one that will hint at Shepard’s survival if the player has a high enough Effective Military Strength when they enter the final battle. It’s not as cut and dry as that, however. The Destroy ending also kills all the Geth regardless of whether or not peace way made between them and their creators,the Quarians, as well as killing two companions: Legion the Geth and Normandy AI EDI.
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Effects On The Legendary Edition
Many fans ofMass Effectwill be hoping to replay the remastered original trilogy in preparation for the release ofMass Effect 4, and the seeming reveal that theDestroy ending is canonmay see far more players pick it this time around. TheMass Effect 3ending was controversial at release because it didn’t really factor in the player’s decisions beyond the final choice itself. However, this will also likely make it far easier for players to change their decision.
On the other hand, it also makesMass Effect 3’s final decision feel even more arbitrary now.Commander Shepardcan still choose the Synthesis or Control endings, but since the vast majority of fans will want to continue the story inMass Effect 4, those choices no longer feel as valid.
The exact nature ofMass Effect 4’s canon has yet to be revealed, though an image of what appears to be ahuman-built Mass Relayalso supports the idea that the Destroy ending was canon and destroyed the Mass Relays, requiring them to be rebuilt after the defeat of the Reapers. There may be other decisions which are also made canonical in order to allowMass Effect 4’s story to develop from a clear starting point, such as the decision to cure the genophage. Whether or not these are revealed before launch, however, will likely hugely affect many players’ decisions as they dive in to theMass Effect: Legendary Edition.
Mass Effect: Legendary Editionreleases for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in spring 2021.
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