Ok posting this here since I can't start a new thread. I apologize for the wall of text but I want my feelings to be known about this and this is the best way I can express them:
Dear Bioware,
I'm writing this as a final plea to your company on the endings of Mass Effect 3. I have been a fan since the beginning of the series. When I played Mass Effect the first time, I felt like a new world of gaming was opened up to me. A world so different than the games I had played before. I immediately began playing games made by your company before Mass Effect. I could not get enough of your games and this idea that it wasn't just about the hero, but the supporting characters. I played your games over and over. It was an experience that I had never received in a game.
Which brings me to Mass Effect 3. My excitement for a game has never been higher. I have been following the marketing behind this game since it was announced in 2010. I encouraged friends and family to get the game so they could experience it the same way I have. My plan was to originally avoid all spoilers but I accidentally got spoiled in another thread. I read what would happen and I have to say, I feel completely heartbroken and disappointed.
First to explain my disappointment, I need to explain what I feel is the foundation of Mass Effect, the relationship between Shepard and the Normandy. In the first scene of Mass Effect we are greeted with a narrative of her accomplishments and past. We see her on the Normandy staring into space, so our first experience with Shepard is directly connected to the Normandy. From there, Shepard walks through the ship, greeting her fellow crew as she goes to meet Joker at the helm. From this point forward, everything Shepard does can be traced back the Normandy and her shipmates.
In Mass Effect, after Shepard becomes a Specter, the first thing Udina says is that Shepard will need a ship and crew. From this point, Shepard is given the Normandy and a crew familiar with her. Joker reminds Shepard that they are behind her 100% and that they are her arm and weapon under any circumstances. As Shepard searches the galaxy for Saren, she is never alone. Two squadmates are with her at all times, there to advise and fight by her side. Shepard soon finds herself on Virmire and is forced with the choice of giving up a crewmember. The choice is hard because this person isn't just a face on a screen but a character with opinions and emotions that has followed Shepard on this whole adventure without question. Afterwards, back on the Citadel, the council does not just ground Shepard but also the Normandy. Shepard never considers escaping on another ship though because the Normandy is where her strength lies. Shepard needs a ship that moves through the terminus system undetected and a crew willing to face treason and disgrace to follow Shepard to the end. With the Normandy and Shepard's squadmates, she is able to defeat Sovereign and Saren to stop the Reapers from destroying the Citadel.
In Mass Effect 2, the story begins once again on the Normandy. But the first shot is not of Shepard but the crew of the Normandy. As the camera scans up to Joker, Shepard is nowhere near as they are attacked by the Collectors. As crewmembers evacuate we see a squadmate (Liara, Kaidan, or Ashley) race to Shepard's side. Shepard orders them to leave despite their willingness to go down with ship with her. Shepard then heads up to retrieve Joker only to see that his attachment to the ship is so great that he originally refuses to leave. When Shepard helps Joker onto the Escape Pod, she is caught and stranded on the broken Normandy. But what makes the shot so powerful is not just Shepard's death but the pan back to see the Normandy utterly annihilated. Shepard and her ship go down together, united even in death.
When Shepard is rebuilt so is the Normandy. When Shepard talks to the Illusive Man for the first time, she tells him that she needs a ship and a really good team. There is no lone wolf, it is still about Shepard's connection to the Normandy and crew. The rest of the game, Shepard works on building a new team while trying to stop the Collectors. If Shepard is not able to build this team then she is powerless to stop the Collectors. When Shepard's crew is taken it forces her to make a choice about their safety and the safety of the galaxy if she is not prepared. Shepard and the Normandy travel through the Omega 4 relay and at the base, the team must work together to defeat the Collectors. There is no Shepard doing it all and saving the day, it's the Normandy and the supporting characters that make her strong. With their help, she is able to survive the suicide mission and take one more step in stopping the Reapers.
Finally, we come to Mass Effect 3. Even in the beginning, Shepard mentions not just grounding her but also taking away her ship. The first thing Shepard and Anderson plan to do is get to the Normandy after the Reapers attack. Cause once again Shepard is nothing without the Normandy. However, while everything follows the same pattern as before when we reach the end, everything is completely contradicted. Shepard goes alone to make the final decision to stop the Reapers. The key moment of the series is done without squadmates or the Normandy. In fact, the Normandy is nowhere near Shepard at the time.
Let me ask, after everything the Normandy and Shepard have been through, why would Shepard be left alone in this moment? Why would the crew even consider letting Shepard go it alone? What always made Shepard special wasn't she was a badass marine taking down the reapers with a shotgun in hand and a grenade launcher in the other. Shepard was never Master Chief, traveling around with faceless marines and jumping from ship to ship. Shepard was never Samus Aran taking out legions of enemies on her own. Shepard was never Kratos carrying the burden of revenge and salvation all on his shoulders. Shepard was the Normandy and the Normandy was Shepard. Separating Shepard from the Normandy, is like separating her right side from her left.
That's why I've written this letter pleading for a change. I know the game has gone gold but there is a way to change this whether it be by patch or DLC. Shepard's story is ending and so is the Normandy's. But for them to be forever separated breaks the whole lore and foundation behind Mass Effect. Shepard is not a folk hero, she is not the most powerful being in the universe. She is simply a leader who believed in what she was doing and had great determination to get the job done. Shepard succeeded because of the Normandy and without the Normandy she is nothing.
All I'm asking is one ending with Shepard and the Normandy together for the last time. Whether that be dying together or crashing on a remote planet in the middle of nowhere. Please. I have followed this series since the beginning and I have supported you through thick and thin, but I cannot support you any longer if you ruin the series that brought me to you in the first place. I honestly don't care if you make another ending canon for other Mass Effect games. I don't care if it's a five minute cutscene with no dialogue.
I formally request one ending via DLC or patch that ends with the Normandy and Shepard together, just as it began.
Thank you for your time,
Jen aka Yoshibb
TL;DR: I want the Normandy to be together again as it was in the beginning and how its been throughout the story in the end. The letter expresses my reasoning behind it and just asks for a patch or DLC with this ending.
Ce sujet est fermé
Retour en haut
. That's it... I'm in for $160 on this one.
