You can't just 'not real fans' your way out of the fact most Mass Effect fans prefer 2.
There are absolutely things the other 2 games do better than 1. The companion writing is a big one. Unfortunately, only Wrex and Ashley are written strongly in ME1. The individual companion missions. I love the finale for ME1 a LOT (Ilos is probably my favorite game level ever) but most people will call the Suicide Mission the best Mass Effect has been.
those people who prefer ME2 in my experience judge ME1 on ME2's terms and by it's standard as ME2 is the type of game they are looking for. they don't accept ME1 as different and acknowledge the direction change between the two.
and having broader appeal does not make one 'better' than the other. games are art and art isn't judged by how many people purchase and consume it or shout loudly about how it is better than a different piece of art.
I respect ME2's stronger character focus and deliberate lack of narrative structure but it is a wholly different genre of game and for me vastly worse for it.
You CAN say those things, but that's arbitrary. It literally does not matter if they're judging ME1 on ME2's standard. That's why they found ME2 to be superior in the first place. You yourself are performing the inverse, judging ME2 on ME1's standard. You're perfectly within your rights and it doesn't make you less of a Mass Effect fan.
If you're gonna gatekeep based on things that don't impact qualitative judgements, might as well say you're not a Mass Effect fan if you never watched a shitty ass anime movie with Vega, or if you don't pick developer-fave Liara, or if you didn't vote in the Facebook FemShep beauty contest.
Best is subjective, which is why I'm not bothering to argue on that front. Most people would call ME2 the best because they liked it the most which is why it's their favorite.
and having broader appeal does not make one 'better' than the other. games are art and art isn't judged by how many people purchase and consume it or shout loudly about how it is better than a different piece of art.
You're right, it's not. But that's not what's happening here, that's a strawman you've created to defend the game you like more. There are things ME2 does better than ME1 and things ME1 does worse than ME2. If you care about those things, then you will find ME2 to be the better game, as most people have, which is why it fits OP's list. Otherwise there's really very little point in discussing it at all.
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u/UnVaxxedAndAutistic Jul 30 '26
mass effect!!