There was a time when BioWare was considered the cream of the crop when it came to listing out developers that were crafting excellent western RPGs, full to the brim with deep narratives, memorable characters, and tactical combat. There are two franchises, in particular, that fans look back on fondly when it comes to remembering BioWare’s golden age — Dragon Age and Mass Effect. While the latter’s reputation might’ve been tarnished with the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda, there’s no denying the fact that the original Mass Effect trilogy is one of the best franchises of all time.
The first Mass Effect game started it all and showed how BioWare was slowly shifting to real-time combat as opposed to a turn-based system. It’s looked back upon by many as a fitting start to the series that introduced series veterans like Commander Shepard, Garrus, Tali, and a whole host of other characters that would become iconic figures in gaming history. However, while this game might have a massive fanbase that has certainly delved into the details of this title, there are still ten things about the first Mass Effect title that most people are still woefully unaware of.
10 The Batarians Originally Served As Saren’s Underlings, Instead Of The Geth
The Batarians are a thuggish race that was initially introduced in Mass Effect 2. However, if things had gone as per the original draft, then their debut would’ve happened from the very first game itself.
This is because the Batarians were supposed to be Saren’s thugs in the first game before this idea was scrapped and the Geth ended up serving under Saren instead.
9 Rana Thanoptis, The Asari You Meet In Virmire, Is Voiced By Mark Meer’s Wife
Rana Thanoptis is a minor character that appears in all three games, with her presence being rather shady for the most part. This character is actually voiced by Belinda Cornish, who is the wife of none other than the voice of Male Shepard himself.
8 Almost All Of The Male Elcor, Vorcha, And Hanar Are Voiced By Mark Meer
Speaking of Mark Meer, one must certainly appreciate the versatility of his voice acting. Shepard might not sound like the most compelling character, but Meer still did a very admirable job of adding a level of authority to this character’s voice, especially given his multi-faceted role.
Most of the male Elcor, Vorcha, and Hanar present across the three games are voiced by none other than Mark Meer himself, which makes for some rather amusing situations when Male Shepard essentially ends up in arguments and discussions with, well, himself.
7 The Turians Were Supposed To Make Clicking Noises While They Talked
One thing about the Turians that most people don’t know about is the fact that their speech was initially going to be made more distinct through the integration of clicking noises. This idea was thankfully scrapped because of its distracting nature, and a unique inflection was added to their speech instead.
6 Cerberus’ Logo Was Supposed To Appear In The First Mass Effect Itself
Cerberus is a paramilitary group that revives Shepard in Mass Effect 2 after his “death,” but their expanded presence might seem like a MacGuffin of sorts in the trilogy.
However, this wasn’t to be the case — Cerberus’ logo was actually supposed to appear in the first Mass Effect, but this was scrapped for unknown reasons.
5 Mass Effect’s Aesthetics Were Inspired By Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is one of the biggest flops of all time. It’s a movie that pretty much destroyed Squaresoft to the point where they had to secure a merger with Enix, and diminished Hironobu Sakaguchi’s presence in the company for the rest of his tenure.
However, that doesn’t mean that Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within didn’t have any impact in the gaming community — the developers at BioWare were certainly inspired by the amazing designs present in this movie, with the omni-tools and Alliance armor, in particular, being quite reminiscent of the sci-fi designs present in this box office flop.
4 BioWare Had An Entire Team Working Just On The Eyes Of The Characters
Mass Effect: Andromeda was absolutely panned upon release, with one of the many criticisms levied at the soulless faces and eyes of the characters.
This was in stark contrast to the original trilogy, where BioWare had an entire team devoted solely to animated the eyes of the characters and making them feel more lifelike.
3 Mass Effect Wasn’t The Original Name Of The Franchise
One interesting fact about Mass Effect is that it wasn’t even going to be called by this name in the initial stages of development.
The moniker for this game was SFX, which stood for Science Fiction X. Thankfully, this rather unimaginative name was scrapped once BioWare realized that there was already a popular magazine with the same name.
2 At One Point, The Player Could Save Both Ashley And Kaiden In The Virmire Mission
The moment when Shepard has to choose between saving Ashley or Kaiden is one of the most nail-biting moments in the first game.
However, in the early stages of development, there was an option that would allow the player to save both characters, thereby removing any tension whatsoever from this dilemma. Thankfully, BioWare realized the emotional nature of this binary decision and decided to remove this cop-out.
1 There Was A Bonus Ending That Was Ultimately Scrapped Because Of Time Constraints
However, one removed aspect of this title that would’ve definitely augmented the replayability of this game was the bonus ending that people could’ve supposedly accessed in New Game +.
Apparently, if the player decided to shoot Sovereign at one specific part of this body in a given situation, the Reaper would’ve been destroyed there and then and the game would’ve directly jumped to the end credits. Unfortunately, a lack of time led to the idea of this bonus ending being scrapped.
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