Poll: A social/national stereotype experiment in regards to ME3 and its ending.

[Fidelias]

I'm American and I hated the ending.

The thing I hated most was it went completely against the moral theme the rest of the series. What seemed to me to be the theme was "Refusal to give up freedom, no matter what the cost". After all, isn't that pretty much basically what Shepard said in the first game when Saren explained that they could survive by working with the Reapers?
Even Renegade Shepard believed in personal freedom. Unlike other "Dark Side" morality characters, he doesn't try to enslave and leash innocents. He hurts them, but he's more like some kind of asshole pirate taking freedom too far, than an evil Sith trying to enslave.

The fact is, however, that no matter what ending you choose to the series, you're basically giving in and sacrificing freedom to ensure survival.
With the destroy option, you're sacrificing the Geth, also yourself, also anyone with as many crucial implants as yourself (aka: a LOT). This choice restricts less free will than the others, but you're still commiting genocide without anyones' say in the matter. That's kind of what you've been fighting against.

With the control, you basically play/become God to the residents of this galaxy, and it's implied that you will continue the cycle because you will be changed.

The Synthesis option is the one that's supposed to be the most light-hearted, some even consider this the "correct" ending. But in truth it's the most cruel and backwards-thinking solution there is. The argument is that since Organics and Synthetics can NEVER get along (highly debatable), then we just mix the two and everything will be fine. Basically what it's saying is that in the face of controversy, you have to eliminate your differences. Not work it out. Not understand each other. You have to become exactly the same, because you can't be diverse AND civil.
This goes completely against the morals of the rest of the series.

...And I could go on for an hour, but I have work, and my eyes are closing as I'm typing this...
Sorry if I don't make sense, it's midnight.

 

[Goofguy]

Nah, you're kind of missing the point. Sure, there are plenty of people who were displeased with the lack of a happy ending. However, the majority of those who hated the ending was due to the fact that it was ridden with plot holes and did not fit in to the context/keep with the spirit of the previous games.

Oh and I'm a Canadian who hated the ending(s).

 

[Matt King]

hmm i will say well done, that is a very good analysis and it does make alot of sense, i'm ENGLISH (none of this wishy washy british crap) and i loved the ending and i do suppose i love the "we won, but at what cost" ending for media because winning without any loss just seems... hollow and unreal but the new mass effect endings really put it into scope

 

[Aprilgold]

I'm American and I approve this mes- Oh god I can't do that with a straight face. Anyways, I'm American and I find that the ending failed on several fronts. These ranging from creating plot holes to introducing new, all powerful characters that renders the last two games mute to just not being a ending as it is a slideshow.

I hated it more, not on the basis that I disagree with it, but on the basis that it simply was not the ending fans deserved, I am not one of them. I never liked Mass Effect and I rented Mass Effect 2 and beat it on a weekend. Didn't care that I did, just I beat it and that was that. It wasn't a amazing hook and I got lost in all of the space and boring mining mini-game to get resources that I honestly didn't care how many dudes died on the last bit because it was such a slow process to upgrade the ship.

From what I understand, the games a series, perfected can take 100+ hours, the last hour of a film decides what people will think of your film. Well Mass Effect 3 ended badly, ruining the 99 hours up to it. The arguement that since those 99 hours were fun it shouldn't matter right? Well the time you spend in sex and if you don't climax was it even worth trying? You went in with the expectation that you would get your rocks off but end up feeling blue-balled, the fun leading up to it doesn't make the fact you didn't cum any less disappointing.

In conclusion, the ending was bad and I totally understand why people can't look at this series anymore without anything but a agitated sigh.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

First of all, that was not the ending the series was always meant to have and I mean that in the most literal sense possible.

I am American and that ending was awful. I'm not really sure if I agree with the premise that Americans don't like things that are dark and Europeans do because it's completely wrong. You have your cause and effect backwards. Sad, thoughtful art is what you find in the happy times. The sad times are filled with happier distractions. For example, the editors of the novel A Clockwork Orange gave it a much darker ending for the American release specifically to appeal to American audiences. This darker ending is the one you recognize from the Stanley Kubrick film. Dune was American. Good luck finding something darker than that. Edgar Allen Poe was American, and drunk off his ass in the Army. Moby Dick. The Scarlet Letter. Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The Life Aquatic. Fucking Hunger Games. Christopher Nolan movies. Additionally, our Revolution was a pretty desperate time and we got rocked pretty fucking hard in our Civil War, especially here in the South. That was much longer ago but that's got to be worth something. And even if all the Americans say they hated it and the Europeans say they loved it, I might just interpret that to mean Europeans have horrible taste.

You say it was dark, I say it was retarded and cynical. I understand you're trying to imply the ending doesn't suck big meaty balls and people just don't like it because it's sad, but the problem is that you're completely wrong. The ending of Mass Effect 3 was unpopular with Americans [CITATION NEEDED] because it was terribly, terribly, terribly written. It was popular with Europeans [CITATION NEEDED] because they like horribly written schlock, I guess. It has nothing to do with how dark it was or wasn't. Just because it's dark doesn't mean it doesn't also suck ass and it does not deserve any extra points for being dark. They made it dark to create the illusion of being deep and artsy but it's a very cheap, desperate, and transparent trick.

This ending did not take 'guts'. I do not believe for one instant that this horrible schlock was written for creative reasons or that whoever wrote that turd viewed it as an artistic challenge. It was not a bold risk. It was a slimy, cynical, and conscious pursuit of add-on sales (DLC), marketability, sequel potential and franchising. This ending was a business decision, not a creative one, and it was a decision that leaves Bioware's reputation deservedly tarnished. They were wrong not to do something to remedy the situation after screwing their customers and fans so cynically, transparently, and utterly. They were also wrong to handle their PR so insultingly and badly following release.

I'm VERY tempted to explain why this ending doesn't work even as a 'let-down' or sad ending and why a let-down ending isn't always the most appropriate choice for every story. But I don't want to risk validating the idea that people object to this ending because it's sad. That Tasteful, Understated Nerdrage video may help you understand why people don't like the ending, although in my opinion the author is way too generous to Bioware and the quality of the storytelling.

 

[Asita]

American and hated it. You ready for the long explanation? *Inhales deeply*




It wasn't because it was a downer ending. Though granted, I was very miffed that the [apparently unintended] implied consequences taking the ending past 'downer' territory and into outright nihilism, at least before the Extended Cut. No, despite that, what got my goat was just how sloppy it was. The Final Hours docs note that they were debating the ending until very late in the development cycle and...well, it shows. Mind you, I would have been perfectly happy with Shepherd sacrificing himself to deal the final blow to the Reapers. I wouldn't have minded in the least if the game had cut directly to the destruction ending while Shepherd and Anderson were bleeding out after the confrontation with TIM. That would have been a good ending, especially if they included the funeral. Very simple, very powerful, very effective.

What we got was an attempt at philosophical complexity that came out of nowhere, a sudden change in the story's driving force before we dealt with the threat we'd been facing for the last 2.98 games, one that in addition to in addition to invoking nigh-magical choices to resolve this new conflict came to us from the mouth of the Big-Bad himself. Even ignoring the reliability of such a source[footnote]especially one whose modus operendi consists largely of subverting the wills of enemies to make them join the villain's cause...aka Indoctrination[/footnote] for a minute, the fact would still remain that we are forced to put our mission of dealing with the clear and present danger that the villains of the series pose on the sidelines in favor of resolving some metaphysical conflict that the plot itself has been repeatedly suggesting is not as inevitable as the villain is now claiming. Regardless of one's opinion on the catalyst's conclusions, the fact remains that that is sloppy writing.

Making matters worse, despite the fact that these are offered as your only choices, none of them actually hold up to scrutiny. Control and Destroy were [originally at least] outright stated to not fulfill the role, and Synthesis - despite apparently being the 'good' answer presented as the only one that would actually work - fails spectacularly when one examines it. The problem is that the created will always rebel against the creator? So your answer is to turn everyone into cyborgs? ...Ok, how exactly does that prevent the described Nietzschean ressentiment from taking hold? Why does this make things better? Are we to assume that this magically means no other races will be artificially created, and that if they are they'll automatically be BFFs with their creators?

And it certainly doesn't help matters that - by accepting this last option - you are very closely mirroring the actions you lambasted Saren for taking at the end of the first game. Here's the thing: Conflict like this can often be described in terms of warring ideologies. The game itself actually made a point of showing just how well aware of this it was by showing the Destroy and Control options being performed by Anderson and TIM, respectively. Given that, Synthesis is best exemplified by Saren, for reasons that should be obvious given his dialogue during the final confrontation of Mass Effect 1. Embracing it requires you to pull a 180 on the position you held back then and actively embrace the very philosophy you condemned him for. Control doesn't fare much better, seeing how the game requires you to reject that philosophy by shooting TIM just a few minutes prior to this final decision. That leaves you with Destroy, which is closest to maintaining the original conflict of the plot. That said, it still requires you to accept the Catalyst's philosophy by way of its collateral damage destroying all synthetics[footnote]Which is itself a very "what" moment, given both the way destruction is triggered and the fact that VIs are incorporated into just about everything from control systems to life support...and given that the Catalyst claims you yourself would be killed due to your cybernetic parts, would rather seem to imply that Quarians (who Harbinger himself notes have similar cybernetic enhancements) and Biotics (at least the non-Asari, who require implants to use their powers) should also be casualties[/footnote] in the process. Even if this is Anderson's pet choice, you are still letting the Catalyst dictate the surrounding circumstances.



Expanding even more...Let me put it this way: Christopher Paolini actually used a similar idea of adding a new conflict in the eleventh hour[footnote]Said conflict being the problem of dealing with magic users, fully introduced by the big bad as part of his efforts to turn the protagonists.[/footnote]. I know he's not exactly a paragon of prose, and not exactly the first choice for giving Bioware writing lessons, but bear with me for a minute. The quality of the rest of his writing notwithstanding, he actually pulled off that aspect better than Mass Effect 3 did. This can be attributed to several key details in execution.

1) The 'new' conflict was repeatedly alluded to throughout the series, and the resentment brewing between magic users and non-magic users (to say nothing of the difficulties of the latter dealing with the former on even footing) had been a recurring plot element. The end result is that the conflict becomes something that the audience can relate to and that they have been shown is an issue in at least some form. By contrast, in Mass Effect our best example of the 'inevitable' synthetic/organic conflict takes the form of the Geth...which the second game made clear were a splinter-faction from a more peaceful group, provoked into action by the very group led by the one telling you about the inevitable conflict.

2) The protagonists don't let the conflict derail them. The big bad is still their enemy, and they don't let the new conflict shake their resolution to fight him, nor do they let him dictate their actions because of this revelation. What's more, while they do come to a similar conclusion as the big bad, they put it aside until that big bad is defeated and the dust has settled

3) Even after acknowledging the conflict the big bad presented, they didn't accept his answer to the problem, but sought their own solution. This is phenomenally important, as it serves to keep the villain in his own corner and the protagonists in theirs and helping to imply that they will not become the same kind of monster that they were fighting against.



Long story short: As anyone who read through all that can testify, most of my complaints about the ending relate to the Catalyst and the choices he offered. It's not that the tone of the ending that gets me, it's the fact that in the last stretch of the game they try to pass off the key villain, the AI in charge of the reapers as a mentor figure rather than a villain. I hate the ending because I see too many flaws in the writing to let slide.

*exhales*

 

[keiji_Maeda]

Im Finnish (Scandinavian, yeah i label us as Scandi's, whatcha gonna do about it?) and im ambilivent towards the EC and hate with a passion the original endings.

Its over for me, they tried and succeeded in some areas in polishing the turd but its the end. The curtains. The fact that EAware went with the original endings seriously to begin with makes me unwilling to have any more to do with the Shepard Trilogy and any further EAware products if they can with a clear head stoop so low. Any further purchases from them will come with great consideration several weeks after the release once their quality has been measured. My Shepard has reached her end, ambiguously existing in a state between life and death, the Lich of Uncertaninty if you will.

Its the end of the line.

Dude, i think the entire Nordic commonwealth consider you Scandinavian. Now let's rope iceland into this thing.

 

[Eddie the head]

I'm American, and with the Extended Cut out, it was pretty decent. I won't say I love it, but I actually do like the Synthesis ending (Haven't seen Control yet), and the Destroy ending was okay.

My problem with the Synthesis ending is well you see I watched Star Trek as a kid and well it reminds me way to much of what the Borg would do. "Seeking perfection through technology" well part of being human is being imperfect. So yeah I don't like the Synthesis ending because it reminds me of the Borg. Also Control is weird as hell.

 

[GreyJedi]

Belgian, and:
I believed the old ending was okay, but it had its flaws. Some plotholes, some weird, unexplained circumstances, etc. However, I personally didn't mind the fact that it was a bit of an open ending (thus leaving a lot up to speculation.) On the other hand, the plotholes made it seem like some stuff was missing, and this became all the more apparant with the Extended Cut.

So...
Old endings: Okay, but not great.
EC endings: Very good. Further clarification as to the origin of the Catalyst was provided, etc. Not the most original ending, but good. (And the "bittersweet" tone was maintained, which is great. A "complete victory" or an overtly sappy happy ending would not have fitted with the tone of the rest of the series.)

 

[keiji_Maeda]

Other and Ambivalent...

Sounds like a personal AD.Other and ambivalent looking for companionship and common hating on the internet, applicants need not have sexuality.

Throwing down a mediumish explanation in the wan hope that it'll get read.

Didn't like the OE (original ending) the original ending deprived you of your choices,made an arbitrary nod to the collective "Moral choices" you'd done by converting them into EMS and saying, this is the sum of your choices. Yah, i can buy the premise to that, how do you put emotional impact from almost ten years of gaming into a tangible benefit? You COULD argue that breaking it down into numbers an making it contribute to a "Brighter ending" (i'm looking at you dubious robo-DNA ending) is a valid choice and that would've been ok with me. But i think it's the execution of the STar-whelp that annoys me, and the EC did go some part to fixing that. I mean, it would've been nice to get more than some stills to reflect my final choices, but at this point i had NO expectations, and it was pretty easy to top that.

But in my own opinion, it seems pretty decent of bioware to remake the ending. They didn't have to, i mean morally, yes they did, obligation to the loving fanbase 'n all that Jazz. But cold-hard-cash-credit reality? No they didn't.

But what they did do is really just expound on the current ending, and that isjust what they said they would. A lot of folks were hoping for more, and they didn't get it. Of course that's gonna' rustle some jimmies.

In the end. What did i expect? Î(and a few other folks) wanted a "Fallout" like ending where we got a nice lil' narration of "Where are they now" with ron perlman'n all 'at. But in retrospect it seems pretty clear that this is precisely what Biwoare tried to avoid, and instead explained that "our ending doesn't blow up the galaxy literally".

 

[GreyJedi]

I'm American, and with the Extended Cut out, it was pretty decent. I won't say I love it, but I actually do like the Synthesis ending (Haven't seen Control yet), and the Destroy ending was okay.

My problem with the Synthesis ending is well you see I watched Star Trek as a kid and well it reminds me way to much of what the Borg would do. "Seeking perfection through technology" well part of being human is being imperfect. So yeah I don't like the Synthesis ending because it reminds me of the Borg. Also Control is weird as hell.

Well, I think the basic idea of organics as imperfect beings is somewhat maintained. As EDI states, there is still room for growth. (Something along the lines of "And with time, we might even overcome mortality itself.")

Control, however, is a double-edged sword. The Reapers could continue to be a protecting force in the Galaxy. But it is equally possible that Reaper-Shep goes rogue, after a while, because it decides to work out a different "solution" to, say, a new conflict taking place some time in the near future. It's not certain that their new "Shepard-AI" won't be corrupted either. Soooooo... Huge pay-off (no "tampering" with organics or synthetics, allowing them to reach their objectives at their own pace, etc...) but it comes with a huge risk, according to me.

 

[Spartan448]

Given that the entire Mass Effect series was (IMHO) complete and total sh*t and a bit of a waste of my own money and time, I will say that I am American and I really liked the fact that most of the annoying characters (To wit, everyone that died) died, although some (To wit, whichever ones you see crawling out of the Normandy at the end) did live.

 

[Rack]

I'm English and hated the ending. I love a good tragic ending, but this was a terrible downer ending pre ec and a terrible happy ending post ec.

On that note regarding FFX

Spoiler

I was absolutely gutted that they defeated Sin at the end, I was gearing up for a wonderful ending in which they use the final summoning to continue the cycle, but instead they pulled a ludicrous deus ex machina and went for a super happy ending.

 

[Indecipherable]

This is the kind of poll you get when you don't take the time to read why people hate the ending. It is not solely about winning or losing the game or your character. I'm tired of having to read this same drivel.

I'm Australian, I hated it because the writing sucked.

FYI: I liked "The Road" which was abysmally dreary and forlorn.

Edit: Apparently I am echoing everyone else here, perhaps that should show the magnitude of lack of effort you have made at understanding why people dislike it before painting Americans a certain way.

 

[mindlesspuppet]

Well I'm Australian, so nyaaahh!

Also, I think you're giving the writers way too much credit.

And even if you are interpreting their aims correctly, their execution of those aims still stinks.

^ This.

To add a bit; I'm American, I fully believe the Indoctrination Theory is not only the definitive ending but the one that was always intended (there's just so much damn evidence that has no context otherwise). I do believe EA had insisted on changing the ending to something easier to follow (which is often the case in movies) so I do feel somewhat slighted.

 

[legendp]

I am Australian, I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it as much as everyone else. I am happy to think up of my own ending

Anyway You could just pick control and after having the reapers repair the mass relays you fly them into the sun. and it's pretty much then the same as destroy ending except mass relays are fine and so are synthetics.

I may not like the ending but I didn't let it ruin the rest of the games and the experience. It''s so cliche to say now but we all know it's true that the journey is what counts not the destination. And even after the ending I am happy to play through that journey agian

 

[johnnnny guitar]

Australian was not a fan of the endings extended cut or otherwise but then again was not a huge fan of ME3 overall anyway because the whole of ME3 had major story and gameplay problems BEFORE hitting the massive brick wall of the ending although it certainly had a few really stand out moments

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

My problem with the Synthesis ending is well you see I watched Star Trek as a kid and well it reminds me way to much of what the Borg would do. "Seeking perfection through technology" well part of being human is being imperfect. So yeah I don't like the Synthesis ending because it reminds me of the Borg. Also Control is weird as hell.

Exactly, the Borg. The Synthesis ending (you know, the 'good' one) has you performing a violation worse than rape on every sentient being in the galaxy, whether flesh or machine. Wow Casey Hudson, how "inspiring" and "uplifting"! Way to go Bioware! Plus, you talk Saren into fucking blowing his head off for trying to do the same thing only to later do it yourself. I think it's safe to say Paragon Sheppard is the biggest douche in the universe.

"A union of flesh and steal- the strength of both, the weaknesses of neither" -Saren. So why didn't Sheppard just join Sovereign in the first game and skip all the other bullshit?

 

[Griffolion]

-snip-

Very interesting. I have a feeling this hypothesis could also reflect the state of the two countries in general. Britain had its power many centuries ago, now we are a mere shadow of our former selves in terms of dominance on the world stage. This could reflect our fatalistic personality as a nation, because we've seen the decline of our nation over time. America is relatively young, and I feel its greatest accomplishments are yet to be had. This sense of "winning" also carries over into how they came about as a nation, through winning their independence from the Brits. I'm probably talking out of my ass at this point, but hey, it's interesting stuff.