The Best Companion in: Mass Effect

 Where the trees have leaves of prisms

In the age of ancients the western RPG genre was unformed. T'was an industry full of clichés, usually weak combat and rampant misunderstanding of what exactly constitutes an 'RPG'. (No, just having a lifeless automatic 'level-up' mechanic, doesn't count.) But then there was Bioware, and with Bioware came disparity. (As well as Bethesda and at least one other RPG pioneer I'm forgetting right now.) Good games and bad games, B tier and A tier, and of course, actual rudimentary RPG mechanics and just having an number next to your healthbar.  Then, from Bioware's creative minds, they came and founded possibly the first high quality Sci-fi-fantasy hybrid game; Mass Effect. And I can't keep up this Dark Souls intro anymore, it doesn't even make any sense, this blog is about Mass Effect... and I'm sure you can figure out the rest of the premise from the title alone, but I physically cannot function without a proper introduction so I beg your forgiveness...

Following the recent trend of weaponised nostalgia in... well not just the gaming industry, every industry when I think about it, but especially those who sign off on all these remakes; it was recently confirmed that a remaster of the good Mass Effect games is incoming. (Sorry, Andromeda; you trash) And even I have to admit that although I was fully aware of what they were doing with that teaser and how literally just teasing Character models is practically the height of laziness, I still feel for the hype a little bit. What can I say, Mass Effect means a lot to me and in fact I was one of those people who actually started with the original so seeing those particular models recreated was very special to me. Even more so because these were the companions that I spent so much time with and grew to love through merit of being stuck on a space adventure with them. Of course, some I loved more than others and now... uh oh..

So that's how I felt the need to revive this old Blog series of mine for at least a single entry more in order to talk about a game I really do know well enough to assess, as opposed to the game which I was going to cover last on this series which had since released a DLC and threw my understanding into turmoil. (One day I'll get back to it, I guess. Maybe.) But I suppose it would behove me to touch on exactly what it is that we're talking about here. I mean, what exactly constitutes the 'best' when talking about characters in a video game? Well, quite simply, personal opinion. Yep, this is gonna be a subjective as heck blog wherein I split hairs, over analyse and prove to be wholly unfair for my own sick amusement. Maybe I'll touch upon the actual 'usefulness' of each character in combat, but quite honestly this is Mass Effect 1 we're talking about, most companions are literally only good to be bullet shields whilst you do all the work. (If you've never played then trust me, they are that useless.) But with that out of the way, let me launch into my usual listing of worst to best.

Carth Onasi tops out list in the worst spot for pure merit of being such an insufferable arse to the protagonist for seemingly no good reason whatsoev- huh? What do mean that's the wrong game? Oh right, I'm supposed to be talking about Kaidan Alenko! (Wonder how I made that mix up...) Kaidan is... there. Quiet honestly the man is like background dressing in all manners, from his voice to his story to his character design. (There's a reason he didn't make the cut in the teaser trailer) I genuinely cannot even remember what his character's arc was meant to be throughout the first game. I'm looking it up and apparently there was some sort of influence subplot going on wherein the player could subtly make Kaidan more or less accepting of Alien races, but that doesn't sound right at all, he seemed pretty plain toast to me.

So Carth- sorry Kaidan, pretty much sums up like this; he is one of the human's that is capable of using the mystical space powers know as the for- I mean Biotics, due to his exposure to Element Zero at a young age. Unlike Shepard, who got very lucky, Kaidan was fitted with L2 implants in order to control his biotic abilities and reacted badly to them. Not 'reacted badly' as in he started shooting blood out of his ears, but that he's wracked with migraines fairly regularly; which is about the best that those folk can hope for. (Unless you're the protagonist, in which case you get off scot free) He's loyal to the crew, doesn't seem to get in the way too often, Kaidan is pretty the model solider in every single way and the kind of person you won't really think twice about sacrificing for the good of the mission should anything go awry. (Seriously, did this guy make it through anyone's playthrough?)

Next up is the man, the myth, the legend: Richard L Jenkins. (That's right, you thought I forgot about him didn't you? Shame on you heathens!) This big meaty hero of a man that is Jenkins is but a mere rookie when he gets picked up by the commander for a ground mission on Eden Prime at the literal beginning of the entire Mass Effect franchise. He is abuzz with excitement about his first ground-op, but the Commander is pretty stern about letting him know that this is a serious mission, and that there's no room for undue heroics. (A clear effort from Shepard to try and steal the spotlight from this absolute demon of a man who would easily overshadow the entire crew if allowed to run at even half his full power level.) And there, on his first touch down to Eden Prime, whilst exploring the recently silenced colony, Jenkins is unfairly ambushed and brutally cut down by the literal weakest enemies in the game so quickly that he must have purposefully turned off his own kinetic shields before the mission because that's just how hardcore he is, baby! 

So wait a minute, did I just rank Jenkins, the man who famously dies before the first fight in the game, as higher than Kaidan, a man with the potential to make it through the entire franchise? (But who never will because duh, it's Kaidan) You betcha, and it's likely because honestly I found Jenkins to be more memorable. I mean sure, he is pretty much the living embodiment of a red-shirt, but that sort of blatant foreshadowing just makes the man's untimely death all the more memorable, out of sheer ridiculousness. How did this man make it aboard the most advanced ship in the Earth fleet? Why does he hold his weapon sideways if he's given literally anything other than his starter rifle? How can he wear Krogan, Quarian and Turian Armor without it showing up at all? And most importantly, why didn't he have his darn shields on? All these questions swirl around this enigma of a man, and until we get the demanded Richard Jenkins prequel game, the world may never know....

Now we have Ashley Williams and I'm just realising that I grouped up all the humans at the bottom of the list... I'm not sure if that's a testament to how cool Mass Effect aliens are or a red flag about my own speciesism against the human race. (Probably both, to be honest) Ashley is pretty much the lady counterpart to Kaidan who takes up his roll depending on the gender of the protagonist, with the slight difference being that she actually has a personality. Ash hails from a line of military service members and thus has that no-nonsense over protectiveness which bleeds out from that sort of lifestyle. She also has a prevalent sense of family and deep loyalty to them which fuels her desire to protect them whatever the cost. Of course, that loyalty also fuels her worst character trait, which is why she appears so low on this list.

How to put this... Ashley is sort of a space racist. Not in a 'war crime committing' sort of way, but in a 'deep seeded distaste that has unknowingly seeded into her rational decision making' sort of way. And that alone makes it pretty hard to get along with her, or rather it would with weaker writing. I genuinely don't know how the team had the courage to pull it off, but they actually gave a decent reason for Ash's xenophobia and allowed the chance for her to be redeemed throughout the storyline, and that's quite something for any one character to go through. And it's not something melodramatic and hammy either, it's actually quite subtle and organic, and if Ash was just more interesting outside of her racism I might even consider this character journey as worthy of a higher mark. Unfortunately, her best moments are saved for later games so this is the best I can do right now.

Here comes a controversial placement and so let me precede it by saying; Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya marks the first in a list of three characters who are almost too close to call in how much I like them. She may be in the middle of the list, but that is no ragging on her as a character, the standard is just so high from this way forward. Tali is a Quarian and thus a member of the Migrant Fleet, an entire race of aliens who were kicked off of their home world and now must live their lives as space nomads forever inside of environment suits. It's an intriguing premise that make Tali a curious being right from the get go, and that's before you actually start learning about the woman herself.

Tali is on her 'pilgrimage', which means she must search the universe to learn something worth benefitting the lives of folk back on her ship, this alone makes her a great analogue for introducing some of the more technical aspects of the world as well as to be insight to her fascinating culture. Unfortunately, this pretty much amounts to all Tali is during the first game and she doesn't really get to become an interesting entity of herself until Mass Effect 2 wherein she has a simply great storyline. Tali gets this high billing just from being such a great concept, but her best moments are absolutely yet to come.

Which brings us to the stalwart tank of the group, Urdnot Wrex, a turtle with a shotgun and a heart of... well he does kill for money so I guess I can't say Gold... Pyrite? Everything about Wrex screams 'tough' and 'hardened', and this comes down to his writing, voice acting and spectacular character design. (Although to be honest; all Aliens in Mass Effects prior to Andromeda are brilliantly designed) The man is a Krogan, which means he hails from a race of war fish that were ascended to space-faring status too quickly, and thus became a literal galactic threat worthy of retaliation. (That's the kind of badasses we're talking about.) The Krogan of today are far and few between, having been crippled through a manufactured virus that acts as population control, and the whole thing is some of the most interesting back story I've ever heard for a single Alien race. And whatsmore, Wrex doesn't just act as a spout of exposition for all this, he is himself a product of it and his very way of living and mannerisms convey as much about this situaiton as words.

Wrex marks some of those Bioware characters that you just instantly build rapport with. Seriously, it's hard not to love this fish by the end of any playthrough. He's tough as nails but laid back about it and even manages to treat the player to a story or two about his mercenary days, and unlike with Canderous, these stories are actually interesting to listen to and don't make you want to sever and eat your own ears with chopsticks. Wrex's personal quest about getting his grandfathers armour is not too elucidating, (although it is played perfectly for his character) but the way in which he is tied into the main story is truly impactful and marks one of the best moments in the franchise. I won't get into it here given that the remasters are on the way, but I've never seen Bioware craft a character who so starkly opened up in one moment that completely recast who you thought them to be. Great stuff.

These next two were literally agonising to choose between, because you'd think a list about best companions in a Mass Effect game would only ever have one clear winner. However this is Mass Effect 1 we're talking about and situations are different, thus I have to award the runner up prize to Garrus Vakarian. (I know!) This guy is a Turian, a no-nonsense species who famously were the first aliens ever encountered by humans during an event that would come to be known as 'The First Contact war.' (No prizes for guessing how that meeting ended up.) Although Garrus isn't the kind of Alien who carries the weight of his species on his shoulders, this time the writers give him space to shine as his own character and really become memorable based on those merits.

Yet again this is a case of a character who's instantly likeable, it's just in the way that his personality is and the dialogue he has; there's this constant sense that you and him are always on the save wave length. His personal story is perhaps the most solid narrative in the game, tying into the stories that he tells you in a manner that feels natural yet still impactful once you pick up on it. And most importantly, in my weighing system, he does hold ties to the main story through a touched upon rivalry with the rogue Spectre Turian, Saren. Garrus takes him on as a disgrace to their race thus given him personal fuel for the journey to put him down, same as with the protagonist. Unfortunately he's just not quite at that level of instant life-long pals that he reaches by Mass Effect 2, but he's certainly on his way there.

Which leaves me crowning the other most iconic character from this series, Liara T'Soni, perhaps the only companion in the game who is actually worth a damn in battle. (Okay, Wrex can be good too depending on the situation, but Liara is a literal jack-of-all-trades) As an Asari, a race of all female, all blue, psychic ladies, it would have been easy for this character to slip into those Sci-fi tropes as the overly sexual cliché spout, (god knows this entire species' design leans dangerously close to that territory) but the actual Liara herself is tipped in perhaps the exact opposite direction as a naïve pseudo-teenager looking for her way in life. (I say 'Psuedo' because she's over a hundred)

Liara is actually an interesting case because her ties to the main narrative run deeper than any other companion. She's a target during the early investigation due to her mother being so close to Saren, but soon after she joins up with the hero and we get the ever interesting dynamic of pitting a child against their parent. I think what I love so much about her character is the way in which her Arc starts in Mass Effect and tangibly evolves throughout each game until the 3rd, without feeling ham-fisted or half hearted in any of the individual entries along the way; that's truly impressive character forming. Whatsmore, her arc's conclusion in Mass Effect 1 is actually one of her peak character moments in my opinion, which marks a rare case of ME 1 getting the best of the series. (That doesn't happen too often.)

So Liara is my top pick for Mass Effect 1, but one must bare in mind that (excluding Andromeda) it is arguably the weakest game in the franchise, so perhaps a follow up is in order. Still, even with it's faults Mass Effect is a great game that seems to pay homage to so many Sci-fi series out there whilst still managing to wind into something unique along the way, and that's worth applauding all on it's own. And no matter how much I pick holes in them or rib at them, the ME cast remain one the most memorable casts that the company has ever assembled and I can't wait to see their glow up next year in  the remaster which better be at least half as good as the Demon Souls remaster. (I'll settle for nothing less...)

Are friends electric?

I hate to ask...

Companionship. One of the enduring traits of humanity is the desire for company, so that we don't have to go through this life alone. It's why we surround ourselves with family and friends; why we include ourselves in society and why, deep down, we just want to be loved. Or something like that, I dunno. I'm just trying to justify the reason that we connect in such a strong way to fictional characters in media. Such to a degree that we feel like we care about them. Just look at the cast of Game of Thrones, (Ignoring season 8) and how many people, including myself, felt genuinely distraught after the brutal murder of our favourite character. Or the fan petitions for the heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when... Infinity war happened and then... endgame happened. (Still not sure about the time frame for spoiler etiquette.) If portrayed right, fans can end up caring about these fictional creations as though they were real, breathing friends.

Video games are no different. In fact, sometimes Video game characters and companions can evoke an even greater degree of affinity then any movie character could hope to inspire. Perhaps it is a result of the immersion that a well realised game world can create; a testament to the authenticity of a vision that inspires authentic emotion. The same something special that has us thinking on a story long after we put the controller down, wracking our brains over decisions we made and the people we lost. RPG's especially seem to key into this mindset, at least for me, with the best examples presenting you with companions that you would defend in a heartbeat. But why is it that we find ourselves in these positions? Why do we care about the fate of those that are, ultimately, not real? Well, a few factors go into play.

The first I want to discuss is: Authenticity. It's a word I use a lot when describing fictional worlds that feel real but are not necessarily a reflection of reality, such as the worlds of Game of Thrones, The Elder Scrolls, The Witcher, Dragon Age, Even the Divinity Series. However, I want to stress the fact that authenticity is distinct from accuracy. An accurate fictional world attempts to capture all the details, big and small, of it's subject, whether in visual depiction, feeling or both. An authentic fictional world seeks to offer viewers something they've never seen before whilst presenting it in a manner so that they believe that such a place could exist. If a world feels authentic, then it helps make the people in that world feel authentic too. If we allow ourselves to fall for the fiction that a world magic can exist, is it so hard to for us to then believe in the sprites that inhabit that world?

Secondly, the writing of a character comes into play. An extension upon authenticity, the quality of writing plays a huge role in making the audience buy into the fiction. Vain creatures as we are, humans respond to traits and characteristics that reflect ourselves. We respond better to humanoid features like expressive eyes and facial hair, which is why anime characters have big eyes and CG Thanos from the MCU sports almost imperceptible stubble. We also like characters that demonstrate strength whilst also showing weakness, which is why some of the most enduring characters of pop culture can be flawed heroes like John Marston or Ezio. We want to see ourselves represented because we can recognize ourselves, and once we cross that threshold it becomes easier to see these imaginary creations as friends.

Thirdly, I believe interaction with the characters has a part to play. Now, 'interaction' is a difficult one because the exact meaning shifts if we're talking about a movie, book or game; but what I essentially mean by 'Interaction' is how close the perspective of the viewer is to that character. As in, is this a recurring character, is this character a friend, is the viewer in the shoes of that character, et cetera. Video Games have been establishing a close comradeship with it's cast through the use of companion characters for years. Those who share your adventure with you and save your life time and time again. In my exploration of emotive characters in fiction I want to first start with companions in gaming.

I could hardly go 5 minutes of talking video game companions without bringing up my favourite cast of characters from Fallout: New Vegas. In New Vegas, players are given a story of many sides as you are thrown into the middle of a war over the Mojave dam. Oodles of factions vie for the control over New Vegas and for you to help them achieve it, creating a situation where the player can find it difficult to know who to trust. Luckily for you, the player is given a whole host of memorable personalities to share the burdens of the land of sin with. Boone, Veronica, Cass, Arcade Ganon, Rex, Raul... and Lily, I guess.

The companions in Fallout games are the type that travel the wastes with you, risking life and limb, so they already share that instant bond-through-battle. However, in New Vegas the game takes it one step further. The cast of New Vegas are more than just hired guns, they are people with their own stories, troubles and dilemmas that they are in the process of dealing with when the courier walks into their lives. They care about the actions and decisions you make throughout the game and can come to respect or despise you in relation to the sides you choose in the coming conflict. Additionally, they all have a point at which they will trust the player enough to let them into their personal issues giving the player a way to help them out and through it.

Companion quests are what really push the New Vegas group into being a team you really care about as a player. They are exquisitely presented deep dives into that individual's world and troubles. Whether you're helping Boone open up about the death of his wife or Veronica come to terms with the prospect of leaving the only family she ever knew, you are positioned at a formulative moment in that person's life with the power to shape the person that they then become. Is there any greater sense of responsibility than helping to raise someone into the person they need to be? Most parents would likely argue not. In a way, that is the position that New Vegas places you in with it's cast. You become the parent and the companions are your children. The courier is never really an equal to his crew but more acts as a mentor. That is likely why it is so easy to care for that particular band of rogues.

The Witcher has a slightly different approach to endearing it's characters. Benefiting from being able to draw from Andrzej Sapkowski's novel series of the same name, 'The Witcher' game series did not need to spend time creating and introducing us to characters. Although most of the audience were not familiar with the fantasy novels, CD Projekt Red still opted to frame their tales in medias res; expecting the audience to pick up the story and cast as the went along. With a few clever drops of exposition here and there, soon everyone was familiar with Triss Merigold, Vesemir, Yennefer and Cirilla.

CDPR didn't need to have these characters follow Geralt around because they were already integrated so close to the story as Geralt's closest friends. With the player being put in the shoes of Geralt, it isn't too surprising why the audience comes to love them as much as he does. The Witcher is a very special RPG in the way that it allows for choice and consequence whilst still featuring established characters in a grounded, usually personal narrative. This means that the player may influence the direction of events but they never feel like the orchestrator of them, like anyone in life, really. A benefit of this approach is that the writers had an easier time directing the emotion of narrative, manipulating the audience into caring for people close to Geralt by familiarising the audience with their very human attributes. Ultimately, The strength of the Witcher's cast is a testament both to Andrzej Sapkowski's talent of crafting characters and CD Projekt Red's talent for utilising them.

So we come to Bioware. I speak of the team with a lot of high regard in terms to storytelling, and that is especially true with Dragon Age: Origins. As a traditional RPG series, Dragon Age is rife with memorable villains and companions in every entry; however, for my money the strongest lie in the original. This is both due to the framing of that story and the cast itself. Dragon Age: Origins was a story all about relationships, relationships between people, factions and nations. The Warden was tasked with uniting a country in order to save it's people, even when that country seems intent on tearing itself apart. You have to mend the shattered allegiances of Ferelden whilst working alongside a crew of, no other word for it, misfits. The sweet spy, Leliana; The wise teacher, Wynne; The bastard prince, Alistair; The suave assassin, Zeveran; The irritable witch, Morrigan; The apathetic golem, Shale; The drunken dwarf, Oghren and The faithful canine, Dog. Oh and Sten. I don't like Sten.

Almost every companion is diverse and intriguing in that way that Bioware can pull of better than anyone else. These are teammates that you fight and grow alongside and, just like New Vegas, the more time you spend with them the more they open up about themselves. The difference here is that you are very much on their level in Dragon Age, opening up your own weaknesses as they share theirs, and becoming a leader as they become who they are meant to be. Of course this means companion quests, which is my favourite way of solidifying a friendship, and even budding relationships as you progress with your team. You start of unifying a team of stranger and end off facing the end of world with a squad of stalwart friends and colleagues. And Sten. 

Final Fantasy 15 is another game with an absolutely great cast of characters. Grounded with the presentation of a road trip, and yet vast in the story of a chosen prince rising in order to face off against The Star Scourge. For FF15 the close interaction between the player, Noctis Lucis Caelum and his friends was the driving heart of the story. You would travel the road with them, meet new people, camp under the stars and just about do everything you would do on a road trip with real friends. (I assume.) Noctis travels the world with his best friend, Prompto; his royal advisor, Ignis and his royal protector, Gladiolus; and they all had a part to play in that coming of age story turned struggle between light and dark.

Final Fantasy is no stranger to emotional moments, with every game having at least one heart wrenching moment. They always focus around character driven moments and motives that expand your understanding of the people you share your party with. FF15 pushes this one step further, in my opinion, by basing the entire narrative around a close group of friends sacrificing their childhoods, their freedoms and eventually even some of their lives, in such a beautiful narrative. I may have even shed a tear once or twice. (Or I openly bawled three separate times.) Final Fantasy is just that well written, that even on it's fifteenth entry it can still introduce new characters that delight and surprise you and can leave you feeling hollow in their absence.

It would impossible for me to rattle off every single great companion in every Video Game; but I have provided a small petri dish of those that, I believe, present the fictional characters that most accurately represent friends. They all excel in traits that I think are necessary in making the fake seem real. They are all complex, vulnerable and unique; indicative of great writing and implementation. But why do we care so much about these fictional inventions?

Perhaps that is more of a question for a psychologist, however, from my point of view it comes down to that original trait of humanity I talked about; wanting not to be alone. Not that I'm accusing all the world of being lonely, but I believe us humans are hardwired to seek companionship wherever we can, even in the stories we read and the games we play. I can't say whether it is healthy to have one's entire group of friends exist entirely as a cast in some story, but there isn't any harm in connecting with a story that touches us in way we didn't expect. So maybe friends can be electric.