A Story Analysis of Mass Effect 2 

The only criticism I have for this masterpiece: we're recruiting Legion way too late. Just not enough time.

Mordin giving safe sex advice will never not be funny

Every Bioware game to date has made the mistake of having an enormous codex full of interesting lorem plus frequent, long loading screens. Yet for some reason, FOR SOME REASON, they have NEVER allowed you to peruse your codex while you're waiting for the game to load. It's unforgivable.

You know what is messed up about the story of ME2? During the entire argument between Mordin, Maelon, and Shepard on what to do about the Genophage, no one even thought to get any input from *the Krogan*

if you save Sidonis, he ends up getting garrus father and Sister off of Palaven when the Reapers attack. It's a very nice touch to put Garrus morals back in place and to have it pay off positively in the end as opposed to not letting him do what he wants end up bad.

Rael's final message to Tali did NOT make her feel better. Her "thanks" was sarcastic; she hated the fact that his last message to her was an order, rather than some expression of familial affection or something. Shepard says as much to Shala'ran when they get back.

Point of fact: Shepard did in fact make it off the original Normandy alive. Shepard's death does come about 17 seconds later, but they did make it off the ship alive. Technically speaking.

I will say this, IFF is a very real thing that’s commonly used in military aircraft. I’ve worked on military aircraft for 8 years and IFF if very Important especially when it comes to carrier operation and early warning. So it’s less of them pulling it out of their ass and more of it being actually rooted in standard military operations and tech.

Mordin giving you medical advice about how to safely romance Tali is one of the reason i love the dude. He knows everything about your crew, and helps in the best ways he can. Just a generally quirky dude who wants to do good in the world

Just want to point out that The Arrival DLC is intended to be a post game DLC, after the suicide run. That's why you don't see any impact until mass effect 3, and is also why Shepard is on earth at the beginning of 3 as in The Arrival you can choose to willingly (or otherwise I guess) to head back to earth to defend your actions of destroying the mass relay.

Mass Effect is literally all about getting together your Team for a heist. When you perceive it from that angle, it all clicks.

Let’s not forget that suicide mission from the mass effect 2 soundtrack is one of the greatest musical scores composed in all of human history

I always have Kasumi destroy the box. Those memories aren't all she left of him. Plus in the next game she just holes herself in those memories. It's not healthy. Plus to me it dishonored Keji if she stopped being the person he fell in love with.

Would like to point out that the Cerberus backstory here is a massive retcon from ME1. In ME1 it’s implied heavily that they were an Alliance Blackops group gone rogue

I always save Sidonis, but it's more about helping Garrus overcome base need for revenge. Just like with Dr. Saleon, it's about trying to make him a better person.

The Arrival DLC is actually supposed to be completed post-main game. And it’s the reason Shepard is on earth under house arrest at the start of ME3, and it’s referenced several more times throughout the game.

I lost Mordin on the last mission the first time I played this. I was very sad cause he was my favorite crew member. Damn RIP you jittery amphibious alien man

In a way, I wish we saw more diversity in collector enemies. Insectoid design was great but I wish there was more dimorphism between close vs far away combatants. Just a shame the general model is never seen on the field. Maybe some non bipedal enemies in that vein. They're 50k year old corrupted aliens, make em weird

I really like how in the video the ardat-yakshi were compared to the succubus, it gives you an idea on how the devs got their inspiration for some of the species in mass effect.

Ah a fellow man of Vanguard culture What's interesting is that, even with all that is in the game to flesh out the crew members there was even more they initially planned, like a crew-mate conflict between mordin and grunt on the genophage, which would have been cool to see

When I was a kid, the collectors boarding the ship was the most terrifying thing I had ever played

Harbinger was already hinted to be a reaper in the Horizon Cutscene. You can clearly see him in the hologram behind the collector general lol was obvious with the voice and everything

35:30 Personally, I think it’s better to destroy the Greybox. Whether the info in it will be safe or not ultimately winds up being irrelevant, given the Reaper invasion. What is relevant is Kasumi’s future. If she keeps the Greybox, she never moves on from Keiji’s death. She spends all her free time plugged into the Greybox, reliving her memories with Keiji over and over. While convincing her to destroy the Greybox seems harsher at time, it gives her the space she needs to move on and keep living her life.

I'm so glad you felt the exact same way I did about Zaeed. Good ole uncle Zaeed and his drunken war stories. I wish we got a little more of him but at least he's great in ME3 Citadel

Garrus and Femshep are unironically the most wholesome and believable romantic couple in a video game.

A two hour analysis from Gingy? What an absolute treat!

I've always sided either Soldier or Sentinel in ME2. Soldier using every weapon, minus the SMG, and having an easy mode button (called Adrenaline Rush) makes them a powerhouse with a bullet for everybody. Sentinel is the tankiest class in the game, with tech armor boosting and instantly recharging shields, and having both warp and overload on hand is incredibly useful.

I love these types of videos, and I know they must take a WHILE to create. Props to you Gingy!

i love the way garrus just sits in the background during tali’s trial 😂

I never knew about the Dark Energy plot line until this video. That would have made the Reapers harder to hate and really would have thrown the ethics of fighting them into question. It also would have been a great way to segue into the Indoctrination Theory plot line. Huge kudos for the research and organization of a very dense game/series. Incredible job condensing everything without blowing over anything important.

I usually don’t let Garrus take the shot in his loyalty mission. I thought that it wasn’t what Garrus really needed, and that he really needed to be able to forget the past and move on. The best way I thought for that was for him to let go of revenge.

Mass effect 2 was so impactful to me I now constantly try to get my friends to play the series

To me, Mass Effect 2 is "Daddy Issues and Plot Hole" the game. The idea that the human reaper is the "Core" of the Reaper whole is not what I got out of that, even the dialog you get from EDI: "It appears a Reaper's shape is based upon the species used to create it." This is in direct conflict with what has been shown up to that point as well as the clarification (retcon) given in the Leviathan DLC of ME3. Its an interesting bit of head canon, but that is not how it was described in the game. It also does not explain why the Collectors are doing this work prior to the official harvest for that cycle. EDI says something about the Reapers not being able to get Protheans to distill down to miracle grow juice (i.e. they couldn't actually harvest them) but at the same time we are told the collectors are genetically altered to serve the Reapers. So the Reapers can genetically alter the Protheans but can't melt them down into glue? Are the Reapers so desperate for new units that they have to preform a pre-harvest using the Collectors before the real Harvest? ME2's main plot line introduces a lot of questions, but answers none of them. This leads us to think it will be answered in ME3 just like a lot of the B-plot story lines, but they never actually do, or worse they are out right refuted. Also, I gotta disagree with your planetary exploration opinion. ME1's planetary exploration nearly made me quit the game it was so tedious and boring. It could have been fun, but the same 2 prefab interiors and heightmaps that were turned up to 11 felt like last minute padding because the main plot didn't have enough run time. I find all attempts at "planetary exploration" from ME1-3, DLCs included, are all the weakest parts and feel like crap I have to wade through to get to the good stuff. Aside from those two disagreements you and I agree on most everything else.

I love your game analysis. Never disappointed. I always learn something new from games that I play 1000 times. Keep the good work

“I’ve had enough of your disengenuous assertions!” is one of my favorite videogame moments of all time.

One of my biggest issues with ME2's story is the fact that Sole Survivor Shepard - if the Corporal Toombs mission was done in ME - never mentions the fact they killed his Akuze squadmates due to their experiments with thresher maws. Ever. Despite being a significant event in his life that shaped a part of his personality. Tela Vasir had to actually point that out. The reason, of course, is because we wouldn't have the intended ME2 story (which I love, to be clear) if that fact were brought up, as it would be too unbelievable that Shepard would work with Cerberus then. I still think it's a really cheap way they went about it, though. And Cerberus is DEFINITELY a terrorist organisation. They went rogue and split off from the Alliance, conducted inhumane experiments on humans and aliens, silenced even high-ranking military officials that found out too much, assassinated political figures, kidnapped children, etc. I agree that it isn't black and white and they're mostly helpful in this game, but that doesn't make them any less terrorists, or wash away the fact they did some absolutely horrendous things up to that point.

A small detail I always missed during Tali's loyalty mission was her strained relationship with her father. If you don't use a paragon interrupt to hug it out, Tali instead talks about how what she wanted was a father who was there to spend time with her instead of away chasing dreams of reclaiming the homeworld. If you expose the evidence at the trial, Tali can vent to Admiral Ran about how her father's last words were not a goodbye to her but rather instructions for Tali to shutdown the geth and retrieve the data. And on the Normandy, Shepard can defend his actions be saying it was what her father wanted but Tali responds that she is tired of people doing terrible things for her benefit and without her consent. Exposing the evidence will result in her not being loyal for the final mission. If you allow Tali to be exiled, Admiral Ran will angrily confront you two about not showing the data. Tali can respond that it is for the good of the fleet which only makes Ran angrier, with her saying that Tali is just like her father being far too willing to sacrifice everything for the fleet. Tali however takes her exile with pride saying she was exiled for the good of the fleet and not through any fault of her own. Allowing her to be exiled actually results in her being loyal. I adore this mission for highlighting how much Tali wished her father wasn't so absent, too focused on the fleet to care for his own daughter; and yet Tali also is just as willing to sacrifice anything for the fleet, even her own place in it.

One thing I think that's absent here its the fact that it is a retrospective. When it came out and we were unsure about the next step and what would or wouldn't be expanded on. The ending of Arrival sent a shiver across my body because I wasnt sure when ME would come about. Having prior knowledge and info how everything shakes down makes things less intense.

I always thought the collectors were meant to be a sort of clean up crew after the reaper's arrival, but they had to be activated early because the Reaper Invasion was delayed. Why else would they have a massive ship with enough pods to collect an entire planet, and a reaper assembly area on their homeworld/station/hive?

I get why people love the game, I just think it blinds people to its faults. Shamus Young does an excellent video on how many of the things Mass Effect 1 set up to make writing Mass Effect 2 easier are thrown out the window. Such as being a Spectre giving character agency, hints of the galaxy getting ready for what comes next, Laura’s research, etc. But what damages this game severely is that by and large it adds nothing to the Reaper plot. The Collectors don’t advance the Reaper story at all. We end ME1 and start ME3 in the same position. Honestly ME2 should’ve been about getting the galaxy ready for the Reapers. Maybe even have a Dragon Age style group meeting where we try to plead our case to the other races. Which would determine how easy or hard it would be to fight the Reapers in ME3. It also doesn’t help this game hurts ME3 by answering like idk… Shepard coming from the grave might be a big deal! Like Jesus, no one in ME2 bothers to ask if Shepard is really Shepard since he technically died. No one bats an eye about it and it’s shocking the writers didn’t notice this gaping problem. Oh, and then there’s the problem that the vast majority of squad mates are entirely pointless. Now I love them as characters kind you, but why do we need Thane when we never use his assassin/ ninja abilities on a mission? Or how about Jack? Who seems like a liability than an asset. Mordin is probably the only squad mate who has any plot relevance with the Collectors.

Was just rewatching the first one last night!! Thank you Gingy❤️❤️

Thanks Gingy! Absolutely loving your Retrospectives! Keep up the good work, and thanks for giving us some amazing content to watch! Looking forward to ME3 and MEA

Dude I just wanna say you're quickly becoming one of my favorite youtubers, Appreciate ya and can't wait to watch this mass effect is one of my favorite game series flaws and all

Fantastic content as always! Keep up the great work! 😊

There is actually a paragon option with Kasumi where you offer to destroy the greybox for her. **spoiler** if she keeps that box it gets stolen. She also never moves on and heals from her lovers death. Some paragon actions are bad lol

Garrus left the space police to become space Batman

Another top notch video!!! Thanks for these.

Good job putting this together, I'm usually not a fan of longer form vids but this was well done.

If we're going to ignore the "surprise twist" at the end, what if the Collectors had the captured colonists and transformed them into human Collectors to be used as shock troops for the Reapers, like they did to the Protheans, if the Collector armor is any indication.

Lair of the Shadow Broker easily has the best romance writing in the entire trilogy and it's not even close.

Wow, just finished rewatching your video on ME1 last night and now this? Can’t ask for more

Looks like I arrived here really early. Lucky me, been waiting for your next video anxiously.

Love all your content. The amount of detail you provide is incredible.

absolute banger of a video Gingy, Love the content you make, Looking forward to the MS3 video as well 😄

Good job on the video Gingy! keep up the good work.

I love watching videos like even if I've played these games thousands of times, I always learn something new!. I never considered bringing Legion to Tali's missions! Also one of my favorite things about this game is getting to know the companions! Recruiting them was great but when I found out I had to do quests for them, I got super excited!

Again.. Great video and can't wait for the next!

I bought the Mass Effect collection because of these videos..... Keep em coming man. They also make good bedtime stories lol

I love your videos Gingy keep up the good work!

I saved sidonus or whatever his name is because: 1. I’m always choosing paragon options 2. He does eventually turn himself in. You can hear it on the galactic news thingies

I can’t say I agree with you on everything but you present in such a way I’m excited to see you’re take on mass effect 3

Gingy, I'm glad I found your channel. Not only did you breakdown fallout and dark souls in a way where I could understand the story better, you've made me believe that video games were art again. I can't wait until you breakdown Mass Effect 3 which will be a glorious culmination just like you did with Dark Souls. You are a very bright man and give good introspective. Honestly I feel like you are a pseudo friend to me even though I will never meet you.

Stumbled upon your channel yesterday and binged four videos back to back, now you drop a review of my all time favorite game. Great day! Edit: spelling

Thank you for being the first lore channel I’ve heard accurately describe primary and secondary mass relays

Mani just did Thanes loyalty mission today and at one point i was literally a pixel away from losing my target, to know that that actually would have resulted on the mission being completely failed gives such weight to having completed it, mass effect 2 is truly a great game

Been waiting for this! I love Mass Effect 2. Looking forward to hearing your opinion. I watched your entire Soulsborne series after I completed their respective game. Just watched your Sekiro one yesterday shortly after I finished Sekiro for the first time.

Zaeed was one of my favorites because of how much he was like a friend of mine, who would always keep an eye on the neighborhood and school, sadly he would later die to side-effects of agent orange before I graduated from high-school. Then Zaeed was the only one to die in my play though, that really hurt me, haven't touched it since 💔 😭

Spent this weekend watching your channel noice 👍🏾

This has been jolly!!! Thanks!!!

Another master piece good work man

This is my favourite game ever an absolute masterpiece from start to finish.

Can't believe I spent 2 straight hours watching this, damn the content is so good that time went by without me noticing

I feel like the Genophage worked a lot better in the first game, where it wasn't clear that it was intended only to reduce Krogan numbers to a manageable level. It made it a lot more morally grey. The second game gives you an easy out for arguing in it's favour.

Mass effect 123 is my favourite game series ever. Actually teared up at the Xmas party photo at the end of 3 😭

I have been binge watching all of your videos lately... amazing content i cannot get enough. I'd love to see you talk about Silent Hill 2 sometime. Especially because of the remake releasing soon. Cheers.

So many companions and yet I used garrus and wrex/grunt through the entire series lol

Great video, One thing, renege isn't 'evil' it's 'ends justify the means'- must stop the reapers, you either help or you get out of the way.

You deserve so much more credit for explaining these games so we'll. I knew nothing before I watched your videos.

Excellent video! fun watch!

Fun fact: the Vorcha are voiced by Mark Meer who also voices male Shepherd

If you do project ascension after the end of the main plotline (as i always do tbh) you get to see harbinger in its real reaper form, not significant but pretty cool

These videos are so good I can’t wait for the me3 one

My only problem with the game is that when you’re planning the series back to back, 2 just feels like side mission the game. None of the missions feels connected to each other and I don’t feel the pay off of any of it until the last mission and playing through 3. There’s only like 5 or 6 actually main mission in a game that has like 30 or 40 something and half of those are really short. I don’t dislike like the game at all, I think it’s really well crafted, it was the first of the trilogy that I played. But it’s my least favorite of the 3 now cause it steers from the main plot so much for much of its run time I feel.

Thank you for making this

Great video 😊😎👍. Mass effect is one of my favorite video games.

To add to your review, yes, Mass Effect 2 was on 2 disks. And originally you were supposed to get all dossiers at the start. There's even Diolog still in game from aliens going into the plague zone to recruit Mordin.

1:46:09 fun fact, theres "unused" dialogue that shows garrus reacting to legion, basically a "hm, normally id decline but ill take it, cant be picky" like kal reegar. I say "unused" because its in the game, but you have to get legion later on

Thane is absolute sweetheart in my eyes. I absolutely loved him 😭

Been waiting for this since the last one dropped

I’m buckled in and ready

This is a great breakdown. ME2 is easily my favorite of the series. I'm currently doing a "ReneGon" adept playthrough and I'm on me3 about to get tali back.

I never knew about the Legion flotilla interactions, never tried so hard to go out of my way. That’s so awesome that the team thought of that stuff.

Man.... i love these deep dives!! I cant get enough Edit: remember fans...its "the Illusive man" not the "Elusive man."

10:52 Tackle to the nuts? Outstanding move Shepard, that's why you're the boss

A Mass Effect 2 with the Normandy Squadmate interactions that ME3 had (the ones where garrus could move from his guns and tell war stories) is easily an S tier game right there

Great job!

I saved the renegade playthru for FemShep, but even as a renegade, chose to play as “the A**hole with a heart of gold.” I.E. focused on safeguarding humanity, but made room in her schedule for the other races where it would benefit mankind/serve her own personal desires. Went all the way to controlling the Reapers bcuz she saw it as the only way of ensuring human dominance while still leaving room for the other races to have their own place (she’d gone all the way with Garrus by this point, and was effectively a half-sister with Tali and Liara). This is why the original ME trilogy will always stand above whatever comes next in the continuity for me. No other series will manage to equal the inter-personal bonds between the main characters while simultaneously having the stakes set so unfathomably high.

I'm not too sure why but the email in ME3 where you see Kal Reagar is killed saving a Turian Patrol almost brings a tear to my eye. Because you can't save everyone, and he was always gonna be one of those people ready to lay down his life for anyone, and it's one of those that makes the message in ME3 hit. Playing through ME2 now can't wait to get back to ME3.

Tali has always been my main squeeze! Even if her canonical appearance is a stock photo.

Cant wait for the 3rd video and your opinion on the ending and especially the crucible. I also suggest talking about the indoctrination theory since it was such a big thing back in the day.