A Canon ME3 Ending?

[SacremPyrobolum]

SO I just finished ME3 and want to talk about the ending....

No! Wait! Come back! There're no flames here!

Also, spoilers for the extended cut ME3 endings.

SO anyway, I chose synthesis, which I thought was the most inappropriate for the occasion. After the bloodiest war the galaxy has ever known, the sentient races begin the first steps toward ascending to a higher plane thanks to Shepard's final sacrifice. The become Reapers are glorified man-servants and all is hunky dory. A completely happy ending.

However, after looking at the other endings, mainly the destruction one, I could not help but feel that if the Mass Effect universe was to continue it would do so after that specific ending. The universe is saved, but is still imperfect and there is a chance that Shepard might still be alive.

After all, we were told to hang on to our ME3 save data.

I also found it's description a tad misleading. I thought that by choosing it, it would set off a galactic EMP which would send all civilizations back to the stone age. However, all it seemed to do was kill all synthetic life. A bitter pill to swallow after working so hard to acquire the Geth and Quarians.

While I doubt that any continuation will follow Shepard specifically it cold include him as a major character, possibly as the replacement to Udina.

Now, the control ending is also not a very good ending to have a game based on. In it, Shepard becomes the peace-keeper of the galaxy, meaning that any conflict that would be meaningful in a game would be null and void because the Reapers would just take care of it.

All that being said, I still think that Synthesis is the best option for the reasons stated above.

I also apologize for bringing such a sore topic up again, but I was so curious as to this dynamic. Keep in mind that I am by no means trying to start a flame war or promote any anti-Mass Effect anit-Bioware anti-EA stigma. I simply want the Escapist to weigh in on my opinion.

Or perhaps the next game will actually have three different campaigns for the different endings. It will be released on next gen consoles so who knows the possibilities.

TL;DR
The Destruction ending is most likley canon because it leaves the world imperfect and Shepard is still alive making for a better setting for the sequel.

 

[Rack]

I chose destruction basically for that reason. Synthesis and Control just made no sense. It's a shame the path you take to get there is so awful because that and refusal leave the universe in an interesting state, clearly foreshadowed by the rest of the series.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

I chose destruction basically for that reason. Synthesis and Control just made no sense. It's a shame the path you take to get there is so awful because that and refusal leave the universe in an interesting state, clearly foreshadowed by the rest of the series.

I think refusal was added because Bioware wanted to troll us. Beforehand, it was common that people would shoot the Star Child out of frustration.

 

[Terminate421]

I chose destruction basically for that reason. Synthesis and Control just made no sense. It's a shame the path you take to get there is so awful because that and refusal leave the universe in an interesting state, clearly foreshadowed by the rest of the series.

Its also the safest option:

A. the AI and Geth can be repaired, if not, its never shown if they are all dead.
B. the Reapers may have had a failsafe to kill everything
C. It was your objective, stick to it soldier.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

I chose destruction basically for that reason. Synthesis and Control just made no sense. It's a shame the path you take to get there is so awful because that and refusal leave the universe in an interesting state, clearly foreshadowed by the rest of the series.

Its also the safest option:

A. the AI and Geth can be repaired, if not, its never shown if they are all dead.
B. the Reapers may have had a failsafe to kill everything
C. It was your objective, stick to it soldier.

But...But... What about Jokers love life!

He was with me from the beginning, surly he's earned a little robot tail.

Aslo, with synthesis it will not be long until the military might of the galaxy outweighs that of even the Reapers.

Everyone knows everything about everything, surly they can come up with something.

 

[Terminate421]

I chose destruction basically for that reason. Synthesis and Control just made no sense. It's a shame the path you take to get there is so awful because that and refusal leave the universe in an interesting state, clearly foreshadowed by the rest of the series.

Its also the safest option:

A. the AI and Geth can be repaired, if not, its never shown if they are all dead.
B. the Reapers may have had a failsafe to kill everything
C. It was your objective, stick to it soldier.

But...But... What about Jokers love life!

He was with me from the beginning, surly he's earned a little robot tail.

Aslo, with synthesis it will not be long until the military might of the galaxy outweighs that of even the Reapers.

Everyone knows everything about everything, surly they can come up with something.

Seth Green's Mrs. Handy can easily be repaired at some point.

 

[Vuliev]

A. the AI and Geth can be repaired, if not, its never shown if they are all dead.

That occurred to me as soon as Starchild explained what would happen. Since Geth (and EDI) are purely software, wouldn't the only thing destroyed be the physical platforms? Sure, the Geth lose the current platform-memories after their last backup, but that's really not that big of a loss (I mean, it's probably just the last couple days or so, so the most important thing (the sentience gained from the Reaper) is still there.)

And EDI would be basically untouched.


And following off of this, if Shepard survives, wouldn't he be able to tell everyone that the last frontier of evolution is just a reparation of the Crucible, Citadel, and Relays away? Unless Starchild's knowledge was an integral part of the mechanism and was destroyed in the first firing, you could conceivably repair eveything, then fire it again. Best of both worlds.

 

[Eddie the head]

Out of the 3 I picked destruction because the others made even less sense. I mean it's still bat shit insane even compared to the norm in the Mass Effect universe but it makes more sense.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Out of the 3 I picked destruction because the others made even less sense. I mean it's still bat shit insane even compared to the norm in the Mass Effect universe but it makes more sense.

Well the only way to kill a Deus Ex Machina is to use another Deus Ex Machina.

 

[ralfy]

Refusal is the one option that follows Shepard's beliefs and character, and yet there's no victory for that, which makes EMS useless.

Broken story, broken game.

 

[LetalisK]

I picked Indoctrination Theory, that should be the canon ending.

I mean...I...reapers...humming...

*breaks down and cries*

 

[allinwonder]

Control is paragon and destroy is renegade. Because if you choose destroy, there won't be reapers around to help you rebuild.

 

[Eddie the head]

Control is paragon and destroy is renegade. Because if you choose destroy, there won't be reapers around to help you rebuild.

And? I am trying to think of more to say but I can't think of anything. So? Continue? Why? Elaborate?

 

[dreadedcandiru99]

The Destruction ending is most likley canon because it leaves the world imperfect and Shepard is still alive making for a better setting for the sequel.

Personally, I prefer the ending that I made up after determining that all of the official endings were utter crap, for reasons this guy explains better than I can (at about the 6:30 mark).


But, setting my issues with the ending aside: wouldn't that idea--that one ending is canon and the others don't count--be an enormous problem, even for people who liked them? We've been told for eight years that Mass Effect was only ever supposed to be a trilogy, and that the player's choices would ultimately determine the fate of the universe. Now, suddenly, they'd be saying, "LOL, jk, the people who picked the red ending got it right and screw the rest of you because we want more money." So much for ARTISTIC INTEGRITY!!!1!, huh?

 

[Zaik]

The information we were given pre-EC lead me to believe that destroy was going to do just that. Completely destroy all electronics period, which would more or less sentence everyone you rounded up for the big space battle to death. Joker trying to outrun it actually made real sense then, although everything else in the whole entire ending didn't.

But yeah, if you ask for clarification now it's all rainbows and sunshine.

As far as being canon, it depends on whether they want to start over with entirely new species and just make it mass effect-ish, or keep the same ones in. The only one that doesn't make a whole lot of sense is the synthesis ending, it'd change everything a bit too much for it to remain the same game.

 

[number2301]

I pretty much agree with OP's point, destroy is the most likely jumping off point for further soulless milking of the series, but even that I find unlikely as what would the ME universe be without the Geth? Having said that, I hadn't previously thought about the possibility of repairing the Geth.

Refusal is the one option that follows Shepard's beliefs and character, and yet there's no victory for that, which makes EMS useless.

Broken story, broken game.

Give one, just one reason why the game is actually broken. And not broken in this bizarre sense that people insist on using, but actually BROKEN as in does not work.

Level any criticism you like at the game/ending, it may be an unsatisfying ass pull which leaves more questions than it answers which renders much of your efforts pointless. But the game has an ending. The game works. The ending works. Not explaining everything does not mean it is broken.

 

[Joseph Harrison]

Refusal is the one option that follows Shepard's beliefs and character, and yet there's no victory for that, which makes EMS useless.

Broken story, broken game.

Maybe it fit your Shepard's beliefs but certainly not mine. I chose Destruction because it fit my Shepard's beliefs in victory over the Reapers at all costs.

I don't think they have to chose a canon ending though, the universe has plenty of lore that they could chose from: a game set during the Rachni Wars, a game where you play a Justicar hunting an Ardat-Yakshi across the universe, a game set as a member of the resistance on Earth. I guess if they had to chose a canon ending synthesis seemed to be the favorite of the devs at Bioware but I hope they chose Destruction because it leaves the universe in the most interesting place.

 

[In Search of Username]

Refusal is the one option that follows Shepard's beliefs and character, and yet there's no victory for that, which makes EMS useless.

Broken story, broken game.

Shepard's beliefs and character are what you make them. Shepard is essentially a blank slate that you make into your own character, that's the point of the choices that have appeared throughout all three games. And yeah, not every choice makes you victorious, that's part of making decisions - sometimes you just can't do something a certain way. I'm personally glad that Mass Effect finally acknowledged that at the end.

OT: Bioware games don't have canon endings, they just have choices, in my opinion. If you try to pin it down to just one route and say 'this is how you're meant to play the game' it kind of spoils the fun.

 

[lacktheknack]

Maybe they'll take the Geneforge or Elder Scrolls route.

<spoiler=Geneforge minor spoilers>In Geneforge, none of the endings you can get are canonical. The closest one you can get is the "leave everything alone and flee" endings. Then, in later games, people will talk about a "young shaper (you in previous games) who did... well, we don't like to talk about it" in order to explain the state of the world now.

<spoiler=Daggerfall spoilers><link=http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:The_Warp_in_the_West_%28event%29>All the endings happened. All of them.

Hopefully they won't take the second route. It would be hilarious, though.

 

[Vegosiux]

Hopefully they won't take the second route. It would be hilarious, though.

That would indeed be funny. Actually, I'd love to see it at some point, just for the sheer hilarity of it. Maybe, to mix it up some more, also have all other major choices before the ending happen.