Hating James Vega?

[Phaethom]

I've been thinking lately about when video game characters just rub me the wrong way. Councilor Udina did exactly that; it was so satisfying when I finally got to take him out. I know I'm not the only person who felt that way about him. But I was completely surprised to hear that some people really hated James Vega. He was one of my favorite characters from the third game! No, he didn't have a lot of depth as a person, but he was a great parallel to my character. See, he and my Shepard were both skilled military men, so they had that in common. But there was a difference in that my Commander was gay. Because of that he had no trouble talking about his feelings and emotions. I loved Vega because he did. That scene near the beginning of the game where Vega and Shepard do a little boxing for fun was amazing! It allowed Vega to do something that was uncomfortable for him--open up. Their common connection of being soldiers allowed them to connect on a deeper level. I loved how it showed that it was difficult for Vega, being the stereotypical he-man that my commander was not, to deal with his feelings. He brought a very level-headed perspective to my team.

So what do you think? Did you like or dislike Vega, and why?

 

[Faelix]

But there was a difference in that my Commander was gay. Because of that he had no trouble talking about his feelings and emotions. I loved how it showed that it was difficult for Vega, being the stereotypical he-man that my commander was not, to deal with his feelings.

You do understand that there are people sitting and deciding this for you. That the gay guy is emotional superman and the other guy is limited?

It's pure propaganda and nothing else.

 

[IceForce]

I hated him because he kept calling Shepard "loco"/"lola".

 

[roushutsu]

I didn't mind Vega. I used him pretty heavily in battle. My team was primarily him as my damage tank, EDI as technical support, and myself as sniper. He helped me out greatly on the tougher guys. As far as his character goes, I will say that I wished he was introduced earlier or something and only until the third game is when you could actually use him. What we got was a nice start for a character, just a shame it was in the final installment so he didn't have nearly as much time to grow as the rest.

 

[scorptatious]

Vega was okay. I didn't use him too much. Of course, I liked to rotate my party members each mission, so he was able to see some amount of action.

 

[Requia]

It bugged the shit out of me that he had those gigantic traps but only ever did pullups.

I'm really weird like that though.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

A lot of people just hate Vega based on his appearance. Damn shame too because he's easily the best human squadmate in the entire series. He's an interesting guy who has a lot of funny moments too

 

[The Enquirer]

I didn't dislike vega, I thought he had his moments where he was great, and others when he was meh, the only party character I ever really disliked from the trilogy come to think about it, was morinth. She just sat there the whole game and had the same few dialogue options until the end of the game, when if you didn't romance anyone, she kills you via snu snu. I mean I disliked Odina as well, but in terms of squadmates, had no problems with anyone. Some were favored more than others *cough* Garrus *cough* but I really enjoyed every one of them.

 

[Ryotknife]

For a human, he was pretty good.......never thought those words would come from my mouth...

 

[Erttheking]

He wasn't the best character ever, but he was harmless. Plus he does grow on you a little when he has character moments, like snarky back and forth banter with Garrus or taking pot shots at the Mako.

 

[Terminate421]

He was average, the only bad thing i could say at all is that he felt just a tad meant for those people who watch MTV

 

[Reaper195]

I hated him because he kept calling Shepard "loco"/"lola".

When he first calls you that, you can tell him to fuck off and call you by your name. And he does. Solved in the first real conversation with him.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

I wasn't that fond of him conceptually when he was announced, but truthfully he turned out pretty well. He's kind of funny, gets on pretty well with my old guard and his character arc was interesting.

Diana Allers however, was a waste of time that could have gone....well, somewhere.

 

[Rack]

I hated him because he was never introduced, the game just thrust him on your party and he was Shepard's best friend but I'd never met him. It was just massively incongruous.

 

[Xukog]

I don't think I've ever hated a squadmate in the Mass Effect series,unless you count Morinth,who I didn't ever choose, aside from picking her once to unlock dominate,and then reloading. Vega,I was kind of unsure of until he decided to stop an escaping enemy in a crazy awesome way,and then I was fine with him.

 

[Neofishie]

His primary purpose was to act as a proxy for people who hadn't played the previous two games. A person who needed everything to be explained to him, and that can really rub longtime fans the wrong way. And I'll admit, at first I completely ignored him, since I was gonna save the galaxy with my old war buddies gorramn it.

But after running into him outside the missions enough times, I started paying more attention to him. And in the end, I found him a lot of fun. And I'm always a fan when humans in science fiction have an ethnic background, without it being their only defining trait. Vega has the Hispanic flair that colors his actions, but overall, he's shaped more by the missions of his past.

The fact that he gave Ash a bottle of Tequila and says that his enchiladas are perfect for the hangover seemed a bit much though, but I'll take it.

 

[Legion]

I didn't hate Vega, I hated how Bioware forced "my" Shepard into being his buddy despite his methods and opinions being at odds with theirs. That boxing scene involves Shepard expressing opinions about Vega that completely go against my own. Most characters they tend to keep fairly neutral so you can decide for yourself, but with Garrus, Vega and Liara the game more of less forces you to "like" them and that's what tends to irritate me more than the characters themselves.

For my male Paragon Shepard (who never got played as in ME3) it wouldn't have been an issue, as they were the kind of character who'd have been okay to be friends. But with my female Paragade Shepard, the forced chumminess didn't work, as she was the no-nonsense "get on with the job" type like Motoko from Ghost in the Shell or Gibs from NCIS.

I didn't dislike Vega as a character, I disliked how he was implemented as one.

 

[pandorum]

He replaced the Krogan character that would have been in your squad. There was enough humans already.