I have Mass Effect 2, do I have to play Mass Effect 1 to understand the story?
I never played any of the games of Mass Effect series. Now I have Mass Effect 2, due to a promotion by Origin, in my library.
Is it possible to understand the storyline of the franchise without playing Mass Effect 1?
Best Answer
Although one doesn't need to have played any of the games before to fully understand the plot or enjoy the game, I would definitely recommend it. Specially being the trilogy at such a low price nowadays to get a better grasp of the game. And not only in terms of story* but also in gameplay and design.
The franchise suffered few changes from the first game to the last one and depending on personal tastes the whole experience can change in the different iterations.
*Each sequel had a different main writer affecting the way the plot is told, how it unfolds and what weight other sub-stories have.
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Do you have to play the first Mass Effect 1 before 2?
Mass Effect 1, which was released before its sequels, was made so that you can play it without having played the subsequent games. It also starts the story of the Mass Effect series, so if you are interested in the story, it is a good place to start.Can I skip the first Mass Effect?
In this scenario you can hang back, using support powers or sniper fire to assist your squad as they rip through enemies. This will in turn just let you enjoy the narrative and the atmosphere, which is excellent. This is a band-aid, but it's good enough. Basically, Don't skip Mass Effect 1.Do I need to start with Mass Effect 1?
Whether you're a seasoned Shepard or new to the series, Mass Effect Legendary Edition brings all three titles together for one grand adventure. To make it all the way through the series, you have to play through the original Mass Effect first.Is Mass Effect story connected?
The movie stands on its own (and is superior to the first), but you probably won't have the same connection to the characters or investment in the plot. If you have the 20 or so hours it takes to run through ME1, I'd highly recommend it. The short answer is,Play mass effect 1 first.Why You NEED To Play Mass Effect In 2022
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Answer 2
If you really want to enjoy the Mass Effect series to its fullest potential, you should play all three parts in order, importing your savegame after each one.
- Each part introduces characters, places and concepts which the later parts assume you already know about. To be fair, there is an ingame encyclopedia which you can read and some of the dialogs with key characters from the first part have some "I have amnesia, can you remind me who you are again?" options, but these infodumps are still a poor substitute for the real connection you will make with these characters during playing the first part.
- You will make minor and major decisions in each part which will affect the story quite a lot in later parts. There are some major characters in ME1 who will live or die depending on the decisions you make and who will still appear in both the 2nd and 3rd part (or not). However, the decisions you make have almost no consequences for the actual gameplay content outside of cutscenes.
But it might be worth noting that the first part is a bit less polished in regards to graphics, aesthetics and gameplay than the other two. If you play the first one and dislike it because of that, you might want to quit it, read a synopsis of the story, and continue with part 2.
Answer 3
The Answer is Yes and No. I have played Mass Effect 2 before the first part and here am gonna narrate my opinion on this.
Yes - You can understand the story of Mass effect 2 even if you skip playing the first part in the series. You will stumble initially but you will come around if you don't take the storyline very seriously. Over 75+ hours of awesome gameplay awaits you.
No - You wil never get the full essence of Mass effect series without getting a strong grip in the story. Especially in Mass effect 2 you will often come across NPC's which will recognize as a victory hero who defeated Saren and Geth (from Mass effect 1) and you will go like who the heck is Saren and Geth. Sometimes it will annoy you (as it did to me) a lot in fact because i take storyline pretty seriously. Besides storyline of Mass effect 2 have strong roots in ME1(Reapers and their puppets). Also you will meet many characters in ME2 which have deep connection to the protoganist in ME1 and you really don't want to miss the history between characters. And the last thing is ME1 is equally kickass as ME2.
My advice: Start with ME1 to live the awesomeness of Mass effect :)
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