>>717267903
I do take issue with how instead of a "story" 2 is just vignettes where each character is its own Monster of the Week plot, but like you said, those are some pretty entertaining and satisfying individual plots that do a lot to make the setting feel richer.
And it's also a cool way to address the central story/game designs, where you can't fully decide Shepard's personal ordeal through this B-movie sci fi plot, so it's like, instead you're deciding the fate of other people's lives by helping them with personal story beats.
In 1 the companions don't quite fulfill themselves as a standalone game, and the same is true in 3. But I find it worse in 3. It's the culminative chapter and most of your companions is just character-bloating. EDI does serve to aid some of the central points of the story, but Garrus who is otherwise this awesome Aragorn-style sidekick doesn't REALLY get a climax to his own arc. Same with a bunch of other characters. They show up, and their personality is great but you don't have anything like in 2 that "tops off" their journeys. A lot of them end up feeling like they're just there for meandering's sake. Especially Liara, holy shit.
They hype up Liara so much as a central character in the 3 games only for her to barely even address if you romanced her in 3. Then she gets the most detailed sex scene in the game, even though she barely ever speaks. And the plot about being the Shadow Broker is completely sidelined too. They just keep going "Muh Shadow Broker kek" every time they address her in the main story while she's in your party, but she really never does anything active in the story.
EDI is meant to be overriding security in the pennultimate mission, and prime the (albeit failed) Synthesis concept, and Tali is central to the Quarian subplot. Some characters did get their due justice, but it feels like Liara is MEANT to be all-important to the centre of the narrative as its revelations lead into a finale, but it just never happens.
