Mass Effect: Paragon Lost

The game is incredible (to many people, you might not like it as much, though it would make no sense checking the movie, if that is true), but the animated movie (with a sub-story involving a major character from Mass Effect 3 (but not Shepard himself) is nicely told, but there is never a real Mass Effect feeling. It never got hold of me that is.

The cartoon style is made differently than the one of the game on purpose. You might find that one of the reasons you might not connect. You cannot deny EA that they were trying. There is some fun dialog in the movie, but it never evolves to anything more. The question also would be, does it make sense watching it before Mass Effect 3 or after you played it? I watched it after, it's OK as companion piece, but I won't revisit this again (which cannot be said about the games ... re-playable a lot)

I really enjoy the original videogame trilogy. And having learned that there is also an anime set in this universe, I was extremely surprised and didn't know what to expect, good or bad. But I was pleasantly surprised when I finally saw it. The story takes place before the beginning of the second game, when nothing was known about the collectors. I will not spoil what and how it happened, despite the fact that almost the entire plot is already explained in the game. This anime only delves into this storyline a little deeper.

The plot is basically what you can expect from Mass Effect. It was nice to see the characters from the game, especially the ones I've become attached to. It definitely help you empathize with the main character. I think the best part of the anime is the ending. It calls back on the original trilogy, following the theme of hard choices, tragic consequences and humility. All the things that many fans of this franchise love so much.

The soundtrack is also pretty good. Nothing outstanding, but it definitely flows well with the rest.

However, not everything here is perfect. The animation itself is not of the best quality. Some character designs and dialogues could've been done way better, but nothing terrible.

There are other minor issues. Some races have changed their appearance a little, which looks very strange and unusual. Sound effects are weird. For me, if you decide to take sound effects from the game, then you should go all out. It is strange to see a submachine gun or an assault riffle sound like a shouriken. But this is just some minor nit-picking.

All in all, it's still a decent prequel. A nice present for all fans of the franchise.

First off, let me state I only played half-way through the first game and didn't touch the second or third. I despise the cheap emotional and sex ploys employed in the game just to beef up a weak story.

So when watching this amerime my sister who is a bigger fan (1st and 2nd game and novel) sit with me so I can check with her some facts about the story.

So here is my impression and opinions of the Paragon Lost: The art was inferior to what other game franchises put out i.e. Halo. And sometimes highly inconsistent.

The director had either very bad storyboards or was left to his own imagination on how each scene was to be played out that you will encounter a lot anime art (gestures, postures) tropes you in fast and cheap anime series.

The story overall was dull and weak. There was not much on character backgrounds or settings and with even that it felt dragged out.

The voice acting ranged from OK (Freddie Prince Jr, Laura Bailey and Monica Rial) to 1990s-2000s style dubbing (Jad Saxton biggest offender no offence to her). I totally blame the voice director.

With all this in mind I would have right this movie a 3 or 4 but and there is a big but I follow one rule, "The end justifies the means." Which means that no matter crappy the beginning and middle of a story is, the ending if it is good will allow forgiveness for the rest.

And I must say the ending did not cop out despite the red herrings in the 1st and 2nd act would like you to believe. The ending shows a realistic and only logically conclusion to the time and situation present for that I am grateful.

If I would recommend this movie to buy it may, just maybe for the ending that is similar to the choices you have to make in the games time and again. But if you are not a fan then rent it. The ending is much better that most other sci-fi movies that have great 1st and 2nd acts but fails to pay off in the final 3rd act which always leaves me angry (like all the hype build up just to be disappointed when you finally see the crap product).

As a huuuuge fan of Mass Effect and its universe/lore, i was pretty damn skeptical going in to this movie. Pretty much anything i saw in the trailers beforehand (especially the cheap animation) did not impress me one bit. I'm glad to say most of my biggest fears were in vain. Well, the animation isn't exactly Studio Ghibli -like eye candy, but i got used to it pretty quickly.

My other main concern was main protagonist, James Vega, who's probably the most boring and generic character in the games. Or at least out of your squadmates. They manage to make him likable though, someone you could really root for. The voice acting wasn't as top notch though, and the same goes for pretty much every character. Still, it is adequate.

What it comes to the most important thing, which is of course the story, it's quite... Good! It's structured kinda like a handful of missions and cut scenes in the game, and you can almost see in the eyes of your mind how these events would be handled in a game. The dialogue should get a couple of chuckles out of ME-fans, and the ending is actually quite moving, yet fitting. The games are all about big choices, after all.

I could nitpick on some minor things, like the Krogans who didn't look much like Krogans and so forth, but i don't really feel like it. It was faithful enough to keep me well satisfied.

If you're a fan of Mass Effect, at least give Paragon Lost a chance.

Dont listen to what others say about this not being true to mass effect. I found it entertaining and funny and the fighting was great. Choices are made and the last one will get you. Recommended for anyone, not just fans of the games.