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[Chatsu Shorts] A Review of Mass Effect: Paragon Lost || Mass Effect Month
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In the year 2022, two podcasters travelled through time to stop the threat of the podcast bots, unaware that it was the beginning of something far bigger. After establishing the PodPack Collective, the Chatsunami podcast and their allies now ready themselves to defend against the podcast promoters that lurk in the darkest depths of the internet.
They called it the greatest alliance in podcasting history.
The communities of the internet call it... MASS EFFECT MONTH.
In this episode of Mass Effect Month, Satsunami discusses one of the weirder spin off choices of the franchise in the form of the anime film Mass Effect: Paragon Lost. But why was this film so lacklustre? Is it worth watching in 2024? And does James ever find his Paragon?! Without any further ado, let's find out!
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Transcript
Introduction to Video Game Adaptations
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to Chatsunami.
00:00:16
Speaker
it's no secret that video game adaptations have a rather unique reputation.
Sci-Fi Games Adapted into Anime
00:00:22
Speaker
For the longest time, they were considered as one of the worst fates that could befall a game series, but towards the latter half of the 2000s and early 2010s, popular sci-fi games received a rather unique treatment in the form of one-off anime films or anthology series Notable examples include Dead Space Aftermath and Hero Legends, a series that to this day evokes a visceral reaction from Michael Ross.
Focus on Mass Effect: Paragon Lost
00:00:49
Speaker
But one I think is forgotten about is the subject of today's episode, which is 2012's Mass Effect, Paragon Lost. The film itself seems to have a polarising reception with fans, leaning more into the negative side due to its lower inconsistencies and lacklustre animation. But why did this film fail to impress at the time? When Mass Effect was at its height? Could it have done more? And why did they focus on James Vega of all characters? With spoilers ahead, let's find out.
Story and Animation Quality
00:01:18
Speaker
Set between the events of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, the story follows Lieutenant James Vega who, along with his unit Delta Squad, are called in to defend a human colony known as Fel Prime. After successfully repelling a wave of blood-packed mercenaries, the squad are ordered to stay and fortify the planet for the next two years, but unbeknownst to them and the other colonists, a greater threat looms over them. And no, I'm not talking about the CGI. Let's get the Elkhor out of the room here and talk about the animation, which was done by Production IG, a company who have worked in some of the most iconic anime series of all time, such as Ghost in the Shell and Psycho Pass.
00:01:57
Speaker
but To go from that to something as lifeless as this makes me wonder if this was a rush job, especially since it came out after the third game had been released. I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert in animation, and it's certainly not the worst that I've ever seen, but when comparing this to IG's previous works, the blend of CGI and traditional animation are jarring. And while they took liberties in the design choices, I just feel that this time it worked against them.
00:02:25
Speaker
But what about the story itself? Well, to get the nitpicks out of the way first, there's a lot of weird choices that seem to contradict the games. From biotic powers needing batteries like a psychic dura-cell bunny, to the collectors themselves looking more like Attack on Titan extras as they tower over everything to a ridiculous scale. However, if you're just coming into this film with no previous knowledge of the franchise, does it hold up? Well, yes and no.
Character Analysis of James Vega
00:02:53
Speaker
Despite my negative opening, I feel like there's a seedling of an idea here. Both in the game in this film, James is a character who idolises Shepard and his exploits throughout the Milky Way, but when push comes to shove and James is forced to make a difficult decision, that in the end breaks him. He realises that there's more to Shepard than his storybook heroics. If anything, I despise James' character prior to watching this film. as I felt that the decision to introduce a new character right at the start of the third game was a poor decision. That being said, I did appreciate the lengths that they went to to help you sympathise with them and how living up to the fabled Commander isn't all it's cracked up to
Alliance Military and Game References
00:03:34
Speaker
be. Much like life itself, the Mass Effect universe is filled with a host of difficult and precarious situations that require the strongest of wills, something that unfortunately James is new to as a leader. So while I don't usually appreciate retroactively adding to a character to help one sympathise with him, I can appreciate where they were coming from. Another thing that I also appreciate is that we get to see more of the inner workings of the Alliance itself through the eyes of the Marines. Much like other games such as Halo, Mass Effect has us play as a special soldier who for the most part is a law unto themselves at times.
00:04:11
Speaker
So it's not until the third game that we get glimpses of how the cogs of the military turn, and we see what it's like for a regular grunt in the middle of nowhere. If poor animation and minor lore inconsistencies were the only thing working against this film, then this would be a short review, where I would praise it for being an alright
Weaknesses in Characterization and Plot
00:04:30
Speaker
film. After all, the soundtrack is good great, the voice acting for the most part is well done, and despite the aforementioned animation, there are some pretty decent action scenes.
00:04:39
Speaker
The unfortunate failings of this film however are in its characters, and surprisingly, the blame does not fall at James' feet this time. If anything, I felt he did his job well as a protagonist. What falls flat for me is his squad mates who feel more like tropes ready to be fed to the sacrificial grinder. You have the token female character,
00:05:00
Speaker
the peribiotic who puts the cock in cocky, the tight guy with glasses and a few others I struggle to remember off the top of my head. Then there's a twist villain where it's revealed that one of the humans on the colony was working with human first organisation Cerberus by working with the main alien threat of the collectors. Yeah, I don't exactly get it either.
00:05:22
Speaker
In Mass Effect 2, the Collectors are an elusive group of aliens who have been kidnapping humans for their own nefarious purposes, and while yes in the comics they've been seen to be working with other races such as the forces of the Shadow Broker, that was to acquire Shepard's body. Why they would work with a Cerberus agent with nothing to gain here makes absolutely no sense.
Themes and Final Thoughts
00:05:44
Speaker
So if you've played Mass Effect 3 and listened to James discuss his tragic past, you'll know what happens. In the choice befitting of the games, he has the harrowing decision to save the colonist who have been kidnapped versus saving his a sorry crush of the film who has data on the collector threat. I've heard a lot of people criticise the sending this James just rescuing his crush because he likes her, but I think that's being a tad reductive. By rescuing her and by extension the data, he believes that he's giving humanity a fighting chance against the collector threat.
00:06:17
Speaker
It's very akin to the age old Star Trek argument of the needs of the many versus the needs of the few and by collecting this data, you'll be able to save millions of lives and it's a valid ending, at least until Shepard blows them up a couple of months later. but Overall, I find that for the most part, this movie is relatively inoffensive.
Listener Engagement and Conclusion
00:06:37
Speaker
Unlike some other external media that came afterwards, it doesn't tarnish the reputation of the series, nor does it stand out proudly. It's just kinda there. If you're a completionist like myself, then I'd recommend checking it out where you can. But there's no rush, although if you dislike the character of James Vega, then I'd Definitely recommend watching this one. You won't become your favourite squad mate overnight, but you'll learn to appreciate him a little bit more. But what did you think? Was Paragon lost and salvageable? Or was there something to be found here? Whatever your opinions, let us know below. But as always, thank you all so much for listening to this episode of Chatsu Shorts. For more episodes of Mass Effect Month, check us out on our website, Chatsunami dot.com. as well as our Patreon page for exclusive content patreon dot.com forward slash Chat Tsunami. Until next time, stay safe, stay awesome and most importantly, stay hydrated.