With the development of Mass Effect Andromeda underway and memes at an influential high, it seems natural to do a rundown of the top seven dankest memes of the original trilogy. This list contains mild spoilers:
1. Wrex… Shepard:
Wrex's relationship with Commander Shepard was sometimes rocky. This caused their conversations to be awkward, reducing communication to nothing but saying their names in deadpan. This exchange became popular enough among fans that it was referenced in the Citadel DLC.
2. I Should Go:
Shepard had a habit of leaving conversations abruptly due to limitations in the game’s dialogue, which seemed especially goofy when done by the male Shepard voice actor, Mark Meer. This phrase has become easy to use when ending conversations with series fans.
3. Calibrations:
Garrus quickly became one of the most beloved squad mates in Mass Effect. He could often be found “making some calibrations” due to the game’s quirky method of delaying important conversations. This lead to the idea that Garrus made calibrations as a hobby, and was referenced several times in the series as an ascended canonical fact.
4. Marauder Shields:
The final sequence of the trilogy finale left much to be desired, and "Marauder Shields" became representative of this. Fans of the series began depicting him as the final boss, despite having little role in the actual game.
5. Shepard Is An Awful Driver:
This idea came about because of the difficult driving controls in the original game. This was referenced most prominently in the Shadow Broker DLC, where the commander Liara get into a heated argument during a chase sequence. It should be noted that Shepard is also a terrible dancer.
6. Assuming Direct Control:
The major villain Harbinger had only a select few lines of dialogue during his battles with Commander Shepard. The most prevalent of these quotes was “assuming direct control” which made the phrase fun to use in various real life situations. In similar ways, “I know you feel this” and “this hurts you” also saw use.
7. I’m Commander Shepard, And This Is My Favorite X On The Citadel:
This template, spawned from an amusingly manipulatable quote, quickly became possibly the most well-known speech from the main protagonist, once again enhanced by the male voice actor’s dorky delivery compared to the more serious tone of the female Shepard. It got so bad that Mark Meer’s friends began pestering him to record answering machine messages using the phrase’s formula.
