Legendary Edition vs Original
Legendary Edition vs Original
I'm going to replay the ME trilogy soon. I last played about 3 years ago - before the legendary edition was released - and I'm not sure whether I should play the legendary edition or the original versions of each game. Is there any reason to prefer the original versions of ME at this point? I thought mod support might be lacking for the legendary edition, but it looks like it supports most of the more popular mods that the original versions support.
The only reason to go original is if you're particularly attached to the Pinnacle Station dlc from ME1. Mod-wise, there's still a bit more for OT than LE, but LE is starting to pull ahead, especially with the larger mod packs. I also noticed LE was more stable with mods like ALOT. (I'd get horrible shadows and red eyes with the original version, even though I installed everything in the right order.)
LE also has the benefit of not having to reapply any DLC, and graphics overhaul of ME1 is still quite stunning, especially compared to the original.
That said, you would have to start fresh with your saves. If you only care about ammo/weapon upgrades, then it's nothing you can't fix with a save editor.
I want to add that if you have an old or shitty pc you should probably go for the original games. Or if you simply don't want to spend more money (assuming you already own the old games).
Indeed, the cash monies is always a factor. Though you made me remember something that puts LE ahead!
On the original versions, namely ME2, there were critical game crashing bugs on Kasumi’s loyalty mission and LOTSB. It was bad enough that I usually skipped those two missions and edited my save files to reflect the decisions as though I’d played through them. Most infuriatingly with Kasumi’s, it happens right after you get on the shuttle with Keiji’s greybox. LOTSB would bug during the car chase, which was at least somewhat earlier on in the mission.
Both of these bugs are fixed with LE.
You know that the pinnacle station DLC was modded back into ME:LE? https://www.nexusmods.com/masseffectlegendaryedition/mods/832
Indeed, after I made this comment I found that out. Gotta love the Mass Effect moddong community! Which reminds me, I want to make a comprehensive guide for Lemmings to read for those of us that are hesitant to look at reddit...
Personally I'd say there's no reason to go back to OG unless your PC can't handle the LE texture updates and optimization (or lack thereof.) If you want mod support ME3Tweaks and Nexus mods has everything you need natively to LE. It's really something they've been able to pull off in a short time period.
They've even redone Pinnacle Station if you for some reason found that dlc to be enjoyable at all. I don't like ME1 combat enough to worry about it, but you might have fond memories of it.
I didn't know they'd fixed the Pinnacle Station thing! MEModding community FTW.
Yeah, play Legendary Edition. The built-in improvements for ME1 go a long way to unifying the presentation of the trilogy. If you miss Pinnacle Station, there's a mod on Nexus that restores it. If you're interested in a modded experience, my current playthrough is following this modding guide and it's been great.
There is more mods for the OT however, I also wonder how many of them are still being updated and aren't broken. Whereas LE has a tonne of QOL updates even just to ME1 alone that it's not a bad idea to just play the LE.
Alright, looks like I’ll be playing LE. Thanks everybody!