Saying Mass Effect 3 was highly anticipated is an understatement. The conclusion of the three-part sci-fi epic was five years in the making. Dedicated fans of the series had spent dozens of hours with Commander Shepard and the crews of the Normandy SR-1 and SR-2. Mass Effect 3 promised a conclusion to the Reaper crisis that had been building throughout the entire first two games, and BioWare assured fans that the choices made in the first two Mass Effect games would have repercussions on a literal galactic scale. That turned out to not quite be the truth, but the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition won't suffer the same woes.
The original ending to Mass Effect 3 was extremely controversial. Everything leading up to the big finale basically boiled down to three outcomes with slight alterations based on the player's performance in the single player, and how much they played the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer mode. This means that anyone who completely ignored the tacked-on (albeit quite fun) multiplayer mode was entirely locked out of the "best" ending.
Beyond that, the finale of Mass Effect 3 felt lackluster for a handful of reasons. Because of the way BioWare promoted the trilogy's conclusion, players expected the ending to more organically align with their Mass Effect story choices thus far. Instead, regardless of all the time carefully navigating the Milky Way, everyone got to the end and faced the same three choices. So much time was spent working toward the conclusion, only for the ending to essentially require the player to press one of three buttons and then sit and watch a few cutscenes that don't really feel satisfying.
The Ending Controversy Has Already Been Solved for ME: Legendary Edition
Three months after Mass Effect 3 launched, the game was given a free DLC called Mass Effect: Extended Cut. This greatly overhauled the last couple hours of the game, including new dialogue and cutscenes. While the Extended Cut didn't completely rectify the missteps of Mass Effect 3's ending, it goes a long way in making it more satisfying by showing more consequences throughout the galaxy.
The Extended Cut is now the official, full-fledged version of Mass Effect 3. When the game made its way to the Wii U eight months later, the Extended Cut was already included in the base game and was no longer treated as a DLC. It will be the same for the Legendary Edition, which comes with all DLC included, except for the Pinnacle Station DLC because its source code has been lost.
The ending of Mass Effect 3 is far from perfect, but it is at least serviceable and more satisfying thanks to the Extended Cut being added. The issues are well-known in the video game zeitgeist, so new and returning players alike will know what to expect when Mass Effect: Legendary Edition releases in May. The acclaimed trilogy is still a crowning achievement in science fiction video games, and the Legendary Edition looks as though it will be the definitive way to experience Mass Effect.