Mass Effect: Ryder is Better Than Shepard

In Mass Effect: Andromeda you take up the roll of one of the Ryder twins. After the death of your father you're left in charge as pathfinder for the human race tasked with settling new colonies for the Andromeda Initiative. Ryder has a lot placed on their shoulders and they always seem to rise to the occasion, but people can't help but point out that they're not as skilled as Commander Shepard. Well, Commander Shepard was great, but I think that's nostalgia for a lot of people because Shepard actually pales in comparison to Ryder in a lot of situations.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Shepard like most people did. Let's get this one out of way first. In two out of three of the origin stories you can select for Shepard they have gone through some traumatic experience in their childhood. On top of that Shepard is a battle hardened hero before age 30, when we take control. They've survived some of the deadliest encounters in human history and lost entire squads. Shepard becomes one of the youngest N7s ever and is skilled in ways most people couldn't comprehend. The closest thing we have to Shepard in Andromeda is Alec Ryder, father of the Ryder twins. Alec was previously a N7 operative as well. During the opening mission we see Alec plow through entire teams of Kett while we watch in awe as nothing we can do matches up.

Scott and Sarah Ryder on the opposite end of the spectrum are 24 year olds searching for their place in the universe and went to Andromeda to find it. They're going to be a little different than Shepard. They make more jokes, because they haven't been through the traumatic experiences Shepard has. Shepard doesn't even have a sense of humor if you go back and play the original trilogy. While Ryder may make a joke about a conversation becoming awkward before backing out. Shepard would almost always state "I should go," in a monotone fashion. You may miss Shepard, but that's nostalgia, Ryder is just a better character.

I mean think about it, Shepard was an asshole. Even in the paragon options he was known to pistol whip someone or shoot them in the knee. The only difference is as a renegade he would just kick them out of a window or set them on fire. He is an asshole in every way, cold and calculated in conversations. Ryder on the other hand makes a lot of jokes, sure but there are plenty of serious and heartless moments. You're able to shoot people in the back, ignore snipers, shoot people in the face because you feel like it. Despite the joking tone Ryder gives plenty of hard ass inspirational speeches that Shepard did.

The difference comes in the fact that Ryder has multiple ways they can react to conversation which leads to the altering of dialogue and cutscenes. If you're a nice guy but not flirty, Gil may ask you to be the surrogate to his child. If you're purely professional you'll never know about the car Liam had shot into space. The character has a real personality based on your actions. With Shepard you were stuck with one generic personality that is forced to fit into both renegade and paragon options. The team at Bioware did a great job providing options that would make each Ryder seem unique.

With the original trilogy it was Shepard's story. Sure you control him but it never feels like you're in control. As Ryder you become the pathfinder and you choose how things are going to go. You choose how first contact will go. Will you be forceful or peaceful? Shepard was in the first contact war and their opinion of aliens has already been skewed no matter the choices you make. With Ryder, it's up to you how this is going to go based on your choices. I get it, Shepard was awesome, but Ryder is just a better character.

In the words of Shepard, I should go now.

You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet. You can also check out his playthrough of Sleeping Dogs or Skyrim

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