Mass Effect and Dragon Age have been BioWare's flagship franchises for over a decade now, and with both Dragon Age 4 and Mass Effect 4 on the way, that's unlikely to change any time soon. Their companion systems, third-person combat, and even the similarities between biotics and spell-casting give the games a lot in common. Although they are set in completely different universes, there are some great Dragon Age Easter eggs to be found in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.
With Mass Effect: Legendary Edition grouping together the original trilogy with all its DLC, many players have been running into more Dragon Age Easter eggs than they did the first time they experienced Shepard's story. There are even some moments which appear to be Dragon Age references, but have interesting origins all of their own.
Thank The Maker!
One of the earliest moments than many Dragon Age fans assume is an Easter egg shows up on the very first planet the player visits in the Mass Effect trilogy, Eden Prime. Commander Shepard rescues a group of scientists, one of whom shouts "thank the Maker!" This seems like a strangely round-about way of saying "thank God," especially since Ashley Williams later makes direct references to her belief in God without euphemistically referring to a "Maker" at all.
Many took this to be a Dragon Age reference while playing through Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. In the Dragon Age universe, the Maker is the god of the monotheistic Chantry, who believe that the creator of Thedas cursed his creation to withstand the Blights until his word was spread to all corners of the world. While this now works as a retroactive Dragon Age reference, however, the first Dragon Age game wouldn't come out until two years after Mass Effect 1.
It's more likely a reference to C3P0's "thank the Maker" in Star Wars. By the time Mass Effect: Legendary Edition released, however, the line now stands as a fun double reference to the series BioWare tackled before Mass Effect - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - and the one that came after it, Dragon Age. It's even possible this reference was intentional when Mass Effect 1 first hit the shelves. Although Origins wouldn't release for another two years, it had already been in development for years by 2007, having been revealed at E3 2004.
The Ogre
Kasumi Goto was originally introduced as a DLC companion in Mass Effect 2, and along with Brit-voiced bounty hunter Zaeed Massani has now been integrated into the base game of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Kasumi's loyalty mission "Stealing Memory" involves tracking down an elusive arms dealer named Donovan Hock who has taken the memories of Kasumi's dead partner and lover.
During the heist, players get a glimpse at Hock's collection. One part of his hoard includes a giant statue of a Darkspawn Ogre, one of the most back-breakingly brutal enemies encountered in Dragon Age: Origins as the late King Cailan can attest. Kasumi even points it out - "Wow. Imagine that thing coming at you in a dark alley."
An Ogre is one of the first big boss-fights in Dragon Age: Origins, but Kasumi's comment about fighting one in a dark alley is probably a reference to the Battle of Denerim, where the player and their companions fight their way through the winding streets of Ferelden's capital at the game's climax. Just like Mass Effect 2's ending, it's also ostensibly a suicide mission, although in both cases the player character can survive if they play their cards right. Whether the Ogre seen in Mass Effect 2 is supposed to be a real alien in the Mass Effect universe, or if Donovan Hock is simply a fan of centuries-old fantasy game collectables, is never revealed.
The Same Moon
When looking up at the moon in the night's sky, it can be humbling to imagine the thousands of people around the world and throughout history who have looked at that same moon. That wouldn't usually apply in a solar-system spanning series like Mass Effect, but in one case it holds surprisingly true.
Dragon Age: Origins shows just one moon in the sky, though Inquisition later showed two moons in orbit around the game's world. The moon in the first game is identifiable by a large crack running through its equator. The same image can be seen in the player travels to the moon Presop in Mass Effect 1, and looks up at the planet it's orbiting, Klendagon.
The Blood Dragon Armor
Also a DLC piece, the Blood Dragon Armor is now available for Shepard to buy in the retail release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition's second and third games. The set's pauldrons and shield-like chest piece make it look far more medieval than most Mass Effect armors. The helmet's visor even looks more like a medieval knight's helmet. If there was any doubt as to what the set's design was in reference to, however, it's utterly destroyed by the massive Dragon Age logo on the front of the armor.
In Mass Effect 2Â the player can head down to the market in Omega and buy the armor there. In Mass Effect 3 Shepard can purchase the armor a second time at Kanala Exports in the Presidium Commons for 50,000 credits, or at the Procurement terminal on the Normandy for 55,000 credits if they've already visited Kanala Exports at least once.
One Shifty Looking Cow
Shepard has faced Geth armadas, Reapers, suicide missions, an invasion of Earth, and countless other close calls. There's no subtler threat to galactic stability, however, than one "Shifty Looking Cow." The Shifty Looking Cow can be found on the planet Ontarom, in the Newton System in the Kepler Verge cluster. If Shepard talks to the cow, the dastardly bovine steals some of their credits as they're walking away.
Any Mass Effect: Legendary Edition player who also played Dragon Age:Â Inquisition, however, should have heeded the third Dragon Age's warning. One of Inquisition companion Cole's strangest comments is simply "sometimes the cow takes your gold." Although Inquisition came out long after the first Mass Effect, Cole's line now serves as a warning to Mass Effect: Legendary Edition players as they experience the story once again.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
