The wide and wonderful universe of Mass Effect is packed full of characters that the player can meet during their travels, and while everyone has their own personal favorites, there are also a few individuals who don't receive quite as much attention, though they really should. Whether it's because they don't get enough screentime, they're overshadowed by ongoing events, or even if they just die far too early in the story, there's a handful of interesting and unique characters within the universe that are, for some reason, rarely the topic of discussion.
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It's unfortunate because some of these underrated individuals actually have pretty drastic impacts on the wider story and are instrumental in preventing the Reaper threat, while others are simply squad members who never really got to shine quite as much as their peers. It's time to take a look at the Mass Effect characters who are often considered to be somewhat underrated by a lot of fans.
7 Captain Kirrahe
Kirrahe's Heroic Speech On Virmire Placed His Heroic Attitude On Full Display
He may only appear for a single scene in the first Mass Effect game, but the courageous Captain Kirrahe makes quite an impression on Shepard thanks to the inspirational speech he gives to his fellow Salarians. Up to this point, the Salarians had been portrayed as clever, witty, but ultimately, very feeble species who often let others do the fighting for them, but Kirrahe proved that they are also capable of being pretty formidable on the battlefield.
In fact, Kirrahe more or less runs through the entirety of Salarian history in his magnificent speech, mentioning how it was the Salarians who were capable of handling the Rachni threat, and how it was them who also prevented the Krogan population from booming. If players manage to save Kirrahe during the Virmire mission, then he will even briefly show up in the third game to help Shepherd deal with the Reapers.
6 Zaal'Koris Vas Qwib-Qwib
Zaal'Koris Being A Geth Apologist Puts Him In An Incredibly Unique Position
During Tali's loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2, players are able to meet some extremely important members of the Quarian fleet, and while Zaal'Koris Qwib-Qwib is one of them, he's unfortunately often overshadowed by the much more charismatic and bombastic Han'Geeral Vas Neema. While Han'Geeral believes that destroying the Geth is the only way to retrieve the Quarian homeworld, Zaal'Koris is one of the few Quarians who actually feels sympathetic to them, instead, seeing his own people as the ones who are at fault.
In Mass Effect 3, the Geth are explored much more deeply, and it's revealed through dialogue with Legion that they were simply trying to survive after the Quarians attempted to shut them all down for good. Zaal'Koris offers an intriguing insight into the whole dilemma between Quarians and the Geth, with his unique apologist ideology being very different and far more interesting than his gung-ho peers.
5 Kaidan Alenko
Kaidan's Tragic Backstory Makes Him Much More Interesting Than Many Give Him Credit For
Because the Mass Effect universe features so many fascinating aliens that can be recruited to Shepard's squad, it, unfortunately, means that the human characters often get left by the waist side, with a Kaidan being a prime example. It's easy to write Kaidan off as relatively bland when compared to the likes of Garrus and Liara, but he actually has a pretty interesting and rather sad backstory that makes him quite a sympathetic character.
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After crash landing in a pool of Element Zero, Kaidan was sent to Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training, also known as 'Brain Camp', where he was pushed to his absolute limits by a horrible Turian general who was less than fond of humans. He also met a girl that he fell for during this time, but he forced himself to part ways with her due to his fears of his powers getting out of control. It can initially seem like an easy choice to sacrifice Kaidan during the mission on Virmire, but if players take the time to learn a little more about his past, this decision becomes quite a bit harder.
4 Khalisah al-Jilani
Khalisah's News Reports Have To Be One Of Funniest Running Gags In The Series
Khalisah is a news reporter for Westerlund News who loves nothing more than ambushing Shepard with difficult and personal questions to try and ramp up her ratings. Because of how aggressive she is with her journalism, it can admittedly make her quite annoying to talk to, but there's no denying that she's still one of the funniest running gags in the series. Despite the fact that Shephard can literally punch her across the face instead of answering her questions, she'll still return in the next game to try and squeeze as much information out of him as possible, and it's hard not to admire that kind of dedication.
The fact that her questions will change depending on the player's actions also makes her quite an intriguing character, especially because it can often force the player to ponder some of the more ruthless decisions they might have made thus far. For example, if the player leaves the Council to die at the end of the first game, Kalisah will press Shepard on the issue when talking to him in Mass Effect 2, with her almost acting like a sort of devil's advocate throughout the game.
3 David Anderson
Andersson Was Vital In Stopping Saren And Sovereign In The First Game
Anderson goes to some extreme lengths to justify Shepard's claims about the Reaper invasion in the first game, and if it wasn't for him, Shepard wouldn't have even been able to have a chance of stopping Sovereign in the first place. For example, once the Normandy is locked down on the Citadel by the Council, it's Anderson who risks his own reputation to set it free so that Shephard can get to Ilios and stop Saren in his tracks, something that no other character was willing to do.
He again saves Shepard's life during the Reaper invasion on Earth, where he helps him take down the groups of enemy Husks while also showing him the route to reach the evacuation shuttles. Despite his incredibly prominent and important role within the story, Anderson is often barely mentioned in fan discussions, potentially because he can't be recruited as a fully-fledged squad member, and also because a lot of his backstory is tucked away in the comics and short animated movies.
2 Samara
Being A Justicar Makes Samara An Incredibly Complex But Fascinating Character
Liara may be the fan-favorite Asari of the series, but Samara is still an incredibly well-written character whose position as a Justicar makes her especially fascinating. When speaking to her aboard the Normandy, Samara will talk about Asari culture and how they view other species, while also telling Shepard a lot about her own personal feelings about being a Justicar and the many moral conflicts that come with it.
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Another reason she often gets overshadowed by some of her fellow teammates is because, while she can be flirted with, players aren't actually able to become romantically involved with Samara due to the rules of her Justicar code. Still, this shouldn't stop anyone from talking to her as much as possible as she's still just as interesting as the other members of the crew.
1 James Vega
James' Excellent Character Arc Is Overshadowed By The Ongoing Reaper Invasion
By the time Mass Effect 3 rolled around, there wasn't really much time at all to start introducing new characters into the mix. Players already knew who their favorite squad members were, and with the Reaper invasion now underway, it made it hard for any fresh faces to really stand out, which is a shame considering how great of a character James is. Despite only appearing in a single game, James receives a ton of character development throughout the journey, essentially acting as a student to Shepard who eventually learns to overcome his feelings of guilt and despair that had been haunting him for years.
He also adds a lot of lightheartedness to Mass Effect 3 that helps balance out the deadly serious tone that the game was going for, especially with his push-up minigame that manages to be both hilarious and competitive at the same time. If James had appeared in one of the first two games, there's no doubt that his character would have been appreciated a lot more, but he unfortunately showed up in a pretty awkward spot in the series.
