Mass Effect is beloved for so many reasons, especially for its memorable and moving writing. There are so many great lines in the series, from the meme-worthy (“Can it wait for a bit? I’m in the middle of some calibrations.”) to the sincere (“There’s no Shepard without Vakarian.”).
Jennifer Hale knows a thing or two about Mass Effect’s most enduring dialogue. She voiced Shepard in the original trilogy, giving the Commander both sincerity and abrasiveness, depending on what the moment (and the player) called for. “Such a phenomenal thing to be part of this universe. Grateful every day,” she tells Polygon over email about her time spent on the Normandy.
Shepard gets plenty of great lines, and so do Mass Effect’s other characters. When asked if there was a line she wished she got to deliver, she’s hesitant to answer. “I would never touch the writing in this game, it’s as close to perfect as they come,” Hale says. “If I had to pick something, I do love Anderson’s ‘You did good, child. You did good.’ Wrecked me hearing that when we were making the game. Keith David is just. So. Good.”
That line comes at the end of the trilogy in one of Mass Effect 3’s most emotional moments. But Hale doesn’t just love those heart-wrenching scenes — there are plenty of silly interactions these games are known for too. Here are Commander Shepard’s favorite Mass Effect lines.
1
“Tell your friends we’re coming for them.”
Mass Effect 3 finds Commander Shepard, the Normandy crew, and the rest of the Milky Way’s peoples going up against the invading Reaper threat. At one point, Shepard 1v1s a Reaper, using a laser to paint a target on the Reaper so it can be bombed from space. After she downs the Reaper in the adrenaline-pumping set piece, Shepard and her foe square off in a war of words, delivering this cold, cold line.
“I love this because it’s so Shepard,” Hale says. “She takes no crap, stands up to anyone, will tell you to your face, and does it for the right reasons.” She certainly stands up in this scene — the line is only delivered if the player prompts it via a Renegade Interrupt.
2
Shepard’s last breaths in Mass Effect 2
“It’s not a line, per se, but the death gasps in the opening of [Mass Effect 2] were so much fun to do,” Hale says. At the beginning of the game, Shepard and the Normandy are attacked by the Collectors. After saving Joker, Shepard is unable to escape the destroyed Normandy, resulting in her getting spaced and dying.
“It was such a visceral moment, and I could feel the discomfort of the team in the booth listening to it. Very cool.”
3
“You big, stupid jellyfish.”
In Mass Effect, Shepard can encounter a hanar (a species of pink jellyfish-like aliens) on the Citadel who is passionately preaching spiritual doctrine. A C-Sec officer complains to Shepard that he can’t get the hanar to stop. The reason is simple to a Renegade Shepard — it’s a big stupid jellyfish.
The line makes a return in Mass Effect 3’s “Citadel” DLC when Shepard meets Blasto, a hanar Spectre who doubles as a galactic movie star. Shepard also angrily delivers it in Mass Effect 3 while insulting a hanar diplomat who’s aiding the Reapers.
Just like players, Hale loves the line, and her reasoning is simple. “I mean, come on, SO MUCH FUN to say.”
4
“I’ll relinquish one bullet. Where do you want it?”
So much of Mass Effect 2 is going on missions to recruit allies, and one of them is Jack the biotic, who’s being held prisoner on the Purgatory. Upon Shepard’s arrival, a by-the-book guard asks her to relinquish her weapons, which you know the Commander isn’t going to do, and she responds in kind.
“Love that line because I hate bureaucratic stupidity and would love to be so frank about it,” Hale says. “I often say Paragon Shep is who I wish I was and Renegade Shep is what I wish I could say.” Renegade Shepard gets the fun line here, and the only alternative is a very banal “I can’t do that.”
5
“There’s a Reaper in my way, Wrex!”
On the krogan homeworld of Tuchanka in Mass Effect 3, Shepard and crew fight Reaper forces while dodging out of the way of a Reaper itself. To defeat it, they have to activate devices to summon a Thresher Maw, a giant wormlike creature straight out of Dune. Amid the chaos, Urdont Wrex yells for Shepard to activate one of the devices. Shepard points out that she’s a little busy.
Hale loves “the staging of that moment, the way it all came together.” It’s the only line of her favorites that doesn’t come in a cutscene or conversation, but instead during the heat of combat. “I mean, you just can’t beat the writing in this game and the excellence of the entire team. Epic.”
The 100 greatest video game quotes of all time
It has been spoken
