Focus Friday | Ashley Williams

Well, we are nearing the end. After today’s post we will have only 3 LI’s left to discuss in Focus Friday: Miranda, Jack, and Tali. Last week we discussed the survey results pertaining to our favorite L2, Kaidan Alenko. This week we thought it appropriate to dive into the player input regarding his comrade-in-arms, Gunnery Chief turned Spectre, Ashley Williams.

Ashley and Kaidan are not the same. They are two very different characters. Ashley is outspoken and opinionated. Kaidan is shy and low-key. Kaidan is certainly capable wielding a firearm, but his emphasis is on biotics. Ashley is a hard-core “soldier”, all the way. Kaidan was created as “the” heterosexual Love Interest for female Shepard. Ashley was created as “the” heterosexual Love Interest for male Shepard (Liara is technically bisexual, as far as human terminology goes). Kaidan’s entry into the game is subtle and a bit snarky. Ashley’s is the complete opposite — she sprints onto the screen, guns blazing in your face as she battles her attackers.

No, they are most certainly not the same.

However, despite their differences, in the world of Mass Effect they are congeners.

During the events of the original game, the player must choose to sacrifice whether Ashley or Kaidan in the war against Saren Arterius, Sovereign, and the Geth. From then on, Ashley and Kaidan have interchangeable “roles” in the series. This fact has lead to significant dissonance in the playerbase.  Often times players feel that Ashley and Kaidan have become too interchangeable.  Their character treatment blurred to the point of losing a bit of the characters themselves (i.e. inappropriate animations or uncharacteristic verbage). This perception regarding the…malleability…of the VS (Virmire-survivor) was magnified in Mass Effect 3, as Ashley’s character was altered by a significant amount physically from her previous self (see above right).  We’ll discuss player reaction regarding this change, and many other aspects of Ashley’s romance and character in the comment recap below.

Players have strong opinions about Ashley — mostly due to Ashley’s strong opinions. As a result, they tend to either love her or hate her, and those who took our survey were no different. Continue reading to see what they thought!

Here are the statements which correspond to Ashley’s section of the survey:

• I was satisfied with the quantity of content in the romance.
• I was satisfied with the quality of content in the romance.
• There should be different interactions for a romanced versus unromanced Ashley.
• There should be an actual reward for staying loyal to Ashley throughout Mass Effect 2.
• I have other comments.

Not familiar with Ashley’s romance?  After the break we have a tribute video that features some lovely moments between Ash and BroShep, courtesy of TheBroomKing (YouTube)…