10 Secret Ways You Can Save Video Game Bosses From Themselves
5. Convincing Saren To Redeem Himself: Mass Effect
One of the most compelling and innovative aspects of the Mass Effect series is its conversational system. Mimicked by numerous titles since, this mechanic allows the player to change the course of conversations, and even of events and the tide of the overall story, by selecting different options in a conversation.
Some options are reliant on particular stats, and it naturally follows that a prominent antagonist will be harder to convince of an extreme option that an obscure NPC will of something simple. In the original, Sheppard can skip an entire phase of the battle with Saren by convincing him to sacrifice himself. There's a specific way to do so, involving telling Saren that Sovereign is manipulating him and that he should work with Sheppard when they first meet at the Cloning Facility.
When they meet again later, Saren shares his doubts with the protagonist, eventually seeing that his only way to resist Sovereign's insidious influence over his body was to shoot himself. Ultimately, it's in vain, as the end result is the same: Sovereign reanimates the body and Sheppard is forced to fight a Husk form of Saren. Nonetheless, this alternative take (reliant on Paragon/Renegade levels) is intriguing.
When Saren didn't die a hero, he didn't die a villain either, and that aspect is emphasized in this particular ending for him.