Star Wars has had the advantage of time, and with time Darth Vader has become one of the most iconic villains in film history. He began the first trilogy as the antagonist, but by the end of Return of the Jedi he is revealed to be a more complex character. But with the exception of Darth Vader, the cast of antagonists in the Star Wars movies are simple and one-dimensional. Emperor Palpatine and his Galactic Empire are pure evil in both intentions and design, while Jabba the Hut is vile and disgusting. Darth Maul and Count Dooku are barely given anything to work with, and the Trade Federation is portrayed as incompetent goofs. Compare this to the villains of Mass Effect, all of which are complex and incapable of being reduced to pure evil. Saren, the antagonist whom you chase throughout the entirety of the first game, turns out to be a tragic character who has lost himself while trying to save the galaxy. Even more complex is the Illusive Man, a man with the noble intention of advancing mankind but is willing to sell his soul to do it. The Reapers, who are thought of as genocidal machine gods to their victims, are actually trying to save the galaxy from itself, despite how illogical their reasoning may seem. Even the smaller scale villains, like the obtuse Udina or seductive Morinth, have understandable reasons for doing what they do. In its attempt to resist reducing people to simplistic representations of good or evil, the Mass Effect series ended up creating a great roster of villains for the player to go up against. Star Wars may have Darth Vader, but one classic villain cant compare to the consistent quality of Mass Effects multifaceted villainy.
