It can be said that many players, when they first saw "Assassin's Creed," were drawn in by the cool assassin look, the assassination gameplay, and the very detailed game world and scenery.
But as players progress through the game, they quickly discover the rich story hidden behind all of this.
And they experience Ezio's increasingly complex character.
After assassinating Uberto, Ezio and Cristina secretly stole his family's bodies and burned them on a ship.
Next, Ezio hoped that Cristina would go with him to Spain.
But Cristina, unable to abandon her family, refused Ezio.
In the end, Ezio could only give Cristina a trinket before saying a quick goodbye with his mother and sister.
Originally, Ezio planned to escape to his family's villa in Monteriggioni to settle down for a while.
But he didn't expect to be ambushed by Vieri on the way. Through their dialogue, Ezio learned more information: Vieri's family was also involved in the murder of his father and brothers.
Luckily, his uncle Mario Auditore appeared in time and rescued his family, bringing Ezio back to the estate.
Then, Mario told Ezio the secrets of the Auditore family, the Assassins, and the Templars, including the story of Altaïr's scattered notes.
Mario hoped that Ezio would inherit his father's work and join the Assassin organization, but Ezio refused.
He insisted on fleeing to Spain with his mother and sister, so an angry Mario left Ezio and took people to San Gimignano alone, trying to get rid of the Vieri family.
But just as Ezio was about to leave, he accidentally overheard his men saying that Vieri had been constantly harassing Monteriggioni recently because of Ezio.
Ezio felt a little ashamed after hearing this and changed his mind, heading to San Gimignano.
Mario was surprised but mostly happy to see Ezio.
So everyone made a plan: Mario and the others would cause a stir in the city, diverting the soldiers' attention, while Ezio would take the opportunity to assassinate Vieri.
After Mario and his people created a commotion, Ezio seized the opportunity to rush towards Vieri. After a short battle, Vieri was defeated by Ezio.
Ezio tried to get some useful information from his old enemy, but Vieri was stubborn even in the face of death, refusing to reveal any useful information.
Ezio was furious and started cursing at Vieri's body.
"You're not Vieri! Don't become like him." Mario said calmly, watching the enraged Ezio.
After dealing with Vieri, Ezio returned to the estate.
During this time, the content players experienced became richer.
For example, learning more assassin skills and unlocking a gameplay feature related to the estate through his sister Claudia, which allowed you to earn money, decorate the estate better, and upgrade various buildings and structures.
You could also unlock horses, as there were mounts in the game.
But what players really cared about was the following story.
Two years later, Ezio returned to Florence to gather information on the plot against the Medici family.
Compared to Ezio's memory scenes in the original Brotherhood, Lucas was directly added to the main story here.
When Ezio returned to Florence for the first time in two years, he first went to see Cristina.
But like many people's first love, Ezio's first love didn't have a happy ending.
When Ezio saw Cristina again, she told him that she had been engaged due to pressure from her father.
After a brief conversation, Cristina said sadly that she thought Ezio wouldn't come back.
Looking at Cristina, Ezio felt like his heart was breaking.
And when Ezio learned that Cristina's fiancé was being harassed by debt collectors, he quickly rushed to the scene and killed those creditors, ordering him not to gamble anymore and to be loyal to Cristina, or he would hunt him down to the ends of the earth.
After dealing with this matter, Ezio returned to Cristina again. Looking at the lover in front of him, after getting close to her in an alley, Ezio had a moment where he wanted to ask her to come with him, but then he thought of his identity as an assassin. In the end, he just told Cristina that he had taken care of things and that her fiancé would be good to her in the future. After saying goodbye amidst the sadness in Cristina's eyes, Ezio turned and left.
"So it's just first love after all!" Ben, who was playing the game at this point, couldn't help but sigh, his face full of loneliness and emotion.
This scene reminded him of the relationship between Mary and Arthur Morgan in "Red Dead Redemption: Redemption."
How many first loves can end up together?
Because of each other's identities, each other's families, and all sorts of other reasons.
But after feeling emotional, Ben quickly came back to his senses.
What was he getting emotional about?
"But looking at this, there shouldn't be any more contact with Cristina in the future. This is the end of this." Ben said with emotion as he continued the story.
Compared to Cristina's role in the game, Ezio's good friend Da Vinci obviously had a stronger presence.
Through the Altaïr notes provided by Ezio, Da Vinci created the hidden blades. He also introduced Ezio to the local thief leader La Volpe. With his help, Ezio entered an ancient tomb and learned that the Templars and the Pazzi family were planning to deal with the Medici family through assassination in order to control Florence.
With the intelligence he obtained, Ezio shattered the conspiracy of the Templars and the Pazzi family, and also won the friendship of the Medici family.
After completing this task, Ezio went to find Da Vinci, finally finding him in the Apennine Mountains, and also saw Da Vinci's unfinished flying machine.
Then the two planned to travel together to Forlì to board a ship to Venice, but on the way they were ambushed by Templars. So Ezio let Da Vinci go first while he stayed behind to kill the Templars who were catching up. Then he went to Forlì to meet Da Vinci.
But at the pier in Forlì, Ezio was unable to board the ship to Venice because he didn't have a pass. Just as the two were at a loss, a woman's cry for help came from a small island in a nearby lake.
Ezio went to investigate and rescued the woman trapped on the island. Through conversation, he learned that the beautiful woman's name was Caterina.
Then Caterina used her power to get Ezio on the ship to Venice as a thank you.
'Perhaps we will meet again. Next time you come to Forlì, I will be happy to welcome you.' Caterina said to Ezio with a smile as they parted.
'I look forward to your hospitality.' Ezio also smiled.
After boarding the ship, Da Vinci, looking at Caterina on the pier, reminded him, "Ezio, be careful. Do you know who that is?"
'My next target?' Ezio raised an eyebrow.
Listening to Ezio's words, Ben in the game was confused.
'I don't think so, Ezio! She is the daughter of the Duke of Milan, and her husband...' Da Vinci said with a smile, but was interrupted before he could finish.
'Husband?'
'Yes, her husband is the local lord. That woman is young and beautiful, but she is definitely a powerful and dangerous person.' Da Vinci said earnestly.
After hearing this, Ezio smiled slightly: 'Sounds like my kind of lady.'
"No way, his first love just ended not long ago! Ezio...you what!?" Ben in the game was directly shocked.
But what shocked him even more was the subsequent story. After a brief modern scene, simply introducing the related goals of the Templars and Assassins, Desmond actually saw Altaïr's memory in the animus.
But this memory wasn't very proper. Under guidance, Altaïr and a woman named Maria engaged in an open-air emotional exchange at the top of a watchtower.
Then, the perspective returned to Ezio's side. After arriving in Venice, Da Vinci went to organize his studio, while Ezio arrived near Emilio Barbarigo's palace, planning how to climb in.
Just as Ezio was at a loss looking at the high walls, a group of thieves climbed up, but were shot down by soldiers.
At this time, Ezio saved Rosa, a female thief among them, and brought her back to the Thief Guild, where he met its leader, Antonio.
The two hit it off immediately and began planning how to kill Emilio and liberate the business district.
But what Ben remembered most during this process was Ezio's behavior.
Originally, after separating from Cristina, Ben thought that Ezio might be a very emotional person. Of course, at that time he ignored that Ezio had initially stated that he was messing around with Vieri's sister.
First there was Caterina, and now there was an ambiguous flirting with the female thief Rosa. As soon as they met, he used his fingers to lift her chin. This performance left Ben completely speechless.
Especially when Ezio then made a cute pose of holding his hands to his heart, it was just too much!
However, this series of scenes also made the slightly heavy story of the game a lot more cheerful.
And it also made Ben more optimistic.
After all, the Templars have been the ones having all the bad luck for so long. The following story should be a lot more relaxed and enjoyable, right?
(End of this chapter)
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