With a new Assassin’s Creed game coming next year, fans have a new adventure to look forward to in the open-world series. Little is known for sure about the game so far, apart from its working title Assassin’s Creed: Codename Hexe, but players can guess one thing based on previous entries in the franchise.
Players will likely meet real historical figures from the time period
Although this new game may deviate from the formula, real historical figures from the game’s time period often play significant roles in Assassin’s Creed. From Ancient Greece to Renaissance Italy and feudal Japan, players can interact with real-life kings, philosophers, and more.
Robert IV of Sablé & Richard I
In the first Assassin’s Creed game, released in 2007, players control an assassin named Altaïr, who fails a crucial mission to retrieve an artifact called the Apple of Eden, resulting in the death of a fellow assassin. As a result, he is tasked with killing nine people in order to redeem himself. One of these would-be victims is Robert IV of Sable, who becomes one of the game’s first main antagonists.
Both the fictional Robert and the historical figure were Grand Master of the Knights Templar, a military order dedicated to protecting those embarking on a crusade in Jerusalem. In Assassin’s Creed, Robert is behind a vast conspiracy that threatens to enslave the world through the Apple of Eden. He betrays his king, Richard I, and is killed by Altaïr in a trial by combat. In real life, Robert was immensely loyal to Richard I and died of natural causes, although the specifics are unknown.
Richard I was also a real historical figure, most popularly known by his nickname, the Lionheart. The son of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, he was dedicated to the Crusades and spent more time in Jerusalem than in England. In the game, he serves as an arbiter of justice, suggesting a duel between Robert and Altaïr to determine who is telling the truth.
Leonardo da Vinci & the Borgias
The famous artist and inventor features in both Assassin’s Creed II and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, the third game. In Assassin’s Creed II, a younger Leonardo helps the main character, Ezio, by supplying him with important gear and upgrades, like the double blade, which lets Ezio take out two enemies at once. In Brotherhood, Leonardo is under the thumb of Cesare Borgia, making him harder to find, and he gives Ezio missions to complete.
Cesare Borgia is the primary antagonist in Brotherhood, serving as the catalyst for Ezio losing his home and the death of Ezio’s uncle, Mario. He is also the game’s final boss, facing off against Ezio in an epic battle that ends with Ezio being thrown off a castle’s battlements. In real life, Cesare was a military expert who served at the papal court of his father, Pope Alexander VI, whose given name was Rodrigo Borgia. Cesare came close to creating a centralized Borgia kingdom in Italy and inspired Machiavelli’s treatise on ruling, The Prince.
Rordrigo
Rodrigo is also a central character in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, first as the main antagonist in Assassin’s Creed II. Like his son, Cesare, he is the final boss of that game, but unlike Cesare, he survives and resurfaces in Brotherhood. Ezio chooses to spare Rodrigo’s life, since killing him won’t bring his family back – a particularly magnanimous choice, considering Rodrigo is responsible for the false arrest and subsequent execution of Ezio’s father and brothers. In Brotherhood, Rodrigo is older and tired, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to kill Cesare with a poisoned apple. In real life, Rodrigo served as the Pope from 1492 to 1503. His papacy was anything but dull, including a siege of Rome by the French armies and multiple assassination attempts.
Yasuke
In the most recent Assassin’s Creed game, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Yasuke is one of two playable main characters. He arrives in Kyoto as Diogo and is forced to serve Oda Nobunaga. Renamed Yasuke, he trains to become a samurai and eventually becomes a ronin, a samurai warrior with no master to follow. He reaches out to Naoe, the game’s other protagonist, and asks if they can work together on her quest for revenge.
In real life, Yasuke was a part of Nobunaga’s inner circle and is considered by some historians to be the first samurai born outside of Japan. Born in Africa, he was initially the bodyguard of a Jesuit priest sent to Asia by Pope Gregory XIII, before serving Nobunaga. Oda Nobunaga also appears in Shadows as a complex character who both invades Naoe’s village and acts as a true leader who values what a person can do over their appearance, as Yasuke sees.
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